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…
How thinking ‘outside of the bottle’ can save us from coronavirus
The world has gone mad with the outbreak of Coronavirus. And we have had some interesting reactions. One of the church ministers said in response to gatherings of no more…
You’re never too young to write a book
There’s a book in everyone, so the saying goes. And in some there are more than one – think of all the Jodi Picoult and Nora Roberts, John Grisham and…
Take the log out of your eye and other idioms
Last night while watching Come Dine With Me, I latched on to satirist David Lamb’s shortening of an idiom. He simply used the two words of comparison and said, pot/…
Picture by Eric Tompkins - Unsplash
Let them eat cake: How idioms originate
At a United Nations gender equality conference last week, one of the speakers who was trying to break through the gender disparity in our society used the phrase “bread and…
Picture by David Hellman - Unsplash
How to tackle intelligence: word meanings
At university our syndicate was referred to as 'The Brains Trust' and in other groups I was touted as 'Brainiac'. Thus, I thought I had intelligence – quite a bit of…
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…
Photo by Laila Klinsmann on Pexels.com
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…
Breakthrough to excellence in June
A wise friend once told me after a long struggle with an MBA assignment – ‘Perfection is the enemy of the good’. This small gem of wisdom has stuck with…
