Q and A - Your Questions Answered

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Q: Aileen writes that she was listened to the Drive programme on 6PR when there was a light-hearted segment about cheapskates -- and she wonders where the word cheapskate comes from? 

A: It's American in origin, from 1894. The meaning is the one you know: ' A stingy or parsimonious person; a skinflint.' The 'cheap' part is clear enough, but why 'skate'? Well, it has nothing to do with roller skates or skateboards. The best suggestion we have is that skate was originally a Scots contemptuous word, still known in a weakened sense in Australia and New Zealand, where it’s usually written as skite. So, a 'skate' was a contemptible person, and a 'cheapskate' meant they we contemptible for being fight fisted. 

Q: Ken writes to say he has been following the dispute between the two Charles--Windsor and Spencer--and for some reason this has caused to ask for the origin of 'chinless wonder.'

A: 'Chinless wonder' started as an American expression, recorded from 1881 -- with the meaning of 'Without firmness of character.' (Since firmness of character was taken to be expressed by having a strong chin.) You may well think this applies to the Charles V Charles battle -- I couldn't possibly comment! 

Q: Peter for the origins and misuse of ‘begs the question’. 

A:  "Begs the question" names the logical fallacy of assuming the truth of your argument as your starting point. In other words, taking something for granted without warrant. Philosophers give this fallacy a Latin name petitio principii. It DOES NOT mean 'avoids the question' or 'raises the question.' Which is how it is almost invariably misused. For years now I have been giving one consistent piece of advice -- do not use 'begs the question'! Ever! You will almost certainly get it wrong (just like everyone else!) 

Q: John asks where the odd expression 'crocodile tears' comes from.

A: It means a hypocritical, pretend, expression of sympathy or sorrow. And comes from a very old piece of mythology, found in both ancient Greek and Roman writings -- and popularized in the Middle Ages in the popular books about animals, both real and imaginary, that were called 'bestiaries' (books of beasts). The myth was that crocodiles would weep tears while hungrily devouring their prey.  Thus, making the crocodile the model of hypocrisy. Crocodiles do, in fact, generate tears to clean and lubricate their eyes. But they unemotional tears and unconnected to the fate of any prey they may be eating at the time.  But ancient travellers may have seen eating crocodiles with these tears visible, thus giving rise to the myth.

Q:  Janette asks for the origin and meaning of often used expression “no way, shape or form.”

A:   This expression is just a highly emphatic way of ruling out a possibility. It first appeared in print in 1857 in The New York Times n an article about politics, the author wrote: “We deny most emphatically and positively that we have ever done anything in any way, shape or manner prejudicial to Mr. Fillmore’s interests.” This shows that even in its early days, the phrase was used to express complete denial. In all probability this phrase was part of the spoken language for some time before it appeared in print. So there is no known author—it is just an English idiom: meaning a phrase that has caught on and become a familiar part of the language. The English language is filled with idioms that have become a part of our everyday speech. The use of this idiom has become so widespread that it has taken on cultural significance beyond just its literal meaning. It is often used in popular media as a comedic device or as a dramatic flourish to emphasize someone’s refusal or denial. Its versatility makes it one of the most recognizable idioms in modern English.

Q: Martin asks an interesting question: 'How did people being motivated to perform to a high standard become associated with 'dipping steel into molten zinc', i.e. being "Galvanised"?'

A:  The word comes from the name of the Italian doctor and physicist Luigi Galvani. And what he described was the way that an electrical charge could make the muscles of dead frogs' legs move. This was the discovery of bioelectricity.  This was in the 1700s. Later, in the 1800s, it was discovered that a protective coating of zinc could be applied to steel using an electrical charge. So, what we think of as the figurative use ('galvanising' people enlivens them) preceded the production of galvanized steel.  

Q: Patricia wants to know the origin of 'wherewithal.'

