Old-school news, just in time
by Kevin Burton I knew sports played a big role in the shaping of our common language, but I didn’t know how big. We previously brought you a list of sports idioms on Page 7, but none of the ones from Dictionary Scoop that we posted yesterday or the one below, we’re on …
Continue reading “Keeping Score With The Language Of Sports”
by Dictionary Scoop Have you ever heard someone say “I’ll have to start from scratch”? Ever wondered what “in the nick of time” means? What all these expressions have in common is that they originated in the world of sports. Want to know more? Discover all those phrases you often say but didn’t know …
Continue reading “Sporty Origins Of Some Popular Expressions”
by Dictionary Scoop The moon has been a source of inspiration for poems, stories, and songs since ancestral times, its image recurring in our language as a symbol of beauty, grandeur, and ambition. Today we explore some well-known and some more obscure idioms. 1-Once in a Blue Moon We all know that this phrase …
Continue reading “Stories Behind Sayings Involving The Moon”
by Dictionary Scoop The 60s were truly a magical time, weren’t they? If there’s one word that truly defined this decade, it would be the word “freedom”: After all, the 60s were defined by their revolutionary new takes on music, art, and society in general. In fact, this era was so groundbreaking that …
by Kevin Burton There was a brief time in my life when I got paid in pesos, as I was teaching English to Mexican nationals in a language school in Puebla, Mexico. I don’t remember all the specifics now, but for some reason I wanted change for (I think) a 1,000-peso bill. I …
Continue reading “Careful How You Navigate Foreign Exchange”
by Dictionary Scoop To say that the English language is filled to the brim with quirky and baffling idioms is no groundbreaking news. While we have previously delved into the inherent strangeness of the idioms we use every day, one of the most beautiful aspects of these phrases is how difficult they are to translate: …
Continue reading “English Idiom Equivalents In Other Languages”
by Merriam-Webster Dictionary Over the centuries, certain Latin phrases have been used widely enough in English to get included in the dictionary. This list contains some of our favorites: In Vino Veritas Definition – “there is truth in wine”: The classy thing to say when you’ve had too much to drink and have just …
by Dictionary Scoop If you’ve ever stood out in the open witnessing a double rainbow, a scary gathering storm, or stroll-stopping halo, you know how surprising nature can be. It can leave us gaping at the sights as if we were in a movie, or beholding a supernatural scene. Some of the terms …
by Kevin Burton Today we continue a sampling of words and phrases coined by William Shakespeare compiled by the Dictionary Scoop website. Five words and phrases Sunday, five more today. The first one on today’s list is a good description of me. The last one is a word I am sure you thought …
Continue reading “Friending Shakespeare And His Word Creations”
by Dictionary Scoop It’s not always possible to attribute the origin of a word to a particular person. However, it is believed that William Shakespeare contributed more than 1,700 terms and expressions to the English language, many of which we still use today. The way Shakespeare invented, reused, and modified words is a living testament …
Continue reading “The Genius Of Shakespeare Still Evident Today”
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