Twists & Turns of Phrase Calling something a wild goose chase is another way of saying it’s a foolish pursuit or endeavour. Is that because it’s hard to catch a wild goose? Or because people look foolish trying to do so? A number of online resources say that the notorious difficulty of catching geese inspired […]
Recommended Read Bartlett, Allison Hoover. The Man Who Loved Books Too Much: The True Story of a Thief, a Detective, and a World of Literary Obsession. Toronto: Penguin Canada, 2009. [ISBN-13: 978-0-14-3116824-9] The Man Who Loved Books Too Much is the story of John Charles Gilkey, an inveterate rare-book thief; Ken Sanders, the rare-book dealer and […]
Lexical Vexations allude v. to reference indirectly. elude v. to escape or evade. Words in the Wild: Whatever Prof. Dobson was alluding to in his mention of academic misconduct seemed to elude Sarah’s notice altogether—she continued to copy the contents of her arm onto her test paper, unabashed and unabated. Still vexed? You can find […]
Gonna catch a big one! For as long as I can remember I’ve been completely fascinated by lexicography. I remember the second time* I went sans parents to the big mall in the city where I grew up… I was in seventh grade and I had saved up $20.00 for the outing. I had to […]
Vest-Pocket Vocabulary Noctil’ucous, a. shining in the night or dark. Word in the Wild: My favourite part of going to Las Vegas is walking the strip and admiring the noctilucous neon lights. You can find a complete listing of the Word Blog’s Vest-Pocket Vocabulary entries and learn more about where they come from here.
Vest-Pocket Vocabulary Med’icaster, n. a quack who brags of cures. Word in the Wild: The worst part of insomnia is watching all the overnight infomercials just brimming with medicasters. You can find a complete listing of the Word Blog’s Vest-Pocket Vocabulary entries and learn more about where they come from here.
Lexical Vexations systematic adj. following a devised plan in a methodological way. systemic adj. relating to a complex but cohesive system. This was originally a term specific to the body (ex. systemic infection) but is now used to describe other complex systems as well (ex. systemic racism in governments). Word in the Wild: The only […]
Vest-Pocket Vocabulary Loo’by, n. a lubber; a clumsy fellow. Word in the Wild: I thought our dog would outgrow that awkward puppy stage, but he’s eight years old now and still a total looby. You can find a complete listing of the Word Blog’s Vest-Pocket Vocabulary entries and learn more about where they come from […]
Twists & Turns of Phrase When something is held by the dead hand of something else, it is being prevented from attaining its goals. For instance, social progress might be held back by the dead hand of the status quo. By extension we also get the adjective dead-handed, which means oppressive and out-dated. For example, a teenager might […]
Vest-Pocket Vocabulary Jet’ter, n. a spruce fellow; one who struts. Word in the Wild: “I saw your brother at the bar last night and, my goodness, doesn’t he think he’s quite the jetter!” You can find a complete listing of the Word Blog’s Vest-Pocket Vocabulary entries and learn more about where they come from here.