Category English Language

“Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?” So goes one of William Shakespeare’s famous sonnets. But what exactly is a sonnet? Not exactly a neither song nor prose, a sonnet is something special. Composed of just 14 lines, the sonnet is a poem written in iambic pentameter.

The word ‘sonnet has been derived from the Italian word sonetto, meaning “a little sound or song.” It first appeared in the poetry of Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey, in the 16th Century. Howard translated Italian sonnets into English and composed his own.

Writers often composed sonnets to make a living when theatres were closed due to the plague. Sonnets were considered to be an art form through which artists showed off their talents. Wealthy people paid Shakespeare to write sonnets for them.

Shakespeare’s sonnets are composed of 14 lines, and most are divided into three quatrains and a final, concluding couplet, rhyming ABAB CDCD EFEF GG. This sonnet form and rhyme scheme is known as the English’ sonnet.

Different types of sonnets

Most of us might be familiar with Shakespeare’s sonnets. Known as the English sonnet, it is the most common and simplest type. But did you know there are several other types too? Here’s a look at some of them…

• Petrarchan: The Petrarchan sonnet is named after the Italian poet Francesco Petrarch, a lyrical poet of 14th Century Italy.
• Spensarian: This is a variation of the Shakespearean sonnet with a more challenging rhyme scheme: ABAB BCBC CDCD EE.
• Miltonic: These sonnets examined an internal struggle or conflict and sometimes stretched beyond traditional limits on rhyme or length.

Who created the first sonnet?

Italian poet Giacomo da Lentini is credited with the invention of the sonnet. A notary at the court of the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II, da Lentini composed poetry in the literary Sicilian dialect in the 13th Century.

 

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Are you afraid of ghosts? Did you know that ghosts can lurk not only in haunted mansions and dark comers, but also inside dictionaries?

Yes, you read that right. Ghost words are words that have entered into the dictionary by a human error rather than normal linguistic transmission.

They are usually a result of a misprint or an erroneous reading of a manuscript.

The Oxford English Dictionary defines a ghost word as “a word recorded in a dictionary or other reference work which is not actually used.”

Here are some ghost words that might be lurking inside your dictionary:

**Abacot is a ghost word that arose through a series of misreadings. The word first appeared in the second edition of “Holisnhed’s Chronicles” in 1587. It found its way into every major dictionary. Only 300 years later was it discovered that the word was a misprint of ‘bycoket’, meaning a cap or head-dress.

**Morse: The word ‘morse’ as a noun became popular after it appeared in  Sir Walter Scott’s 1820 novel, “The Monastery”. However, ‘morse’ mysteriously appeared as a verb in dictionaries. Was it Morse code? Not really, it was just a printing mistake, putting ‘morse’ instead of ‘nurse’.

**Momblishness: Though the word sounds similar to mumble, it turned out that momblish was actually a typographical error. The actual word was ‘ne-m’oublie-pas’. French for “don’t forget me”.

**Cairbow: Cairbow was mentioned in an early 20th century draft of the Oxford English Dictionary. The new word puzzled the editors: What was cairbow? A new type of rainbow or a polar creature? Well, none of the above. It turned out that cairbow was just a misreading of caribou.

 

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Some of us write simple straight sentences. Some of us prefer to use multisyllabic words (such as: integrative) and long sentences thinking, “When I know it, why not just use it?”

We use idioms to make a point and add colour to our writing. Look at the difference between “Don’t go near that pond” and If were you. I wouldn’t go near that pond. In short we all have our unique ways of writing. That’s fine, as long as the reader gets the meaning and the purpose of your writing

What if you use words that are misleading or just plain wrong? It is good to make sure the words and phrases you use are precise, necessary and error free.

The following examples will help you avoid the pitfalls of writing without thinking properly.

