Lovers of words will love this Web site: It's called World Wide Words, and it's assembled with great care and passion by a British fellow named Michael Quinion. He's an interesting guy. Studied physical sciences at Cambridge, where he got into radio. Made audio-visual tapes advertising tourist attractions throughout Britain. He also was the curator of the Cider Museum in Hereford, and a cider maker and author of two books on the process.
Mostly he's a word maven, with a dry British wit and an apparently inexhaustible set of resources for digging up obscure words and their even more obscure origins.
Recent posts have included "stiff upper lip," which, I was surprised to learn, is American in origin, despite its long association with the British. Then there's "two-car funeral," (the entry for which quotes -- ahem -- The Mighty Fresno Bee). And there's "gowpen," which means a double-handful.
If you love words, and love wallowing in them while you're supposed to be working at your computer at the office, this is the Web site for you. Bookmark that puppy.
Blog Roll
In The Middle- Blognetnews.com/California
- Bill Bradley's New West Notes
- The Hotline's Blogometer
- Rough & Tumble
- PolitickerCA
- Fresno Bee Opinion Page
- fresnobee.com
- Huffington Post
- Daily Kos
- Red State
- Flash Report
Local Media
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