It struck me today what a curious phrase "the Midas' touch" is. It means a natural (or preternatural) "ability to turn any business venture one is associated with into an extremely profitable one." (dictionary.com) It is interesting that the term is invariably meant to be positive; that . . . (More)

Want to play "Chinese Whispers"? Up until today, I wasn't aware that Chinese Whispers was an alternative name for the game known as Telephone. If you haven't heard of that, Telephone is a game where people line up and transmit a message between the first and last players via a series . . . (More)

I am very tired, so very tired, with the exclusive description of girlfriends as "beautiful." This custom seems to promote the idea that the singular quality of beauty can be an appropriate summary of a woman's merit ... even though it may be little more than a lucky boon of nature. God forbid . . . (More)

It saddened me to find that in a Wiki article's history the word "juxtaposition" was once removed, because it had, apparently, confused an editor. He complained that it was "jibberish [sic]" and that he could not read the article "clearly" until he had changed it into "something . . . (More)

In the midst of tacking together an essay on Fernand Léger, I wrote in a brief comparison to the female nudes by Renoir. As I reread a few paragraphs, I saw that the phrase "Renoir's nudes" was clearly making too many appearances, and without another thought, swiftly rewrote it into the more l . . . (More)

Define: inˇsult v. inˇsultˇed, inˇsultˇing, inˇsults Derived from Old French insulter, to assault, from Latin insultare, to leap at, insult, frequentative of insilire, to leap upon. 1. To treat with gross insensitivity, insolence, or contemptuous rudeness. See Synonyms at offend. 2. To a . . . (More)

In an ideal world, words would be kept like miniature jewels in tiny boxes of sandalwood or silvered glass, and one would take them out for the happiest and most celebratory of occasions, dances and commemorations, and wear them in one's hair or tucked in a turquoise sash ...

I am mystified as to why it would be considered apt that a brand of condoms be named after a people that was hoodwinked into allowing an enormous horse into their sacred citadel (insert your favourite Catherine the Great joke here!). Perhaps it was a classics major who headed the market . . . (More)

There are reactionary feminists who insist on silly alternate spellings of "woman" because of its perceived base in "man." I give no endorsement of this view, not only because it perpetuates shoddy etymology (I lose count of the teeth I have ground into dust over this subject); not only because i . . . (More)

Him: [Lying on the floor, yells] Wesley, I can smell you from across the room. Wesley: Haha, no way! You're just boasting! Him: No, I'm not. Wait. [Looks at me] What does 'boasting' mean? Me: [Waiting for popcorn to pop] It means bragging. Wait. [I look at him] You're seventeen ye . . . (More)