Were you ever told (or even taught) that water spirals down a drain in different directions in the northern and southern hemispheres due to the Coriolis effect? Weird how those things stick in your mind, isn’t it? Unfortunately that is… Read More ›
Idioms
Swenglish – when things go horribly wrong
In English if you have to clear your throat it is called having a frog in your throat. In Swedish it is called a tupp i halsen, which means a cock in your throat. A cock in your throat is definitely not something you… Read More ›
Spoonerisms
Meaning An accidental transposition of the initial sounds, or other parts, of two or more words. Origin The Rev. William Archibald Spooner (1844–1930), who was a fellow and warden of New College, Oxford, is inextricably linked with the slips of… Read More ›
Very British phrases
There are several words and phrases I use on social media without realising that they are culturally or geographically niched. A few that spring to mind are ‘hamfisted’, ‘cheeky’ and ‘trainspotter’. Below is a selection from this Standard article which… Read More ›
Beautiful Eggcorn from the Daily Mail yesterday
They had this beautiful example of an eggcorn in two different places in the Daily Fail yesterday. I mentioned this exact eggcorn the other day. Of course you cannot call the people who work for this rag journalists in the… Read More ›
Eggcorns
The misuse of certain phrases in English is something that really gets my goat. Some examples: baited breath instead of bated breath here here instead of hear hear step foot instead of set foot it’s not rocket surgery instead of… Read More ›
Idioms about March
March comes in like a lion, and goes out like a lamb – the month of March usually starts with cold, unpleasant weather, but ends mild and pleasant. (Either part of the proverb can be used alone.) To be as… Read More ›
