Category: language
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Proper job?
On my bookshelf I have a book that has sentimental value. It was my grandfather’s book, and he has written his name in it. The book is ‘Yap’ by Jan Stewer. I would be amazed if any of you have read it. The Jan Stewer books are about a Devonian chap (the eponymous Jan) and…
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slip of the tongue?
Is it just me, or is the use of language becoming more slippery and less honest? Maybe it’s rose-tinted nostalgia glasses but It seems to me that it was not so long ago that people spoke more plainly and honestly. Let me give you some examples of what I mean: There’s a word that seems to…
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you say tomarto…
I had a giggle this morning when an interview went a bit wrong. Chris Evans (BBC Radio 2 Breakfast Show) was interviewing the American author of a Txt Dictionary and decided to ask her what something meant. I will transliterate so it makes sense. The phrase he asked about began ‘two bee zed…’ (2BZ) This…
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words
Warm air has been flowing up and over cold air and the water vapour from the warm air has super-cooled to form tiny ice particles, which have been precipitated across our part of the country. It has snowed. This morning my wife and I coordinated 34 facial muscles and 112 postural muscles, particularly the orbicularis oris muscles, and applied our…
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langwidge is confewzing
This morning I took another assembly at a local primary school. While I was waiting in the hall for the children to arrive I looked at their work that was displayed on the wall. One section was clearly the fruit (pun intended) of a project to get them to consider a balanced diet. The children…
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how do you do?
A few years ago I had the immense privilege of visiting mainland China. It was a wonderful experience (not just for the food) where I met some amazing people who have made an impact on me, and on my faith in Jesus. I met Christians who had endured incredible hardships because of their faith and…
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i don’t get it
A couple of weeks ago I began a sermon with a joke that died. Here’s the joke (told here on April 5th 2011): Two guys are bungee-jumping one day. The first guy says to the second, “You know, we could make a lot of money running our own bungee-jumping service in Mexico. They’ve never heard…
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mind your language
I’ve just had an interesting ‘moment’ caused by an inadequately phrased headline on the BBC website. The headline was: “Star Church settles over hacking.” This set all sorts of questions running in my head… What sort of church is a “Star Church”? Does it have something to do with Star Wars or Star Trek, so…
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[expletive deleted]
Dear loyal Bloggist, Thank you for bearing with me during my recent cold. I am sorry that the inspiration levels were low, but mucous and phlegm have that effect on me. But now my nose has stopped training for a marathon and my throat has decided that it’s perhaps alright to breathe and swallow without…
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password?
How do you cope when you forget a password for a website, a program or (worst of all) your computer? There are usually ways of finding it out, but sometimes you have to be a bit of a detective. Yesterday I was planning to send a blog entry for you by posting via email. But I…
nukelearfishing 