The derecho that blew through Washington, DC yesterday. (Yahoo Images)
A year or two ago, there was a massive storm that ripped through Virginia. Afterward, many of us heard the word derecho for the first time.
In case you aren’t familiar, a derecho is Continue reading
It’s true.
Koalas are not bears.
They are marsupials. They carry their young in their pouches, just like kangaroos, wombats, and the Tasmanian devil. (Betcha didn’t know that last one either, did you?)
So the next time you refer to koalas, just call them koalas and not koala bears.
I can’t believe it has been so long since I mentioned anything tautological. Luckily, I found this article on 11 totally redundant place names. Enjoy.
Found on Facebook:
Those poor children.
I discussed this here.
Look carefully at the words ingenious and ingenuous. Do you know the difference? Both are adjectives, but they have completely different meanings and are also pronounced differently.
ingenious – having genius; brilliant; original and imaginative
ingenuous – lacking sophistication; straightforward; artless; naive; candid
I occasionally see imply and infer used as if they mean the same thing. They do not.
To imply is to signify or mean; to suggest without being explicitly stated. Synonyms are assume and include. “Jill implied that Jack lied about tripping and falling down the hill.”
To infer is to derive by reasoning, to conclude or judge from the evidence. Synonyms include deduce, reason, guess, speculate, surmise. “Jack inferred that Jill did not trust him.”
At first glance one might think that noisome had something to do with noise and odious had something to do with odor, but that’s not the case.
noisome (adjective) offensive or disgusting, as an odor; harmful; noxious; stinking: noisome factory emissions
noisy (adjective) loud, harsh, or confused sounds; clamorous; tumultuous; vociferous: noisy football fans
odious (adjective) arousing hatred; abhorrent; repugnant; abominable; loathsome, detestable: an odious kidnapper
odorous (adjective) having a distinctive odor; smelly: an odorous stockyard
