Archive for July 2016

'First laddie' -- no, I won't spoil the word

'First laddie' -- no, I won't spoil the word
After I’d seen and heard others referring to Bill Clinton as the potential “first laddie,” just talking about the term with family and friends wasn’t enough.  (But then again, that’s why this blog is about words and languages.) I looked up “laddie” in my copy of “The Concise Scots Dictionary” (Crescent Books, originally published in... Read more »
By Margaret H. Laing,
July 29, 2016 at 3:58 pm
• 6 comments

Serious questions: Political conventions edition

Serious questions: Political conventions edition
I like listening to convention speeches. I like listening to analysis of speeches from analysts I respect. Then why can’t I enjoy both on television, PBS? Why doesn’t the “sound-proof booth” of old game shows turn up at the conventions to keep the sound of the speeches away from the voices of the analysts, and... Read more »
By Margaret H. Laing,
July 26, 2016 at 1:03 pm
• 2 comments

In Which A.A. Milne Writes 'The Red House Mystery' for Grown-Ups, and a Blogger is Charmed

In Which A.A. Milne Writes 'The Red House Mystery' for Grown-Ups, and a Blogger is Charmed
I admit it: Recent events have driven me back to reading A.A. Milne. (After all, he was the one who coined the term (Sustaining Books.) But I’m not clear back to reading “Winnie-the-Pooh,” yet, anyway. Since I love detective stories, I’ve turned to the one Milne wrote, “The Red House Mystery.” (My copy is a... Read more »
By Margaret H. Laing,
July 16, 2016 at 4:08 pm
• 2 comments
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How to add some beauty to the world

How to add some beauty to the world
Last week was the sort of week it’s good to be able to call “last week.” But the more we focus on what’s wrong, it seems to me that we’ll be seeing only the wrong things… the horrible things… the ugly things. What’s helped me through the past few days — days of thinking I... Read more »
By Margaret H. Laing,
July 11, 2016 at 12:11 pm
• 11 comments

Christmas in July and other Serious questions

Christmas in July and other Serious questions
Why is something amazing and/or precious compared to “like Christmas in July” when everyone who celebrates it seem to think that when we’re planning to celebrate, Christmas comes too quickly? How is “truth in labeling” accomplished by the makers of things to be used in the shower when the labels are too small to read... Read more »
By Margaret H. Laing,
July 1, 2016 at 10:10 am
• 11 comments