Your comments and questions:

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Q:  Why is the Vatican called the Holy "See"? Vicki

A: From the 12th century the throne of a bishop or archbishop in a principal church could be called a 'see'. The word came into English from classical Latin via Anglo-Norman French. The Latin source word means 'seat' -- hence the throne of a bishop. The longer expression 'The Holy See' (usually with upper case initial letters) is recorded from around 1400 to mean the Papacy, or the authority and jurisdiction of the Pope.  Under the terms of the 1929 Lateran Treaty with Italy it was restricted as a title to the Vatican City State. 

Q: Where do "Red Cent" (as in I will not give you one red cent) and "Brass Razoo" (as in " I don't a brass razoo) come from? Darryl

A: 'Red cent' is American, starting (in 1837) to mean a one cent coin made of copper, and, hence, with a slightly reddish hue. It rapidly became an idiomatic way of referring to a trivial amount of money. 'Brass razoo' is Australian and New Zealand slang (going back to 1919), and it was always an imaginary coin of trivial value, only every used in negative expressions. But there never was a real 'brass razoo' (despite some myths to the contrary). But I have heard of a one souvenir shop that sold a piece of fake money labelled a 'brass razoo' to cash in on the expression. 

Q:  Hi Kel, could you tell me where comeuppance came from originally? Thanks, John

A: This started as American slang meaning 'a deserved punishment.' It's older than I would have thought -- being recorded from 1859. It seems to have developed from that phrase 'to have it coming' -- incorporating the older phrasal verb 'to come up.' This meant to move from one place to another, and 'comeuppance' borrowed this to suggest the idea of moving into a place where justice will catch up with you.

Q:  Could you please explain the meaning of verballing or to be verballed. I’m so sick of hearing it from our leaders! I love your segment on Credlin. Thank you, Annette.

A: 'Verbal' as a verb only goes back to around 1920 (the noun is much older, from the 1400s). In the 1920s, and from some decades after that, the verb 'to verbal' was just being used as a synonym for 'said' or 'spoke.' Only in the 1960s does it take on its currently -- to falsely claim that someone has a made a statement. It is British and Australian slang -- largely unknown in the United States. And it began in police work, when a police officer dishonestly claimed that an accused had made a 'verbal confession'. The earliest citation is the (London) Times from 1963 The extended use, being applied to politicians, is exclusively Australian, and is only recorded from 1990 (appearing in the Courier Mail in that year).

Q:   Hi Kel, can you please help? I have two words which mean the same thing but are not medical words but ones that we use frequently, especially with small children. The words are "wee" and "poo". Where on earth have they originated from? Carol

A:  From a desire to communicate with small children -- especially during toilet training -- in words of one syllable. Thus, the need to avoid saying to a baffled two-year-old "urinate" or "defecate" -- while as the same time avoiding vulgarity. "Wee" has been around since 1930. The Oxford suggests that it is "Echoic: frequently as a child's word." And the Oxford says that "poo" is "nursery slang' and is recorded only from about 1960. Which I find surprisingly late.

Q:  Hi Kel, what is the collective noun for Liars? Or is that too political? Cheers, Richard

A:  I don't know. A prevarication of liars? Two other suggestions have been made: a 'conspiracy' of liars, or a 'deceit' of liars. 

Q:  Hi Kel, What about the word “naff”? I first heard it many years ago – maybe the 1980’s when Princess Anne told someone to “naff off”! It might have been a pesky journalist. A fairly gentile way of telling someone to Bugger off or F*** off? What can you tell us about naff? Regards, Richard

A: 'Naff' has been a bowdlerized substitute for a four-letter-word since at least 1959. It was used in that year (in that way) by Keith Waterhouse in his play "Billy Liar." From 1964 it was also used as an adjective meaning "Unfashionable, vulgar; lacking in style, inept; worthless, faulty" (Oxford). As to the origin of the word -- the experts remain puzzled.  

Q:  Hi Kel, could you tell me the origin of why a farmer is sometimes called a Cocky. Regards Joan  

A: During the pioneering years, many small selectors had flocks of cockatoos settle on their grain fields -- so much so, that it became a joke, that they appeared to be 'raising cockatoos no corn'. Hence, small farmers were called cockatoo farmers, then just cockatoos and then just cockies.

