by Kevin Burton My recipe for relaxation on the road has changed, just a bit, in the last couple of years. Time was, on the road with my wife, I would put a ball game on the hotel TV before the suitcase got unpacked. Or even opened. Football, baseball, basketball. I …
Tag Archives: French
False Cognates Are Language Landmines
by Dictionary Scoop Ever encountered a word in another language that seemed familiar but left you confused? False cognates—words that appear similar but have unrelated meanings—are the culprits. These false friends can sometimes lead to hilarious or embarrassing misunderstandings, especially for language learners. Here are ten examples that demonstrate just how deceptive languages …
These Words Come From France With Love
by Dictionary Scoop English is part of the Germanic language family, while French is a Romance language. At first glance, one would think that they don’t have much in common, right? But this is not the case; French has influenced our language in many ways, including our vocabulary. Today, ten common English words that have …
Déjà Vu: Stop Me If You’ve Heard This Before
by interestingfacts.com Déjà vu (French for “already seen”) is not just the feeling that you’ve experienced something before — it’s also the sense that the feeling is eerie, uncanny, or even wrong. Scientists are still trying to figure out this mysterious but common glitch in the brain. Here are a few facts about …
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“Peanuts” First To Introduce Minority Character
by Kevin Burton “At the time of Charles Schulz’s death he had produced 17,897 strips, and Peanuts had run in more than 2,600 newspapers worldwide and been translated into 21 languages,” reports http://www.interestingfacts.com. Today we continue yesterday’s post, presenting more facts from that website. I know for a fact that the Peanuts gang speaks …
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Dictionary Words Are Funky, Stylish And Cool
by Kevin Burton If the 60s were groovy, the 70s were nothing if not funky. The funk was everywhere then, beginning with music, first seeping then flowing into just about everything else. The funk was the soup we swam in. But I was a little surprised to see funky show up on …
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Thinking Deeply With Merriam-Webster
by Kevin Burton My friend and co-worker on my college newspaper Tim, once suggested that thinking become a new sport. That’s something that should really be pursued. In this thinksport, there should be a penalty for speaking without thinking. Maybe I’ll continue this thought later. For now, I want to share …
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