Today’s episode brought to you by my audio-book Global Wording - The Fascinating Story of the Evolution of English. Available in downloadable form from iTunes or Audible.com or as a CD from bookstores. For more information and a few samples, go to www.globalwording.com
David Beasley is an author and runs Davus Publishing. He starts of the audio portion of this episode by saying he’s very curious about the word curious.
The Oxford English Dictionary says that curious is:
“a word which has been used from time to time with many shades of meaning.”
They then go on to list 31 shades of meaning, most of which are obsolete or obscure.
You are no doubt familiar with the expression curiosity killed the cat. This expression has been around for at least 400 years but the wording has changed over time and in part, the changing meaning of curiosity is reflected in the change of the proverb.
The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations claims curiosity killed the cat to be a prett...
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trampoline - podictionary 814From: podictionary.com
Post Date: 2008-07-17 21:01:29
Today’s podictionary word brought to you by GoToMeeting. Try it free for 30 days by following the link www.gotomeeting.com/podcast
Allow me to read you a little of the Wikipedia entry for trampoline:
According to circus folklore, the trampoline was supposedly first developed by an artiste called Du Trampolin who saw the possibility of using the trapeze safety net as a form of propulsion and landing device and experimented with different systems of suspension, eventually reducing the net to...
canvass - podictionary 812From: podictionary.com
Post Date: 2008-07-15 21:01:54
Today’s episode brought to you by my audio-book Global Wording - The Fascinating Story of the Evolution of English. Available in downloadable form from iTunes or Audible.com or as a CD from bookstores. For more information and a few samples, go to www.globalwording.com
Here’s a word with a lot of meanings and an unusual history.
You can canvass for votes—which means you want people to vote for your candidate;
or you can canvass public opinion—meaning you’re taking a surve...
nefarious - podictionary 811From: podictionary.com
Post Date: 2008-07-14 21:01:42
Today’s podictionary word brought to you by GoToMeeting. Try it free for 30 days by following the link www.gotomeeting.com/podcast
When I peer into the dictionaries they tell me that the word nefarious means “wicked” and “unlawful.”
This may be true but it seems to me that nefarious is sometimes used in a lighter tone.
I said to someone the other day that Google could use all the data that they are constantly gathering for nefarious purposes.
By that I didn’t ...
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