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.”
Raining cats and dogs
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.
On Fourth and So Forth, Or The Oddest English Spellings (Part 7)
Anatoly looks at the oddest English spellings.
On A Self-Congratulatory Note
It is Anatoly’s Anniversary!!!!
Monthly Gleanings: February 2007
Anatoly Liberman’s monthly gleaings.
Why is the Brain Called Brain
Anatoly Liberman looks at the origin of the word “brain.”
Dildo: Back and Forth on a Cold Spoor of an Obscenity
Anatoly Liberman looks at the origin of the word “dildo.”
A Flourish of Strumpets
A closer look at strumpets.
Monthly Gleanings: January 2007
Anatoly’s monthly gleanings.
Cheek by jow
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).
In Jeopardy, Or, The Oddest English Spellings
(Part 6)
Anatoly Liberman’s weekly column. The Oddest English Spellings Part Six.
An Etymologist’s Junket to the Countryside
Anatoly Liberman’s weekly column.
Between Troll and Trollop
Anatoly Liberman looks at the many meanings of the word “troll.”
Monthly Gleanings: December 2006
Anatoly Liberman’s Monthly Gleanings.