Oxymoron

You have an oxymoron when two words opposite in meaning are expressed together. It is a figure of speech containing words that seem to contradict each other or cancel each other out. It’s often referred to as a ‘contradiction in terms

Oxymorons are used for a variety of purposes. Sometimes they’re used to create a little bit of drama for the reader sometimes to add spice to the prose or poem; sometimes they’re used for emphasis, or to make a person stop and think “Is this funny? Is this absurd?”

A common oxymoron is the phrase the same difference. This phrase is an oxymoron because the words same and difference have completely opposite meanings. Bringing them together into one phrase produces a puzzle

A true myth’ eh? What do you make of that? Interesting, right? An oxymoron, as a figure of speech, is used in poems for emphasis. Shakespeare used these in his tragic play “Romeo and Juliet”: loving hate, heavy lightness”, feather of lead, ‘bright smoke, cold fire’, sick health’.

But if you use it without realising it is an oxymoron, it can lead to funny (read: absurd) phrases, that are best avoided. What is virtual reality? Who are paid volunteers?

Errors and effective phrases

Do you use the following in speech or writing? It’s likely you have, or you may have heard of them.

Found missing, fully empty seriously funny, only choice. original copies, act naturally, clearly confused, deafening silence, farewell reception. growing smaller, open secret sweet sorrow, weirdly normal.

Writers have used oxymoron words and phrases to good effect. These examples, seen in their context will show us how this figure of speech can be effective not just as phrases, but in the meaning of the whole sentence.

I like a smuggler. He is the I only honest thief Charles Lamb

I can believe anything, provided that it is quite incredible. Oscar Wilde

And faith unfaithful kept him falsely true. Alfred Tennyson

Modem dancing is so old fashioned. Samuel Goldwyn

I am a deeply superficial person. Andy Warhol

We’re busy doing nothing Bing Crosby

No one goes to that restaurant any more. It’s always too crowded. Yogi Berra

A joke is actually an extremely really serious issue. Winston Churchill

I like humanity but i loathe persons. Edna St. Vincent Millay

I generally advise persons never ever to present assistance. P. G. Wodehouse

Avoid malapropism

Have you ever used the wrong word in the wrong context? Read more to find out how to avoid this mistake.

Malapropism is the act of using an incorrect word in place of one that is similar in pronunciation. Answer this: Which one is right?

The man is an imminent personality known for his books on climate change.

The man is an eminent personality known for his books on climate change. The word Malapropism comes from a character named Mrs. Malaprop in the play “The Rivals by Richard Brinsley Sheridan. The playwright Sheridan chose the name Malaprop because the word malapropos means inappropriate In the play. Mrs. Malaprop often used words that sounded similar but were wrong in the context. (“Illiterate him quite from memory instead of “Obliterate him”) Malapropism is also referred to as Dogberryism, named after Officer Dogberry in Shakespeare’s “Much Ado About Nothing”. Both characters made these speech errors. Here are some examples of malapropisms: Mrs. Malaprop said, “She’s as headstrong as an allegory (alligator) Officer Dogberry said, “Our watch, sir, have indeed comprehended two auspicious persons (apprehended two suspicious persons)

 

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It is often said that short is sweet but sometimes stories need long, sprawling sentences to have a bigger impact. These long monologues and multi-line descriptions are known as the run-on sentence. And over the years, some of the authors have taken the nun-on technique as far as it can go writing some of the longest sentences in English in the process.

What is a run-on?

Run-on sentences are sentences that contain too many ideas, often without proper punctuation Typically, they include independent causes that are joined together without any connecting word or punctuation to separate the clauses.

However, not all long sentences are run-on sentences. For instance, the 800-word sentence in Victor Hugo’s “Les Miserables” is one of the longest grammatically correct lines to appear in any work of literature But Hugo’s sentence is not a run on.

Setting word records

James Joyce and William Faulkner, both renowned authors and poets, were among the earliest to master the run-on. Joyce held the world record for the longest nun-on with a 3,687 word sentence in Ulysses”. The novel contains the character Molly Bloom’s 36 page, two sentence monologue.