Q: Brian writes: "I feel quite miffed by the current election campaign (why can't they do better?) But where does 'miffed' come from?'

A: The experts are unsure. It's been traced back to 1623 and seems to come from a Middle High German source word muff or mupf  -- and this seems to have begun as nothing more than a grunt or interjection expressing disgust.

Q:  Would you please explain to me where the phrase "pretty penny" came from? Wendy

A: It's very old, going back to 1710. It originally meant 'a considerable gain, profit, or sum of money' (Oxford). It was using 'pretty' as an old adjective meaning 'to a considerable extent' or 'very.' And it was also using the old denomination of 'penny' to mean money in general.  So, a 'pretty penny' is 'an attractive sum of money'. It seems odd to us because it is so old, and a penny ceased to be a significant amount of money a long time ago. In fact, the phrase probably survived because of the alliteration of the Ps -- English seems to like (and remember) alliterative expressions.

Q:  To “home in” is to converge on a particular location or subject. In recent times TV commentators and their interviewees many, if not most, instead use the term “hone in”. I understand that language is fluid and changes with time, but this appears to me to be a clear misuse of the verb “to hone” or sharpen and indicates ignorance on the part of the user. Gerry

A: This is not a new usage -- it is simply wrong. 'Hone in' makes no sense, and is used by people who have misheard 'home in.' 

Q:  HI Kel., I would like to know the origin of 'Bobby Dazzler'. I was born in the late 40's and used to hear it often. Now rarely. Thank you.  Christopher

A:  The word is recorded from 1866. The experts are uncertain as to its origin. Both components ('bobby' and 'dazzler') were used to mean 'superlative.' More than that they do not know.  

Q: Where does the word 'hustings' come from? Alan

A: It's corruption of 'house thing' -- for the Vikings a decision-making gathering was called a 'thing'. (The Icelandic parliament is still called 'the thing'.) When a household gather to make a decision, it was a 'house thing' -- corrupted into modern English as 'husting.'

Q: What is 'pork barrelling' and where does it come from? Rick

A: From an American short story from the 1830s -- as a jokey way of talking about buying votes.

Q:  Hi Kel, in regard to blueprint, where did it originate from, and what is the significance of blue in the first part of the word? Thanks. John

A: In the early 1800s, long before photo copying, 'blueprints' where printed copies of architectural plans. They were blue with white lines because of the chemistry of that primitive printing/copying process.

Q:  Hello Kel, I would be thrilled if you could help me to finally make sense of when to use who and whom. Kind regards, Kieran

A: I will write a whole column on who/whom. Stay tuned.

Q:  Hey Kel, In recent times with financial upheavals etc, could we introduce a new word for the opposite term of DOWNHEAVAL??? Harvey  

A: I doubt that your new word will fly. 'Heave' means 'to raise up' so any 'heaval' will always be in an upward direction. ('Upheaval' comes from 1838 from geology, to describe the results of volcanic activity.)

Q:  Hi Kel, I keep hearing the phrase ‘in real time’. Is there unreal time? Susan

A: 'Real time' is recorded from 1946. The Oxford says it means: 'The actual time during which a process or event occurs, esp. one analysed by a computer, in contrast to time subsequent to it when processing may be done, a recording replayed, etc. Frequently in in real time: performed or occurring in response to a process or event and virtually simultaneously with it. ' It is technology that has given us this phrase -- because technology (in effect) gives us the possibility of 'compressing' time rather than taking 60 seconds to perform one minute of work.

Q:  Kel, what is the origin of "Fast asleep"? Bally

A: "Fast" in this expression is the aphetic (or shortened) form of the word 'fastened.' So 'fast asleep is not the opposite of 'slow asleep' -- rather it means 'fastened (attached) to sleep.'

Q:  Kel, I'm still confused about "gaslighting". It seems to me the way it is used and named as such today, that it is more like "baiting", in that it causes a flare up in response, as with lighting the gas. Can you explain a little more about the general understanding of the word please?
Thanks for your emails and Wednesday appearances on the telly. Catherne

A:  It's from the movie "Gaslight' in which a murderous husband persuades his young wife not to believe the evidence of her own eyes. So, a politician is gaslighting us when he says "Don't trust your senses or your logic, just believe what I say." 

