Humpty Dumpty or Hobson-Jobson? Language on loan

"Caesar adsum jam forte / Brutus aderat." - Ronald Searle (Down With Skool, 1953) Languages are linked. Much like the nations and peoples who speak them, their evolutionary journeys and present states represent travels across continents, cultural exchanges, even barters and squabbles for dominance. Common etymologies and shared linguistic ancestors immediately spring to mind (e.g. the … Continue reading Humpty Dumpty or Hobson-Jobson? Language on loan

All together now: A love-letter to zeugma

"A lamp flickered on. It was Hermione Granger, wearing a pink dressing-gown and a frown." - JK Rowling (Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, 1997) Zeugma is one of my favourite figures of speech. What I like most is its accessibility and its ubiquity: much like that Zara dress, you see it once and then … Continue reading All together now: A love-letter to zeugma

Janus words: Words which are their own opposites

"That two-faced son of a jackal!" - Aladdin (Aladdin, 1992) What a tricksy little beastie the English language can be. Not satisfied by countless rules with just as many exceptions and a half-arsed commitment to cases and words which sound the same but really look like they shouldn't, we also do a cracking line in … Continue reading Janus words: Words which are their own opposites