In 1983, Faulkner was featured in the Guinness Book of World Records for his lengthy passage from his 1936 book. “Absalom, Absalom!” The huge run on sentence consists of as many as 1,288 words and countless clauses. Once you get into its rhythm, the sentence immerses you in Faulkners stream of consciousness (unfiltered flow of thoughts). Faulkners experimental sentence style proved an inspiration to modern writers such as Samuel Beckett. Virginia Woolf and F. Scott Fitzgerald.

Recent examples

Post modem writers are still influenced by Faulkners nun-on technique. The current record holder the longest English sentence is Jonathan Coe for his staggering 33-page 13,955-word sentence in “The Rotter’s Club (2001).

Last year, Lucy Ellmann’s “Ducks” which consists of a single sentence (published in parts throughout the novel) running over 1,000 pages, was shortlisted for the Booker Prize.

 

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Coming to think of it, not everyone says “Yes” in the same way, though the meaning is the same – “I agree with you”, “I shall do what you want me to”, “What you say is right”. all of which means you agree generally with the person you are speaking to. But do we say “Yes” in the same tone and pitch always? Certainly not. Read the following aloud using the punctuation as dues. You will see how the simple word “Yes” can express different ways of agreeing.

[1] Yes! [2] Yes, yes, yes! [3] Yes. [4] Yes. [5] Yes? [6] Yes, [7] Yes – [8] Yeeeees..

Form a question each for these eight ways of saying “Yes”.

For example:

Question: Would you like a cup of ice cream?

Answer: Yes!

 “Yes” is a very old word. It entered English before 900 AD and comes from the Old English word “gese” meaning “may it be so.” Before the 1600s, “yes” was often used only as an affirmative to a negative question (‘You have not read the book?”), and “Year” was the all-purpose way to say “Yes.” [Examples: “Will you marry me?”, “Are you going abroad?” – “Yea’) By the 1800s, “Yeah” was being used widely, and came to be labelled as an Americanism.

Popular substitutes

There is another aspect to saying “Yes.” You can speak in the affirmative without captain. [“Aye, aye, captain!) It is a formal response meaning “yes” in the British House of Commons. It is also an I. Etymologists [those who study the saying “Yes.” That is, you can say “Yes” using a variety of words and phrases that have no “yes” in them. Here is a list.

[1] Aye: You would have heard this word in movies where soldiers answer the accepted substitute for “Tea” in a voice vote in the U.S. House of Representatives. When it first entered English, it was often spelled origin of words) don’t know where it came from, but it appeared suddenly in the late 1500s and is still with us.

[2] Indubitably: The word mean “indubitably”, meaning “without doubt, has the prefix “in” which when added to words generally makes it negative. [active-inactive] “Indubitably” like many words with a negative prefix comes from the root dubitable. Strangely though, the negative version of the word has always been more popular than its root. Both “dubitably” and indubitably” come from the Latin word “dubitare” meaning “to doubt.”

[3] OK, Okey: We generally associate the word “Ok” with Americans, but not everyone agrees “Ok” is an Americanism. But it is possible it came from the 1840 American presidential election in which political candidates jokingly mis-spelled the phrase “all correct” as “oll korrect” and then shortened it to “Okey” and “Ok”. There are also stories that the word had its origin in military barracks and soldiers gave it this spelling, but we cannot say if that story is true.

An informal version of “Ok” is okey dokey”. It is a goofy version really and you don’t want to use it when you are serious about saying “Yes”. No Okey dokey when you are asked, “Will you collect the hall-ticket from your teacher” The right answer to this is: “Yes, certainly.” 

[4] Sure: The word “Sure” is related to the Old French word with the same spelling, which meant “safe” or “secure.” Till the early 1500s, “Sure” meant “safe”. In the mid-1500s, people began to use the word “sure” when they meant “certainly” and “indubitably.” from which we get the phrases “to be sure” and “for sure“. Of course the phrase “sure thing” is without doubt an Americanism. It began to be used in the 1800s.

