You cannot get a clearer lesson from history than this. Substitute in the following speech from the British House of Commons from 121 years ago words such as Iraq, Libya, Afghanistan, ISIL, Taliban and the rest and for Britain, replace with ‘The West’ and you’ll see what I mean. Nothing, but nothing, changes, everything really… Continue reading Yesterday once more
Month: April 2015
Why advertising agencies were invented
They say ‘sell the benefits’, but Floriline’s graphic realism small ad that ran for more than 20 years points to just how malodorous things must have been in the drawing room of the 19th century. This is why David Ogilvy, Jay Chiat and a bunch more 20th century artists in communication have an honoured place… Continue reading Why advertising agencies were invented
Is there a rack where disused words are hung?
Is there a rack where disused words are hung like lost umbrellas, waiting for someone to claim and recycle them? Here’s a verb: to glimm. Sadly I am either much too young or much too old to ever utter it, but my unanswerable question is how it came to mean two totally diametrically opposed actions… Continue reading Is there a rack where disused words are hung?
What are words worth?
‘Plump’ is an interesting word. I hear you say: “Isn’t ‘plump’ just the euphemism you awkwardly use to describe that fat kid to his parents’ face?” Fairy godmothers are plump; untermenschen are clinically obese. Well, no. It carries other meanings. If you think about it, you ‘plump’ up cushions, though I guess that may be… Continue reading What are words worth?
Who’s that (interesting) boy?
We are on a journey to find out why the word ‘interesting’ took on a special meaning for a short time between about 1800 and 1850 — and a meaning never yet defined in any dictionary. The epithet ‘interesting’ was used a lot during those years. It seems, in context, to describe a characteristic of… Continue reading Who’s that (interesting) boy?
Who’s that (interesting) girl?
Who doesn’t love a murder mystery, right? Especially a 200-year old murder? So it was that I was drawn to All Things Georgian and the tale of Elizabeth Shepherd or Sheppard. One thing led to another. I wasn’t convinced of the author’s conclusion that this was motiveless. It did not seem to fit with the… Continue reading Who’s that (interesting) girl?