Ever been mentally undressed by somebody? I haven't, so it's all Greek to me.
Nevertheless, if it happens we have an elegant Greek word to describe the situation. You could say this in front of the vicar. Particularly if he were doing it! TROUBLE WITH ENGLISH? PETER THE PROOFER IS CHEAP AND FAST, NOT CHEAP AND NASTY! A$15 per 1000 words.
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Ski pants with a high waist and bib-and-braces would be just the thing.
OK, OK, it's not an English word but a French word of obscure and contested origin which has a contradictory resonance in German, but that's Europe for you. English adopted it about forty years ago, and even left its stamp by pluralising it for no better reason than 'pants' and 'trousers'. Typically vulgar of us anglophones! It's all part of making the cross-Chunnel neighbours pay for their sins. TROUBLE WITH TEXT ? PETER THE PROOFER CAN FIX ANYTHING. CHEAP AND FAST, NOT CHEAP AND NASTY! What, full of beer again?
Gambrinous means drunk, or full of beer. The word honours King Gambrinus of Flanders and his devotion to the brewing industry. In those days, smelling gambrinous was probably a good career move, and preferable to the other odours on offer! TROUBLE WITH BIG WORDS AND ENGLISH GRAMMAR KNOTS? PETER THE PROOFER IS CHEAP AND FAST, NOT CHEAP AND NASTY. A$15 per 1000 words. That crispy crunchy sound means another snail has gone home.
Walllfish is an old Saxon word for our squishy garden friends. Helix pomatia is its polite Latin disguise. In Somerset, England, you won't find 'les escargots' on the menu, but you will find wallfish, which proves that English can manage without French! TROUBLE WITH ENGLISH? PETER THE PROOFER IS CHEAP AND FAST, NOT CHEAP AND NASTY! A$15 per 1000 words. Well, it could be.
In West Indian usage, a bashment is a large noisy dance party. Only the steel drums will be bashed. TROUBLE WITH ENGLISH? PETER THE PROOFER IS CHEAP AND FAST, NOT CHEAP AND NASTY! A$15 per 1000 words. Well, it might be.
Anfractuous means sinuous or circuitous or bendy. My rear is more circuitous than sinuous, but it could be anfractuous. From the Latin 'anfractus', a bending, which is something my ancestors gave the Roman Empire. TROUBLES WITH TEXTS? PETER THE PROOFER IS CHEAP AND FAST, NOT CHEAP AND NASTY! A$15 per 1000 words. That depends, really.
A gubbin is a fool, a small object, a little device or gadget. A whatsamacallit or thingo. Gubbins are odds and sods, bits and pieces. They may be superfluous, or utterly vital. As usual, context is everything! HAVING TROUBLE WITH GUBBINS IN YOUR TEXT? PETER THE PROOFER IS CHEAP AND FAST, NOT CHEAP AND NASTY A$15 per 1000 words Particularly good with non-English speakers Oh yes it is a word!
A firkin is a small barrel. In Britain it is a measure of beer equalling a quarter barrel, or nine imperial gallons (41 litres). It was also once a measure of butter or cheese, equalling 56 pounds (25 kilograms). That's quite a firkin lot! NEED PROOFREADING AND EDITING? PETER THE PROOFER IS CHEAP AND FAST, NOT CHEAP AND NASTY! A$15 per 1000 words, free quote and advice. Everybody who has studied Law has heard this word, at least in passing. Hardly anybody else has!
In current usage it means exceptionally bad, gross, or wicked. Even if you knew that, you probably didn't know that the meaning has flipped completely in the last few hundred years. The latin 'egregius' just means 'standing out from the flock', and this had always meant 'excellent' or 'exemplary'. Then, in Elizabethan English it came to mean the exact opposite, although of course the sense of 'being set apart' is retained. The Oxford English Dictionary opines that the shift in meaning was a result of ironic use. The use of irony is highly developed in English and can be just another trap for the beginner! TROUBLE WITH WRITING IN ENGLISH? CONSULT THE EXPERT. PETER THE PROOFER CAN HELP! CHEAP & FAST, NOT CHEAP & NASTY. A$15 per 1000 words Another one of the endearing and maddening things about the English language is its ridiculously huge vocabulary. Having once ruled half the world, the language of the British brought home a lot of souvenirs which became keepsakes and finally heirlooms which took up residence in the Oxford Dictionary.
That's one reason that there are too many words in English. A more recent reason is that, even after the sun did finally set on Empire, the English language is the language of globalism and so will continue to absorb all kinds of influences. However, the English have had a romance with vocabulary ever since the Norman Conquest of 1066 brought a tide of French and Latin into the language. Suddenly the English language was dancing with several partners, and soon the Saxon peasantry could barely understand a word their overlords uttered, even on the rare occasions when it was uttered in English. PROBLEMS WITH TOO MANY WORDS IN ENGLISH? PETER THE PROOFER IS CHEAP AND FAST, BUT NOT CHEAP AND NASTY! |
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