This week’s obscure English word is carceral. It’s a word relating to prison – as in, incarceration. Your challenge: write a sentence or two in the comments, perhaps without the alliteration, using this word. Copyright © Matthew Wright 2019
One of the things I do besides write is advise other people on it – I’ll assess manuscripts, offer ways to fix them and so on. I also edit, and have done that professionally for many years. And I know the publishing industry. I actually worked as a corporate publisher where, among other things, I … More Writing advice services
I’ve been running my ‘obscure word of the week’ series for quite a while. I’m in no danger of running out, either – English has over a million words in it, most of which are pretty obscure, one way or another. I thought I’d mention where I am getting these from. I have various sources … More Where do my obscure words of the week come from?
This week’s obscure English word is darnel. It’s the Middle English word for a form of rye grass (Lolium temulentum). Your challenge: write a sentence or two in the comments, perhaps without the alliteration, using this word. Copyright © Matthew Wright 2019
Picture the scene: you’re standing on an ice-shelf in Antaractica circa 1940 and suddenly spot a huge orange-red vehicle approaching on just four 10-foot high balloon tyres. It’s got a small aircraft on its back. And it’s absolutely enormous: 16 feet high, 20 feet wide and 55 feet long – a giant of a vehicle … More Going totally dieselpunk with the Antarctic Snow Cruiser
There is a notion that history consists of ‘the facts’ – that all you have to do is discover ‘the facts’, which are literally true at face value, and that these ‘facts’ then ‘speak for themselves’. Such thinking, among other things, has fuelled the kind of dribble that I see pouring from the minds and … More Why the way we think about history is important
This week’s obscure English word is cuckooning. It was coined by Lady Cynthia Asquith (1887-1960) to describe her lifestyle during the First World War. Her husband, Herbert ‘Beb’ Asquith, was serving in France; she was left to bring up their two young sons. Although she was daughter of Hugo Charteris, the 11th Earl of Wemyss … More The obscure word of the week is cuckooning
