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Protected: Jabs, Literal and Metaphorical
Category: English language
Cold War Ghostly Presences
Since I haven’t been earning an income in years and am going broke, I have to be careful about buying books. Such a pity really, since I tend to devour them. Yours truly decided to read books that yours truly had gifted father on his birthday last year, instead. The master of spy fiction, John… Continue reading Cold War Ghostly Presences
Protected: Springtime Reading During the Pandemic
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Ovid in the Time of Covid: Staying Away
The second of my Ovid in the Time of Covid pieces, this one is called Staying Away and is inspired by the story of Actaeon in The Metamorphoses that some of you might be familiar with. Actaeon, while on a hunting trip with his friends, takes a break and goes to a stream near a… Continue reading Ovid in the Time of Covid: Staying Away
Protected: Stepping Into 2021, in Books and Music
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Protected: Reading to Begin the New Year With
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Owl About Words: Glimmer of Hope
These days, there is a lot of hope being pinned on the new vaccines that are being produced around the world. And there is finally a glimmer of hope in this long Covid-19 pandemic that has ravaged the world. The word that I have chosen for this month from Ivor Brown's book, Just Another Word,… Continue reading Owl About Words: Glimmer of Hope
Owl About Words: The Snobbery of ‘Sn’s
In a world of growing inequalities, there is no dearth of snobs. We are surrounded by them, as if we were back in the days of aristocracy and feudalism. But who would have ever thought that the word snob itself meant quite the opposite, in its early days. That's not all. Ivor Brown, in his… Continue reading Owl About Words: The Snobbery of ‘Sn’s
Owl About Words: Sowing One’s Oats?
This month, we're going to talk about a word that has travelled to so many lands, acquiring new meanings in each place, that you wonder if that's why it's become linguistic luggage now. In fact, the word in its original sense is hardly used these days. The word is haverel and the Scots use it… Continue reading Owl About Words: Sowing One’s Oats?
Owl About Words: Dictionary Neighbours
Most words that are neighbours in the English dictionary are only so in a manner of speaking. They might sit next to each other or even a few words apart, but other than that they might actually be worlds apart. Why, don't we know of so many English words that have several meanings and depending… Continue reading Owl About Words: Dictionary Neighbours
Peripatetic Perch 