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Buffalo Bill

Legendary western character, William Frederick Cody is better remembered as Buffalo Bill, but why?

This nickname was given to Bill by his friend Ned Buntline, who made Cody the hero of a series of cheap western novels. The name alludes to William Cody’s early days as a buffalo hunter. He reportedly killed 4,280 buffalo [more…]

Hello – January 2009

The January issue of Lovatts BIG Crossword is supporting the RSPCA, Australia’s best known and most trusted animal welfare organisation and the SPCA in New Zealand. Together each year, they accept hundreds of thousands of animals from the public and investigate thousands of complaints of animal cruelty and neglect.

Both organisations actively work to promote cage-free [more…]

Edgar Allan Poe

Edgar Allan Poe is best known for his tales of the macabre and mysterious. He is said to have invented the detective fiction genre.

Edgar Poe was born in Boston and within two years of his birth, his parents – both actors – had died. He was taken in by John Allan, who never legally [more…]

Give Us A Clue – 191

Extract from BIG Crossword Magazine No.191

Thanks for all your clues for bedrock and motive. More than one of you clued bedrock as home of the Flintstones, fundamentals, basics, hard mattress and solid foundation.

For motive, many of you offered reason,  cause, incitement and  purpose. I liked Psychology which arouses an organism to action toward a [more…]

Christmas Traditions – 190

Extract from Crossed Wires BIG 190

Here are some interesting facts about the traditions of Christmas:

The Christmas cracker is 161 years old this year. It was invented by English baker Tom Smith, who first sold wrapped sweets and added mottoes into the wrappers. When he heard the crackle of a log in the fire, he [more…]

Hello – December 2008

I often write about interesting new words coming into our language, but they come at a cost. They’re now jostling with our older words for space in our dictionaries, the oldies being threatened with eviction.

In September 2008, the lexicographers at Collins dictionary started preparing for their forthcoming new edition and found that over 2,000 [more…]

Saint Andrew – 189

Extract from Crossed Wires BIG 189

The last day of November is the feast day of St Andrew, a Jewish fisherman from Bethsaida and younger brother of St Peter. Obviously popular internationally, he’s the patron saint of Scotland, Russia, Romania, Greece, Amalfi, and Luqa in Malta. The Scottish flag features St Andrew’s X-shaped cross.
The name [more…]

Hello – November 2008

I’ve often said that the new words created in any era give us a snapshot of that time. Our present preoccupation with green issues is perfectly reflected in the latest additions to most dictionaries.

Collins Dictionary is obviously environmentally aware, with new phrases such as carbon footprint: a measure of the amount of carbon dioxide [more…]

Hiss And Pant?

Extract from Crossed Wires BIG 188

With all the coughing and sneezing going on in the office, I looked into the origins of these words, and found that cough comes from German keuchen ‘to pant’ and wheeze from Old Norse hvaesa ‘to hiss’.

Hiccup, once called hicket or hyckock, is named after the sound of the [more…]