Q:  Where does Ponzi scheme comes from and what does it mean? Serge

A:  A form of fraud in which belief in the success of a non-existent enterprise is fostered by payment of quick returns to first investors using money invested by others; any system which operates on the principle of using the investments of later contributors to pay early contributors. Named after the con man who invented the idea around 1920 in New York -- Charles Ponzi

Q:  Hello Kel, would like to know where the expression "Indian summer" came from. Thank You. Diane

A:  There are several explanations for where the phrase came from, mostly put forward in the early nineteenth century, which suggested the term was of sufficient antiquity by then that its origin had gone out of living memory. William and Mary Morris suggest it came about because the word “Indian” had been adopted as a term among early colonists to describe something false, or a poor imitation of the real thing, as in Indian corn or Indian tea. Whatever the reason, this name for a short period of fine weather at the end of autumn is now the standard term.

Q:  Something that puzzled me as a child -- negatives that don’t have a positive, eg - dis gruntled (I would love to feel “gruntled”. Others have occurred to me but won’t pop out of my head now. 

Other examples of “untoward” are disabused (enlightened) and dismayed (and what would “mayed” mean anyway? Greg

A: The positives once existed for 'gruntled', 'sheveled', and 'peccable'.

Q:  Which is the CORRECT term: "I couldn't care less" or " I could care less". I have always used the former and I believe it is the only one that makes sense. The latter is used almost exclusively by Americans, and they swear by it. Are you able to help out? Thanks Kel. Regards, James  

A: The only one which makes any sense (logically) is "I couldn't care less" -- meaning: "I care about this so very little I couldn't possibly care less!"

Q:  I regularly see the incorrect use of the term' You and I' when it should be 'You and me".
e.g. "You and I' may agree on a certain course of action, but whatever is decided won't have any effect on 'You and me' when often the words You and I are expressed in the latter part of the above. Maybe worth a comment on Peta Credlin in the next week or two. It really annoys me. Ross.

A: Added to Peta's list.

Q:  Whatever happened to Gazillions? Terence

A: 'Gazillion' (just like 'zillion' from which it is formed) is a 'large but indefinite about (Oxford) -- while billion and trillion are precise amounts.

Q:  Hi Kel, I seem to keep hearing the term catfished or catfishing. I think I know what it means but where the heck did it come from? Aileen.

A: 'Catfished' is being deceived online by someone adopting a false persona -- pretending to be someone they are not. The word is recorded from 2010.  Use in this sense derives from the title of the 2010 documentary film Catfish, which concerns this kind of deception. Within the documentary, the husband of a woman who has been adopting a fictional online persona refers to her as a catfish (in this case with positive connotations), drawing on the concept of the fish as an invigorating or enlivening force, based on the (probably false) idea that catfish were once used in the transportation of cod. There's a quote from 2010 that says: 'The catfish will keep the cod agile. And there are those people who are catfish in life, and they keep you on your toes. They keep you guessing, they keep you thinking, they keep you fresh.' It has now become entirely negative. 

