It’s a funny thing, language. I am guilty of defending the usage of the English language and its grammar (if ‘guilty’ is the correct term), but I am also prepared to concede that the reason English has become the worldwide lingua franca is entirely due to its malleability and adaptability. Let’s face it, the Aussies [...]

Thanks once again to Daphne, a regular reader and rapidly becoming a regular contributor on this blog! The thanks are not only for this excellent piece but for spontaneously helping me out in what has been a very busy week. So without further ado…
Mondegreen is not the name of a French ecological movement, but is [...]

There seems to be a rash of “word(s) of the year” around this time of year. Fine by me – at least I can guarantee something to write about around Christmas! This month, it falls to the Macquarie Dictionary of Australian English. You may remember that last year’s poll gave us the splendid “muffin top” [...]

A big hello and a hearty “welcome back”! I have returned after something of a Christmas sabbatical. I have spent the festive season in a manner befitting a man of my stature – augmenting my already portly frame with several hundred kilos of cakes, breads and such assorted sweetmeats as I could physically manage – [...]

.flickr-photo { } .flickr-frame { float: left; text-align: center; margin-right: 15px; margin-bottom: 15px; } .flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; }

Apologies to Stephen Fry, but I saw this on an episode of the BBC television series QI and wanted to share it as I found it, well, Quite Interesting.
For those of you who [...]