The Etymological Compendium – By William Pulleyn

One of the problems that have arisen out of the ubiquity of such internet tools as Google and Wikipedia is our increasing tendency to rely on them for answers to our questions. I am sure we have all had experience of quoting a definition from these sources, only to be disproved subsequently. In any event, when looking for the origins and definitions, I frequently revert to Google Books. Here one can sometimes find definitions that pre-exist the internet era. It is not always a guarantee that such definitions are likely to be any more accurate than those posted by enthusiastic amateurs on Wikipedia or Wiktionary, but they do often provide an interesting alternative.

One such book is this The Etymological Compendium –  By William Pulleyn. Written in 1830 it provides all sorts of explanations of the origins of words, customs and inventions. Continue reading “The Etymological Compendium – By William Pulleyn”

Reminder – short story competition

A story of up to 2000 words in length, to be submitted by March 30th please, by mid-night, as a post on your own page, with a link to the comments here–

and to include the following words

penknife

string

milk shake.

 

If you wish use the prompts to get your story, but you don’t have to!

No entries so far….

 

 

Signs of Spring again

It’s an every day, ordinary drop of rain water on the hairy leaf of a common-all-garden lupin leaf, but it caught my eye, glistening in the light.

Lots of gardening today, but the sky was overcast, so that my solar-powered radio failed me and I had to collect the old battery-powered one from the bedside! Weeding and ‘Weekend Womens’ Hour’ and an occasional cuppa. Better than shopping any day.

Now that a lot of the winter debris has been cleared the flower beds look a lot more Springlike.

The less silent Rowan

Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams

You’ve got to admire him, the soon-to-be-former Head Druid. He’s been an inspirational captain of his club. Crosses should be worn. Female clerics and partnering poofters need not apply. And unlike his namesake, he has always expressed himself unequivocally without raising a laugh. He even managed to obtain a ‘don’t know’ from Dawkins in a recent encounter. But now he’s hanging up his boots and it’s back to the groves of academe, in one of the cloistered halls of that polytechnic in the Fens. So bring on the next victim – he’ll need the constitution of an ox, as Rowan says.

The sheer negligee

A husband walks into a department store to purchase a sheer negligee for his wife. He is shown several possibilities that range from $250 to $500 in price, the more sheer, the higher the price. Naturally, he opts for the most sheer item, pays the $500, and takes it home. He presents it to his wife and asks her to go upstairs, put it on, and model it for him.
Upstairs the wife thinks (she’s no dummy), I have an idea. It’s so sheer that it might as well be nothing. I won’t put it on, but I’ll do the modeling naked, return it tomorrow, and keep the $500 refund for myself. She appears naked on the balcony and strikes a pose. The husband says, Good Grief! You’d think, for $500, they’d at least iron it!
He never heard the shot. Funeral on Thursday at noon. Closed coffin.

Seoul

The flight to Korea was long, but generally pleasant. That Asiana is rated one of the best airlines in the world is understandable. The service is decent (though Cathay Pacific is better, I think) and the in-flight entertainment is acceptable. (Again, Cathay Pacific’s is much, much better) The seat was comfortable and there was more space than I have sadly grown used to. The flight was not completely full and only two out of the three seats in my row were filled. The other passenger, an intelligent and pleasant man on his way to New Delhi via Seoul, a certain Mr Singh, helped to pass the time with conversation ranging from Sikh history and philosophy to discussions on the finer points of Nehru and Jinnah’s policies during the end of the Raj. The food on the flight was also quite good. It tasted much like something that could be found at a decent restaurant. Continue reading “Seoul”