Old-school news, just in time
by Kevin Burton Our rule about Christmas music is none before Dec. 1. For Christmas decorations, anything goes as long as it’s after Thanksgiving. We should perhaps clean up that Christmas rulebook inconsistency. Also, most years we buy a new Christmas ornament for the tree. We have enough ornaments for at least …
Continue reading “That Christmas Creep Will Get You Every Time”
by Kevin Burton When there is a Dave Barry book on your front porch, you’re having a good day. Every writerly thing in me, now wants to write, “nothing else matters.” But we both know that isn’t entirely true. Nothing else? Tell you what though Sugarbear, nothing else matters for the next …
by Kevin Burton Like most people, my wife Jeannette took driver’s education in high school. But it’s the driving advice of her father that never leaves her mind. He counselled her never to let the gas tank go below half filled. So when she says we need gas, I know we’re not in …
Continue reading “No Problem Youngstown, We Have Enough Gas”
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 Kevin Burton I invite you to step today, if you dare, into Kev’s Kitchen. Just yesterday on Page 7 we looked at some jargon used by professional chefs and servers as they communicate in their busy restaurants. At our house we don’t use too many of their terms. We do say “behind” …
Continue reading “Nuclear Food, Goop Avoidance, Super Salads”
by Dictionary Scoop In different parts of the world, people often express the same ideas in very similar ways, while using different languages. Join us to discover the foreign counterparts of these 10 everyday American idioms. 1-Beggars can’t be choosers When you’re faced with a situation where you have to take what is …
Continue reading “Ten American Idioms Used Around The World”
by Dictionary Scoop Have you listened to teenagers talk lately? Their vocabulary is full of words we don’t quite understand. But come on, we did it too: every decade has had its own set of slang words and expressions. Today, we look back at ten slang words and expressions that have defined each decade from …
Continue reading “American Slang Phrases Through The Decades”
by Kevin Burton All love to Kevin Rowland and to Dexy’s Midnight Runners, makers of Come On Eileen. All love to Eileen, all love to Johnnie Ray, all love to bib overalls. But I may just have a new all-time favorite song. It’s called Fantasy Football Anthem, and it’s by Holderness Family …
Continue reading ““Fantasy Football Anthem” Tells The Truth”
by Dictionary Scoop While many things bring Americans closer to the UK, some aspects of our language set us apart. English is spoken by more than 1.4 billion people worldwide; with so many people using this language, it is understandable that some differences have developed. Today we walk through 10 drastic vocabulary differences between American …
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