Q:  EORA: Probably the most respected source on Sydney Aboriginal people is Val Attenbrow (Senior Research Fellow at the Australian Museum, archaeologist and author).  Her classic book -- Sydney's Aboriginal Past: Investigating the Archaeological and Historical Records, 2002, University of NSW Press -- was written after years of research (1989-1996) on the Port Jackson Archaeological Project.  In it she states (p.35): "The term Eora ... is used today in a variety of contexts to refer to the original inhabitants of the area between Port Jackson and Botany Bay or sometimes to the people of the whole of the Sydney region.  However, neither the early colonial accounts nor the late 19th century anthropologists or linguists use the term in this manner.  Earliest references to this term are in wordlists compiled by First Fleet officers William Dawes, David Collins, Philip Gidley King and Daniel Southwell".  She goes on to say that Dawes spelt it "Eeora" and said it meant "men or people"; Collins Spelt it Eo-ra" and said it was the "name common for the natives"; King said it meant "men or people", and spelt it variously as "Eo-ra" and "Yo-ra", etc.  Only Collins' accounts use Eora in context: "I then asked him where the black men (or Eora) came from", and Attenbrow comments: "Neither the word lists nor the contexts in which eora is used in these early accounts suggest the word eora was associated with a specific group of people or a language".  It was not until 1943 that Eora was used more widely as a "tribal name" (e.g. in Tindale's 1974 map of Aboriginal Tribes of Australia).  Attenbrow adds they did this although "there was no evidence that Aboriginal people had used it in 1788 as the name of a language or group of people inhabiting the Sydney peninsula". Likewise, Jacqueline Troy (considered an authority on indigenous languages of the Sydney area), states that Yura (her preferred orthography for Eora) was the "Sydney language word for 'person', though it was not used to refer to non-Aboriginal people". She reiterates this in Macquarie Aboriginal Words (ed. Thieberger & McGregor), 1994):  "Iyora (yura) is the Sydney language word for 'person' and was first used in the mid-twentieth century as a language name". p.61). I hope this helps, -Tony 

A: Thanks Tony -- it's a great help.

Q:  What is the origin of 'doing my head in' thank you. Paula

A: This is a British, Australian and New Zealand colloquialism, recorded from the late 60s/early 70s. It means being exasperated or annoyed. 

Q:  We aussies know where wipper-snipper came from, but what about wipper snapper?
My Dear Mother used it often (she'd be 98 years old now if she was still with us). Brian

A: 'Whippersnapper' was used to mean 'child' for many years (not heard much these days (not heard much anymore). It comes from the 1600s, from a word that originally meant 'a diminutive or insignificant person.' By 1700 it was being used of a young person. It's literal meaning (originally) was 'a snapper of whips'. So, it might have come from the notion that a 'cracker of whips' was a young person in an insignificant job of herding animals.

Q: Re: Aboriginal placename -- and calling the Sydney basin 'Eora land':  Well said!  And even the name, Eora, is not an Aboriginal tribal name; it was made up by the early colonists as a general name for the various Sydney groups. Tony

A: This is news to me. 'Eora' is not in the Australian National Dictionary or in any of the dictionaries of Aboriginal words/placenames on my shelves. I will do some research.

CHILDREN'S READING

Your column on 'children reading' has prompted me to write - I was addicted to Enid Blyton too and it has left me with a lifetime love of words. The naughtiest thing I ever did at school when I found a library book I had not read, I would lay it down sideways at the back of the shelf so it was there for me the next week, back in the 1950's we were only taken to the library once a week and one book at a time - that was never enough for me. My dad always encouraged me to read the comic strips in the newspapers too and as I grew, it led me to browse the rest of the paper and has led to a keen interest in current affairs. Our own children thrived on the Ladybird 'Talkabout' books - as they got older and had favourite stories, we all knew them off by heart and sometimes we would entertain Daddy with an impromptu 'play' - reciting the various parts!
We have 11 grandchildren, and they never went to bed without a story - I used to substitute their names for the heroes of the story, and they loved it!! Kaye

Kel in my family it was the series of Selby the Talking Dog by Duncan Ball. In particular my brother would voraciously read these books. And then as you will know, ever year in school they have ‘Book Week.’ Duncan Ball came to visit one year and that was a real thrill. I recall giving him an illustration of Selby which I had done and asked him to sign. Well he wanted to keep the illustration. I told him I wanted to keep it but I felt so bad. So we found out he was presenting at our local library. I dashed off another illustration and presented it to him at the library for him to keep. Cheers, Adam

Thanks Kel, for reminding me of one of my favourite childhood memories. Enid Blyton's Secret Seven and Famous Five series were my introduction to the joys of reading. My wife (who grew up in England) enjoyed the same experience. Many of the books have found their way to our nieces and nephews. The tradition continues.  Leo

Regarding your children’s reading books, I too grew up reading Enid Blyton’s Famous Five and Secret Seven books. I also read and re-read her Mallory Towers and St Clare’s schoolgirl series (your granddaughter might enjoy them too). In my teens I read the Nancy Drew detective novels. If you asked me what my all-time favourite childhood book was though, it’s Gerald Durrell’s My Family and Other Animals. Imagine a child growing up in the dreary north of England reading a book filled with the sunshine of Corfu. I’ve read that story again and again over the years. It never fails to entertain. Liz

