Category Archives: Words, phrases & expressions

Fains, fainites, barley, pax, and other truce terms

Children playing in street, New York / Wikimedia Commons

“Pax!” we would shout, often out of breath and usually with our fingers crossed and held aloft for all our tag-mates to see. It might have been a stitch, or a shoelace that had come untied: something made us have to excuse ourselves from the game — just temporarily, for a brief and necessary time-out — and no-one, not even our arch opponents, could catch us or call us out during the time we had called for our own truce. I’m sure it’s something most of us remember from our playtime in the schoolyard. Continue reading →

Days of the week

Annibale Carracci: Jupiter and Juno / Wikimedia Commons

Have you ever wondered how the days of the week were named? In ancient Rome they were named after the planets, which in turn were named after gods. In most cases, a Germanic name resulted from the Roman god’s name being replaced by that of a similar or equivalent Germanic god. Each one is explained below, along with some common phrases that employ the day’s name. Enjoy. Continue reading →

Nationality (and very un-PC) expressions

“A Texan, a Russian and a New Yorker go into a restaurant in London. The waiter tells them … “(You can read the rest of the joke here, but please come back to Glosso when you’ve finished.)

We all enjoy a bit of harmless, humorous ethno-cultural stereotyping once in a while, especially when it comes in the form of these “three nationalities” jokes. So it’s not surprising that there are also a number of popular verbal expressions that make use and fun of national cliches. Just like their jokey compatriots, these phrases are generally disrespectful of the peoples they’re targeting; in fact, some of them are downright racist and likely to cause offence. So be warned when you read this post, and please don’t shoot the messenger. Glosso presents the most common nationality expressions — many of which go back decades or even centuries — with their definitions and their origins where known or offered. If we’ve missed any, please add to the comments section below. Continue reading →

It sucks …

Courtesy Wikimedia Commons

When we say something sucks — i.e. when something’s not good in a big way — are we being rather rude and referring to a particular kind of sex act? Or does this slang use of the verb have other more benign origins? (Warning: sexual vocabulary ahead.) Continue reading →

In the news … March 25

TGIF: That Gerund Is Funky. In this month’s language usage news, we have a high-profile hold-out on the use of the singular “their”; the word okay and its origins; a list of horrid words; a vulgar word finds its way into the OED; a spelling mistake that thwarted a bank heist; bad spelling used for effect in an ad campaign; Donald Trump’s 6th-grade linguistic skills; and a spelling quiz from a fine New York institution. (Warning: explicit vocabulary ahead.) Continue reading →

High fives (on Glossophilia’s 5th birthday)

From CakesbyKiley.com

It’s Glossophilia’s 5th birthday! To celebrate the occasion, we’ve thought of 16 expressions that use the word five (or fifth). Interestingly, most of them originated (and are still only heard) in America: how many of these are in use across the pond? If we’ve missed any, please add them in the comments section below. Continue reading →

Why is it called a “leap year”?

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, “leap year” means “a year, occurring once every four years, that has 366 days including February 29 as an intercalary* day.” Where did the “leap” come from? Continue reading →

You say pernickety, I say persnickety

Brits: “As ever the pernickety details of modern coppering are minutely observed: Mercurio knows precisely how the police fill out forms to take possession of a lethal weapon.” — The Telegraph in its review of TV’s police drama Line of Duty.

Yanks: “Instead, Carson has turned into an entitled, persnickety bore, grumbling about the corners on his bed and refusing to drink wine because “somehow it feels disloyal” to Lord Grantham.” — Los Angeles Times in its latest Downton Abbey recap.

Oxford English Dictionary‘s definition of pernickety: “Placing too much emphasis on trivial or minor details; fussy”

Merriam-Webster‘s definition of persnickety: “Giving a lot of attention to details that are minor or not important”

Online Etymology Dictionary‘s explanation of both:
Pernickety: “1808 (pernicktie, in Jamieson), “precise, fastidious,” extended form of Scottish pernicky, of uncertain origin, perhaps somehow from particular.”
Persnickety: “1889, alteration of pernickety.”

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In the news … (Feb 5)

Sarah Palin gets in a ‘squirmish’ with coherence/HuffPostUK Politics

That Gerund Is Funky — Feb issue. Recently in grammar and language news: a Palin portmanteau that NPR’s Ari Shapiro can’t let go of; Oxford Dictionaries faces an accusation of sexism; a grammar quiz from The Independent; how to pronounce the name of a Dutch musician with a Swedish-sounding surname; the new legitimacy of the singular ‘they’; and the end of the road for a punctuation mark? Continue reading →

To caucus, and caucusing

The first United Farmers of Alberta legislative caucus; from Wikimedia Commons

Unless you’re an American or a New Zealander, you might wonder what on earth caucus means. BBC News recently went out onto the streets of London and the Big Apple and asked Brits what they thought caucus meant, and then New Yorkers to explain its meaning to their friends across the pond. The results, shown in the video here, were less than impressive …

Is it a plant or an animal? A poll or a vote? And even if you are American and you know what the noun means, you might find yourself wondering what “to caucus” means and whether it’s legit — since we’re hearing it a lot these days. The verb seems to be a new thing: is it actually a 21st-century phenomenon? Continue reading →