Christine Lovatt’s Hello Column

Christine’s Hello column appears monthly in Lovatts BIG Crossword magazine

Eggcorns

To suppress something in the early stages is to nip it in the bud (of horticultural origins), but it is quite commonly thought to be ‘nip it in the butt’ – biting someone in the posterior would possibly stop them too but you might get a slap for your efforts.

To make a moot point [more…]

Tools

The deal was hammered out over several days…”. Hammer is a very old word, coming from the Old English hamor and originally meant a stone tool. To hammer out a deal is to work on it laboriously. To hammer away at something is to work hard and persistently. King Edward I of England was [more…]

Horse terms

The iron horse once referred to railway engines, and originally, the output of such engines was measured in horsepower as a way of comparing the efficiency of this iron horse against its flesh-and-blood namesake. Unsurprisingly, the steel beast came out on top, further affirming that a motorised community was a more efficient community.

To keep [more…]

The moon

It was believed in Antiquity that the heavens above, including the moon, were perfect, and made of an unearthly material, so the ancient Greeks tried to make sense of the vague markings visible on the surface of the moon. Some suggested that the moon might be a perfect mirror and that its features were [more…]

The meaning of mother

In the dictionary, mother has several definitions.  Apart from being the woman who gives birth to a child, mother is an institution from which others of the same type derive – such as the mother company. It is also an extreme example or very large specimen of something, such as the mother of all [more…]

Easter

While Easter has become synonymous with chocolate eggs and a long weekend, traditionally it was considered by many Christian denominations as an event bigger than Christmas. Families gathered on Easter Sunday with various customs and rites, some of which survive today.

Many establishments are closed on Good Friday as a mark of respect for the [more…]

Demonyms

There are many other variations. In Ireland, Cork residents are Corkonians and Galway folk are Galwegians.

In Scotland, there are Glaswegians from Glasgow, Dundonians from Dundee and Aberdonians from Aberdeen. Islanders from Orkney are Orcadians. In Wales there are Cardiffians from Cardiff and over the border in England there are Mancunians from Manchester, Liverpudlians (or [more…]

New words

Novice comes from the Latin novus meaning ‘new’. Today it is regularly used in a secular context, but it originally referred to the necessity of the novice undertaking a novitiate – a period of intense spiritual introspection and scriptural study prior to taking monastic vows.

Apprentice comes from the Latin apprehendere ‘to take hold of, to grasp’, [more…]

Synonyms

According to the Oxford Dictionary, a clue is ‘a piece of evidence or information used in the detection of a crime; a fact or idea that serves to reveal something or solve a problem; a word or words giving an indication as to what is to be inserted in a particular space in a [more…]