WordPlay
Latest
Opinion
Spectrum
Lamington wars: claiming an Australian invention really takes the cake
Steal the pavlova if you must New Zealand, but only an April Fool would deem the lamington an import.
- by David Astle
‘Correct’ pronunciation is off the menu. How about a poke bowl?
My friends are disappointed that I can’t properly answer a word-nerd question, as if I’ve failed my calling. Maybe I need a new hustle. Soon a wave of Google checks will give them the answer I couldn’t.
- by David Astle
WORDPLAY
Spectrum
The curse of the bufflehead duck: even dictionaries make boo-boos
The brainy types at the Macquarie Dictionary have let the odd typo slip through in 40 years. Like giving a duck white underpants.
- by David Astle
Opinion
Spectrum
Aerocars, spacebuses and corpsicles: the sci-fi leaps we’re still waiting for
These are the space invaders of the galactic glossary: the futuristic advances we’ve been promised for decades, but remain little more than false hopes.
- by David Astle
WORDPLAY
Spectrum
Norse code for watering can and the stopgap ‘science burqa’
Vikings called a raven a ‘blood-swan’ and a sword a ‘wound-hoe’. Welcome to the world of ‘kenning’.
- by David Astle
WORDPLAY
Spectrum
Why do Aussies shorten everything an itsy-bitsy-teeny-weeny bit?
Don’t go looking for logic: Australian English will only mock you.
- by David Astle
Word detectives: On the trail of Mrs Kerfoops and other filler phrases
The thingummyjig, the dooverlackie, the doodad are favourite amnesiac fillers. But where did juzelbrass come from?
- by David Astle
WORDPLAY
Spectrum
The changing shape of English: can milk be milk if it’s not from an animal?
English is as much as a shape shifter as our finest artists, writes David Astle.
- by David Astle
