I’m a New Zealand writer with over thirty years hands-on professional experience as a published author and in publishing. My main interests are in the sciences – physics, particularly, though I’m deeply curious about a lot of stuff, especially the human condition. I have qualifications in writing, music and anthropology among other fields, and hold multiple post-graduate degrees in history. I’m also a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society at University College, London. I write a lot. My published writing, sold on merit, includes over 550 articles, academic papers, reviews, novellas and short stories, and over 50 books on topics ranging from travel guides to biography, engineering, military and social history. I’ve been published principally by Penguin Random House.
This week’s obscure English word is experient. It’s a noun and refers to someone who is having an experience, just as ‘incumbent’ is used to mean somebody who occupies a position. Your challenge: write a sentence or two in the comments using this word. Copyright © Matthew Wright 2021
When I was a lad and learning to drive, my Dad always warned me to watch out for ‘the car’. What he meant was the vehicle that – unerringly and without fail – would always be there, instantly, as I backed out of a driveway, or as I tried to change lanes, or turn a … More Watching out for ‘the car’ and other hazards of driving
This week’s obscure English word is hornist. It typically refers to somebody who performs on the French Horn. One of the better-known pieces featuring the French Horn was, of course, Mozart’s Horn Concerto No. 4 in E flat, K 495. This is in two movements, an Allegro and a Rondo. And here’s the Rondo, as … More The obscure word of the week is hornist
I have a new book out next week. The battlecruiser New Zealand – a gift to Empire is being published in Britain by Seaforth, and in the United States by USNI Press. A little later this year it’s also being published in New Zealand by Oratia Books. It’s a very special book to me because … More The battlecruiser New Zealand – a gift to Empire
This week’s obscure English word is gelid. It means extremely cold, as in frosty or icy, and derives from the original Latin gelidus. Your challenge: write a sentence or two in the comments using this word. Copyright © Matthew Wright 2021
It is almost 93 years since Erich Maria Remarque’s memoir of the First World War appeared in the pages of the newspaper Vossische Zeitung. It emerged in book form a few months later – January 1929 – and was made into a movie the following year. An English translation was published by Putnam in March … More All quiet on the blogging front
This week’s obscure English word is kneebrush. It refers to the tuft of fur found on the knees of antelopes, among other animals. Your challenge: write a sentence or two in the comments using this word. Copyright © Matthew Wright 2021
There’s a new usage emerged of late in everyday English which I find a little annoying. It’s come up in the last year or so and involves substituting ‘the’ for ‘a’ or ‘an’ in an intensifer comparison. You know: ‘this person is quite an expert’, which these days has become ‘this person is quite the … More English phrases that are quite an annoyance
One hundred and six years ago this week, war clouds loomed close across Europe. Austria-Hungary’s 28 July declaration of war on Serbia ended four weeks of tension and posturing. By 4 August the continent was at war – a moment that has gone down in history as a demonstration of the way in which pride, … More Remembering the folly of humanity
This week’s obscure English word is fisc. It is an older word meaning a state or royal treasury, derived from the Latin fiscus. The more common term ‘fiscal’, as in government spending policy, is related to it. Your challenge: write a sentence or two in the comments using this word. Copyright © Matthew Wright 2021
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