Monday, September 27, 2010

Red Heads

Why am I suddenly the red-headed step-child?!

I'd rather be the red-headed vixen.

Where do these expressions come from?

Red hair is beautiful. It is rare. True redheads are rare, of course, though it is very popular as a hair dye. When I made my hair copper, people came up to me on the street and said "I love your hair!" They do not do that with ash brown hair.

The best definition of this term is from Urban Dictionary:
A term that originated out of the common mistreatment and social ostracism of redheaded individuals (gingers). A redheaded individual born into(legitamately or not), or adopted into a family of non-redheads was typically subject to physical and emotional abuse, and usually short handed when it came to financial matters in the family, such as the estate or any savings the family had acquired. Today, the term can be applied to an individual or group of individuals who are outcasts, or are typically dealt the worst hand in society.

I used to be the fiery redhead. But now I'm barely smoldering.

I'm going to get back that fire!

The Demise of The King's English

The St. Pete Times had an interesting article about the Death of the English Language in yesterday’s paper, by Gene Weingarten. It was very funny.

Regarding the death of English, most people seemed unconcerned. Anthony Incognito, an average man in the street, said, “Between you and I, I could care less.”

Weingarten cites other examples of poor usage and blatant mistakes. He even criticizes something I thought was a definite improvement: the use of "alot" as a word describing an amount. He feels that newspapers should definitely use spell-checkers, especially ones which can detect that the word "pronounciation" is misspelled. He says it has been misspelled in several newspapers, including the Boston Globe and St. Paul Pioneer Press, as well as the Contra Costa, where it appears in a column apologizing for previous misspellings of the word!

Thanks, Gene, I'm LOL. Oops, is that correct?

I find it very ironic, that in the same newspaper, on the same day, I find a book review, of a new book, entitled, The Glamour of Grammar, a Guide to the Magic and Mystery of Practical English, by Roy Peter Clark.

The author believes that the English language is magic, and that the words, grammar and glamour, both come from the same root. He also points out that "spell," can refer to the letters in a word, as well as to an enchantment.

I only read half the review and I want to go out and buy this book!

Coincidentally, I have also discovered a blog which highlights the agony and the ecstacy of words and language. It is called Throw Grammar from the Train. This is a BLOG of NOTE on blogger. I am so priveleged to share the same virtual space with this writer who claims she is a "nitpicker." (Jan Freeman.)

It will probably soon show up on my blog as one of the blogs I follow.

I used to say, so many books, so little time, now I can also add, so many blogs, so little storage space on my computer!

I guess the thing is, that we don't speak the King's English in America, which is actually just the US portion of the North American continent, anyway. The King is dead and English is very much alive and constantly evolving! Long live the grammarians!

Monday, September 20, 2010

Deftly Adequate

Is "deft" a word?

Is it related to "adept?"

Is "inept' the opposite of adept?

adept -- highly skilled proficient. Latin.

adequate -- 1. fully sufficient 2. barely sufficient. From Latin.

deft- neat and skillful, adroit. From Old English.

It does not appear to be related to inept. "Inept" is from Latin, from "aptus" which means "to fit," and the "ept" in adept is supposedly from a different word, "apisci," which means "to get" in Latin. It certainly looks like the same root to me (ept)... I will have to consult my unabridged dictionary about this discrepancy!

And why does "adequate" sound so inadequate when your supervisor says your skills are adequate?!

I'd much rather be adept than adequate, and deft rather than adroit.

Is it better to be adequately deft or deftly adequate...?

Why do I always have more questions?

Monday, September 13, 2010

All's Well

Swell is an interesting word. I'm swelling with pride and sweltering with excitement.

As anjective I wonder if it is really a contraction, 's well, like All's well.

Rampage

Rampage is both a noun and a verb. I don't believe I've heard it used as a verb. More often than not, I hear "they went on a rampage," not "they rampaged."

Rampage as a noun means violent action or excitment. It comes from Old French.

To Rampage means to attack or act violently; to storm or rage.

I think this is sometimes confused with rant.

But I will not rant or rampage here!

Friday, September 3, 2010

Lugubrious or Ludicrous

Sadly, this is a very sorrowful article. I feel lugubrious today.

Lugubrious means exaggeratedly or affectedly mournful.

It says it is from both Latin and Greek, because it is from a Latin word, which is "akin" to a word in Greek. Curious. Strange.

Lugubrious is possibly an antonym for ludicrous. Also from a Latin word, akin to a Greek word.

Ludicrous means laughable, amusing through obvious absurdity or exaggeration.

It would be ludicrous to be lugubrious about spilt milk.