THE CLASSICS WITH DAFFY, BUGS, AND ELMER
THE TERM “cartoon classics” has at least two meanings: There are the Warner Bros and Disney cartoons, timeless in their humor, exquisite in their production values. And there is the … Continue reading
ETYMOLOGY CONTINUED: DEMAGOGUE
FOR ONCE in my continuing Etymology for Today series (see chaos, mendacity, and the like), I’ve come upon a difference in my two primary sources, one dated 1971 and the … Continue reading
GOT MENDACITY?
IN MY continuing series of Etymology for Today, I offer the word “mendacity,” as practiced regularly by our president. Given that it’s a long word, and perhaps unfamiliar to some, … Continue reading
CHAOS, IN THEORY AND PRACTICE, PART 2
SOMEHOW, STUDYING the etymology of the word “chaos” makes current events seem less disruptive to rational thought. Yesterday was a start; today, we celebrate three forms of the word, spelled … Continue reading
CHAOS, IN THEORY AND PRACTICE, PART 1
ETYMOLOGY CAN offer good fun as well as therapeutic distraction in times of unease. Consider the word “chaos.” Come to think of it, in a Russell’s Paradox sort of way, … Continue reading
A 13TH-CENTURY PUZZLE, PART 2
ASSUMING YOU read Part 1 here yesterday, you now know as much about the Voynich Manuscript as I did half-way through reading Meehan Crist’s “Who Knows?”, a book review of … Continue reading
A 13TH-CENTURY PUZZLE, PART 1
HAVE YOU ever heard of the Voynich Manuscript? Me neither. Until the London Review of Books, July 27, 2017, and Meehan Crist’s article “Who Knows?” Crist’s review of the book … Continue reading
MEDIEVAL DNA SLEUTHING
A TWELFTH-CENTURY Gospel of Luke and an even older York Gospels are giving today’s bookworm biologists an opportunity to study the actions of actual 900-year-old book worms in these medieval … Continue reading
HE USTA SAY “#&*@!!”
DEAR CHILDREN, there was a time, not all that long ago, when we could shield you from the vulgarities of life. Soon enough, lamentably, you’d hear older kids speaking “potty-mouth.” … Continue reading
ON POLITICIANS AND HYPOCRISY
THESE DAYS, “politician” and “hypocrisy” are naturals in a word-association test. Our current lamentable state encouraged me to do some etymological research on this word pair. My old pals Merriam-Webster … Continue reading
Simanaitis Says 