Language Lovers

iScotland v the rUK: trending words in September

There’s an elephant in the room, and we all know what it is. Many things happened in September 2014, but the biggest event in the UK has to be the Scottish Independence Referendum, or the “indyref” as it became known on Twitter and beyond. While… Read More

Golfing Slang! Tee off for the Ryder Cup with our Top Golfing Terms

Golf fan? Know the golf jargon? Make sure you know all these golfing terms before the Ryder Cup tees off! Golf as we know it is of Scottish origin, with the first known rules of the sport put down in writing in Edinburgh in 1744. Read More

Are you having a nice fakeation? Lucy Mangan takes on your new word submissions

“All of humanity’s problems stem from man’s inability to sit quietly in a room alone”, reckoned Blaise Pascal when he was composing his Pensees. Alas, he was doing so in the mid-seventeenth century and didn’t know the half of it. D’you know what a “fakeation” is Blaise, mon ami?… Read More

How ‘Adorkable’ Pipped ‘Felfie’ and ‘Fatberg’ To The Post

adorkable (əˈdɔːkəbəl) adj slangsocially inept or unfashionable in a charming or endearing wayETYMOLOGY C21: blend of ADORABLE and DORK Winning out against ‘felfie’ (farmer selfie) and ‘fatberg’ (giant lump of fat found in London’s sewers) with 30% of the vote, ‘adorkable’ will appear… Read More

Weather Words – The Great British Fascination with Forecasting

According to The Telegraph newspaper, talking about the weather is the ‘top British trait’ – a habit that dates back to when Julius Caesar blamed his failed invasion of Britannia on gale-force winds. This obsession is unsurprising, given the unpredictable nature of the UK’s weather. In fact… Read More

The Highland Games: Why Do We Toss the Caber and Where Do Bagpipes Really Come From?

It is thought that the Highland Games originated from ancient Scottish clans competing against each other in various sporting events, with chiefs selecting their strongest, fastest, fittest and most entertaining men to represent the clan. Similar sporting contests were also staged at military meets, where… Read More

From offendicles to plorker: Lucy Mangan takes on your new word submissions

I’ve just been on holiday to north Norfolk and paid a visit to the shrine in Walsingham with my friend, a fellow lapsed Catholic, to buy (it’s free if you take your own bottle, but we’re so lapsed we forgot) for still-practising members of our families what she refers to… Read More

Ice Bucket Challenge and Supermoon – Trending words in August

Let’s be honest. Last month’s top buzzword has been Ice Bucket Challenge. And I don’t have to define it for you, because we’ve all seen more videos of celebs and four-year-olds alike pouring cold water over their heads than we saw of duckface selfies last year. The Ice… Read More

11 British Summer Fête Essentials: Three-Legged Races, Tombolas and Cream Tea

When we try to picture a ‘great British summer’, what comes to mind: coloured beach huts, 99 ice cream cones, and sunny garden parties, or crowds of optimistic families sitting underneath umbrellas on their deck chairs? Although we may sometimes get caught out, living in a country with such… Read More