Oxford University Press's
Academic Insights for the Thinking World
This is an old chestnut. How did ‘Raining Cats and Dogs’ come into being, and stay, in the language? The possibilities are few. A foreign phrase is occasionally repeated verbatim or nearly so, and turns into gibberish. It is possible that the first ‘cats and dogs’ were not even animal names.
Anatoly looks at the oddest English spellings.
It is Anatoly’s Anniversary!!!!
Anatoly Liberman’s monthly gleaings.
Anatoly Liberman looks at the origin of the word “brain.”
Anatoly Liberman looks at the origin of the word “dildo.”
A closer look at strumpets.
Anatoly’s monthly gleanings.
English is a language of limitless opportunities. Strange things happen in it. Some words are spelled alike but pronounced differently: ‘bow’ (the bow of a ship) and ‘bow’ (bow and arrows); ‘row’ (she kicked up a row) and ‘row’ (the front row); ‘permit’ (the verb) and ‘permit’ (the noun).
Anatoly Liberman’s weekly column. The Oddest English Spellings Part Six.
Anatoly Liberman’s weekly column.
Anatoly Liberman looks at the many meanings of the word “troll.”
Anatoly Liberman’s Monthly Gleanings.
Anatoly Liberman weekly column.
Anatoly Liberman looks at the origins of the phrase “Attaboy!”
Anatoly Liberman looks at filler words, like and you know.