Today marks the 77th anniversary of the Kenneth Arnold UFO sighting—a milestone not only for UFO enthusiasts but also for lexicographers everywhere, as it gave the English language two fascinating new terms: flying saucer and pelicanist. For those unfamiliar, Kenneth Arnold was a businessman and aviator who, in 1947, claimed …
The data were gathered from weather stations around the world… I nearly spilled my coffee all over my newspaper A typo? No. Smith was not in charge of the department when the data were thrown away… I know all about the notion that data is plural. I have seen the complaints; but I …
Admiral Edward Vernon, a British naval officer, left his mark not only on history books but also on everyday language and even the landscape of London. Let’s embark on a journey through his surprising legacy: In 1739, Vernon led a daring attack on Porto Bello (present-day Panama) with just six …
A tatterdemalion is a fellow whose clothes are tattered and torn. It is the same as a tatter-wallop, a ragabash, or a flabergudgion; and, given the threadbare state of modern fashion, it is an eminently useful word. Tatterdemalion should even be immediately comprehensible to the uninitiated because everybody knows what …
Those lucky readers who have invested in the property market will be unsurprised to discover that a mortgage is, literally, a pledge to the death. The idea is that a mortgage is a gage, or pledge, that can die in one of two ways. Either you pay the whole debt …
Elope is a lovely word, especially if you leap into an elopement with an interloper. There are a whole bunch of lope-words spread around the languages of Northern Europe and they all mean pretty much the same thing: a stride, a run, a jump, a leap, a bound. There was …
Ah, yes, the ever-intriguing “poop-noddy.” Let’s delve into this linguistic gem with the grace of a drunken hippopotamus at a porcelain buffet, shall we? First, the OED definition. Now, the OED is like the dictionary equivalent of a museum curator explaining why grandma’s dusty doorknob collection is historically significant. They …
Ever pondered the meaning of “louche” while sipping Campari in bed? While your initial luxury guess was off the mark, the word’s history is far more fascinating than you might imagine. Forget pirates with eye patches! Louche’s roots lie in the Latin “luscus,” meaning one-eyed. Its French descendant, “louche,” initially …
Ghoulish is a word much beloved of the tabloid press. Anything can be ghoulish, from serial killers to a bad round of golf, or as the Daily Express would put it: “one of the most ghoulish Masters bloodbaths in history.” Ghoul, or ghul, is an Arabic word and was a …
Batman is, of course, the name for a military officer’s servant. The term derives from the old word bat meaning a packsaddle. In America, where they’re far more logical about such things, the equivalent position is referred to as a dog-robber. Batman is, of course, a unit of measurement found …