Hi Kel, in response to today’s article, I also loved all of Enid Blyton’s books, including the Famous Five and Secret Seven. I loved horses and found all of the Pullein Thompson sisters books at my local library. There were many and they kept me going for quite a while, and my library habit is still going strong now I’m in seventies. When I became a primary school teacher in 1970 I knew that a love of reading was key to everything, so tried to pass that on to my students by reading to them every day for fifteen minutes. I usually started the year with Charlotte’s Web, which they all loved, then some by Mary Patchett and others. Once I had the whole class write to Mary Patchett with their little illustrated stories taken from her book, and wonderfully she wrote back to us, including a comment on every child’s work. Naturally I was thrilled on their behalf and realise now that to an elderly Australian author living in the UK it would also have been thrilling for her to receive a huge envelope filled with childish enthusiasm. Now I’m reading Charlotte’s Web to my six-year-old granddaughter who has just started reading, and every time she visits, she immediately asks for more chapters, which is very satisfying to me! Your column this morning took me straight back to lovely memories of my youth, walking the two-mile round trip to the library at least once a week to stock up on great stories. Thanks for all of your articles which I enjoy reading and send on to my sister in Kansas every day, Warm regards from Barb  

Out of curiosity I asked my 82-year-old father what his favourite childhood book was. His response … Eve Garnett’s Family from One End Street series. Entertaining reading for children and adults alike. I’m sure you will have read them. Cheers, Liz

I was brought up by my parents on reading lots of books, but I really remember enjoying the “Millie Mollie Mandy” books. Do you know of them? I don’t remember how many there were but they definitely influenced my outlook on life. I wonder if they are still available? They are probably not ‘woke’ enough now. But I do enjoy reading a lot. I have a great pile of half-read books beside my bed. (My hubby used to say he knew when i was asleep as the book fell on the floor!) Heather

Young teenage son: Read him “Hitchhikers guide to the galaxy, a trilogy in five books” by Douglas Adams. He wrote for Dr Who, Red Dwarf and other sci-fi parody, a little formulaic, but still entertaining.

Hi Kel, all our family love reading - I used to hide a bike lamp under my pillow and read under the covers! As a librarian I found there was a lot of snobbery around Enid Blyton - she was formulaic, all the stories were too similar, plus of course the usual racist/sexist/colonialist garbage - and the accusation that she'd written so many books - around 700 - that people would still be reading them in their late teens, thus being infantilised! I found they were a great tool to get kids reading.

I looked forward to The School Friend comic and looked forward to it coming out every Friday. My husband read all the boys comics. Anita. (I read a boys' weekly paper called "The Eagle"--Kel)

Probably you & I, like many ‘boomers’, had the advantage of spending our true ‘childhood’ in the pre-televisual era, so the only ‘moving visual narratives’, apart from trips to ‘the flicks’, were in our own imagination, stimulated by words. Probably the first ‘books’ I can remember were ‘Little Golden Books’ from before my actual ability to read independently, but that capability was developed during the depths of a miserable winter in 1950/51 in London, when my father attended London Uni on an international postgrad scholarship. I cut my teeth on ‘Beano’ & ‘Dandy’ weekly comics, but the graduation to ‘proper’ books came with Arthur Ransome’s incomparable ‘Swallows and Amazons’ yarns, starting when I was 6. They were followed by C.S. Lewis’ ‘Narnia’ stories, Ivan Southall’s ‘Simon Black’ adventures and hundreds more: 2 fiction & 2 non-fiction books every Saturday from the Earlwood library until I was at High School. John

My children were born in a time when the little golden books were in. I bought the first book while pregnant with my first child and started reading it to them while still in my womb.  Lucy

Similarly to your daughter, my parents bought us a Disney comic each week, and it was from them that I developed a love of words, as Donald Duck and his nephews were forever getting words mixed up.  So I learned the meanings of gyroscope, lepidoptera, efficiency, pickling a specimen, prospecting, flintlock, blunderbuss, tout de suite, etc., all while I was in primary school. Consequently, as a teacher for 45 years, I always had Disney, Garfield, Peanuts and other comics in the classroom for kids to read. Tony

