In 1899, the music-hall song ‘What ho! She bumps!’, with words by Harry Castling, was a hit
By Dot Wordsworth
There is no vaccine against a word, but I hope coronavirus will be in less demand in 2021
By Dot Wordsworth
We have become distanced strangers fearful of a handshake or a kiss
By Dot Wordsworth
‘Shock’, from the French ‘choque’, began as the word for a collision of armies
By Dot Wordsworth
Living with is a phrasal verb first applied, in the 17th century, to spouses
By Dot Wordsworth
In recent years the distinction between may and might in the present tense has collapsed
By Dot Wordsworth
The first usage of the term dates back to the New York Times in 1971
By Dot Wordsworth
Only now I discover my assumptions about that phrase were wrong
By Dot Wordsworth
I fear gaslight is dangerously close to meaning ‘disagree with us’ or ‘suggest that we are mistaken’
By Dot Wordsworth
The football tactic is also known as the genuflect offense
By Dot Wordsworth
Ben Jonson spelt it vorloff in recognition of its Dutch origin
By Dot Wordsworth
‘Housewife’ meaning ‘woman in charge of a household’ was also sometimes pronounced ‘husif’. By the 16th century it was worn down to ‘hussy’
By Dot Wordsworth
Digging up reliable etymologies takes a lot of elbow grease
By Dot Wordsworth
