I just read an article that said: “Get-rich-quick” schemes are usually just that – schemes. Are schemes a bad thing? My American Heritage Dictionary (Third Edition) defines a scheme as: “a systematic plan or action” So… a get-rich-quick scheme is a systematic plan or action to get rich quick. Doesn’t sound bad, really.
Author Archive | weeklyrob
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Another word that they changed
I’ve pointed out before that American English is as close to Shakespeare and Chaucer as is British English (much as some British like to think otherwise). In the same vein, I’ve also pointed out before that some words and spellings that we think of as strictly Americanisms are actually holdovers from the way English was […]
Fire and Madness
In Australia, in my wife’s hometown, temperatures have reached over 115 degrees Fahrenheit. But worse than that are the fires that have killed more than 80 people. The most shocking line in the article is this one: “…police suspect that in at least one case fires have been restarted by arsonists after being extinguished by […]
I Do Not Believe You
Words that mean “VERY GOOD” but also mean (or used to mean) “Not to be Believed”: Fantastic: I.e., fantasy, i.e., not true. Incredible: I.e., not credible, i.e., not believable. Unbelievable: I’ll let you work this one out. Fabulous: From a fable, i.e., not true. Other types of “Very Good” words: Amazing: Shares an ancestor with […]
Older than we Thought?
Sponges!
Faith in Faith
Occasionally, when discussing science and faith, I have to admit that my belief in atoms, quantum mechanics, carbon dating, and lots of other stuff isn’t based on something that I know. It’s based on my belief, or faith, in science. And occasionally, someone somewhere will try to convince me that my faith in science is […]
Not Enough Hours in the Day? Just Wait.
The earth’s rotation slows by about a second every 50,000 years. So just stay alive a while and you can enjoy longer days. Unfortunately, the length of a year isn’t changing. As days get longer, there will be fewer of them in a year, meaning that you’ll have to do your taxes more often. [Incidentally, […]
In Encyclopedia News
Or is it “encyclopaedia”? Encyclopaedia Britannica becomes more like Wikipedia. Wikipedia may become more like Encyclopedia Britannica. Will they merge and become Wikipaedia Britannica?
Speaking of Luxury
I’m reading Love in a Cold Climate, by Nancy Mitford. I’ve read a few of these light little romps through the 1920’s in upper crust England. They’re fun. But this is the first one I’ve read being told in first person by a female character. Suddenly, when all the ladies leave the men to their […]