Monthly Archives: December 2013

Origins of Words & Sayings

Posted on December 23, 2013 by ramblesofawriter

As a special Christmas treat, a double helping of origins today! Both come from the excellent BBC programme Tudor Monastery Farm.   The first is actually pretty obvious, I suppose. In Ye Olde Tudor Times, drinking vessels were known as … Continue reading →

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One of the last posts of AD/CE 2013…

Posted on December 20, 2013 by ramblesofawriter

I was going to do a posting about Heisneberg’s Uncertainty Principle, but now I’m not so sure… Instead, I think I’ll do one about political correctness in writing. I recently been having an argument – sorry, debate – with a … Continue reading →

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Less is More

Posted on December 17, 2013 by ramblesofawriter

My learned followers will probably think I’m be teaching my grandmother to suck eggs, but I heard someone using ‘less’ instead of ‘fewer’ on a documentary recently and it reminded me of how I first learned the distinction. The best … Continue reading →

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Origins of Sayings

Posted on December 9, 2013 by ramblesofawriter

Today’s offering takes us back to days gone by. It’s another phrase that comes from flour milling, a subject that seems to provide us with a fair number of sayings still in use today. (I featured ‘Grinding to a halt’ … Continue reading →

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Progress Report

Posted on December 4, 2013 by ramblesofawriter

Hot off the press, the latest on the four projects I’ve been juggling with: Sadly, four has become three. I wasn’t selected to write the children’s adventure stories set in the twenties for Hothouse. As I’ve matured as a writer … Continue reading →

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Top Writing

Posted on December 2, 2013 by ramblesofawriter

In the Sunday Times TV guide supplement they print readers’ gripes and praise regarding different programmes. Both they and I have faithfully preserved the original format, punctuation etc. of this one they mischievously sneaked yesterday.  (Apologies to overseas readers – … Continue reading →

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