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The home of the “brave”
This presidential cycle, America seems more polarized than ever. But on the July Fourth holiday, we can all put aside our divisions and stand together in this home of the brave. As it turns out, the origin of the very word brave tells its own story of conflict – and in the end, perhaps a kind unity Read more.
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“Tory”: How the conquest of Ireland named the UK Conservative Party
With Michael Gove throwing in his hat and Boris Johnson throwing in his towel, the post-Brexit scramble for Tory – or Conservative – leadership was thrown into confusion this week in the UK. This chaos is fitting, if we look to history of Tory, a word embroiled in many conflicts of its own. A Tory story Read more.
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Gushing like a “geyser”: modern loan, old faithful
“An intermittent hot spring, throwing up water, etc. in a fountain-like column.” No, this isn’t a description of how a lot of Brits are feeling, still queasy from Brexit, after their team’s knockout loss to Iceland in the Euro football tournament last night. It’s the Oxford English Dictionary’s definition of the word geyser, one of the few Read more.
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“Leave”: a big, fat, sticky mess. Literally.
The result of the “Brexit” referendum is historic: Britain has voted to leave the European Union. The very word leave has made its own history, too: It originally meant “to remain.” Leave, or what “remains” Historically, we can consider leave a contronym: a word that means its opposite, like cleave, dust, and sanction. In the Read more.
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Cleveland Cavaliers: a bunch of “hacks”?
On the court, the Cleveland Cavaliers are champions, bringing the first major sports title to the Ohio city in 52 years with their 93-89 victory over the Golden State Warriors in an exciting Game 7 of the NBA finals. But in the etymology books, the Cleveland Cavaliers are, well, “hacks.” Cavalier English first borrowed cavalier Read more.
Mashed Radish 