If I wrote a textbook, it'd be called English is Mean. As a teacher, parent, and ESOL tutor, I often told students, kids, and tutees (?!) that English is mean. Here are a few of my favorite examples. Add your own! and, please contribute through PayPal
Search This Blog, esp. for "typos"
Wednesday, March 4, 2020
Wednesday, February 26, 2020
Friday, January 31, 2020
Short shrift
GLOUCESTER
Off with his head! Now, by Saint Paul I swear,
I will not dine until I see the same.RATCLIFF:
Dispatch, my lord [Hastings]; the duke would be at dinner:
Make a short shrift; he longs to see your head.
apropos of nothing
"All I want to do is have a little fun before I die,
Says the man next to me out of nowhere.
It's apropos of nothing."
Sunday, October 6, 2019
Wednesday, October 2, 2019
Caught Between Scylla and Charybdis
https://history.howstuffworks.com/history-vs-myth/10-expressions-from-ancient-world4.htm
You might remember this as a lyric from the '80s Police song, "Wrapped Around Your Finger."
Monday, September 30, 2019
Thursday, September 26, 2019
Friday, August 9, 2019
Swan song
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swan_song
Swan Song Records was a record label launched by the English rock band Led Zeppelin on 10 May 1974.
Tuesday, August 6, 2019
Sunday, August 4, 2019
Saturday, July 6, 2019
cruel to be kind
The sentiment—harsh medicine may effect the best cure—is ancient, but Hamlet apparently coins "cruel to be kind," a very common phrase nowadays.
Friday, July 5, 2019
Wednesday, May 22, 2019
Wednesday, April 3, 2019
She Who Must Be Obeyed
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/She_Who_Must_Be_Obeyed
I thought this might be a play on Voldemort from the Harry Potter series, but he is "He Who Must Not Be Named".
ichthyosis
OK, it's not a good thing to have, but it's got a cool name. https://www.niams.nih.gov/health-topics/ichthyosis
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https://www.fcc.gov/consumers/guides/obscene-indecent-and-profane-broadcasts Obscene, Indecent and Profane Broadcasts Feder...
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"An endoskeleton is formed on the inside of an animal’s body, while an exoskeleton is formed on the outside of an animal’s body." ...