Category: Uncategorized

• Review: Words at the Threshold by Lisa Smartt

  When her father was dying, Lisa Smartt noticed he was using poetic and at times nonsensical language, speaking of green dimensions, an upcoming art show, and angels who told him he only had three days left. Stirred by his speech and drawing on her linguistics background, Smartt dedicated four years to analyzing over 1,500 utterances…

  John Kelly

  June 17, 2017

  Uncategorized

• Where do the male (♂) and female (♀) symbols come from?

  With roots in ancient astrology and alchemy, the male (♂) and female (♀) symbols may ultimately derive from ancient Greek abbreviations for the names of gods.

  John Kelly

  February 24, 2017

  Uncategorized

• How the word, and title, “president” took its seat

  In Latin, president literally means “the one who sits before.” Presidents’ Day, officially called Washington’s Birthday, has been a US federal holiday since 1879, honoring the country’s first president – and subsequent ones – around his date of birth, February 22. But where does the word president come from, and why, exactly, did the US…

  John Kelly

  February 20, 2017

  Uncategorized

• Book review: What the Dickens?! by Bryan Kozlowksi

  Last year, as you may recall, I read the complete works of William Shakespeare. It was an immensely rewarding project, to be sure, but I can’t lie: When I finished, I was really excited to read something else for a change. I immediately jumped for Bryan Kozlowksi’s What the Dickens?!: Distinctly Dickensian Words and How…

  John Kelly

  February 19, 2017

  Uncategorized

• From dinner to disarray: the origin of “mess”

  Originally, we didn’t make messes. We ate them.  In his presser yesterday, Trump claimed: “To be honest, I inherited a mess. It’s a mess. At home, and abroad — a mess.” Clearly, he was describing his own news conference, which was a hot one, because the facts just don’t back him up. But Trump does…

  John Kelly

  February 17, 2017

  Uncategorized