(Navy) SEAL – SEa, Air, Land 3M – Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing AGA (stove) – Aktiebolaget Gasaccumulator (Swedish) BASE (jumping) – Building, Antenna, Span, or Earth BMW – Bavarian Motor Works (Bayerische Motoren Werke) CANOLA (oil) – CANada Oil, Low… Read More ›
If an animal goes to sleep during cold periods it is called hibernation. If an animal goes to sleep during hot periods it is called estivation. Because climate and geography influence language there is often not a word for both of them… Read More ›
I am sure I am not alone in hating all the passwords one has to remember these days. Every single site I use regularly seems to require registration. And then there is the dilemma – same password for everything? (easy… Read More ›
I see the House of Commons has changed the name of their Spotted Dick to Spotted Richard, in order to avoid embarrassing people. The etymology of Spotted Dick Whilst the first part of the name is self-apparent – the dessert… Read More ›
On Thursday, to commemorate the start of the 2018 Football World Cup, Sweden’s Aftonbladet newspaper dropped 4373 footballs over a central Stockholm square, to commemorate (!) that it has been 4373 days since Sweden has played in a men’s Football… Read More ›
Do any of my readers feel the same?
What is a malapropism? it is the unintentional (and usually very funny) misuse of a word or phrase. named after Mrs Malaprop, a character in R.B. Sheridan’s comedy The Rivals. Some examples “A witness shall not bear falsies against thy neighbor.” (Archie Bunker… Read More ›
