Coral reefs may be home to a spectacular array of life, but they are also teeming with mystery and meaning. Even the word coral invites curiosity: it stems from the ancient Greek korallion, itself a borrowing from older Semitic languages. Originally, it referred not just to living organisms, but to the precious, hardened skeletons [more…]
The English language has many words for that sparkly, spirited attitude to life, which have been adopted from various languages.
Panache was originally a French term for a tuft of feathers on a helmet and now means flamboyance.
Pizzazz, meaning glamour or vitality, is of unknown origin. Some describe it as ‘an indefinable dynamic quality’.
Brio is [more…]
Have you ever wondered why some people get over an argument quickly while others remain in a bad mood for days? According to a report in the journal Biological Psychiatry, scientists at Harvard University have discovered that the qualities required to bounce back after a disagreement are controlled in the very front of the [more…]
As you sit doing your crosswords and reach for your mug, can you imagine a world without tea or coffee? There was a time when neither drink was available.
There’s a legend that coffee was first discovered around the 6th century AD in the Kaffa region of Ethiopia (Kaffa gave rise to the word caffeine [more…]
Have you ever wondered why some people get over an argument quickly while others remain in a bad mood for days? According to a report in the journal Biological Psychiatry, scientists at Harvard University have discovered that the qualities required to bounce back after a disagreement are controlled in the very front of the [more…]
On a trip a few years ago through the Scottish Highlands, I came across a little village with a sign in a shop window that said, ‘Typewriter Repair Shop’. That was a nostalgic moment, taking me back to my teens, when one of my weekend jobs was typing out documents.
Some of you of a [more…]
Have you ever wondered why some people get over an argument quickly while others remain in a bad mood for days? According to a report in the journal Biological Psychiatry, scientists at Harvard University have discovered that the qualities required to bounce back after a disagreement are controlled in the very front of the [more…]
It’s a sad truth that women inventors are less likely than men to be credited for their work. In the past they were not encouraged to apply for patents, which were often put in the names of their husbands. Despite attempts to suppress their work, today we can piece together the truth and give [more…]
One reason we have so many synonyms is a legacy of English history. Anglo-Saxon was spoken until the Normans invaded England in 1066 when they made French the language of the courts. Anglo-Saxon was spoken by the peasants and French by the aristocracy, which is why so many English words have twins. For instance, [more…]
