Back in February I wrote this piece about Breakonium, a non-existent element described by Nicholas Lezard in the New Statesman as “the most fragile substance on Earth”. I noted that a search for the word on The World’s Most Popular Search Engine yielded “about 19 results”. At the time the World’s Most Popular Search Engine… Continue reading More about Breakonium, and Search Engines
The word “Pass” has been a feature of quizzes and quiz shows since the 1970s at least, popularized by the BBC show “Mastermind”. There is a point to it in “Mastermind”. If a contestant doesn’t know the answer to a question they can say “Pass”. The show’s presenter (currently John Humphrys; it was Magnus Magnusson… Continue reading Word of the week: pass
Some teenage kid walking down the road, a can of fizzy drink in his hand, swinging it back and forth, and he’s not even sipping it. What do you think of that? It’s the kind of thing that would really wind up my father. It was something about the can of drink specifically. You’re driving… Continue reading Minor irritations
Last week, after the final show in the current season of “Upstart Crow”, my wife and I were having a conversation which led me to reflect on how good Jonathan Ross’s old radio programme was. For a few years, until around 2009, it occupied the Saturday late-morning slot (10am till 1pm) on BBC Radio 2,… Continue reading “Strictly 70s Crumpet”
A few weeks ago Susie Dent, in her Origin of Words slot on the Channel 4 show “Countdown”, featured the word “malaphor”. It’s a cross between a malapropism and a metaphor, or series of metaphors. Malapropism is a word that I have been aware of since the age of 12 and, unlike zeugma or synecdoche,… Continue reading Word of the week: malaphor
Ari Up, singer in punk band The Slits, died seven years ago today. May she rest in peace. She and the band had been on my mind in recent weeks, and when starting to draft this piece yesterday I discovered that the anniversary was upon us. Back in 2010 I read the news of her… Continue reading Ari Up and The Slits
Last weekend I began a rather long piece about the 1979 movie “A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square”, which features Gloria Grahame, one of my favourite actresses. I noted: “She died in 1981 and her relationship with a young actor, Peter Turner, is recorded in his book “Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool”. You’re likely… Continue reading Gloria Grahame and me
I don’t dwell too much on misheard lyrics. There are a few examples of memorable misunderstandings, and some of them still amuse me, but if you stretch it too far the idea can become a little tedious. I remember many years ago finding a website that had numerous instances of them and by the time… Continue reading “He stated firm”, anyway, and other misheard lyrics
“Alphabetical” is a weekday afternoon quiz show, another one we have added to the “series record” list on our multi-channel box. It sits alongside “The Chase”, “Pointless”, “Countdown”, “University Challenge”, “Mastermind” and “Only Connect”. Combined with episodes of “Have I Got News for You”, “Strictly Come Dancing” and “Upstart Crow”, and over 100 “Top of… Continue reading Word of the week: alphabetical
At any point in the last 40 years I could have written you a thousand words about the biggest rock beasts of them all, the great Led Zeppelin, a band that have never been far away from my metaphorical and actual turntables since 1975. I could give you 10,000 words without too much difficulty right… Continue reading Led Zeppelin
The Compartments 