A: For those of us who have heard this word but never seen it, it can come as a surprise that it's a single word -- and that the 'all' at the end has only one 'L' (like other compound words such as 'already' and 'alright'). We use it to mean having resources (or, often, money) -- but it has had this meaning only since 1803. At the beginning of its life, around 1535, it was just a compound adjective used to ask a question, as in 'Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way?' (from Miles Coverdale's translation of the Bible). Earlier (from 1175) there was a shorter form of this, as just 'withal' used as an adverb or a preposition meaning 'along with the rest.' 350 years later 'where' was added as a prefix to make it a sweeping view of all available resources.

Q: Ida asks: 'where does the word “sweetbreads” come from?'

A:  The Oxford says sweetbreads (in this sense) means "The pancreas, or the thymus gland, of an animal, esp. as used for food." And then adds (unhelpfully) "the reason for the name is not obvious." Well, we could have told them that! But a bit more digging suggests the "sweet" part likely refers to the delicate, rich taste of these glands compared to the more robust flavor of muscle meat.  The "bread" element comes from the Old English bræd, meaning flesh or meat, not the baked product we commonly think of today.

Q: Tiffy says she was horrified to hear about Rhys Muldoon being vile about so many people. then when she looked at his remark about Jacinta Nampajinta Price being a 'quisling' Tiffy realised that she didn't know what this meant -- "In all my 38 years" she wrote, "I have never come across this."

A: "Quisling' is an extremely offensive term. It means being a traitor to your own people. It comes from Norway in the Second World War. In 1940 the Nazis invaded Norway, and a local man, named Vidkun Quisling (an army officer and politician who had founded the Norwegian Nazi party) collaborated with the Germans and ran a puppet government under their command and control. Thus, he betrayed his own people in the worst possible way -- making his name 'quisling' the word used for such betrayal. 

Q: Kerrie wants to know what 'head over turkey' means and where it comes from?

A: 'Head over turkey' is a variation on 'head over heels.' This is an Australian coinage, invented around 1904. It can sometimes mean 'completely, hopelessly in disarray.' Gerry Wilkes thinks it might come from the fact that the stern of a boat was once called the 'tuck' -- and if you tumbled over the tuck (or 'turkey') you'd be really lost!

Q: Wendy asks for the origin of 'a slow boat to China'.

A: It's not recorded before 1947 -- so not all that old. It originally referred to doing something slowly, over time. It seems to have begun among poker players to say that there was plenty of time to win money out of a player. It was popularized in 1948 by Frank Loesser with his song 'Slow Boat to China': "I'd love to get you on a slow boat to China, All to myself, alone."

Q: Rhon asks for the origin of 'I'll have you guts for garters.'

A: It began during the reign of the Tudors on the English throne. It was really a threat to have you 'hanged, drawn and quartered' a particularly cruel form of the death penalty that involved disemboweling the unfortunate victim -- leaving the intestines exposed. Garters were worn by men during the Tudor period as a way of holding up their stockings, a.k.a. hose.   The punishment of hanged, drawn and quartered remained on the statue book in England until as late as 1790. However, even then, this threat wasn’t meant to be taken literally -- just as a very strong expression of a conditional revenge. 

Q: Jan asks where the word 'savvy' (meaning common sense) comes from.

A: It does mean practical knowledge, shrewdness or common sense. It's recorded in English from around 1785. It came from French word 'savoir' and in 'savoir faire' -- 'savoir' in French originally meant knowledge, and 'savoir faire' knowing the correct way to respond in a situation.  'Savvy' is also related to the older French word 'savant' meaning scholar. So, that group of French words gave us this notion of being 'savvy.'

Q:  From John: 'Hi Kel, where did " gung-ho " come from?

A: 'Gung ho' originally meant 'eager for battle' but these days is used more broadly to just mean eager and ready to go. It comes from a Chinese expression that named the Industrial Workers' Cooperatives set up during the second China-Japan war to support the war effort. The Chinese phrase literally means something like 'working together.'  Gung ho was adopted as an English slogan in the Second World War by a battalion of U.S. Marines under General Evan Carlson (1896–1947); it was subsequently popularized in the title of a Hollywood war movie about the exploits of the battalion in 1943. The movie put the expression into wider circulation. 

