A Little Fresh Air (Scientifically) Good For You

by Yasmin Rufo BBC News    If you’ve ever felt calmer after a walk in the park or a stroll through the woods, it’s not your imagination – it’s biology.    Spending just 20 minutes in nature can trigger measurable changes inside your body, from lowering stress hormones, to easing blood pressure and even improving …

Mixed Up In The Mayhem Of Miscellany

by Kevin Burton    You have a drawer like this, admit it.    It’s that drawer where you keep things, small things. They will be useful, you swear, and you don’t dare throw them away. Twist ties, bolts, rubber bands.    That drawer is a physical category for the uncategorizable.    You may even have …

Rise Of The Road Dogs, A Perseverance Tale

by Kevin Burton    I was so sure it was going to happen, I had the headline written: “Bad Dogs! Cellar Dwelling Fantasy Team.”    That was two weeks ago. My K&J Road Dogs, in 9th place at 2-4, were playing the last place team, which was 1-5.  If The Dogs lost, the teams would …

OK Then, Let’s Get This Word Party Started!

by Kevin Burton    I believe it was the great Marty Brennaman, on the Cincinnati Reds radio network, who used to call the first game of a three-game series the “lid-lifter.”     Let’s tack that one on, at the very beginning mind you, like the first pitch in the top of the first inning, to …

For Salvation, Rely Completely On Christ

by Kevin Burton     My good intentions, my (not frequent enough) good works will never, never save me. My place in Heaven is all about Jesus.    One hundred percent.    A recent message from Alistair Begg, the Speaker on the Truth For Life ministry, reinforced this point and it sent my mind back to …

Here’s Why Canada Has No Egg Shortages

by Kevin Burton    Look, I’m not bragging, I’m just sayin’ .We have a source.    No, not giving up my source, go get your own.    I’m not saying the eggs we get are cheap-cheap, not like before. But they’re not 70s gasoline-lines expensive either.    You know where else eggs are not expensive …

Choose Your Paths And Your Idioms Carefully

by Kevin Burton    Today we return to the Dictionary Scoop website’s list of ten plant-related idioms, but first a diversion down a different path.    Merriam-Webster says a primrose is “any of a genus (Primula of the family Primulaceae, the primrose family) of perennial herbs with large tufted basal leaves and showy variously colored flowers …

How Greek Mythology Slips Into Everyday Life

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 …

German Engineering Applied To Language

by Dictionary Scoop    Languages are a curious thing: No matter how different they are, we always find a way to understand each other. Translation has come a long way in making sure of that.    These nine German words however, are tough to wrestle down into English with their meaning intact, but are worth …

Taking Uber To Calvin And Hobbes’ House?

by Kevin Burton    I open my Uber app. First thing it wants to know, “where to?”    Good question. Obvious question, logical.    Oh I know exactly where I want to go. And I’m pretty much packed already. Traveling light.    But the thing is…well I don’t, you know, strictly speaking, have an actual …