Old-school news, just in time
by Dictionary Scoop We all have nursery rhymes etched in our memory, verses that take us straight back to our childhood. But behind some of those catchy, cheerful tunes lie surprisingly dark and mysterious origins rooted in real-life history. Join us to discover the hidden stories behind the most popular nursery rhymes. 1-The …
Continue reading “Some Nursery Rhymes Not Exactly Kid Stuff”
by Kevin Burton On a tip from a new friend, I knocked on the door of Interlingua language school one day, and asked the good people there to employ me. Shockingly, they took me up on it. This was in the Reagan 80s. I was in somebody else’s country, Mexico, and somebody …
Continue reading “In Praise Of Mexico, Lettuce And Billy Joel”
by Kevin Burton The shirt I had just bought said “Sweet Home Kansas’ or “Down Home in Kansas,” something like that, and it was supposed to make a statement. With decidedly mixed emotions I had just taken a job in Kansas and left my homeland, Ohio, behind. The shirt was one way of …
by Kevin Burton Did you know the 1975 smash “Love Will Keep Us Together” by Captain and Tennile is actually a breakup song? Hey, I was there. Yes it is, a breakup song! Well, sort of. Fifty years ago today it was in the beginning of a four-week run at the …
Continue reading ““Love Will Keep Us Together” Is Pop Perfection”
by Dictionary Scoop Traditions come in all shapes and sizes, from a small family tradition involving a special breakfast treat to an annual activity shared by an entire community. In that sense, some traditions around the world may seem downright strange to a keen observer. That’s why we’ve decided to highlight some of …
by Kevin Burton It’s been 40 years and I haven’t forgotten. But it would appear that my limited affection for Simple Minds begins and ends with Ally Sheedy and The Breakfast Club. Both the band and the Brat Pack were white hot in 1985, 40 years ago this week, when “Don’t You …
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by Dictionary Scoop Cowboys in the Old West not only tamed the inhospitable land, but they also forged their own language. They created unrefined similes and metaphors, broke the rules of grammar, flooded figures of speech with humor, and made a verb out of anything. In this article, we review 12 expressions we …
by Dictionary Scoop Charlie Chaplin once said that a day without laughter is a wasted day, and we couldn’t agree more. In a world where humor is often overshadowed by seriousness, people with the ability to laugh at themselves and the silliness of life are like a refreshing breeze on a hot summer day. …
by Dictionary Scoop Hand gestures are everywhere. Whether expressing emotions, adding context to our words, or simply enhancing spoken communication, gestures are a vital part of our shared culture, passed down through generations for centuries. From ancient Rome to the modern day, here are 12 hand gestures and their origins explained. 1-Thumbs up The exact origins …
by Dictionary Scoop Have you ever noticed how many everyday words go back to Greek mythology? Sure, we have the more obvious ones—like “narcissist” or “nemesis”—but you might find in this list terms that you didn’t know were so old. 1-Tantalizing Remember the story of Tantalus? He was a king who tried to fool the gods and …
Continue reading “How Greek Mythology Slips Into Everyday Life”
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