[4] Sure: The word “Sure” is related to the old French word with the same spelling, which meant “safe” or “secure” Till the early 1500s, “sure” meant “safe”. In the mid-1500s, people began to use the word “sure” when they meant “certainly” and indubitably,” from which we get the phrases “to be sure” and “for sure”. Of course the phrase “sure thing” is without doubt an Americanism. It began to be used in the 1800s.

[5] Yeah: This common casual variation of “yes” arose in the early 20th century in America. It is said with a drawl (elongated way) and is often used sarcastically. Since the 1980s, its usage of “yeah” appeared in the 1960s and may be a variation on the word “hooray.” However, it remains the least used among our “yes” alternatives. You hear this in sports stadiums when a match is going has risen dramatically, and is used widely in speech and writing.

 [6] Yay: This possible alternative spelling on, right?

[7] By all means: This affirmative means that it is an “yes” in every way possible. [Example: “Can we invite all the school leaders for the meeting?” “By all means.”]

[8] Affirmative: People say “affirmative” when they want to say “yes” just because they feel very pleased with themselves. This form of saying “yes” is found mostly in North America, where you can also hear the phrase “in the affirmative.” [Example: “The last time I asked you for permission to watch football, you replied in the affirmative.

[9] Roger. You heard this in movies when the soldiers are talking on the radio. “Roger” is used to acknowledge receipt of a message. Of course, no one can stop us from using it in casual conversation, and we have been doing so for quite some time. [Example: “Shall we order pizza for dinner today?” “Roger!” We feel well informed when we say that right?]

[10] Uh-huh: Saying “Yes” this way needs a bit of practice, since it is mostly sound with no history of its origin. This sound is a verbalised shrug, which can mean “yes” or “no”. It is a non-committal way of saying ‘Yes.” [‘You can do it, I really don’t care.) When you say “uh-huh”, you need to nod as well, to make your “Yes” clear.  

[11] Righto: This one is British. You can simply say “Right!” without the “o” in the end. But “Right” is informal and cheerful, don’t you think?

[12] Very well. This is a very useful phrase to convey that you accept because you don’t know what else to do. You are accepting something out of compulsion. Also out of exasperation. You are not excited about saying “yes” to the listener. Try saying this: “Oh, you want to use my mobile phone?  Very well then. Here it is.”  

[13] Yup: ‘Yup” and its variation ‘Yep” are such a joy to say. This is because of the “p” in the end that gives it a strong emphasis. [It is called the “implosive “p”.

Example: “Do you want to join the river cruise?” “Yep!)

[14] Right on: Even stronger than “Yep” is “Right on.” You say “Right on!” when you want to convey an overwhelming sense of approval.

[15] Totally: Try saying this, it makes you feel so superior! [Example: “people have no idea about cleanliness!” “Totally!”)

[16] Amen: This phrase goes all the way back to a Hebrew word, meaning “truth, certainty.” It is usually said at the end of a prayer or hymn, and stands for “so be it.” “Amen” is also used to express agreement or assent, sometimes in the form “Amen to that.” There are others too. I have heard people say “No mistake, very much so!”, “Certainly!”, “Of course”, and “You bet!” And now we have the emojis to help us say “Yes” without a single alphabet in the writing. Cool!

 

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We all want to write – and write creatively. If you want your writing to shine, you should make sure it is original. It should read like it is fresh, not only in ideas, but also in the way you put them across. With your writing you should try to create a world of words. It doesn’t matter what you are writing – stories, letters, passages or simply answers to questions in a test, you need to make it readable and interesting. Some people say writing beautifully is a gift. Agreed, we cannot all write like our favourite authors (though we wish we could), but we can definitely enhance the beauty of what we write by following a few simple tips.

Add freshness to your writing

Our simple way to add freshness to your writing is to avoid repetition of words and phrases. When you want to write creatively, you need to look for new ways to clothe your ideas in. The best and the easiest access to this are the dictionaries and the thesaurus. Let’s look at some verbs we tend to repeat and find alternatives for them.

