Do you know your mantles from your mantels? I do, but Microsoft Word doesn’t. It NEVER flags ‘mantlepiece’ as an error. If you are attached to your mantlepiece (seek help! 🔗) you’re not alone. Merriam-Webster recommends ‘mantel’ (‘el’ like the ‘el’ of ‘shelf’ ) for the over-the-fireplace ledge, but it acknowledges that ‘mantle’ has been/isContinue reading “Is it mantelpiece or mantlepiece?”
Tag Archives: languagechange
What are metonyms? What are anaphoric references? And (why) do they matter in fantasy writing?
❓ Do you know your metonyms from your anaphoric references? This week, some terminology that was relevant when I was teaching A level English language has popped into my head. It doesn’t really matter what these things are called, but what does matter is that these things are *things. One term was metonymy. The otherContinue reading “What are metonyms? What are anaphoric references? And (why) do they matter in fantasy writing?”
Why is there no meat in mincemeat? Etymology.
❓ Why is there no meat in mincemeat? 💡 It’s because the word ‘meat’ has undergone a process of semantic change. 🥗 Meat used to mean food in general, not just animal flesh. 🍇🍊 So all of your dried fruit you’ve chucked in your mixture – it’s all food. It’s all minced. It’s no misnomerContinue reading “Why is there no meat in mincemeat? Etymology.”
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