by Dwane | Oct 4, 2023 | Education, English, Vocabulary
Ultracrepidarian: someone giving opinions on something beyond their knowledge. The habit of talking constantly about subjects you know little or nothing about. From the Latin word ultra (beyond) and crepida (slipper, or sandal). According to legends, a famous Greek...
by Dwane | Oct 2, 2023 | Education, English, German, Vocabulary
Grammando: someone who frequently corrects the grammar mistakes of others. I just discovered this word in a series I am watching on Wondrium (formerly known as the Great Courses). The series, if you are interested, is English Grammar Boot Camp. The fact that I am...
by Dwane | Sep 30, 2023 | Uncategorized
Not long ago, I finished reading Your Money or Your Life by Vicky Robin and Joe Dominguez. For years, I have read financial books. Not sure how I missed this one. The authors published it years ago. These days, during times of high inflation, we need all the help we...
by Dwane | Sep 27, 2023 | Uncategorized
Words change over time. We know that. Sententious is one of those words. Sententious once meant full of wisdom. These days, it kind of means full of it. (Hint. The it in full of it is not wisdom.) In Latin sententiosus meant full of meaning. This word came from...
by Dwane | Sep 27, 2023 | Uncategorized
I read a lot. Comes with the territory, I suppose. During the school year, I try to focus on Latin, German, Greek, French, and Spanish. But, I often get distracted by English. To combat this, I divide the day by languages. In the morning, I focus on French and...
by Dwane | Sep 25, 2023 | English, German, Vocabulary
Penny: a small coin worth one cent. In German class this morning, we learned the word for penny: Pfennig. Clearly related to English, my students and I went off to find out where this word came from. In Middle English, the word was peni. In Old English, pening, and...
by Dwane | Sep 23, 2023 | Tip of the Week
I recently finished writing a book about working online. I hope to show other teachers how to make a living online. While writing the book, I researched dozens of ways to make some extra money online. I have been earning my living online since 2011. After all this...
by Dwane | Sep 23, 2023 | Uncategorized
I recently finished writing a book about working online. In it, I hope to show other teachers how to make a living online. While writing the book, I researched dozens of paths. I have been earning my living online since 2011. After all this time, I believe one of the...
by Dwane | Sep 23, 2023 | Education, English, Latin, Vocabulary
Pram: a stroller, a baby carriage, a small vehicle with four wheels designed for a baby to lie in while you push it around. I was born in England. I remember stories of my mom pushing me around Bicester, England in a pram. Back then, says my mom, the British moms...
by Dwane | Sep 22, 2023 | English, French, Vocabulary
My local French students and I (I am not fluent. We are learning together.) have been watching the language learning series Extra. In Episode three, one of the characters uses the phrase ça ne me dérange pas, meaning, it doesn’t bother me. This threw my...
by Dwane | Sep 22, 2023 | Motivation
The other day, I ran across my new favorite French proverb. Not that I had a favorite French proverb before. But, that’s not the point. Qui s’instruit sans agir laboure sans semer. Whoever learns without action, plows without sowing. For a while, I have...
by Dwane | Sep 20, 2023 | Uncategorized
Cheeseparing – Saving via extreme frugality If someone cuts for you a rather thin piece of cheese, they are cheeseparing. Perhaps because they are frugal. Cheeseparing comes from the Old English word for cheese (case) and the Old French word for trimming,...
by Dwane | Sep 18, 2023 | English
Karmageddon Karmageddon is like, when everybody is sending off all these totally bad vibes. And then, like, the Earth explodes and it’s like, a serious bummer for all. Karmageddon comes from Sanskrit Karma, the sum of a person’s actions. This sum determines a...
by Dwane | Sep 16, 2023 | Tip of the Week
I teach and work online. I am also easily distracted. Not a good combination. To combat distraction, I write everything by hand. I have notebooks filled with tests, books, blogs, and tips I have written. I find I am much less distracted when I write by hand. Once...
by Dwane | Sep 15, 2023 | Uncategorized
Triskaidekaphobia – Irrational fear of the number thirteen Triskaidekaphobia is a combination of multiple Greek words. Τρεῖς (tres) three, χαί (kai), δέχα (deka) ten and, or course φόβος (phobos) fear. This word came up in a Greek class this morning, as we were...
by Dwane | Sep 2, 2023 | Tip of the Week
Not long ago, a friend asked me if I knew of any tools to find a word to describe something that you have in mind. He went on to say, “There’s countless scenarios in my life where there’s something that I’d love to express – but I cannot think of the right...
by Dwane | Aug 30, 2023 | Uncategorized
Disremember: to forget. I ran across this word in The Wright Brothers, by David McCullough. A book I enjoyed immensely, by the way. If you are looking for a book capable of inspiring you to work incredibly hard, this may be the book for you. While testing their...
by Dwane | Aug 29, 2023 | Tip of the Week
Before traveling, I always make a copy of my passport. That way, If my passport is ever stolen or lost, I have a back up I can show when I end up at the embassy. Fortunately, this hasn’t happened to me. But, I have lost my wallet overseas. I needed to rent a car. ...
by Dwane | Aug 26, 2023 | Ebook, Motivation
Health and fitness are foundational Have you ever heard of the fitness brand ASICS? ASICS is an acronym for an old Latin acronym. It stands for Anima Sana In Corpore Sana. In English, it means a sound mind in a fit body. Like it or not, we need to prioritize our...
by Dwane | Aug 23, 2023 | Uncategorized
Jargon This morning, in an online Greek class, we learned some of the rules for Greek accenting. The rules are complex and full of academic jargon. Later, I thought of what a weird word jargon is. I wondered where it came from. This is what I found out. Noah...
by Dwane | Aug 5, 2023 | Tip of the Week
When I am on my game, I post a word a day on my blog and over at the Visual Latin Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/laughatlatin Coming up with a word a day is rather challenging. Okay. It’s actually really challenging. Last week, I didn’t even try....
by Dwane | Jul 25, 2023 | Education, English, Vocabulary
Bailiwick: someones special area of knowledge Your bailiwick is your area of expertise. Bailiwick comes from the word bailiff (an officer of the court) and the Old English word for village, win. Algebra was not my bailiwick in high school, or in college. Made me...
by Dwane | Jul 24, 2023 | Uncategorized
JOMO – The Joy of Missing Out. I am sure I am behind the curve here. I’ve known about FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) for a while now. I did not know about the JOMO until today. Just found this word (if it is a word) and I love it. There are a bunch of Rivian...
by Dwane | Jul 24, 2023 | Ebook, Motivation
Dream big We are going to create a checklist based on our three main goals. We already have a healthy goal. We will create a wealthy goal, and a wise goal, as well. Our goals are based on Benjamin Franklin’s quote. Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy,...
by Dwane | Jul 24, 2023 | Tip of the Week
If you have repetitive tasks in your daily schedule, I recommend using a checklist. Sitting down to write a checklist may seem like a waste of time, but I have found the opposite to be true. In fact, I get more done with a checklist than I do without one. Checklists...
