Mind your language
Straik
I’m very glad I followed a friend’s recommendation to read The Bird of Dawning by John Masefield, an author neglected…
The origins of Marmite and Bovril
‘How can Bovril be suitable for vegetarians?’ asked my husband. ‘Bo- comes from bos, Latin for an ox.’ He was…
Marmite vs Bovril
‘How can Bovril be suitable for vegetarians?’ asked my husband. ‘Bo- comes from bos, Latin for an ox.’ He was…
Marmite vs Bovril
‘How can Bovril be suitable for vegetarians?’ asked my husband. ‘Bo- comes from bos, Latin for an ox.’ He was…
Polari
Of the contribution to English that Polari is claimed to have brought, perhaps naff is the most current-sounding. An older…
Polari
Of the contribution to English that Polari is claimed to have brought, perhaps naff is the most current-sounding. An older…
Critique
‘Americans,’ said my husband in much the same tone that Betsey Trotwood said ‘Donkeys’. It was his way of explaining…
Critique
‘Americans,’ said my husband in much the same tone that Betsey Trotwood said ‘Donkeys’. It was his way of explaining…
Ash
Home is where the heart is, but some poor languages have no word for ‘home’. For them, home is where…
Ash
Home is where the heart is, but some poor languages have no word for ‘home’. For them, home is where…
Niche
Jonathan Swift, in his satirical poem ‘An Epistle to a Lady’, says modestly: ‘If I can but fill my Nitch,/…
Niche
Jonathan Swift, in his satirical poem ‘An Epistle to a Lady’, says modestly: ‘If I can but fill my Nitch,/…
Va-t’en, Satan
What do you say to someone who is killing you? It is seldom possible to decide in advance. We are…
Va-t’en, Satan
What do you say to someone who is killing you? It is seldom possible to decide in advance. We are…
Doric
I’d seen The Gruffalo in Latin, so I was delighted when Veronica showed me a version her daughter had been…
Doric
I’d seen The Gruffalo in Latin, so I was delighted when Veronica showed me a version her daughter had been…
Taxi
Old Quentin Letts was on the wireless the other day asking ‘What’s the point of the London black cab?’ Between…
Taxi
Old Quentin Letts was on the wireless the other day asking ‘What’s the point of the London black cab?’ Between…
Pelican pie
Revisers of OED have made a pig’s ear of pelican pie, I fear. I’ve been reading for pleasure Peter Gilliver’s…
Pelican pie
Revisers of OED have made a pig’s ear of pelican pie, I fear. I’ve been reading for pleasure Peter Gilliver’s…
Chrononhotonthologos
When I ran out of space last week, I was about to mention the way in which some people relish…
Chrononhotonthologos
When I ran out of space last week, I was about to mention the way in which some people relish…
Honorificabilitudinity
My husband told me with glee that Nicholas Byfield had a great big stone ‘like flint’ in his bladder, weighing…
Honorificabilitudinity
My husband told me with glee that Nicholas Byfield had a great big stone ‘like flint’ in his bladder, weighing…
Dustcart
Are we seeing the end of dustcarts? I don’t mean that those noisy, noisome vehicles will cease roaring at the…
