Showing posts with label Mencken. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mencken. Show all posts

November 7, 2009

What do these words have in common?

address, inquiry, mustache, advertising, cigarette, locate, addict, rebound, mama, princess, abdomen, finance, recess, defect, research
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
All words that, in British English, were once accented on the second or third syllable, but, thanks to our glorious American influence, are now accented on the first! (Or were made into nouns [addict, research] and then accented on the first!)

June 14, 2009

The most interesting idioms are the offensive ones

The English really used to hate the Dutch. We’ve all heard of Dutch treat and Dutch courage, but what about other expressions of hateful chauvinism, such as:

Dutch widow (a prostitute)
Dutch bargain (a drunken agreement)
Dutch feast (one at which the host gets drunk before his guests)
Dutch uncle (a brutal adviser)
Dutch reckoning (a non-itemized bill)

I guess the common thread is that something that is 'Dutch' is not what it purports to be, or not how it should be (like an 'Indian giver'). Fascinating!