Hell-bent for leather?
Have you ever heard someone say that they are hell-bent on doing something? Did you understand they meant they were very determined, but didn’t really know what the phrase literally means?
This saying has been has been popular since the early 19th century and describes someone who is prepared to go “to the gates of hell” [more…]
A kangaroo court is not a legal proceeding in the Australian outback, nor does it involve hopping marsupials.
It refers to a criminal proceeding that is conducted for show, where the defendant is undoubtedly going to be found guilty.
The earliest use of the term was recorded not in Australia as you might expect, but [more…]
DERE DAGO
FORTE LORES
INA RO
DEMARNT LORES
DEMAR TRUX
FULA ENSAN
COUSAN DUX
Translation: There they go, forty lorries in a row. Them aren’t lorries, them are trucks, full of hens and cows and ducks.
Wynne Harwood
Blenheim, NZ
Sincere thanks for the $50 cheque received for my Big Cash entry. What self-funded retiree wouldnt be pleased to receive such a nice surprise in the mail during difficult financial times? This is my first win although I photocopy my entries each month and check the answers when published.
I have been puzzling for several [more…]
Trish Parnell
Thinks shes swell
Shes a thinker
But cant do Stinker
Trish Parnell
Whakatane, NZ
Christines crosswords bring joy to me
I pounce upon them with cries of glee.
But Lovatts Logic do I care
Who gets what, or when or where?
Meg Dillon
Margate, Qld
Oh Ali you are a funny un,
With your cross-words as youre doing um
Cant find the word, so expletives [more…]
Danish architect, Joern Utzon, probably one of the most accomplished architects in the world, never saw his finest achievement – the magnificent Sydney Opera House.
Utzon’s submission was selected from amongst 230 others competing in a worldwide competition run by the NSW State Government to design an opera house.
Construction began in 1959 but it soon became [more…]
Although it is hard to believe now, at one time, medieval physicians believed that the secretions of a frog could cure a cough if they were coated on the throat of the patient.
That in itself sounds repulsive, but what makes the idea even worse is the application of the secretions.
Instead of painting the treatment [more…]
You’ve said it yourself – someone sneezes and you say, “God Bless You”, but do you know why?
There are several explanations for this saying which has become second-nature to so many.
Some say that during the sixth century it was a congratulatory statement as a sneeze was thought to expel evil spirits.
Some cultures believed that [more…]
Big is one of the mystery words of English etymology, extremely common but of highly dubious origin.
In its earliest use in English it meant ‘powerful’ or ‘strong’ and it was not until the 16th century that it took on the meaning of ‘large’.
It occurred originally in northern English texts, only slowly spreading south, [more…]