Hi Kel, my son, now in his forties, was “captured” from his pre-school years by me reading him a segment of The Silver Brumby series by Elyse Mitchell every day.  This lasted for a few years until he could read well enough to take control himself.  He has well and truly joined the ranks of the life-long readers. Really enjoy your column, Di

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Q:  Would you please comment on these two contemporarily apt words: (1) Tailgating (2) Corflute. Thank you, Bronia 

A: 'Tailgate" (drive too close to the car in front) in American (from 1962). It arose because the back boards on a cart were once called the 'tailgate'. I'll write about 'corflute' soon in a column.

Q:  Hi Kel, we are hearing a lot about "sliding doors moment" -- I've heard Peter Dutton use it. Could you tell me what this means please? It seems to be a recent addition to the vocabulary. Regards, John  

A: It comes from the title of the 1998 Gwyneth Patrow movie "Sliding Doors" in which the future changes for her character depending on whether or not she goes through the sliding doors on a London underground train. 

Q: “out of whack” -- where did the saying come from and how old is it? Shirley

A: First recorded in Texas in 1885. The experts best guess is that it started out in life as 'out of thwack' -- and, in turn, 'thwack' was an onomatopoeic word that named a hit or a slap. 'Thwack' goes back to the 1500s, and this 1885 Texan version seems to suggest that one is out of energy, too tired, and so weak that he's unable to raise a hand to even slap his horse. 

Q:   I'm hoping you can advise the meanings of both 'billion' and 'trillion', particularly in Australia, but also in USA, Jennie

A: Originally there was a British billion (which was one million million) and an American billion (which was one thousand million). The American billion is now accepted worldwide, even by the British. Something similar has happened to trillion. It is now usually accepted as being one thousand billion (10 to the power of 12). There was once (briefly) an older version that said it was a billion billion (10 to the power of 18) but that seems to have gone by the board. 

Q:   Where does the saying “put that in your pipe and smoke it” come from. Brian  

A:  From around 1800. It seems to have begun as an Irish expression meaning -- " just think about that for a minute". Possibly from the thoughtful appearance of many smokers. Now it just means: ‘That’s got you, hasn’t it? That made you stop and think!”

Q:  Can you explain the origin and meaning of Vox Pop? Michael

A: It's a bit of Latin Vox Populi meaning 'voice of the people' -- hence, interviews in street with passers-by are called 'vox pops' in radio and TV. Originally it was part of a longer Latin phrase Vox populi vox dei --meaning the voice of the people is the voice of God.

Q: Oliver asks for the origin of the name of the 'Tory' (Conversative) party?

A: The word seems to come from an Irish word in the 1600s meaning 'outlaw'. In the English Civil War, it was applied to Royalists who opposed Cromwell and the Parliamentarians. As a political label it seems to have been applied first the supporters of the restoration of the crown in 1688.  Those early Torries were supporters of the executive power of the Crown and the authority of other established institutions, e.g. the episcopacy of the Church of England.  Many remained Jacobites at the time of the Hanoverian Succession (1714). Their character changed when they were joined by a faction of disaffected Whigs--and in 1830 they formally became the Conservative party. Whig started in Scotland as a name for the Covenanters and seems to come from a Scottish word meaning 'poor, yokels, country bumpkins. So, both 'Tory' and 'Whig' started as slurs that were (as is so often the case) adopted by the people they were aimed at as badges of honour and their preferred name.

Q:  I would like to know the origin of the phrase ‘It is not over until the fat lady sings’ Kath

A: So would everyone, Kath! The earliest citation so far discovered is from an American sports program from 1978.  However, it is actually a rather older expression, which occurs in several forms: It ain’t over till the fat lady sings, The opera isn’t over until the fat lady sings, or Church ain’t out ’till the fat lady sings. Research continues.

Q:  Is there a difference between a crisis and an existential crisis?  Geoffrey

A:  'Existential' means 'relating to existence' -- so an 'existential crisis' is one that threatens existence. Many a crisis can happen between now and ceasing to exist! 

