David Zapatka Reading one of my favorite magazines recently, I came across an article titled “The Real Frankenstein and Its Author” by John Lauritsen. 2018 was the bicentennial of Frankenstein, the most famous work of English Romanticism. It was published anonymously on January 1, 1818. To commemorate the anniversary of its first publication, events and…
Tag: word of the month
Features, March 2019
Word of the Month: Deuce
David Zapatka Watching the Australian Open Tennis Championships reminded me of the strange way tennis is scored. Zero is announced as love. Theory is that love arose from the French word for “egg,” l’oeuf, because a zero on a scoreboard resembles an egg; a clever but unsubstantiated claim. One point is called 15, two is…
Features, February 2019
Word of the Month: Skedaddle
David Zapatka Reader Kim Park read about “smithereens” in a previous column and had this comment and suggestion for this month’s issue. “I loved your WOTM column on smithereens! It threw me back to my youth and reminded me of what my mother used to say when she thought I wasn’t getting ready quickly enough.…