Q: Angela writes: 'Hi Kel, what is the origin of the phrase "sleep like a top"?'

A: 'Sleep like a top' means very sound, deep, still sleep. It's recorded in English from 1621. According to the Oxford the expression refers to the apparent stillness of a top when it is spinning very fast. So, our hearts and lungs (and all our other organs) are working away to keep us alive, they are 'spinning' as it were, but we are still in the midst of all that spinning -- just like a top at top speed.

Q:  Aileen writes: “Listening to 6PR and the Queen of Clean on Sunday, plaster of Paris was mentioned. It just made me wonder how plaster of Paris got its name?”

A:  The white powder we call ‘plaster of Paris’ is actually gypsum. And because of its usefulness large deposits of gypsum have been mined for many centuries. And gypsum deposits are especially abundant in the Paris basin, especially around Mon Montmartre. The expression is recorded in English from at least the 1500s. 

Q: Chris asks about the expression 'in the offing.'

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A:  This began life as a nautical expression. It's recorded from about the year 1600 with the meaning of 'The part of the visible sea at a distance from the shore beyond anchorages or inshore navigational dangers.' So, the horizon is well away from us -- it is off in the distance, and that makes it 'in the offing.' Interestingly, in modern usage this has slightly changed, and we are inclined to say that something is 'in the offing' if it is not near, but it is approaching. 

Q: Dee says she would love to know the history of 'duckshove'.

A:   It was coined in Australia -- by competitive cab drivers trying to get to the front of the rank. It's first recorded in The Age in 1859. It may come from the observed behaviour of ducks bumping into one another as they waddle over the land toward water.  

Q: Pim asks: 'Why do we say (and where does it come from) -- "When Push Comes to Shove"?

A: It means when things get really tough -- when pushing won't get you there, when you have to shove really hard. It's American, recorded from 1889 -- and it always meant a call to firm and decisive action. The earliest version was 'IF push comes to shove' which appeared in (of all places!) a women's magazine The Home Circle in February of 1889 in a story about how a farm girl found success in the big city.

Q: Michelle asks: 'Where does the term "Nth Degree" derive from please?'

A: From mathematics. Since 1756 N has been used to indicate an unspecified number. It's usually employed to suggest a large number. If you square a number this is shown by the number to the power of 2; if you cube the number that is to the power of 3; if it is multiplied to a very high but unspecified level this is to the power of N -- hence to the Nth degree.

Q: Graham writes: 'A wonderful old word, increasingly applied to me, is curmudgeon. Origin?

A: Originally, it meant a mean or miserly person, but these days it means any crusty old bloke.  It goes as far back as 1587. The suggestion is that the first version of the word was 'cornmudgin -- meaning someone who hoarded corn and refused to share with others. 

Q: Sue says that given the push to shut down so-called 'misinformation' on climate she would like our views on this word.

A: 'Misinformation' just means 'wrong.' It goes all the way back to 1587 with the meaning it still has today of 'wrong or misleading information.' However, my observation is that the people who use this are avoiding debate over facts -- over what is factually right or wrong. If you say that something is 'wrong' you are expected to produce evidence or arguments to support your claim. But if you simply classify it as 'misinformation' then you just shut it down without further discussion. So, it is being used as a censorship word.

Q: David asks about the expression 'taken with a grain of salt.'

A:   This means accepting something only with reservations--being sceptical. This is very old and is said to go back to Pliny the Elder in his book of Natural History--in which he referred to an old recipe which it was claimed would make you immune to poison. The last ingredient in that recipe was "a grain of salt." So, the idea was you could be immune to the poison of misleading claims if you took them with 'a grain of salt.' In British English it's usually a pinch of salt, in American English a grain of salt--which is historically more accurate, since that's how Pliny phrased it. 

Q: Linda and Glenn have asked me to look at the word "mythomania" which they say correctly labels the current Albanese Labor government.

