Timely Bits
A smallish round-up of words and phrases appropriate for this week. As you may know, the period of Lent begins tomorrow, when Christians across the globe will fast (if they are particularly devout) or symbolically give something up in the forty day run-up to Easter. So, today is Shrove Tuesday – well, for Brits and Aussies it is. This is the day when, in times gone by, all the fats and sugary items in the house would be used up in preparation for the fast. Now it’s just an excuse to scoff lots of pancakes and feel sick. The word shrove is the past tense of shrive – a verb meaning “to grant remission of sins”. It actually follows Shrove Monday, which is something I didn’t know until I looked into it. It’s known as carnival in many European countries (Spain, Italy, Germany) and – more famously – Mardi Gras in South America and the USA. The name means “Fat Tuesday” and again refers to the feasting on fatty foodstuffs before the fast. I just realized the unintentional alliteration in the previous sentence. Nice.
Read MoreShe was only…
Ah, the irresistible urge of a cheap sexual innuendo! My somewhat lax attempts at researching the origins of this particular form drew a big fat zero. My guess would be the music hall, vaudeville and burlesque shows of England and the US (back in the time when we shared a similar sense of humour). The basis of the gag is simple – puns, wordplay and, of course, a cheap sexual gag disguised as something more innocent. Regular readers will know what a fan of the Blackadder comedies I am, so I was particularly pleased with a wonderful non sequitur from Hugh Lawrie in Blackadder Goes Forth:”She was only the ironmonger’s daughter but she knew a surprising amount about fish as well”.
Read MoreCajun
Having spent a lot of my youth exploring different music, I have always had a soft spot for the Cajuns. The music of the swamps of Louisiana, USA has always seemed evocative of good times, good food and copious quantities of Bourbon. Check out the music of Balfa Toujours, Jo-El Sonnier, Beausoleil or Canray Fontenot – if you can find it – it’s well worth a listen.
Read MoreA Couple More Interesting Web Sites
Exactly as the title suggests (although I appreciate the term “interesting” is subjective).
First up is the website for Merriam-Webster, one of the most highly regarded US dictionaries. Yes, I know that I should be promoting British English but they have their language and I have mine. They probably think I talk funny, too. Every December they hold a poll to find the best word of the year. The imaginatively titled “Word of the Year” can be found by clicking here. Last year’s word was “truthiness” – a new word coined by the American comedian and satirist, Stephen Colbert on his show The Colbert Report. On the shortlist for linguistic fame this year are twenty words, including:
Read MoreNewspeak
