Back in the 4th century, Christmas began as a religious celebration to commemorate the birth of Jesus. Nowadays we expect Christmas Day to come without any fuss, and everybody aims to have a joyful but fairly normal day. If you have ever suffered from the stress of buying gifts, writing cards, Christmas cooking, or [more…]
Keep your nose to the grindstone and your shoulder to the wheel. Both these expressions, meaning to work hard, come from the flour-milling trade, an activity we’re no longer as familiar with.
In the past however, the miller was the third most important person in the village, after the lord of the manor and the [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…]
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L Millar, Bairnsdale VIC.
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C Fraser, Charlestown NSW; K Harter, Glenfield NSW; L Lindley, Clarendon NSW; W Prior, Rotorua NZ.
As regular readers would know, I usually start my columns with ‘Hello!’, which is a much newer word than you might think.
It first came into use because of the telephone. The first telephone call was made in 1876 by Alexander Graham Bell, who wanted to use the word ‘ahoy’ as the telephone greeting. ‘Ahoy’ [more…]
Considered to be the greatest writer of the English language and the most well-known dramatist in the world, William Shakespeare was born over 450 years ago, and lived to the age of 52. Celebrations are planned around the world to remember the great man known as the Bard.
He must be the most quoted writer [more…]
I’ve often said that one of the best parts of my job is reading your letters and you tell me how much you enjoy reading other puzzlers’ letters. Your feedback (both positive and negative) helps me to maintain and improve the quality of our puzzle magazines.
But on a personal level and just as importantly, [more…]
The most famous fathers throughout history were not always fathers in the literal sense. Biologist Gregor Mendel may have had no heirs, but he is often regarded as the father of genetics. Similarly, the first president of the United States, George Washington, rose to prominence as the father of his country despite having no [more…]
One of the clues you might find in our crossword puzzles is ‘Aimlessly (5-5)’ – answer WILLY-NILLY. It comes from will I, nill I – ‘I am willing, I am unwilling’. It is an example of a rhyming jingle.
Rhyming jingles are fun to use, even though they have the rather serious name of reduplicatives. [more…]