A:   Mythomania is a psychological condition characterized by a compulsive, abnormal, and uncontrollable urge to lie, exaggerate, and fabricate elaborate stories. The term 'mythomania' was coined by a French doctor Ernest-Charles Laseque in the 20th century. It first appears in dictionaries in 1909. The concept was further developed by his colleague Dr Valetin Magnan, a psychiatrist, who viewed it as a form of moral degeneracy or temperamental instability. In America, it seems that 'mythomania' is not normally used. There they seem to prefer a diagnosis of 'pathological lying'. Does that fit any members of the current federal government? You may very well think that -- I couldn't possibly comment.

Q:   Bruce says he likes the song “Heard it on the Grapevine” but where does the expression come from?

A: I thought it might come from the similarity of vines to telegraph or telephone wires. But it turns out to be too early for that. It is first recorded in an American newspaper (in Baton Rouge Louisianan) in 1855.  And it already meant 'an unofficial or informal means of transmitting information or news rapidly and discreetly'. From the date and the meaning, I suspect it started among those running escape routes for runaway slaves from the South to reach safety in the north. Bear in mind the American Civil War began in 1861--just six years after this was first recorded. It probably comes from the way that grapes cluster together, and the same vine feeds many grapes with nourishment. 

Q: Susie says that in the trial of Lindsay Clancy she kept hearing about the lone juror who would 'stick to his guns' no matter what. She asks where does 'stick to your guns' come from?

A: It comes from the army, from the world of the artillery. The original form of the expression was 'stand to your guns' and over the years this became 'stick to your guns' -- in both versions it meant the same thing: maintain your position in the heat of battle, do not retreat.

Q: Graeme writes: 'I am amused by the use of the word "pant" by the fashion industry, eg a pant with a Mediterranean influence. Was there ever a word "pant" that had anything but breathing in its meaning?  I couldn't find one.'

A: All the 'pant(s)' words seem to come from 'Pantaloon' -- a character in the old Italian Commedia dell'arte. From the character the word 'pantaloon' was applied to men's loose breeches extending below the knee. This was shortened and applied to what we call men's 'pants' today. This word was always in the plural because 'pants' have two legs--and are often called 'a pair of pants.' However, in the 1800s it was possible to refer to one trouser leg as a 'pant' (singular). And there is some evidence that American English has started to use the singular form of the word -- although why they would do such a bizarre thing is beyond me.

Q: From Ray: 'Hi Kel, why do people claim to be on "tenterhooks". Where does that come from please?'

A:   'Tenterhooks' were hooks (sometimes bent nails or spikes) on which fabric was stretched to dry and cure. This often happened in the open air -- hence the New South Wales town of Tenterfield. If you feel stretched and taut then you are (metaphorically) 'on tenterhooks.' Hence, also, canvas structures held in place by hooks or spikes are called 'tents.'  

Q: Hans asks for the origin of 'cold shoulder.'

A:  One suggestion is that it is serving 'cold shoulder' instead of fresh, hot roast beef (or lamb or pork) to unwanted guests. Or it might just mean turning your shoulder coldly towards those you shun. Either explanation is possible. But when it's first recorded in 1816 the full expression was 'to show the cold shoulder' meaning 'to appear cold and reserved' -- so it probably always had a figurative meaning, and the suggestion about cold rather than hot meat is a later invention.

Q: Aileen says that long before the Bond movie of that name the “living daylights’ could be bashed out of you – so where is this from? 

A: According to the Oxford ‘daylights’ has been slang for the eyes since at least 1747. And to give some black eyes was to ‘darken their daylights’ since at least 1752 (when the expression appears in one of Henry Fielding’s novels). In the 1800s they had expressions such as ‘knocking the daylights’ out of someone. In the late 1800s this was expanded into ‘the living daylights’ (using ‘living’ as an intensifier). So, if someone is so enraged as to bash your eyes out—they will ‘bash the living daylights’ out of you.

Q: Gai writes: ' We look forward to your segment each week with Peta Credlin, not sure if you have had this query before, I was wondering where the saying "food for thought" originated from?'