Said

Dialogues often form the most important parts of a story. We typically start dialogues/direct speech with the default “said.” I suspect that readers just skim over this overused word and move on to what is being said. But you can give the speech more strength and draw more attention to what is being said by substituting “said” with more meaningful words. For example:

He said, “I have to leave now.” She said, “No, you cannot go. The meeting is not over.” He said, “I have to, I will be late for the flight.” She said, “But this is important.”

Walked

“Walked” is another overused, common word. It adds nothing to creativity in writing, and readers will not bother to visualize the action you are describing. So why not “ambled, strolled, moved, shuffled, pushed, trudged , manoeuvred? Remember, the word “moved” when used often, can confuse the readers since it also means a mental state. “I was moved to tears by the performance.”

Paragraph 1: He walked through the crowd. He walked across the street slowly, trying not to push those around him. He walked, looking at the shops and walked on as if he did not have a care in the world.

Paragraph 2: He trudged through the crowd. He shuffled across the street slowly, trying not to push those around him. He ambled on, looking at the shops and moved as if he did not have a care in the world.

See how paragraph II tells you more about the state of the person when you use synonyms for “walked”?

Amazing

Oh, this is another word used for anything everywhere! Do you want to fill all your descriptive blanks with this one word? Plus, can a pizza, the unexpected ending of a story, a work of art, a monument, a guard’s bravery when confronting a thief – all be amazing on the same scale? The word loses its punch and gets your readers to yawn. Reach for the thesaurus now. What words can you choose to substitute “amazing” with?

Very

The adverb of degree “very” is now very flat. Adding it to show degree looks like lazy writing. Very disturbing, very normal, very beautiful, very annoying – very boring! Using it so much will not help to make your writing unique.

Try these instead, greatly, terribly, absolutely (another overused word), remarkably, notably, eminently, honestly, neatly.

But when it comes to adverbs, I prefer to use them to the minimum. It is better to allow the narrative speak for itself, without help from adverbs.

Nice

My English teacher would always circle the word “nice” in our answers and reduce marks for poor writing.

“Everything cannot be labeled as “nice”, she taught us. “Find appropriate synonyms!”

We did. A whole lot of them like pleasant, pleasing, satisfying, acceptable, delightful, enjoyable, pleasurable, congenial, fine, delicate, precise, meaningful. When we used these other words our descriptions were precise, accurate, and gave the reader a better sense of the object/idea we were describing.

Look

This is an overused basic verb. Happily, there are so many synonyms and substitutes for this word that you will always find one that is appropriate to the action you are describing. Find one that is exciting! Here is a list: glance, notice, peer, stare, study, watch, view, note, and glimpse.

 

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A marketing salesman was on a mission to find out if his product would sell in European countries – both east and west. As he travelled, he met with one major problem. Every country spoke a different language – German, French, Armenia, Dutch, Swedish, Spanish and a whole lot more. He solved it through a simple method. He would go into a restaurant call out, “Does anyone speak English here?” someone would, and he would get the information he needed. This went on for weeks, till he came to an eatery in a new place. He asked his question. The answer was, “Why sir, yes! This is England!” The poor salesman could have had an easier time – if only all these countries spoke the same language! And there is such a language called Esperanto. It is a world language, created to make communication among people from different countries easy. It was created some hundred years ago. According to language scholar Axel Belinfante, the fact that Esperanto has been around for so many years shows that it is a living language, capable of expressing all human thought.

A look at its history

Esperanto was created in 1887 by Dr. LL Zamenhof. He wanted it to be taught as second language so that people speaking different native languages could communicate. This arrangement would ensure that people did not forget their language or lose their cultural identity.

Zamenhof grew up in Bialystok, Poland, where different groups of people spoke different languages and followed different cultural practices. And they all lived inside Poland! Travelling and understanding one another within the same country was problematic! To solve this strange situation, he created his common language. He made it logical with a regular design so anyone could learn it.

