FUN WITH CLERIHEWS
“A CLERIHEW,” MATHEMATICIAN HOWARD EVES WROTE, “is a form of light verse, akin to the limerick, that became popular in England.” Edmund Clerihew, 1875–1956, English novelist and humorist, inventor of … Continue reading
アンダーグラウンド辞典 The Underground Dictionary Part 2
THERE’S GOOD LINGUISTIC FUN to be had with vintage international slang, in this case a 1971 Japanese underground dictionary. We continue here in Part 2, beginning below Fourteenth Street. going … Continue reading
アンダーグラウンド辞典 The Underground Dictionary Part 1
CERTAIN POLITICAL DISCOURSE OF LATE would profit from an underground dictionary (not to say a mouth-washing). And wouldn’t you know, I have such a dictionary to offer: アンダーグラウンド辞典. It was … Continue reading
TRIPPIN’ THROUGH KEYBOARDS
I’VE BEEN ENJOYING Michael Arndt’s Snails & Monkey Tails: A Visual Guide to Punctuation & Symbols. One of its chapters is “Typography in the Digital Age,” which begins with that … Continue reading
THOMAS BOWDLER—AHEAD OF HIS TIME?
THE HYPOCRITICAL WHACKO CONSERVATIVES’ BANNING OF BOOKS got me thinking of Thomas Bowdler, whence the term “bowdlerize,” to expurgate; loosely, “to clean up.” That is, it’s ok for Trump to … Continue reading
ANGLOPHILIC COMMENTARIES PART 1
ENGLISH, AFTER ALL, IS LANGUAGE OF THE BRITS; we only inherited it fair and square at Yorktown in ’81. So it’s not surprising that from time to time my favorite … Continue reading
A GENTLEMAN AND A THIEF—THIS ONE, FOR REAL
I’VE RECENTLY (RE)ENJOYED To Catch a Thief, that wonderful Cary Grant/Grace Kelly flick in which he portrays the consummate gentleman/thief. Not to say a nervous passenger in a Sunbeam Alpine‘s … Continue reading
ACRONYMS FYI PART 2
THIS CONTINUES YESTERDAY’S ACRONYMS from Sarah Anne Lloyd’s collection at the Interesting Facts website. OU. Sarah Anne corrects my misunderstanding about this identification of a kosher food item. She explains: … Continue reading
ACRONYMS FYI PART 1
SARAH ANNE LLOYD OF THE INTERESTING FACTS website assembles a list of familiar acronyms—though not necessarily familiar to all of us (er… IMHO, me). She writes, “From markings on your … Continue reading
Simanaitis Says 
ANGLOPHILIC COMMENTARIES PART 2
YESTERDAY WE SHARED ENGLISH QUOTES from the likes of Noel Coward, Dorothy Sayers, W. Somerset Maugham, and even Irishman George Bernard Shaw. Today in Part 2, two extended commentaries follow, … Continue reading →