A: It means 'Something warranting discussion or consideration or serving as a creative stimulus.' And as such it seems to have been coined by a poet (and it's the job of poets to be clever and original with language). It seems to have coined by Robert Southey in 1825. But he may have been drawing on a similar expression coined by the poet Robert Herrick in 1648 when he referred to 'the food of poets'. Mind you, Herrick was referring not to 'thought' but to kisses as 'the foot of poets.'

Q: Roger wants to know the origin of the expression "for crying out loud."

A: It's usually uttered as a cry of exasperation. It began life as a softened blaspheme (of which there are many in the English language). This one softened the phrase 'for Christ's sake' into another expression with similar sounds and rhythm. It was coined by popular cartoonist Thomas Aloysius Dorgan (who signed his cartoons as 'TAD') in New York in the early years of the 20th century. He is said to have coined a number of expressions, including 'hot dog.'

Q: Alison asks where the expression "within a bull's roar" comes from.

A: This is ours--an Australian coinage, first recorded in an Adelaide newspaper called The Chronicle in 1936. It means 'close' or 'near' -- but it's usually used in the negative, as in 'not within a bull's roar' meaning nowhere near, not even close. There is no suggestion from the experts as to where it comes from, so I can only assume that a bull's bellow is not loud enough sound to carry very far. And when I've been in farms, I seem to remember that bulls were not especially loud -- more like a grumbling snort than a trumpet blast.

Q: Christopher writes: 'The word "Pretty" appears in the dictionary as "appealing pleasing, charming, delicate etc." Why then, is it so often used in a negative way in phrases such as -- it's a pretty bad storm; this is a pretty bad road; I have a pretty bad cold -- and so on. Does this make sense?' 

A: 'Pretty' has been used as a qualifying adjective or adverb since 1565 meaning 'to a considerable extent.' It's meaning seems to vary from 'a slight degree' to 'a moderately high degree.'  The reason why the existing word 'pretty' was chosen to use this way is unclear. The older meaning of 'attractive' goes back to the days of Old English. But back in those days 'pretty' had a wider range of meanings -- it could imply being 'clever, or crafty, or ingenious.' And it was probably those wider, older, meanings of 'pretty' that opened the door for it to be used as a general adjective or adverb of intensity. 

Q: Gordon raises the issue of why someone drinking alone is said to be a "Jimmy Woodser" (or, sometimes, a "Jimmy Wood").

A: The name comes from "Jimmy Wood" a character in a bush ballad of that name by Barcoft Boak (published in 1892 in The Bulletin). The poem talks about anyone who drinks alone is drinking a toast to "Jimmy Wood." But Boake may have been using an earlier expression that had been around for a while. In which case, there is no record of the original solitary drinker who became immortalised in this way.

Q: Jenny raises the question of taking something "with a grain of salt."

A: This means accepting something only with reservations--being sceptical. This is very old and is said to go back to Pliny the Elder in his book of Natural History--in which he referred to an old recipe which it was claimed would make you immune to poison. The last ingredient in that recipe was "a grain of salt." So, the idea was you could be immune to the poison of misleading claims if you took them with 'a grain of salt.' In British English it's usually a pinch of salt, in American English a grain of salt--which is historically more accurate, since that's how Pliny phrased it. 

Q: Jeffrey writes to suggest a new definition of an old word. He says: "Socialism is just communism holding a puppy."

A:   A clever image! I might use it sometime! (With Jeffery's permission.) 

Q: Harry asks for the origin of 'stirring the possum.'

A: Stirring (or rousing) the possum is recorded from 1888 with the meaning of 'to excite interest or controversy; to liven things up.' It first appeared in the Town and Country Journal in June of 1888. The suggestion is that this was a deliberate play on, and reversal of, the earlier expression 'playing possum' -- which came from the observed behaviour of possums who (when they know they are observed) will freeze completely still (total immobility) in the hope that they will not be noticed. 'Playing possum' is keeping your head down and hoping to be unobserved. 'Stirring the possum' is the intentional reversal of this idea.

Q: Phil asks for the originally meaning of the word 'litany' -- which Peta (and most other commentators) use to mean a list of some kind, as in 'a litany of errors.'

