Heterographic Homophones
different - writing - same - sounds “I’m in a good mood today,’ he said. “This morning on the second tea I got a whole in won!”...
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peterluykx
- Oct 14, 2019
- 2 min
Down with nicknames!
Examples of how to eliminate nicknames and restore words to their proper form: Just don’t call me by my nicholas-name; I hate it! From...
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peterluykx
- Jul 10, 2019
- 6 min
More Words With Unexpected Origins
Many modern words have had their original meanings and forms modified or even lost over the centuries. Here are eleven additions to my...
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peterluykx
- Mar 24, 2019
- 4 min
Words with Unexpected Origins
Some English words have fairly obvious origins, such as the word SYMPATHY, which comes from the Greek σύν (sym-), “with” + πάθος...
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peterluykx
- Oct 5, 2018
- 2 min
Greek Non-Plurals
A number of words ending in -os have been borrowed directly from the Greek and incorporated unchanged into the English language, although...
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peterluykx
- Aug 29, 2018
- 5 min
Insects on the Tongue
ant, bee, beetle, bug, butterfly, cocoon, flea, fly, gnat, louse, moth, nit Not counting bacteria, insects make up at least half of the...
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peterluykx
- Aug 18, 2018
- 3 min
Automobile names
The names of makes of automobiles often come from the family names of company founders, manufacturers, automotive designers, or other...
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peterluykx
- Feb 20, 2018
- 1 min
The alphabetical aardvark
Argh! says the aardvark, as he dribbles accidentally some reddish ackee juice offhandedly and aggravatingly onto his vest while relaxing...
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peterluykx
- May 23, 2017
- 1 min
Body Parts
Among the first things an infant learns are the names of parts of the body: head, face, hand, foot, mouth, eye, and so on. When human...
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peterluykx
- Sep 26, 2016
- 1 min
The forgotten parthenogenotes
To the tune of “When Johnny comes marching home again,” the counting nursery-rhyme song starts out . . . The animals went in two by two...
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peterluykx
- Feb 11, 2016
- 2 min
Cardinal
When a thing is named, its name seems to capture something of its inner nature. The name – cardinal – of the bird now singing its...
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peterluykx
- Jan 14, 2016
- 1 min
Birthday present
“What do you want for your birthday?” she asked. He said, “Nothing.” “I don’t know of any stores where they carry nothing.” “Try amazon,”...
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peterluykx
- Dec 14, 2015
- 2 min
Quarry and Quarry
Sometimes two words have different origins and different meanings but end up being spelled the same way . . . as if they had wandered...
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peterluykx
- Oct 9, 2015
- 2 min
Positive forms of negative words
We should resurrect the positive forms of some words that are usually used only in their negative forms. The sentences below are...
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peterluykx
- Aug 8, 2015
- 2 min
Bird words seven
There are many expressions with direct references to birds: jaywalking, mudlarking, crow’s nest, pigeon-toed, pigeon-holed, stool pigeon,...
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peterluykx
- Aug 8, 2015
- 1 min
alphabetical-order words
Some English words have three adjacent letters in the same order as they occur in the alphabet; e.g., a word containing a-b-c in that...
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