There Are More Ways Than One To Be Mad
Anatoly is feeling a bit “mad” this week.
Etymological Embarrassables
Anatoly looks at confusables.
The Curmudgeon and the Catawampus
Anatoly weighs in on curmudgeon and catawampus.
On Faggots & Pimps
Anatoly weighs in on pimps and faggots.
On Pimps and Faggots
Anatoly looks at where pimps and faggots come together.
Monthly Gleanings: May 2007
Anatoly reflects on his work in the past month.
If You Eat A Cake, You Are Sure To Have It Later
By Anatoly Liberman What a blow to national pride: cake is a loanword from Scandinavian, and cookie has been taken over from Dutch! The story of cake is full of dangerous corners, as will become immediately obvious. Anyone who begins to learn Swedish soon discovers that the Swedish for cake is kaka.
Make Music and Carpe Diem,
Or, Etymological Fiddle-Faddle
By Anatoly Liberman The names of musical instruments are often loanwords, in English they are usually from Greek (via French intermediaries) or Italian. Sometimes their original forms are transparent. Thus the medieval wind instrument shawm goes back to Greek kalamos “reed”; nothing could be simpler.
“Your Sarvant, Sir,” Or
The Oddest English Spellings (Part 8)
Anatoly looks at some of the oddest English spellings.
Editor’s Note: The Power of Words
A personal note from the editor.
Monthly Gleanings: April 2007
Anatoly’s April gleanings.
The Hopeless Word Loo
A stream of questions about the origin of loo never dries up…
Hamlet and Other Lads and Lasses:
Or, From Rags to Riches
Anatoly’s weekly column.
Monthly Gleanings: March 2007
Anatoly’s monthly gleanings.
One, Two, Three, Alairy…
Girls, in some parts of England and the United States, say, or rather chant, while bouncing a ball: “One, two, three, alairy, four five, six, alairy,” and so on. According to an “eyewitness report,” they say so, while bouncing a ball on the ground, catching it with one hand, keeping the score, and accompanying each alairy with a circular swing of the leg, so as to describe a loop around but not obstruct the rising ball.
Etymological Cocktail
Anatoly looks at the origin of the word “cocktail.”