A: Strictly speaking, this type of figurative use of 'litany' means 'a repetition of...' The word itself goes back to the ancient Greek word for prayer. In the Book of Common Prayer there was the 'liturgy' (most of it) in which the congregation responded to spoken prayers in a variety of ways. However, in the part called the 'litany' the congregation spoke exactly the same words in response to each part of the spoken prayer. So, anything with that kind of constant repetition is metaphorically called 'a litany.'

Q: Suzanne writes: ' Kel...can you please give some insight as to where the phase "dance the light fantastic" originated?' 

A: It's most often recorded as 'trip the light fantastic' meaning to dance nimbly or gracefully. It's the notion of being light on one's feet--gliding lightly as Fred Astrair and Ginger Rogers--rather than have 'heavy' feet that clump awkwardly. It was coined by poet John Milton. He used it in two of his poems, first in 1637 and then again in 1645. In Milton's day the word 'trip' meant to be nimble.  

Q: Suzie writes, 'I know that being on "cloud nine" means being in a blissful state, but where did it come from?'

A: It's certainly American, from the late 1940s or early 50s. It most likely comes from the US Weather Bureau. This organisation once described clouds by a number sequence. Level nine was the highest cumulonimbus, which can reach 30,000 or 40,000 feet and appear as impressive white mountains in the sky. The US Weather Bureau still reports cloud levels with numbers, but these days the highest is level ten. But despite this, our familiar idiom has remained unchanged. These days they say the highest clouds (cloud ten) are cirrus clouds in the form of white, delicate filaments, mostly in patches or narrow bands. They also use numbers for the amount of cloud cover--from zero for no cloud to eight for total cloud cover. But it was the US Weather Bureau with its clouds allocated numbers that seems to have given us 'cloud nine.'

Q: Belinda writes: 'Where does “beyond the pale” come from?'

A: It means: 'outside or beyond the bounds, outside the limits of acceptable behaviour; unacceptable or improper.' The word 'pale' originally meant a fence or barrier made from pointed stakes of wood driven into the ground. 'Pale' comes from an Anglo-Norman French word meaning 'stake.' Our word 'pole' comes from the same source. And the notion of this kind of wooden fence is the source of our 'paling fence.' From this the expression 'The Pale' came to mean a demarcation or limit around a Medieval city--outside of which the laws of the city did not prevail. One of the most famous was the Irish Pale -- an area of several counties centred on Dublin (mentioned from 1446). But it was not the only one. From these 'boundaries to civilisation' it came to be used in the figurative sense in which we use it today.

Q: John asks for the origin of 'hullaballoo.'

A: It's recorded from 1762 with the meaning of 'Tumultuous noise or uproar.' It's a word that seems to have begun in Scot and Northern English dialects. The experts say it's a rhyming reduplication of the shouted salute 'hulloo.' But there is another suggestion which is quite interesting. The claim has been made that it was originally a French wolf-hunting cry -- because the French cry of 'bas le loup' means 'down with the wolf.' Well, it's possible I suppose.

Q: Aileen asks for the origin of 'fumble' which (she says) she hears football commentators using all the time.

A: The verb 'to fumble' goes back to at least 1450. It seems to belong to a family of old Germanic words, all resembling each other, and all meaning 'clumsy, awkward, inept.' In very early English the vowel sometimes changed (to 'fimble' or 'famble'). And this makes me wonder if the word might not have been born as what linguists call a 'vocal gesture' -- that is, a collection of sounds that suggest, just by their sound alone, what they name.

Q: Dorothy wrote about the use of 'they' as a singular pronoun, saying that even if it was so used in the 1300s, English has now developed to only using it as a plural.

A:  I think there are acceptable ways to use 'they' as a singular that are reasonable, even today. E.g. "If someone wins the lottery they should..." not knowing what individual is meant by the subject of the sentence makes the 'they' in this case acceptable to most ears.  