The full name for Esperanto is Doktoro Esperanto. “Esperanto” translates to “one who hopes” [from the verb “esperi” (to hope)] and is drawn from the pseudonym LL Zamenhof, the creator of Esperanto, used when he published his first book on the language called Unua Libro in 1887. Most Esperanto root words are taken from Italian, French, German and English. A select few words come from Latin, Greek, Lithuanian Russian and Polish, as well. This connection is what makes Esperanto so useful in studying any of these European languages.

How will learning Esperanto help us?

It makes sense

Esperanto has 16 regular rules of grammar and a regular phonetic spelling. There are no exceptions to these rules. You can apply these rules constantly without hurdles. In English “do” and “go” are pronounced differently, though both have an “o” after a consonant. Esperanto is learned quickly and easily, compared to a lot of languages.

You can be a Polyglot

A polyglot is a person who speaks four or more languages. Studies have shown that students who learn Esperanto as a secondary language find it easy to learn a third language. The logic is Esperanto opens the logic (or otherwise) in all languages.

You’ll make new friends

If you know Esperanto, you get to know more people from across the world. You learn Esperanto because you want to have international friends. Esperanto magazines which columns that have many members practising the language.

You will travel widely

If you know Esperanto well, you will want to use it, right? And you can use it anywhere in the world! You can join the educated crowd in any part of the educated globe – from Alaska to Australia. Imagine staying with Esperantists overseas and getting to go round their country with them. Knowing the common world language gives you the advantage of staying anywhere, a small village in Italy to a large city in Kenya. You can connect with Esperantists of the world in a number of ways. For example, Pasporta Servo, an international network of Esperanto speakers run by the World Esperantist Youth Organization.

 

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Thanksgiving Day is a national holiday in the United States. There are many accounts about how it all began. Here is a popular version from history.com.

In September 1620, a small ship called Mayflower left Plymouth, England, carrying 102 passengers. They consisted of religious separatists looking for a new home where they could practice their faith freely and other individuals lured by the promise of prosperity and land ownership in the New World. After 66 days of enormous difficulties, they dropped anchor near the tip of Cape Cod in the northern part of the USA. One month later, Mayflower crossed Massachusetts Bay, where the Pilgrims, as they are now commonly known, began the work of establishing a village at Plymouth.

Throughout their first winter, most of the colonists remained on board the ship. They suffered from exposure, scurvy and outbreaks of contagious disaeses. Only half of the Mayflower’s original passengers and crew survived. In March, the remaining settlers went ashore. They were astonished when an Abenaki Indian came and greeted them in English. He brought another native American, Squanto, a member of the Pawtuxet tribe. This man had been kidnapped by an English sea captain and sold into slavery. He escaped to London and returned to his homeland on an expedition. Squanto taught the Pilgrims how to cultivate corn, extract sap from maple trees, catch fish in the rivers and avoid poisonous plants. He also helped the settlers forge an alliance with the Wampanog, a local tribe.

In November 1621, the Pilgrims’ first corn harvest turned successful. Governor William Bradford organized a celebratory feast and invited a group of natives, including the Wampanoag chief Massasoit. This event is now remembered as America’s “first Thanksginving”. The festival lasted three days. Edward Winslow, who traced the voyage of the Pilgrims wrote that the menu of the feast included fowl, deer and fruit. There was no dessert because native Americans did not bake.

Pilgrims held their second Thanksgiving celebration in 1623. This was to mark the end of a long drought. Thanksgiving on an annual or occasional basis became common practice in other New England settlements as well.

In 1789, George Washington issued the first Thanksgiving proclamation by the national government of the United States. He asked Americans to express their gratitude for the success in the country’s war of independence and the ratification of the U.S. Constitution. His successors John Adams and James Madison continued the celebrations.

In 1817, New York became the first state to adopt an annual Thanksgiving holiday. Other states followed, but mostly in the north of the country. The American South remained largely unfamiliar with the tradition.

