The Delightful Nuances Of The English Language.

Fascinating beyond measure.

Rare word endings...-gry
can you believe that there are only two? hungry and angry.

Counterfeit
once meant a legitimate copy.

Manufacture
once donated something made by hand, derived from the Latin root of hand.

Asparagus
a term created due to mishearing and thus spelling it wrong roughly 200 years ago. It was meant to be sparrow-grass.

Bolted
two meanings: bolted a door / the horse has bolted

R.S.V.P.
lent from the French language and not even used there anymore. If like me you forgot what it really stands for...repondez s'il vous plait.

Mayday
adapted from the French cry of " m'aider " , meaning " help me "

Exception proves the rule
only makes sense when you realize that the earlier meaning of prove was to test.

Many
always a plural except when followed by an a...Many people were there but many a man was there.

There was a row among the oarsmen about how to row.

Upon seeing the tear in the painting, I shed a tear.

Biggi