Names, naming and words

Punt-pole

Names, naming and words by LoisMay 2, 2015

Iris, iris or iris?

Names, naming and words by LoisApril 30, 2015

Elfish, elfin, elvish…

Names, naming and words by LoisApril 27, 2015

Elsden… and other names

Family Stories by LoisApril 22, 2015September 11, 2018

Lending and borrowing words

Names, naming and words by LoisApril 21, 2015September 11, 2018

Names, naming and words by LoisApril 19, 2015April 20, 2015

I don’t suppose there is any such thing as a trunk call these days, a trunk call was a long distance telephone call, as opposed to a local one. There must be some joke about elephants and trunk calls… an elephant’s trunk is actually his nose and upper lip… and no doubt there are jokes […]

Rapty

Names, naming and words by LoisMarch 31, 2015

Names, naming and words by LoisMarch 30, 2015March 30, 2015

An escargatoire of snails

I wonder if other languages have as many collective nouns as English does – and sometimes there are several collective nouns for each group of whatever it is. For example what I might have called a clump of snails when I saw this pile of molluscs in the car park is actually an escargatoire of snails… […]