Sunday 26 February 2012

Friday 24 February 2012

Yes no interlude

Answers to so many questions elicit 'Yes, no'. When did it begin and what does it mean?

Wednesday 22 February 2012

Dribbling and passing the square ball

Dribbling and passing the square ball always strike me as strange things to do. Why don't we just wipe our chins and inflate the ball to its naturally round shape? If you're a sportsperson you'll appreciate what the language means but if not, well, you could be confused. Dribbling can mean running with the ball while bouncing or kicking it and a square ball actually means passing to someone who is is in line with you across the court or pitch.

Tuesday 21 February 2012

Expecting a delivery

You can deliver a parcel, or even a baby but can you deliver, say, promises, or education as if they come in boxes?

Monday 20 February 2012

Wanderlust

Are you wondering about the countryside? Or wandering in that interesting city? The words seem interchangeable now but can cause some confusing. Not even in context is it always absolutely clear.

Give or make

Do we give a speech or make a speech? It's all up in the air!

Sunday 19 February 2012

Bringing or buying?

Are we losing the distinction between bought and brought? It would seem so and usually the context makes it clear what is intended but does another word 'bite the dust'?

Purposefully

Purposefully Will this word shortly (or rather, at greater length)completely replace "purposely"? Is it another AmE. Import and an example of the "word inflation" that has given us "fulsome" for "full", "methodology" for "method", "transportation" for "transport" and so on?