scran
A northern English word meaning food. "Early 19th century - etymology unknown" according to MSN Encarta. Can anyone tell me more?
View Articlenewsak, nuzak, newszak
After Muzak. Refers to TVs left on in public places, tuned to cable news channels, especially subscription "news" channels designed just for waiting rooms.Anyone know when it first appeared?(Also...
View Articlefaster
Someone I know has tried to convince me that "faster" is not to be used in any context, as it is grammatically incorrect. She claims that someone told her to use instead some bizarre alternative I've...
View ArticleNorn
I hadn't heard about Norn before I chanced on this site, which gives this example of the Lord's Prayer in Norn, the original language of the Orkneys, off the coast of Scotland....Read More
View ArticleShetlandic
Shetlandic is the traditional tongue of the Shetland islands. Though technically a dialect of Lowland Scots (known along with Orcadian as Insular Scots) it has many distinctive features, primarily a...
View ArticleThe Appendix of Probus
....... or, mispronunciation has a long history!A fascinating glimpse into the way people "mispronounced" Latin in the 3rd/4th centuries AD.Read More
View ArticleT. C. Mits
In the good ol' days, before sexism headed its ugly rear, the common man in the street could just as easily have been a woman, and frequently was. In these benighted times, Mr. Mits is no longer...
View ArticleCaucasian
I'm not sure if this term for generic white person is still in official use, but how did it come to be understood in such a context? Living in the Caucasus, I'm often reminded by locals how Russians...
View ArticleCharlie
George Thompson posted at ADS-L this week re Charlie:GATHere is an antedating for U. S. use, and also,...Read More
View ArticlePlastination
Much controversy In San Francisco at present over an exhibitio called The Universe Within, which uses this process to preserve corpses.I know Gunther von Hagen caused a stir in London w...Read More
View ArticlePlastic Paddy
Sadly, in contemporary Scotland, the futile bigotry between protestant and catholic still raises its head. In this respect, "Plastic Paddies" are seen as Scottish or Scottish-based Irish descendants,...
View ArticleOrigin of Diaspora & Sojourner
Origin of the above two words. Any help will be appreciated. Thanks.
View ArticleAntarctic slang
English, as She is Spoke at McMurdo and Pole.Well, you never know where you might end up. Best to be prepared!
View ArticleTurning the Pages
Have you ever come across a beautiful old book locked away in a glass case in a library and wanted to leaf through it? Now, you can (virtually), anywhere in the world, using a computer and Web...
View Article"Irish is really some sort of English"
The discussion about the European Constitution is keeping us busy. Last night there was a game show on TV, trying to feed us even more information in a kind of playful setting. One of the questions...
View ArticleHistory of the word "kid"
What is the origin of the word "kid"? Does it figure into the slavery era at all?
View ArticleGoogle numbers: irrational, imaginary, or just weird?
This Language Log item provides more data on the dangers of using Google hits to measure usage.
View Articlego the whole hog
Has anyone any information on the earliest use of this expression, and its origin? I can get little more from the web than "since early 19th century". Encarta says it may be connected to "hog=a...
View ArticleTwocking
Mystified to read that someone had been jailed for 'twocking', I checked the word out. To twock is to Take Without Owner's Consent, the name of the statute under which you're charged should you be so...
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