Akimbo is a stance with hands on hips and elbows turned out, usually showing impatience or defiance.
Akimbo is an old word that is only heard in this phrase, or very occasionally and more recently, as ‘legs akimbo’. Another such example is ‘aback’, which only occurs in ‘taken aback’.
In Middle English akimbo appeared as kenebowe [more…]
Argy-bargy is British slang with the meaning ‘noisy quarrelling’.
The word appears to come from an earlier form, ‘argle-bargle’, which originated in Scotland. The first part of the doublet is a modification of the word ‘argue’ and the second part is nonsense rhyming. Oxford lists the plural as argy-bargies.
This type of playful language is known [more…]
Fishing is one of the oldest occupations in the world, dating back at least as far as the Paleolithic era when catching fish was necessary for survival. Today, people fish for many reasons such as relaxation, the sport of it, or simply for the fish story – that colourful boastful tale about the size [more…]
As we start counting down the days to Christmas, here at home, it’s a good time to look at what the rest of the world does at this time.
Nearly all countries that celebrate Christmas have Christmas trees, although not necessarily fir trees. Sometimes fig trees or palm trees are decorated and lit. Most countries [more…]
The early 20th century was a time of huge changes in the global marketplace. Before this time most of what manufacturers made could be sold easily. For example, soap was once made a batch at a time in kettles and sold in chunks from door to door. There was no variety in colour, fragrance, [more…]
When making a crossword, one of the useful words is the Spanish cry “ole!” There’s a theory that it is derived from the Muslim cry “Allah!” from the days when the Moors invaded Spain, with the pronunciation changing over the years, so that instead of meaning God it has become a shout of triumph [more…]
It’s easy to lose track of time when you’re absorbed in solving our crosswords, but most of you tell me it is time well spent!
The means of keeping time began with the observation of day following night. As early as 3500 B.C.the Babylonians started using a sundial, an instrument that estimates the time of [more…]
Thank you very much for my third win on the “Large Print Crosswords” competition! What’s even luckier is that I have received a different prize every time – first was the Collins Large Print Dictionary, second was the Collins Large Print Dictionary & Thesaurus (‘cos you’d run out of the dictionaries, lucky me!) and [more…]
I have always loved poetry and over the years have collected poems of all sorts. The other day, I decided to have a good clean out and came across this poem. I thought you might get a laugh at ‘my version’ on the bottom!! Hope you enjoy it.
Lesly Adams
Avonsleigh, Vic
P.S. I don’t think I [more…]
