Are these your monkeys?
Not my circus, not my monkeys. Idiom usage
Not my circus. Not my monkeys. I did a double take. I was having coffee with my Irish friend Paul and he was throwing this phrase around throughout our conversation.…
Black swan as a metaphor for unprecedented events
Black swan, a label for COVID-19
In much of my research for clients in the past couple of months I have often seen the term black swan. As I know swans to be white in most…
On the shoulders of giants: idiom usage
Although English is widely spoken, it’s seldom spoken well. And nowhere is this more true than in the use of idioms. People who speak English as a first language are…
Kicking the can down the road: idiom usage and origin
When I take my evening walk after about six blocks I reach the park and I walk around it. I can’t help noticing that the streets are strewn with litter.…
Cat got your tongue?
Cat got your tongue? Origin of idioms
Sometimes when I wake up in the middle of the night, my mouth feels like a snake has slept in it and left its blanket behind. My mouth gets that…
Sub-editor multi-tasking
Say it simply with said. Correct attribution in writing
In my work as a sub-editor, the only word allowed for an attribution is 'said'. No, 'revealed', no 'pointed out', no 'suggested', no 'argued' - just plain 'said'. As I…
Pic by Aakash Sethi
Tintinnabulation: Words – old and new
Finally, I’ve found a word to rhyme with it . Constipation. Not just the physical kind. The emotional, psychological and social constipation that lockdown has forced upon us. But back…
Pivot on your toes
Pic by David Hoffman -unsplash
How sticking to your knitting will get you stuck: idiom usage
There was not enough wool to buy for all the crochet hours I would need to fill during the slumpy ‘non-work’ hours of lockdown. For one thing, I only bought…
pic by Thomas Morse
How years and ears distort the English language: origin of idioms
Shakespeare was the theme of our Toastmasters meeting last week. We learnt about how much The Bard contributed to the English language – from general words and phrases to idiomatic…
From six yards to nine: how idioms originate
In mid-January I asked my bookkeeper for an updated statement of my account. I wanted to look at my Dec/Jan financial affairs to prepare myself for 2020. What he sent…