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Currently viewing the tag: "Inklings"

“Go West” Slang Origin

Posted by Grant Barrett on April 27, 2019 · Add Comment

Liz from San Antonio, Texas, often sees the term going west in World War I-era literature and letters being used to refer to being killed in combat. The term go west as a euphemism for dying most likely has to do with the end of the day. J.R.R. Tolkien used the expression in the same [...]

Unusual Word for Ordinary Things

Posted by Grant Barrett on November 17, 2018 · Add Comment

A teacher of English as a second language asks our Facebook group to name some unusual words for ordinary things. The group’s suggestions include winklehawk, which means an L-shaped tear in cloth, and diastema, which means a gap between one’s teeth. In his 1926 book History in English Words, Owen Barfield offers this lyrical observation [...]

Busted Melon

Posted by Grant Barrett on June 2, 2018 · Add Comment

When writing textbooks about slavery, which words best reflect its cold, hard reality? Some historians are dropping the word slave in favor of terms like enslaved person and captive, arguing that these terms are more accurate. And raising a bilingual child is tough enough, but what about teaching them three languages? It’s an ambitious goal, [...]

The Language of Tolkien

Posted by Grant Barrett on December 4, 2015 · Add Comment

A sixth-grade teacher from San Antonio, Texas, says he and his students are reading The Lord of the Rings. They’re curious about the words attercop, which means “spider” (and a relative of the word cobweb) and Tomnoddy, which means “fool.” Grant recommends the book The Ring of Words, as well as these online resources: Why [...]

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“Go West” Slang Origin

Unusual Word for Ordinary Things

Busted Melon

The Language of Tolkien