A few years ago, two female British MPs commissioned a study into online hate-speech directed at women. To their infinite embarrassment, the study found that the bulk of misogynistic online abuse came, not from men, but other women. Well, it’s time to play the sad trombone again. Researchers
Roslyn Petelin, The University of Queensland Reports this week about the demise of the Apostrophe Protection Society may have been greatly exaggerated. The Apostrophe Protection Society was set up in 2001 in the UK by retired journalist John Richards with the aim of “preserving the correct use of this currently
The word for today is… aerie (noun) – The nest of a bird of prey, a house or fortress located high on a hill or mountain. Source : The Free Dictionary Etymology : English poet John Milton put a variant of aerie to good use in Paradise Lost (1667), writing, “… there the eagle
The word for today is… triskaidekaphobia (noun) – An abnormal fear of the number 13. Source : The Free Dictionary Etymology : It’s impossible to say just how or when the number thirteen got its bad reputation. There are a number of theories, of course. Some say it comes from the Last
The word for today is… scapegoat (noun) – 1. One that is made to bear the blame of others. 2. (Bible) A live goat over whose head Aaron confessed all the sins of the children of Israel on the Day of Atonement. The goat, symbolically bearing their sins, was then sent
The word for today is… redound (verb) – 1. To have an effect or consequence. 2. To return; recoil: Source : The Free Dictionary Etymology : Although it looks and sounds like a number of similar words (including rebound, resound, abound, and redundant), redound is a distinct term. It developed from Middle French
The word for today is… frippery (noun) – 1. Pretentious, showy finery. 2. Pretentious elegance; ostentation. 3. Something trivial or nonessential. Source : The Free Dictionary Etymology : 1560s, “old clothes, cast-off garments,” from Middle French friperie “old clothes, an old clothes shop,” from Old French freperie, feuperie “old rags, rubbish, old
I don’t often read anything written by Heather Du Plessis-Allan, she kind of winds me up so I just don’t click on her articles. But her latest ‘Premium’ article in ‘A newspaper’ piqued my interest. I had been thinking about doing a post about the Woman Who
The word for today is… exculpatory (adj) – Tending to clear someone, especially a suspect, of guilt or blame; exonerative. Source : The Free Dictionary Etymology : 1779, from exculpate + -ory. exculpate – “To clear from suspicion of wrong or guilt,” 1650s, from Medieval Latin exculpatus, past participle of exculpare, from Latin ex culpa,
The word for today is… catholic (adj) – 1. Of broad or liberal scope; comprehensive. 2. Including or concerning all humankind; universal. 3. Catholic a. Of or involving the Roman Catholic Church. b. Of or relating to the universal Christian church. c. Of or relating to the ancient undivided Christian church.
The word for today is… neoteric (adj) – Of recent origin; modern. Source : The Free Dictionary Etymology : “Recent in origin, new, modern,” 1590s, from Late Latin neotericus, from Greek ne?terikos “youthful, fresh, modern,” from ne?teros, comparative of neos “new”.
The word for today is… wheedle (verb) – 1. To obtain through the use of flattery or guile. 2. To persuade or attempt to persuade by flattery or guile; cajole. Source : The Free Dictionary Etymology : Wheedle has been a part of the English lexicon since the mid-17th century, though no
The word for today is… maunder (verb) – 1. To talk incoherently or aimlessly. 2. To move or act aimlessly or vaguely; wander. Source : The Free Dictionary Etymology : Maunder looks a lot like meander, and that’s not all the two words have in common—both mean “to wander aimlessly,” either
The word for today is… lumbersexual (noun) – (slang, sometimes used attributively) A male hipster who affects a rugged, outdoorsy look, typified by plaid shirts and a full beard. Source : Google Etymology : Early 21st century: from lumberjack + sexual, on the model of metrosexual.
The word for today is… knackered (adj) – (Chiefly British Slang) Very tired; exhausted. Source : The Free Dictionary Etymology : Knackered is derived from the past participle of knacker, a slang term meaning “to kill,” as well as “to tire, exhaust, or wear out.” The origins of the verb knacker are uncertain,
The word for today is… idée fixe (noun) – A fixed idea; an obsession. Source : The Free Dictionary Etymology : The term idée fixe is a 19th-century French coinage. French writer Honoré de Balzac used it in his 1830 novella Gobseck to describe an obsessive idea. By 1836, Balzac’s more
