Have you ever noticed how buzzwords come and go? They must be among the fastest evolving words in English – and with good reason, given that most of them are vacuous attempts to hide one thing by couching it as another. Back in the 1980s the in-word in New Zealand was ‘corporate’, particularly in government … More Buzzword stupidity – part 3,996,843
There was an incident the other week, here in New Zealand, in which a supermarket customer was reportedly pulled aside by staff and questioned on allegation of prior shoplifting. It turns out the guy was wrongly accused. Apparently the supermarket used surveillance cameras with facial recognition technology, and reportedly mis-identified the customer. Yet curiously, when … More Remember, if you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear
31 May is the anniversary of the largest naval battle of the First World War, when the great fleets of Britain and Germany came to blows. It was a day of horror as ships blew up and went to the bottom with virtually all their crews – a grim toll of 3,058 German and 6,784 … More Remembering the battle of Jutland
This week’s obscure English word is testaceous. This sounds like some sort of dinosaur epoch, perhaps one where they were a bit, you know, testy with each other. Actually it’s an adjective referring to a dull red colour. Your challenge? Write a sentence (or two) in the comments using this word. Copyright © Matthew Wright … More The obscure word of the week is testaceous
I tried to buy a piece of tech gear the other day. I didn’t know whether it would do one or two things that I needed – the online documentation wasn’t clear. But I was sure the tech shop I went to could help. The discussion (with a certain amount of hyperbole) went something like … More How to buy technological gadgets, Part 486
One of the big things authors need to think about these days is branding. And no, I don’t mean having some red-hot piece of metal searing the initials of the latest pop sensation de jour into your backside. I mean public image that sells books. What are you known for? Brand’s different from the way … More Why all authors need branding
This week’s obscure English word is herptile. It’s a noun meaning a reptile or amphibian, derived from ‘herpetology’, which is the study of reptiles and amphibians. Your challenge? Write a sentence (or two) in the comments using this word. Copyright © Matthew Wright 2018