Q:  I read an article where it referenced an interview "winding down", and the thought occurred to me that if I substituted " winding up", that it would virtually still have the same meaning, despite up and down being complete opposites. Your thoughts? John.

A: Both come from the days of clockwork -- and they are different in meaning. 'Winging up' is usually used to mean 'completing' -- when a clock is fully wound the job is complete. (Although it is sometimes used to mean 'tense' -- as tense as a fully wound spring.) 'Winding down' meanings grinding to a halt, becoming like a stopped clock. 

Q:   I have just finished watching Outsiders and Rita Panahi mentioned an acronym that I have never heard before. It was AWFUL, standing for Affluent White Female Liberals. Is this a new acronym or have I just missed it? I would love to know its origins. Also, James Morrow used cashiered to mean fired, is this a common American usage? Many thanks, Susan 

A: In 2022 Scott McKay, writing in 'The American Spectator referred to an existing acronym AWFL (Affluent White Females Liberals) which he said was 'good but not perfect' and he turned it into AWFUL standing for Affluent White Female Urban Leftists -- which spells out an appropriate word. The earliest citation for the original, shorter, AWFL version is from 2020 from The American sun, where Jackson Andrews said AWFL had replaced the earlier label of 'Karen' -- the name for the self-important white woman who demands to speak to the manager. 

Q:  Hello Kel, always like your segment on Credlin. I have a word that I would like your opinion on. The word is subliminal. Most sub things are below things. Like sub-standard etc. Thanks Andrew 

A: Subliminal means 'below the level of conscious perception' so it is still a 'below' word. It is  below the threshold (limen) required for conscious perception. Also (more generally): below the threshold required to elicit a response. 

Q:   It occurred to me that we say nonchalant but not chalant. Why is that? Surely the non indicates it is the opposite of the word it attaches to e.g non carcinogenic. Adam

A: Because the Old French source word is a single word -- not a composite word with a negative prefix.

Q:  From Vs Off. I was taught that the only thing you take off someone is their clothes, every thing else you take from them. I would love to see your comments in the Spectator. If elsewhere please advise. Timothy

A: Keep watching my column in the Speccie -- I'll research an answer for you.

Q:  Hi Kel, I'm interested in the term hard and fast and would love to know its origins.  Susan

A: It comes from attachment of bolts back in the 1300s to hold timbers together (very large bolts!). If they had been turned hard, then they were fast (short for 'fastened'). 

Q:  The word Tariff has been prominent lately. Where does it come from? Why is there one R and two FFs, instead of two RRs and one F? Denis

A: The spelling reflects the Italian source word 'tariffa' (meaning a book of rates for duties).

Q:  Can you tell me how the word ‘just’, used since ancient times in a legal sense to imply right versus wrong, became an adverb as in ‘just a minute’ or ‘it’s just one of those things’. Bruce

A: 'Just' as an adjective means "exactly, precisely; actually; very closely" (1400s) but a century earlier it meant ' lawful, legitimate, rightful, deserved, fair' -- both of which reflect aspects of the classical Latin source word iustus.

Q: Kel, you omitted mention of the best stanza, the ‘real’ second verse of ‘AAF’, which my parents set me to sing in my 5 year old treble to our neighbour in the London flats where we lived in 1950/51 when my father was studying at London Uni on a Nuffield Fellowship:
“When gallant Cook from Albion sailed, to trace wide oceans o’er,

True British courage bore him on, ‘til he landed on our shore.

And here he raised old England’s flag, the standard of the brave,

With all her faults, we love her still: Britannia rules the wave!”
She chuckled indulgently: “Britain, faults? Oh, dear me, how charming!” Cheers, John 

A: We never seem to sing that verse these days!

Q:  My grandson asked why we say “climbing the walls “?  Constance

A: It seems to have appeared in the 19th century -- and it comes from the notion of being confined: either in a prison or a high security mental asylum. In either case, it paints a picture of a confined person in a small space -- desperate for freedom and driven crazy by the small space.  Now used of anyone who is going crazy from frustration in any situation -- they are said to be 'climbing the walls.'

