Mashed Radish

Mashed Radish

Etymology at the intersection of news, life, and everyday language.

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  • How a “bubble” becomes a “bill”

    A legislative bill ultimately comes from the Latin bulla, “bubble,” later likened to round “seals” authenticating important documents.   After drafting it in secrecy, Republican senators released their healthcare bill to repeal Obamacare on Thursday, already being criticized for its steep cuts to Medicaid—and tax cuts for the wealthy. As we debate the bill, let’s take Read more.

    John Kelly
    June 23, 2017
    Feature

  • What’s at “stake” in “attack”

    A doublet of the word attach, attack ultimately comes from a Germanic root meaning “stake.”  London has again faced another terrorist attack, this time from a Welsh man who plowed his van into a group of Muslim people near a mosque in Finsbury Park. As the word attack has become, alas, an all-too familiar one—excepting Read more.

    John Kelly
    June 20, 2017
    Feature

  • 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 Read more.

    John Kelly
    June 17, 2017
    Uncategorized

  • One “mean” etymology

    Mean originally meant “in common.” If only that actually described US healthcare.  Despite previously praising the House Republican healthcare bill as a “great plan” in a public ceremony in May, Donald Trump told senators this week that the bill was “mean, mean, mean.” Where does this common little word mean come from? Read more.

    John Kelly
    June 16, 2017
    Feature

  • The origin of “cloud” is very down to earth

    Last week, fired FBI director James Comey testified that President Trump asked him to “lift the cloud” cast by the ongoing investigation into his campaign’s ties to Russia. This cloud, though, isn’t blowing over—something also true of the surprising origin of the word cloud. Read more.

    John Kelly
    June 13, 2017
    Feature

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Mashed Radish

Mashed Radish

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