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Making mountains out of molehills: idioms
If you’re from a family who tends to exaggerate, you will be familiar with the term making a mountain out of a molehill. This may come about in a number of ways. If you forget to bring a cake to a tea party, your host might show a great deal of distress over your forgetfulness.…
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Chinese Wall is moral dilemma: How idioms originate
As I contemplate my next travel destination, my enthusiasm starts with a trip to Russia, then Egypt and Morocco and finally India, again. Then it occurs to me, having just finished reading Mao’s Last Dancer by Li Cunxin, why not China? (Li’s tale is an inspiring insight into the Chinese work ethic and determination to…
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Dual opinions come to blows: how words are misused
Working as a writer and copy editor, I have noticed how the brain tricks you, or me. If the word sounds right in the mind it’s easy for it to be mistaken as the right word. For example, earlier this week, in the final proofread of my book review I wrote about a ‘smaller waste’…
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Of Sackcloth and Ashes: How idioms originate
This week I discovered a ‘delightful’ idiom in the novel Sophie’s Bakery for the Broken Hearted by New York Times Best Selling Author, Lolly Winston – sackcloth and ashes. I’ve read too far ahead to give you the context, but I made a mental note to make it the subject of my blog. All the…
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A pig in a poke
Should you be interested in investments to the point that you start reading books about them, don’t be surprised to find the term ‘a pig in a poke’. When you see this idiom, you could think that the author is referring to something that occurred that was not quite to his liking or something that…
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Know your whopping from your whooping: word usage
In my days as a sub-editor, on seeing the word ‘whopping’ I would strike it out immediately. This was for two reasons: it was usually placed before an amount; adjectives at the best of times, in press writing are not required, particularly when the noun is a tell-all. For example, $500 billion, does not need…
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No such thing as a free webinar
Last night I tuned into a webinar and it might just be my last. I have done many, maintaining my naivety and unfailing hope to find the magic, the million, the answer to life’s deepest questions, and the fastest way to make a fortune, always ending with the same promise. You can. Just part with your…
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Seasonal snag for armpit advertising
I was intrigued and a little disgusted to read that Japan is using women’s armpits as an advertising medium. In disbelief, I asked Google and got more than 8 million responses confirming this phenomenon. A cosmetics company has elected to place advertising in the armpits of commuters. This must mean that in Japan space is…
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Know how to use rain, rein and reign
It’s spring in South Africa and in the season’s first flush, we had a smattering of rain. That’s the stuff of celebration. What’s not to celebrate is the state of our country’s newspapers. But in the last half hour I was reminded that South Africa is not the only country suffering from a sub-standard education,…
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Nothing new about disruption innovation
Last night, I attended a local investment ‘Shark Tank’ event where keen start-up entrepreneurs pitched their ideas to a panel of judges. There was no holding back among the business enthusiasts and the group witnessed a range of ideas from township food carts to smart-phone-assisted diagnostic tools, online car shopping, to programmes for temporary gym…
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