As I am in the habit of doing, I found myself in an idle moment the other day musing upon why the Scottish football team (that would be ’soccer’ to my American readers) Glasgow Celtic is pronounced with a soft c (an ’s’, in effect) rather than following the usual convention of the hard ‘c’ [...]

Now, when I was a smallish lad, the common form of spelling for this particular item was ballock. It may have been the region in which I was brought up but over the years, the spelling has been replaced in popularity by bollock. I could find no etymology for the word but recorded use dates [...]

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Ah, the humble spud. The potato (solanum tuberosum) has a rich etymology and a confusing history. Quite a big deal for something which has become a staple food for much of the developed [...]