Q: On the subject of the indefinite article ("a" or "an") Stuart writes: 'The Exhortation in the Morning Prayer Service of Anglican 1662 Book of Common Prayer contains the direction that we should confess (our sins) with an humble, lowly, penitent and obedient heart…… '

A:  Back in those days 'humble' was pronounced without the H (as 'umble'). In a similar way British toffs at one time said 'hotel' without the H (as 'otel'). Odd, but there you are. 

Q: Chris writes that when he was a schoolboy, he used to buy food at the 'tuck-shop; and wants to know how food came to be called "tuck"? 

A: The compound noun 'tuck-shop' is recorded from 1857, and a related Aussie slang word for food 'tucker' is recorded from 1833. Both seem to come from the ancient verb 'to tuck' which meant to insert one thing into another. Which is what we do with food--we insert it, or tuck it, into ourselves. 'Tuck-shop' was used in English schools, but the word 'tucker' it is distinctly ours--it is an Australian coinage. 

Q: Barry asks why Australians (usually older Australians) call petrol pumps 'bowsers.'

A: The word comes from the American man who invented the very early type of petrol pump -- Sylvanus Bowser of Fort Wayne. Indiana. His pump was launched onto the market in 1905. The first petrol pumps used in Australia were marked 'S. F. Bowser and Company.' Hence, the name. 

Q: Win writes: 'Wondering where the phrase "a brass razoo" came from.'

A: From the First World War. It was soldier's slang for an imaginary coin of very small value. It's first recorded in 1919, just after the end of the war. It seems to come from a time when the diggers were fighting in France, so the name of this fictious coin is probably a jocular variation on 'sou' -- the smallest French coin in circulation.

Q: Brian writes about my piece on the word 'grenade' and now wants to know the source of 'shrapnel.'

A: It comes from Major General Henry Shrapnel (1761–1842), a British army officer, who invented the fragmenting bomb. 

Q: Roy writes: 'Some of us have trouble with the words, "secular" and "non-secular" as they appear to be contradictory. The word " secular" to us seems to indicate a singular group or gathering -- please help. P.S. We make a special effort to view your segment with Peta on Wednesday evening.'

A:  'Secular' came into English from Latin via French in the 13th century. Its source meaning is 'the world' -- so, anything which is 'secular' is mundane, ordinary, commonplace related to the world around us. In that sense, governments are secular because they deal with the everyday world. And everyone lives in the secular (or mundane) world. So, it's not a singular group--it's everyone! But some of those people in addition have another level to their lives. Everyone is 'secular'--seeing the world as physical, material and natural, but some people while embracing and working in the secular see the world has having another dimension: beyond physical to metaphysical, beyond material to spiritual, beyond natural to supernatural. 

Q:  Graeme writes: "I enjoy watching you and Peta Cradling Can you tell me where the term ‘Buckley Chance ‘came from."

A:   This means no chance at all; a snowball’s chance in hell: “You’ve got two chances, mate – yours and Buckley’s!” (meaning: “Give up – you haven’t got a chance”) There are various suggestions as to the source of the expression Buckley’s chance – including the notion that it came from one William Buckley (1780-1856) who lived for 32 years with Aborigines in southern Victoria. However, here is the true story behind the phrase: In 1851, a certain Mr Mars Buckley, in partnership with one Crumpton Nunn, set up a store in a small shack in Melbourne. The business of Buckley and Nunn flourished. Then in 1893 a depression hit Melbourne and there was a run on the banks. Wily old Mars Buckley accompanied by four assistants carrying four leather suitcases, pushed through the crowds around the bank (who were demanding their money) and withdrew 10,000 gold sovereigns which he then locked away in a safe in his shop – leaving no chance that the bank might fritter away his fortune among other anxious depositors. Three years later, in 1895, the expression Buckley’s chance first appeared in print, leading to the expression that you have two chances: Buckley’s or none – both a play on the name of the shop, and a reference to Mars Buckley being the only winner on the day he withdrew all the cash from the bank. When first coined the expression must have meant that to have Buckley’s chance was to have a good chance. But the meaning appears to have rapidly reversed to the bleak moan we know we know it to be today.