Language
Sex education
The publication of the new Cambridge Greek Lexicon reminded the comedian and classicist Natalie Haynes of her frustrations at school,…
Great
‘Why didn’t they call it Very British Railways?’ asked my husband. Unwittingly (as in most of his remarks), he had…
Level
‘I must level with you, level with the British public, many more families are going to lose loved ones.’ That…
Its and it’s
An item on the BBC news site didn’t mean what it said: ‘The latest move is part of a wider…
Customer disservice
The insidious creep of corporate friendliness
The Spectator’s Notes
There should be more ‘religious literacy’. So says the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Religion in the Media, chaired by Yasmin…
Talking point
Gossip appears to be good for the mental health. That should make the females of the ancient world some of…
Shame on you!
As his tweed jacket flapped open to one side of his stomach, my husband stood up unsteadily and arched his…
Sleaze
‘Sleaze, sleaze, sleaze!’ exclaimed Sir Keir Starmer in Prime Minister’s Questions last week, hoping that a triple serving might stick.…
Under the spell
Some universities have announced that spelling and grammar (i.e. morphology and syntax) are not all that important, but quality of…
Supermajority
‘Wizard,’ said William. ‘Super,’ said Ginger, in William and the Moon Rocket (1954). More recently we have had Alex Salmond,…
ACAB
A favourite piece of graffiti to spray on the Cenotaph or the plinth of Churchill’s nearby statue is ACAB. It…
Language barriers
I haven’t yet read the report published by the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities. But, looking at the recommendations,…
Shonky
A reader sent in a television preview from the Daily Star for Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds in which ‘Brad Pitt leads…
Alba
‘What, old monkey-face!’ said my husband with unnecessary lack of gallantry. He was referring to the 18th Duchess of Alba,…
Low life
‘Alas, David can’t be here this afternoon,’ I told the French teacher as she let me into her light and…
Sacred space
‘This is the book that horses wish every equestrian would read,’ says the blurb for Sacred Spaces: Communion with the…
How to kill the English language
Probably, most of you will have only the dimmest idea what a ‘fronted adverbial’ is. I used one in the…
Formica
If I ever again accompany my husband to a medical conference in Spain, and want to tell my hosts that…
Espouse
What do people think espouse means? It looks fairly plain, since spouses are to have and to hold, or indeed…
Opportunity knocks
There is a kind of conversation which sounds intelligent, and which makes sense at first hearing, but which deeper thought…
Beware the linguistic Trojan horse
It’s the bane of many an author these days: those newspaper-filler Q&As. One I recently filled out included the question:…
Nimble
‘I’ll stick to being Brazilian,’ said my husband. It was a family joke. Every time a politician on the radio…
Low life
Every Friday afternoon the foreign correspondent and I attend a French lady’s home for our one-hour French lesson. The foreign…
Titles of courtesy
I agree with Charles Moore (The Spectator, 6 February) that it is a shame the Times is dropping its use…
