A palindrome is a word, sentence, or number that reads the same backward or forward. It derives from the Greek palindromos (palin is “again, back” and dromos, “running”), suggesting the palindrome “runs back” on itself. Most credit author Henry Peacham for introducing the word palindrome into English in 1638. Palindromes are quite common in English, especially three letter ones: mom,…
The phrase ‘your ears must be burning’ tells someone you were talking about them when they were not around. But where did the phrase come from? It appears to goes back to Roman times. In Naturalis Historia, the 37-volume encyclopedia of fact, myth, and speculation, Pliny writes: Those absent are warned by a ringing of…
Even though I’m in the sports & entertainment industry, I worry that using sports jargon in business can get in the way of clear communication. As I’ve written about before, not everyone has a sports background and some of the phrases can be confusing. One of the most overused corporate clichés comes from hockey: “Skate to…
Q: What do you call a group of sharks?A: A shiver of sharks. Of course, because seeing Sharks make you shiver. Shiver is an example of a collective noun; the name for a group of things. As I’ve often used animal stories to help illustrate specific points, reinforce behaviors, or to provide colorful rallying cries,…
Ever wonder where the phrase ‘right as rain’ comes from? In English the phrase implies that everything is satisfactory, usually applied to good health. The phrase is often used as a contrast: He was quite ill last week but he’s right as rain now. Like many common English phrases, its origin isn’t clear. It was…
The phrase ‘it is what it is’ has exploded in popularity. I might not have noticed except it’s a phrase my Mom has been using my whole life; I may be overly-sensitized to it. I first noticed a surge in popularity towards the beginning of the US pandemic-related shutdown when it became a popular meme….
The phrase “bring home the bacon” is commonly understood to mean to earn money. But where did the phrase come from? The answer might be surprising. Most on-line sources claim the phrase originated in 1104 in a small town in Essex, England. A local Lord and his wife dressed themselves as common folk and asked…
The shelter-in-place / stay-at-home orders have triggered new words and phrases in our collective vocabularies. Some of them existed before but have become more commonly used: coronavirus, pandemic, and virtual happy hour. But others are newly created to describe our COVID-19 mandated world. They are descriptive portmanteaus which aren’t likely to stay in our vocabularies…
It’s been a little more than a week since (mostly) everyone in Silicon Valley started sheltering in place and, surprisingly (to me, at least), I haven’t made a dent in my antilibrary. Truth be told, I’ve only read about 100 pages of a single book during that time. Part of the reason is that I’ve…
As my mantra is “Words Matter,” I’m fascinated by the etymology of words, how different cultures use language, and when people accidentally/purposefully misuse English. I’ve covered spelling bees, written about mondegreens and eggcorns, and advocated for the banishing of overused words. So, it’s probably not surprising that a friend caught my attention when he recently…