Cousin Stephen, you will never be a saint. Isle of saints. You were awfully holy, weren’t you? You prayed to the Blessed Virgin that you might not have a red nose. You prayed to the devil in Serpentine avenue that the fubsy widow in front might lift her clothes still
Continue readingTag: words
Scripturient: Blog & Commentary: Dictionaries: Concise, Compact, and dacoit
Dacoit: noun; one of a class of criminals in India and Burma who rob and murder in roving gangs. A member of a band of armed robbers in India or Burma. A bandit. Origin: Hindi and Urdu. I love dictionaries. I like opening them up to a random page and
Continue readingScripturient: Blog & Commentary: The Fretful Porpentine
Like quills upon the fretful porpentine. That phrase just makes the modern reader stop and wonder. What, you ask yourself, is a porpentine? And why is it fretful? We never learn, although later interpreters would knowingly tell us a porpentine is a porcupine in today’s argot. Porcupine itself dervices from
Continue readingWalking Turcot Yards: Stars
See that picture up top? That’s our waterfront, at least after they mandated the boat clubs to get rid of their shacks and put up those little lockers. It used to be quite the place down there. We’d get totally drunk and stoned just a little ways past the old
Continue readingWalking Turcot Yards: Buried Horses – Tom Dacre’s Blues
Ashes fall from the chimney so maudlin. Sodden haunts returning thoughts to your flue. Did your body snap? Was it made of porcelain? Could my shakey hand prepare a splint to repair poor ghostly? Kindling. Little kindling. Lit a fire under. Kindling. Little kindling. Lit a fire under and over
Continue readingThe Equivocator: 12 Words I (Re)Discovered in 2012
Defenestrate: To eject or throw (someone or something) from a window. Kludge: an improvised device, usually crudely constructed. Typically used to test the validity of a principle before doing a finished design. Portmanteau: Made by combining two (or more) words, stories, etc., in the manner of a linguistic portmanteau. Tmesis:
Continue readingWalking Turcot Yards: Idle No More
I wanna round dance neath the stars tonight I wanna stand up for what I believe tonight I wanna see peace in the skies tonight I wanna be love neath the stars tonight
Continue readingChadwick's Blog & Commentary: Lost Worlds, Lost Words
Moidered. It sounds like something from the Three Stooges. Or maybe something Tony Soprano would say.”I moidered him.” But it actually means “crazed,” according to Samuel Johnson in his famous dictionary of 1755. It’s long since left the stage of English usage. … Continue reading →
Continue readingThe Scott Ross: Layton’s Last Words Were First Laurier’s
“Faith is better than doubt and love is better than hate.” – Sir Wilfrid Laurier, 1918 “Love is better than anger. Hope is better than fear.” – Jack Layton, 2011 A year after Jack Layton’s untimely passing, the presence of the former NDP Leader is still felt across Canada, ironically
Continue readingmark a rayner | scribblings, squibs & sundry monkey joys: The history of English in 10 minutes
This is really quite impressive, and even funny in many places: -via Jim Anderson, who’s book, DEADLINE, you should check out if you like mysteries. Alltop speaks funglish!
Continue readingredjenny: The Power of Poetry
A while back, I posted a poem written by Drew Dillinger. It begins:it’s 3:23 in the morningand I’m awakebecause my great great grandchildrenwon’t let me sleepmy great great grandchildrenask me in dreamswhat did you do while the planet was plundered?wha…
Continue readingredjenny: The Power of Poetry
A while back, I posted a poem written by Drew Dillinger. It begins: it’s 3:23 in the morningand I’m awakebecause my great great grandchildrenwon’t let me sleepmy great great grandchildrenask me in dreamswhat did you do while the planet was plundered?what did you do when the earth was unraveling? Words
Continue readingredjenny: The Power of Poetry
A while back, I posted a poem written by Drew Dillinger. It begins: it’s 3:23 in the morningand I’m awakebecause my great great grandchildrenwon’t let me sleepmy great great grandchildrenask me in dreamswhat did you do while the planet was plundered?what did you do when the earth was unraveling? Words
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