In 1827, magazine editor and author Sarah Hale launched a campaign to establish Thankgiving as a national holiday. For 36 years, she published editorials and sent letters to governors, senators, presidents and other politicians. She came to be known as the “Mother of Thanksgiving.”

Abraham Lincoln finally heeded her request in 1863. At the height of the Civil War, he requested Americans to ask God to “commend to his tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or suffers in the lamentable civil strife” and to “heal the wounds of the nation.” He scheduled Thanksgiving for the final Thursday in November, and it was celebrated on that day every year.

In 1939, the month of November started on a Wednesday and there were five Thursdays. President Franklin Roosevelt moved the Thanksgiving day to the second last Thursday, saying this gave people more time to shop, and traders the opportunity to close shop early in the season and open them well in time for Christmas shopping. One of the fall-outs of this change in the date was the birth of Black Friday – a day when people go crazy shopping since everything is available at a discount.

In 1940, November had only four Thursdays. However, Thanksgiving was announced to be on the Thursday before the last one. The change in the date had stuck. Reports say that in 1941, the President admitted that the switch was a mistake. Too late! The calenders had been printed marking the third Thursday of November as Thanksgiving Day. All right said President Roosevelt. What cannot cannot be changed must be endured, so he made the change permanent, by signing a bill making Thanksgiving Day fall on the fourth Thursday of November, whether it was the last Thursday of the month or not.

Words and the day

Now look at some of the words associated with the festival and the legends behind them.

Cornucopia

At Thanksgiving lunch, people place a giant horn-shaped basket full of fruits and vegetables in the middle of the table. It is formally known as “cornucopia” or the Horn of Plenty. The word comes from the Latin cornu, meaning “horn,” and copiae, meaning “of plenty”. The Greek god Zeus is said to have been fed by the food-filled horn of the goat Amalthea when he was a baby. Another myth says Hercules ripped off the horn of a river god in a wrestling match. Then the nymphs turned it into a cornucopia full of fruit and flowers to commemorate his triumph. In The Hunger Games, you see the horn-shaped cache of weapons called “Horn of Plenty.”

Cold turkey

Meaning: wholly and suddenly.

Gobble up

Meaning: to eat/use something very quickly and eagerly;

Turkey Trot

Meaning: a fun long-distance run or foot-race in a turkey costume that is held on or around Thanksgiving Day in the U.S.

Tofurkey

Meaning: the combination of the words “tofu” and “turkey”, i.e. a vegetarian version of turkey usually made from tofu (soybean protein) or seitan (wheat protein) with a stuffing made from grains or bread.

 

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Heard this carol?

Have you heard/sung the song Twelve Days of Christmas? Even if you have, check out the John Denver and the Muppets version. It is fun!

December 25 marks the official start of 12 days of Christmas. And this Christmas carol tells us what those twelve days are about.

In Christian belief, the 12 days of Christmas mark the period between the birth of Christ and the coming of the Magi, the three wise men. It ends on January 6 (Epiphany or Three King’s Day). The four weeks preceding Christmas are described as Advent, which begins four Sundays before Christmas and ends on December 24.

In the carol, the singer brags about all the wonderful gifts the group received from their “true love” during the 12 days of Christmas. Each verse is an addition to the previous one, and the song gets longer and longer. The lyrics to “The 12 Days of Christmas” have changed over the years.

The one below is the most popular version.

On the first day of Christmas,

My true sent to me

A partridge in a pear tree.

The song then adds a gift for each day, building on the verse before it, until you sing of all 12 gifts together.

Day 2: two turtle doves, Day 3: three French hens, Day 4: four calling birds, Day 5: five gold rings, Day 6: six geese a-laying, Day 7: seven swans a-swimming, Day 8: eight maids a-milking, Day 9: nine ladies dancing, Day 10: 10 lords a-leaping, Day 11: 11 pipers piping, Day 12: twelve drummers drumming.

