In a recent blog post about the Evolving English exhibition, I mentioned Polari. Polari (or alternatively palari, parlare, parlary) was a secret language or gay slang, popular with the British gay community from about 1900 until the 1970s, and made famous by the 1960s radio show Round the Horne with Kenneth Williams. But what are its origins? Well, Polari is a complex...
We moved offices at over Christmas. And in the studio we've got a nice big white wall we've yet to fill. Until last night that was. I came into work this morning and Phil had created Super Mario out of a pack of Post-It notes. Brilliant! ...
If you’re in the area of Londinium between now and April 3rd, get yourself down to the British Library for their Evolving English: One Language, Many Voices exhibition. The exhibition explores the beginnings of Anglo Saxon right through to current rap music and shows how English has evolved over the last 1500 years from its small island origins to become one...
So I went to a local high school this morning to see the teenager I'm mentoring when I spied this notice on the library wall....
Of all the presents I got for Christmas, one of my faves was a book called How to Sound Clever: Master the 600 English words you pretend to understand when you don’t by Hubert van deb Bergh and it's a dazzling collection of sumptuous words such as denouement, anthropomorphise and obfuscate. I recently chatted to a chap at a mulled wine...
There are some words which get even the most competent writers in a twist. I always struggle to spell the town Grimsby (luckily it’s not a word I have to type often). And I have to really think about the homonyms bear and bare. Is it ‘bare that in mind’ or ‘bear that in mind’? So this post is for me...
Where do you go when you want answers? The newspapers? The Encyclopaedia Britannica? Your mum? Nah. Our first port of call is the Internet. In fact, my little nephew could say “Google it” before he could say “Dog”. Ask Jeeves has compiled a list of the top ten questions asked by Brits in 2010. Do we want to know the meaning of...
Historically, these great British Isles, where I live, have a habit of being invaded. (Although, thankfully, not for some time.) The upside to this, of course, along with nice straight roads built by the Romans, is that the English language is a rich and colourful blend of Latin words, Anglo Saxon words and French words. But that’s not all. The Brits, of...
So you’re having a house built. It’s a superb design. A grand design in fact. And yes. It is the same house from yesterday. But this time the walls have gone up, the windows have gone in and the roof has gone on. And it’s looking mighty fine. But wait. What’s this? There’s no foundation? No problem, you say. We’ll put...
So you’re having a house built. It’s a superb design. A grand design in fact. The builders are dedicated and conscientious and they’re on site on time every day. The materials are superb, the craftsmanship is second-to-none and the whole build is going well. There are some great features including a spa bath, massive walk-in wardrobes, and a huge kitchen that’s...
