- EPISCOPAL is an anagram of PEPSI COLA.
- Only a perfect square has an odd number of divisors.
- “Makes no sense makes no sense” makes no sense.
- The grounds of the Oklahoma state capitol include working oil rigs.
- “Time is the only critic without ambition.” — John Steinbeck
Language
In a Word
ascob
n. a cocker spaniel of “any solid color other than black”
Market Play
Barnum used to bring consternation into the hearts of his grocers by complaining that their pepper was half peas. When they protested, he would quietly ask, ‘How do you spell pepper?’ and the catch stood revealed.
— William Shepard Walsh, Handy-Book of Literary Curiosities, 1892
In a Word
lasslorn
adj. forsaken by a lass
In a Word
kalopsia
n. the delusion that things are more beautiful than they are
Inspiration
A French versifier, equally deficient in poetic fire and worldly pelf, and whose nether garments were rather out of order, had commenced a series of epics on scriptural subjects. One was on the subject of Lot, and commenced,
L’amour a vaincu Loth.
On reading this aloud, his friend feigning to understand it thus,
L’amour a vingt culottes,
with a significant glance at his breeches, asked him why he did not borrow a pair. Can your critical French readers explain any difference in the sound of the two lines?
— The Kaleidoscope, Jan. 22, 1822
In a Word
levament
n. “the comfort which one hath of his wife”
(Henry Cockeram, The English Dictionarie, 1623)
In a Word
babery
n. finery to please a baby
scarebabe
n. a thing that frightens a baby
Group Study
A Frenchman, while looking at a number of vessels, exclaimed, ‘See what a flock of ships!’ He was told that a flock of ships was called a fleet, but that a fleet of sheep was called a flock. To assist him in mastering the intricacies of the English language, he was told that a flock of girls was called a bevy, that a bevy of wolves is called a pack, but that a pack of cards is never called a bevy, though a pack of thieves is called a gang, and a gang of angels is called a host, while a host of porpoises is termed a shoal. He was told that a host of oxen is termed a herd, and a herd of children is called a troop, and a troop of partridges is termed a covey, and a covey of beauty is called a galaxy, and a galaxy of ruffians is called a horde, and a horde of rubbish is called a heap, and a heap of bullocks is called a drove, and a drove of blackguards is called a mob, and a mob of whales is called a school, and a school of worship is called a congregation, and a congregation of engineers is called a corps, and a corps of robbers is called a band, and a band of locusts is called a crowd, and a crowd of gentlefolks is called the elite. The last word being French, the scholar understood it and asked no more.
— Charles William Bardeen, A System of Rhetoric, 1884
… And Your Enemies Closer
Advance the last three letters of FRIEND one position in the alphabet and you get FOE:
