by Dwane | Jan 12, 2023 | Uncategorized
Hi, everyone! I hope you all had a merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! The New Year is a great time to set goals. I’ve been working on a book on goals for a while now. But, to be honest, the entire goal-setting process can be summed up in three quick steps....
by Dwane | Jan 10, 2023 | Uncategorized
I have written a book on goal setting. I am now in the editing process. As I edit, I will post most of the book here, for free. This is from the introduction. ================================================= Your Potential If you do not know me, I should warn...
by Dwane | Jan 10, 2023 | Education, English, Vocabulary
Criticize: to find fault; to point out flaws real or perceived I took some time off for Christmas and New Year. No one criticized me. Pretty impressive, guys. You could be nicer than you think you are. Criticize comes from the Greek word χριτιχός (kritikos)...
by Dwane | Jan 3, 2023 | Uncategorized
Happy New Year, everyone! Live classes on this site will resume next week on January 9, 2023. All previous classes are available 24/7 of course. If you are trying to catch up, you still have almost a week to do so.
by Dwane | Dec 17, 2022 | Education, English, Vocabulary
This week, one of my students translated egg nog into French. She ended up with the phrase: lait de poule. Lait is French for milk, and poule is French for hen. Put the two together and you get, “hen milk”. Um. This threw me for a loop. I started wondering,...
by Dwane | Dec 15, 2022 | English, Vocabulary
Truckle: to yield out of weakness Most of us know what a trundle bed is. In case you don’t, a trundle bed is a low bed on wheels. When not in use trundle beds slide beneath other beds. Evidently, in some places, trundle beds are truckle beds. Truckle comes from...
by Dwane | Dec 12, 2022 | Tip of the Week
Whenever I look for a book I go through several steps. Since I tend to be rather frugal, I always start with our local library. You can check out audiobooks from your local library using the free Libby app. To use Libby, you need a library card and, of course, the...
by Dwane | Dec 9, 2022 | Education, English, Vocabulary
Ever wondered why some cities have ‘ham’ attached to their names? Birmingham, Nottingham, Gotham, Buckingham, and even Hampshire? The Old English word for home or homestead is ‘ham.’ ‘Ham’ is also the source of our English word ‘home.’ As the three little pigs said,...
by Dwane | Dec 8, 2022 | Education, English, Vocabulary
A few days ago, one of my students asked where the eight tiny reindeer got their names. I knew there were some German names in there, but beyond that, I was not sure. So, I went looking. The reindeer first show up in a poem by Clement C. Moore. Mr. Moore wrote A...
by Dwane | Dec 7, 2022 | Education, English, Vocabulary
I don’t feel like posting a word today. So, here is one of my all-time favorite jokes about the English language. Maybe. I can’t tell if it’s a joke or if it’s true. The Japanese eat very little fat And suffer fewer heart attacks than...
by Dwane | Dec 6, 2022 | Education, English, Vocabulary
Ballyhoo: to advertise noisily; to publicize using extreme, loud methods The marketers ballyhooed the movie, but it flopped on opening day. Ballyhoo shows up in English in the early 1900s. It was originally a circus word. A ballyhoo was a sideshow used to lure...
by Dwane | Dec 5, 2022 | Education, English, Vocabulary
A student recently posted this question in the forums: In Chapter four of Lingua Latina, a new word is “baculum”, meaning “stick”. In the world of logic, there is a fallacy, called Ad Baculum. I am assuming that these are related. Does it mean, “to the stick”? Here is...
by Dwane | Dec 3, 2022 | Uncategorized
A few weeks ago my wife and I wanted to watch a funny movie. We were in the mood to laugh. We made it 15 minutes into one movie and turned it off. It was disgustingly crude. We tried a second movie. It was worse. Sigh. Hollywood. Reluctantly, we decided to watch a...
by Dwane | Dec 3, 2022 | Education, English, Vocabulary
Kibitzer: someone who offers unwanted advice; someone who offers unsolicited opinions Kibitzer is a Yiddish word. Originally, a kibitzer described someone looking over your shoulder during a card game, offering unwelcome advice. These days, a kibitzer is an...
by Dwane | Dec 1, 2022 | Education, English, Vocabulary
If you are throwing things out of your window today, consider first shouting “Gardyloo!” Gardyloo is a warning shout. Back in the old days, when pots were emptied into the streets, the one pouring whatever they were pouring into the streets would warn...
by Dwane | Nov 30, 2022 | Uncategorized
I study words for a living. I am always a little surprised when I run across a word like Everywhen. It looks like a typo. It isn’t. Everywhen is an English adverb. It means: always, at all times. So, there you go. When it comes to English, it’s best to...
by Dwane | Nov 29, 2022 | Uncategorized
Plethora: an abundance, a superabundance; an excess or oversupply of something The United States has a plethora of natural resources. And, it’s a good thing, too. According to Peter Zeihan in his book, The End of the World is Just the Beginning, America, due to its...
by Dwane | Nov 28, 2022 | Education, Vocabulary
Perfervid: intense emotion, full of intense emotion; ardent; zealous Perfervid comes from the Latin word perfervidus, meaning very hot. In Latin, fervidus means glowing hot, or ardent. Adding per to the word only intensifies it. The letters don’t need to be...
by Dwane | Nov 26, 2022 | Uncategorized
After accidentally closing down a tap on her computer, my wife recently asked me if I knew a quick way to reopen a tab. Of course, you can go back into your history. But, I thought, there’s got to be an easier way. Turns out, there is. If you accidentally close a tab...
by Dwane | Nov 26, 2022 | Vocabulary
Berserk: violently or frenetically destructive; wildly destructive To go berserk is to have a fit of destructive rage. Berserk came into English from Old Norse. In Old Norse, a berserkr was a raging warrior. The Norse word is likely a combination of ber (bear) and...
by Dwane | Nov 25, 2022 | Uncategorized
Galore: plenty; abundantly; in abundance Galore is from the Irish go leór meaning sufficiently, enough. May you find black Friday deals galore out there today. Synonyms: plenty, aplenty, abundant, ample ================================================= Into Words? ...
by Dwane | Nov 24, 2022 | Uncategorized
Years ago, Michael Masterson posted this tip on the site Early to Rise. ================================================= Being the day before Thanksgiving, I have a 30-minute “task” for you that will make you feel good and bring you many future blessings....
by Dwane | Nov 22, 2022 | Wealthy, Wise
You’ve seen the studies. You’ve seen the reports. You’ve probably experienced it yourself. Anxiety is on the rise. Covid didn’t help at all. Made it worse, actually. A few weeks ago, the pastor of the church I attend tackled anxiety...
by Dwane | Nov 22, 2022 | Uncategorized
Lethargic: Drowsy; dull; inactive. On Thursday, we will celebrate Thanksgiving Day in America. We will remember our hard-working hungry ancestors by stuffing ourselves with food. We will follow up with a lethargic afternoon of football. I think our ancestors...
by Dwane | Nov 21, 2022 | Education, Vocabulary
Capricious: impulsive; fickle; whimsical; changeable; erratic The ancient gods were capricious. They were happy one moment, and irate the next. Source: Capricious came to English via the French word capricieux meaning capricious, or whimsical. In French, a whim...
