Christine Lovatt’s Hello Column
Christine’s Hello column appears monthly in Lovatts BIG Crossword magazine
Selling Sea Shells by the Seashore
Hello!
Tongue twisters have been around for years, challenging us to contort our lips and tongues by trying to pronounce the almost impossible.
To make a good tongue twister, you must string together words that are similar but not quite the same, and then make sure they make sense. Such as Sharing crazy crossword clues should [more…]
The most complex machine on earth
Hello!
The expression ‘plastic brain’ doesn’t mean your brain is made of a cheap, disposable material. Plasticity means the quality of being easily moulded, and scientists have discovered that the human brain has this capacity, to change continuously. It can modify its connections and rewire itself, at any age, for better or worse.
Scientists agree [more…]
Lovatts go pink for Breast Cancer Awareness
Hello!
Unfortunately, 1 in 8 women will develop breast cancer in their lifetime, and it is one of the most commonly diagnosed cancers in Australia. The good news is that research and early detection have been demonstrated to increase the chances of a more positive outcome.
To show our support during Breast Cancer Awareness month, Lovatts [more…]
GalleryIndigenous languages’ contribution to English
Cooee!
2019 is the International Year of Indigenous Languages and a good time to look at the contribution made to our vocabulary by the Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander languages of Australia. There are all the words you might expect, such as budgerigar, koala, billabong, corroboree, bombora, woomera, yabby, boomerang, kookaburra, dingo and currawong. However, [more…]
GalleryWords for Family Members
Have you noticed that we have the word orphan for a child whose parents have died, and widow or widower for a person whose spouse has died, but no word for a parent whose child has died? Author Jen Hutchison would like the word motherling to be used for a mother who has lost [more…]
GalleryTraitors, treachery and treason
Traitors sometimes pop up in our crossword clues, highlighting the fact that history is full of tales of treason. In some cases, the names of traitors have become words to describe a person who acts treacherously.
The most famous traitor is probably the biblical disciple Judas Iscariot, who indicated Jesus’ identity to the Temple guards [more…]
GalleryWords about Sleep
Puzzler Cathy Parker asks why we say we ‘fall’ asleep. One theory is that when you nod off in a chair, your head falls forward. If you’re lying down, it feels like falling, as you sink into the bed and go to sleep.
Another theory is that to fall asleep, like falling ill or falling [more…]
GalleryThe origins of beer ?
Beer is one of the world’s oldest prepared drinks and the third most popular drink in the world, after water and tea – certainly the most consumed alcoholic drink.
Beer dates back to at least 5th millennium BC, in Iran. Cereal was first farmed around 10,000 BC, so it’s possible beer was brewed then, as [more…]
GalleryHow new words enter our language
Our English language has a huge vocabulary – possibly larger than any other language.
This is because we have had so many varied sources. The Anglo-Saxons brought their West Germanic languages with them. After the Norman invasion of 1066, French became the language of the courts. The church, universities and legal world used Latin, so [more…]