Old-school news, just in time
by Dictionary Scoop Speaking the same language doesn’t always guarantee effective communication. For example, the elderly and the young share a language but not a code. In the case of our fellow English speakers across the Atlantic, some words and phrases are quite specific to their culture. Here are ten British expressions and their origins: 1-Bagsy …
Continue reading “What’s For Dinner Fido? Ten British Phrases”
by Kevin Burton Got these facts from my friend Tracy, labelled as “32 things to make you stop thinking of politics.” Well I wasn’t thinking of politics, but I am happy to muse on these (snide comments from me in parenthesis): 1. A rat can last longer without water than a camel. (And …
Continue reading “Why That Ferret Is Dying For A Little Action”
by Dictionary Scoop Whenever we think about vocabulary related to the animal kingdom, our mind usually goes to long, Latin scientific terms that seem extremely daunting to anyone not well-versed in biology. However, we sometimes fail to see how much our animal friends have also influenced the everyday words we regular joes use. We have …
by Kevin Burton My dream vacation is to accompany my bride on a long, interrupted train ride along the Mississippi River. The plan is to ride the City of New Orleans train on Amtrak – the one that Arlo Guthrie sang about – from Chicago to Memphis, get off and explore that town …
Continue reading “All Aboard For Interesting Facts About Trains”
by Kevin Burton Imagine if you will, a Richard Pryor bit from the 70s, that could have been, to introduce the concept of the contranym, a word with two opposite meanings. These lines are from the family puppy, whose usual panting, tail-wagging enthusiasm for a car ride (oh boy!) has gone tragically wrong: …
by Dictionary Scoop They say truth is stranger than fiction, and some of these historical events are living proof. Brace yourself for a rollercoaster ride through history, where the strange and unexpected take center stage in the theater of reality. 1 The Great Emu War Wars are typically waged between nations, but in 1932, …
by Kevin Burton Researchers found that cats can recognize their owners’ voices. Duh! Why would you need a team of researchers to figure that out? Call me when researchers have figured out how to get the cats to listen and obey. That will be news I can use. “While dogs are …
by Kevin Burton My late great cat Mex had a verb coined in her honor. She used to head butt people, as opposed to the usual cat way of rubbing against people with the side of the head or body. To headbutt became “To Mex.” Usage: “Stop Mexing me!” It’s a …
by Kevin Burton Those of us with limited vision don’t have to have limited lives. Often we do, for reasons to numerous to tackle today. Today, stories of two blind students. The first has reached an important milestone to reach her educational goal. The second wants to fill her life with sights and …
Continue reading “The Hopes And Dreams Of Two Blind Students”
by Kevin Burton Sometimes the people news is too depressing to deal with. Sometimes as a remedy, I turn to the world of my cats. You will notice that people tend to creep into the cat news. This may be unfortunate but may be inevitable. So here on Page 7, all the …
Continue reading “Quibbles And Bits Feline Edition: Bilingual Cat”
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