The song first appeared in a 1780 children’s book called Mirth With-out Mischief. Some historians think it was first sung in French. Whatever the language, it is a “memory” game, in which singers try to remember the lyrics and lose points if they make a mistake.

An English composer, Frederic Austin is credited with the version most of us are familiar with. In 1909, he set the melody and lyrics. When you sing the stretched “five go-old rings”, you should remember him. It was his idea.

Now let’s see why these gifts were chosen.

Partridge in a pear tree

It is not likely that you will find a partridge in a pear tree. Partridges are ground-nesting birds, and avoid flying high to perch in pear trees. The word “partridge” comes “perdix,” the Greek word for the bird. This in turn comes from a verb meaning “to break wind”, which refers to the sound of the wings as the bird takes off.

Two turtledoves

The turtledove is a bird and the word is used to refer to a beloved one. The “turtle” in the name is based on the Latin turtur that sounds like the bird’s distinctive call.

Turtledoves live in pairs, which show affection for the mate. This bond between birds has been described in Literature. In his poem of 1601 “The Phoenix and the Turtle”, Shakespeare refers to a tale of love between a phoenix and a turtledove.

Three French hens

We don’t know why people will give chicken as a Christmas gift, but poulets de Bresse (Bresse chicken) is a sought-after French hen, so the receiver may accept the three French hens. The word hen comes from the Old English hen(n), and is related to the Latin canere, “to sing,” so it is appropriate to be added to a carol.

Four calling birds

Most of us sing this line as “calling birds,” but in a 1780 version of this song, the line was “colly birds.” Around the time this song was published, “colly” in British dialects meant “dirty, grimy or coal black.” Frederic Austin’s 1909 version of “Twelve Days of Christmas” replaced colly with calling.

Five golden rings

We know what gold means. It stands for the valuable metal, and is form an ancient (Proto-Indo-European) root meaning “to shine.” This same root ultimately gives the word yellow, another meaning for “golden.” In the song, this lyric was originally “gold rings”, rather than “golden rings.”

Six geese a-laying

Birds again! But goose because it stands for a variety of things. It can refer to “the female web-footed swimming bird,” “a foolish person,” or “a poke in the back to startle someone.” There is also the idiom wild-goose chase, which refers to “a wild or absurd search for something unattainable.”

Seven swans a-swimming

It is comforting to know that the seventh day gift of seven swans are swimming and not singing! Swans do not have a voice that will get them to be included in the Christmas choir, so it is good these raucous birds will glide in the water and perhaps keep quiet.

The word swan means “the singing bird,” and is related to the Old English geswin, which means “melody, song” and swinsian, which means “to make melody.”

Eight maids a-milking

Since this song’s appearance in the late 1700s, “milk” in its verb form has stood for a range of actions, mostly shady. In card games, “to milk the pack” means “to shadily deal cards by pulling them from both the top and bottom of the deck.” “To milk at the horse race” was “to throw a horse race.” In the late 1800s, milk meant “to bug a telephone.”

Nine ladies dancing

The word “lady” is from the Old English hlaefdige, thought to literally mean “loaf-kneader” or, more broadly, “wife of a lord.” It entered English in the 1300s. The word dance comes from the Old French dancier. People preferred it to the Old English word for dance, sealtian.

Ten lords a-leaping

The word “lord” comes from the Old English word hlafweard, which literally meant “loaf-keeper.” Remember, “lady” means “loaf-kneader.” The origins of these words tell us about a social structure where wives made the bread and husbands guarded it. Of course today both can be breadwinners.

Eleven pipers piping

The word pipe, as a verb, meaning “to play on a pipe,” can be traced back to the Latin pipare, meaning “to peep, chirp.” It also means “to make a shrill sound like a pipe,” “to lead or bring by playing a pipe,” and, in baking, “to force dough or frosting through a pastry tube.”

Twelve drummers drumming

The word “drum” is the back formation of the longer word drumslade, alteration of the Dutch or Low German word trommelslag, which meant “drum beat.”

 

Picture Credit : Google