Q:  I just received information from my local council inviting me to attend a workshop which is
"a presentation on creating positive auspicing relationships. Auspicing is a strategic way for organisations to work together to provide services or activities" Can you explain this gobbledegook? John

A: "Auspice" is a noun (and only a noun). It can never be a verb. So, this nonsense seems to have been written by a semiliterate halfwit trying to sound pompous and important.

Q:  Hi Kel, why is the word "CLUB" used for and organisation and for a weapon or equipment like in golf? Cheers, Ivan. 

A:   They seem to be different words that are accidental homonyms. The cudgel meaning comes from an old Scandinavian word klubba while the association meaning seems to come from a Middle Dutch word culve, which became klobe in German and then club in English.  

Q:  Great debate at the golf club yesterday about the use of a or an before words with h, for example: an hotel, an historian. Is there a clear rule? Regards, Tony

A:  Yes, the official ruling in today's style guides is to use "a" before hotel/historian etc. But be sure to clearly pronounce the "h" at the start of the noun that follows the definite article. It's our failure to pronounce the "h" that leads us astray. 

Q:  Where does "Fly off the hand" originate? Thank you, Vicki 

A: It's American in origin (1832) and comes from the way a lose axe head can fly off its handle (and do a lot of damage!) -- so it means 'out of control' (the axeman having no control over where the lose axe goes).

Q:  I was having an eye test yesterday and at the completion of the assessment, asked the (young) optometrist whether I had a 'clean bill of health'? She had no idea what I was talking about. It occurred to me that I have always used the phrase (I'm 73) since I can remember, but now that the young optometrist raises the issue, what exactly does it mean? Shane

A: Originally (from 1642) a 'bill of health' was a declaration or a confirmation of a person's state of health (sometimes required for legal reasons in those days). A 'clean bill of health' was what is sounds like -- a good report.

Q:  Paul Keating once said, “it’s a terribly good budget”. Was it Terrible? Or good? David

A: Originally (from the late 1400s) 'terribly' meant painful or terrifying. But over the centuries it has been weakened into a meaningless intensifier.

Q:  The origin of the term "A dog's breakfast"? Hendrix

A: It means a confused mess. Recorded from 1892 (sometimes as 'dog's dinner') from the fact that (at the time) dogs were commonly fed with a mess of scraps and leftovers.

Q:  Hi Kel. Origin of You give me the Willy’s” please? Thanks, David 

A: It means "You make me feel nervous." It began as childish slang in the United States -- recorded from 1895. It puzzles us now, because it is a shortened form of a once longer expression: 'willie wobbles' (coined for the alliteration). So, you give me the willies was a way of saying you give me the wobbles -- which is a better name for a nervous reaction.

Q:  Hi Kel, It is becoming more prevalent to hear people, even those who should know better, speaking about "abolishment" instead of "abolition". (Front page of today's Oz, in the building industry article.) To me, this is similar to people saying they are "wrapped" with something good! Care to have a crack at abolishment?? Cheers, Helen

A:  Sorry -- it's a real word, recorded from 1538. 

Q:  Hi Kel, one term that drives me nuts is "solar farms". Ditto "wind farms".

As I posted on the Oz today - Can we please stop calling wind and solar installations "farms"? They are not and never will be farms. Farms grow living things - plants and animals. Calling them "farms" is just another example of the Left twisting and misusing our beautiful language for its own malign ends. As you are correctly showing in your excellent articles the abuse of our language regularly committed by leftist activists, you may wish to run this one, if you haven't already.

Best regards and keep up the great work. Helen 

A:  I have written about this, and I prefer 'solar factor' and 'wind factory' -- because they are today's 'dark satanic mills' destroying the landscape. 

Q:  Dear Kel, I loved reading your explanation of "learnings", in particular your mention of narcissism as a determinant of the muddled speech we are assaulted with daily. When I was at university, studying teaching (there's some irony ahead), most of my lecturers referred to 'multiple learnings' when considering what they then defined as 'teachable moments'. This was after the tutorial before mine had a slide describing 'includement' (no, really). Maybe the power had gone to their heads, who knows? Whatever the answer, it made me wince. I wonder if you've ever introduced 'teachable moments' to your Ozwords disciples? Or perhaps academic language as a general theme? Anders

A: A good thought -- perhaps I should write a column on this!