The tutor analyzes the name of a plant he’s identified. In yesterday’s post I discussed the small hop-clover growing in the lawn. However, the question begs, “What does hop-clover mean?” I searched for a definition of hop. It’s the flower …
Botany: what is a hop? The explanation of the name small hop-clover. Read more »
The tutor focuses on a word he recently discovered. I believe I read the word solicitous in a Hardy Boys book last week. Unfamiliar with the word, I looked it up. It’s an adjective that means concerned: motivated to help. …
The tutor brings up a word discovery. Not often does a word catch my eye. However, thumbing through my Collins Essential Canadian English Dictionary recently, I noticed the word sedulous. I can’t remember hearing sedulous or seeing it in print. …
The tutor opens a discussion about Tom Riddle and Voldemort. As I mentioned in my Jan 19, 2015 post, I’ve read the Harry Potter series to my children twice. We’re on our third time, midway through The Half-Blood Prince. We …
English: reading: Harry Potter: Tom Riddle and Voldemort, part 0 Read more »
The tutor offers another pair of homonyms. Preparing for a match of Boggle, I’m thinking of likely words to spot. Beach, of course, is a sandy shore. Beech, on the other hand, is a deciduous tree found in eastern North …
Call them homonyms, homophones, or what you will; the tutor introduces another pair. My coverage of homonyms began with my post of August 21, 2013. Searching up homophone and/or homonym on this site reveals my love of them. Playing the …
English: Homonyms (or homophones): peel and peal Read more »
The tutor visits a favourite potential hazard of English. Famously, potato and tomato require the addition of -es to make the plural: potato → potatoes tomato → tomatoes Unknown to me before today, veto and embargo follow the same pattern: …
The tutor shares another term from the farming culture he grew up in. I don’t often hear the word “barnburner,” but of course I don’t live in the culture it’s probably from. Neither my Webster’s, nor my Collins, contains it, …
The tutor brings up a term from folk vocabulary. It’s not a word I hear often these days – humdinger. I get the impression it’s from the farming days. Webster defines humdinger as “a person or thing of striking excellence.” …
The tutor shares some thoughts about Lovecraft’s short story “The Tomb.” “The Tomb” is classic Lovecraft. First, it centres on an abandoned location connected with former greatness. Second, its narrator develops a connection to the supernatural world. Finally, the narrator’s …
English: Reading: Short Horror: H.P. Lovecraft’s “The Tomb” Read more »