Showing posts with label trivia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label trivia. Show all posts

Monday, November 30, 2009

Spa

Did you know how the word Spa originated ?

According to Wiki:


More at Wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spa

The term is derived from the name of the town of Spa, Belgium, whose name is known back to Roman times, when the location was called Aquae Spadanae, perhaps related to the Latin word "spargere" meaning to scatter, sprinkle or moisten



Interesting !

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

derring-do

Yesterday I was going through the Know Your English coloumn in The Hindu. I noticed this interesting word "derring-do".

Read here more about it: http://www.hindu.com/edu/2009/11/24/stories/2009112450150402.htm


As children, when we misspelt a word, our teachers circled it, and made us rewrite it several times. Hoping that we would learn the correct spelling! When printers make an error in spelling, it sometimes results in the creation of a new word. Derring-do is one such example. The original expression as used by Chaucer was `dorrying don' meaning `daring to do'. Through a series of copying and printing errors, it became `derring-do'.


Read the actual story here: http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/derring-do.html

What is interesting to note is that a word can undergo such a change because of a printing mistake and thus getting accepted !

Sunday, November 8, 2009

Chicken Bus

Came across this interesting term "chicken bus".

According to Wiki:

A chicken bus (Spanish: "camioneta") is a colloquial English name for a colorful modified and decorated US school bus and transit bus that transports goods and people between communities in Honduras and Guatemala. The word "chicken" refers to the fact that rural Guatemalans regularly transport live animals on such buses, a practice that visitors from other countries often find remarkable. The buses are also commonly used in Nicaragua, El Salvador, Panama, and Costa Rica.



Ref: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicken_bus



(A Google search result snapshot for "chicken bus")

Friday, November 6, 2009

Know Your English - The Hindu

If you are an ardent "The Hindu" fan you would hardly miss the KYE (Know Your English) by S.UPENDRAN.


Now you can read all of them online at The Hindu's online page:
http://www.hinduonnet.com/nic/kye/


Ref: http://englishwithsunil.wordpress.com/about-this-blog/

Felt wax lyrical after getting to know so wanted to share !

Friday, March 27, 2009

Sandalwood ?

Do you know what is the Kannada movie Industry is refereed as in the popular "wood" style ?

At least if you by the Times of India's Bangalore Times it is called as "Sandalwood" !
That begs for creativity !

Happy Ugadi To all my readers !