10 things to know about US immigration policy in the nineteenth century
Learn 10 things about US immigration policy in the nineteenth century that give context to some of the immigration concerns we face in the US today.
Scratching all the way to hell (second series)
At first sight, the origin of the verb “scratch” looks unproblematic… The Oxford Etymologist scratches beneath the surface of “scratch.”
Reading Between the Lines: Bernard MacLaverty’s Grace Notes and the Peace Process in Northern Ireland
A novel about a female composer struggling with depression after the birth of her child does not, on the face of it, seem to have much to do with war or peace in Northern Ireland. But appearances can be deceiving.
How sustainable is sustainability?
In a recent Animal Frontiers article, we look at the larger picture of sustainability and the conversation that needs to happen when thinking about just one facet of an industry.
How long can the historical associations of places be remembered?
Can local memory of an association between a place and the people who lived there be preserved for more than three centuries? Ken Dark looks at this question in reference to the “House of Jesus”, and whether it is plausible that the historical associations of a place—even a place in Nazareth—can be remembered 200 years on, let alone three centuries.
When meanings go akimbo
The realization started with the word akimbo. I had first learned it as meaning a stance with hands on the hips, and I associated the stance with the comic book image of Superman confronting evildoers. Body language experts sometimes call this a power pose, intended to project confidence or dominance.
Announcing the winner of the 2023 Grove Music Online spoof contest
Happy April Fool’s Day! I’m pleased to announce that the winner of this year’s Grove Music Online Spoof Article Contest is “Back to Bolivia” by Steven Griffin.
Nicholas Bugsworthy: an unknown Tudor composer?
Simon Wright digs into the curious history of an almost forgotten Tudor composer, Nicholas Bugsworthy. Thanks to an insert in OUP’s in-house magazine, ‘The Dominant’, published on 1 April 1928, Sir Richard Runciman Terry was able to bring the music of this prolific composer into the public domain. Simon Wright picks up where Terry left off, considering, amongst other things, the origins of a curious tune almost certainly shows the earliest version of musical patterns later to become threaded within Irving Berlin’s 1911 hit ragtime song “Everybody’s Doin’ It Now.”
A guide to going to hell (first draft) and other matters
The Oxford Etymologist ruminates on the origins and meanings of idioms including “to go to hell in a handbasket.”
“Through Gilded Trellises”: a reflection on one hundred years of Façade
The making of Façade “Poetry is more like a crystal globe, with Truth imprisoned in it, like a fly in amber. The poet is the magician who fashions the crystal globe. But the reader is the magician who can find in these scintillating flaws, or translucent depths, some new undiscovered land.” Osbert Sitwell, writing in 1921 […]
Climate emergency: lessons from Classic Maya to contemporary China [podcast]
In episode 81 of The Oxford Comment, we discussed the environmental resilience of the Maya with scholar Kenneth E. Seligson and contemporary China and sustainability with scholar Scott M. Moore.
Why read Proust in 2023?
The world is literally on fire; authoritarianism threatens multiple countries; racism and xenophobia are rampant; women’s and LGBTQ rights are under threat—why on earth would anyone spend time reading a 3,000-page novel by a man who’s been dead (exactly) a hundred years?
How to define 2022 in words? Our experts take a look… (part four)
Now the dust has settled on another eventful year, it’s time to look back on some of the words that characterised 2022.
Macbeth, King James, and biting the hand that feeds you?
Possibly the most dangerous play William Shakespeare wrote was The Tragedie of Macbeth. The drama is packed with illegality: assassination of kings; prophecies about kings; supernatural women; and necromancy. To add to the danger, Shakespeare’s employer, King James, was a prickly patron of the performing arts and notorious for his sensitivity to slights, real and perceived. […]
Spring gleanings and a partial spring cleaning
The Oxford Etymologist replies to etymology questions from readers.
Twenty years on: Luis Moreno Ocampo on the International Criminal Court
Luis Moreno Ocampo provides a unique perspective on the International Criminal Court and its interaction with the War on Terror.