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A quiver full of arrows
Thanks to prolific author Jeffrey Archer the idiom ‘a quiver full of arrows’ penetrated our language to a great extent after 1980 when he published a book with this title. A quiver full of arrows means to have more than one option available to utilise. In Archer’s Quiver Full of Arrows he gives his fans…
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5 Reasons to write under a pseudonym
Writing under a pseudonym (pen name) or a nom de plume as the French like to call it, is as old as time itself. Disguising your true self may come with some good reasons. You may choose to write under a pseudonym simply to change things up or to give yourself a fresh view of…
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What’s wrong with you, man?
Recently I was asked to chair a weekly meeting. There was some sensitivity around the term ‘chairman’ and points made that due to a gender sensitive environment, the group would prefer to call me chairperson. At the time, I agreed, to appease any potential offence. Then I thought about it. Although I am female…
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Can you count to 10? – idiom
Can you count to 10? Good then you can help with the untelling of the decuplets saga. In the Financial Mail today, a staff writer says Iqual Survé, the owner of the newspaper, that shared the story, would reveal all.
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My take on ‘Moving Cheese’
Having read Spencer Johnson’s Who Moved My Cheese for the fourth time, I decided to put together my own take on things. In 2021, I can’t help seeing the parallels between the global wisdom: ‘businesses have to pivot’. Here goes…. There lived in a land faraway Scurry and Sniff and Hem and Haw. Like many…
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Relative and relevant: word usage
Relevant, according to the Oxford English Dictionary means “closely connected to or appropriate to the current matter”. Relational; compare Relative, in the same source is explained as “considered in relation or in proportion to something else; existing only in comparison to something else: months of relative calm ended in April.
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Five of the most common mistakes in the English language
Five of the most common language mistakes get a simple explanation. Each sentence explains the difference to better illustrate the usage.
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Verity Price brings home authenticity
Idioms add colourful expressions to the language. This post looks at the origin and usage to better understand English and use phrases correctly. This one is about ‘dog and pony show’
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Don’t let Covid kill! (your sense of humour)
With Covid infection numbers showing no signs of decline and the heartfelt losses that many of us have suffered, you may find that your mental agility is severely challenged. This may look like: Apathy Low level depression Inertia Distractibility (my personal favourite) Hours of Netflix replace hours of productivity A general sense of lethargy With…
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Let them eat cake: How idioms originate
With Women’s Month well under way, gender equality is still a hot topic. At a gender equality webinar last week, one of the speakers who was trying to break through the gender disparity in our society, used the phrase “bread and circuses” quite a lot. I’m not sure if her usage was correct, but there…
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