Continuing my quest for strange words and phrases to uncover the etymology or origin stories. Gotta love language! Well, at least I do! For a list of all my archived posts covering the topic: VOCABULARY Enjoy! Gargoyle Gargoyle is a stone figure that forms part of the gutter system of medieval...
Way back to the 17th century the Master Sweepers of London would employ boys small enough to climb and scramble up chimney flues. The task for these climbing boys was to brush clean the inside of the flue with small hand-held brushes. They also used metal scrapers to remove the...
Men during the Regency wore thick coats over their suits, as folks always have for warmth, and then as now there were a wide variety of styles. My personal favorite is the caped greatcoat. Also called a coachman’s coat, carrick or garrick coat, and box coat, it is the ancestor of...
For those who have read my novel The Passions of Dr. Darcy, you likely recall an encounter Dr. George Darcy and his mentor Dr. Kshitij Ullas had with Tipu Sultan, the infamous ruler of the Indian Kingdom of Mysore. My two characters are the product of imagination. Tipu Sultan, however,...
Floriography — the cryptological communication through flower use or arrangement — has been practiced for thousands of years in numerous cultures. In Europe, especially England, the craze truly bloomed (pun intended) in the Victorian Era, but was seeded and sprouted some one hundred years earlier. Lady Mary Wortley Montegu, wife...
Unlike dip or chew, those moist tobacco products that are ingested orally, or the dried leaves which are smoked, snuff is made from tobacco leaves that have been dried (sometimes via baking in an oven) and then ground into a fine powder. It is insufflated or “snuffed” into the nasal cavity,...
In the aftermath of the French Revolution, European fashion followed the example established by breaking away from the thick brocade, heavy lace, immense powdered wigs, and stiff structures which were a hallmark of aristocratic garments. Flipping 180 degrees, fashionable dress embraced a “natural” style with ease and comfort the defining factor. The...
A collection of common terms and titles for law enforcement officials in England up to and encompassing the Regency Era, with a bit of history thrown in. Enjoy! Sheriff comes from the Old English scirgerefa, or shire-reeve, meaning: “representative of royal authority in a shire.” In medieval times a reeve (from the...
Cavagnole was a French game of chance similar to Bingo or Lottery. It was a low stakes game, extremely easy to learn and cheat at, and rather boring to play. Nevertheless, it was very popular. In the late 1730s the game became all the rage among the ladies of Versailles, Queen Marie...
Continuing the quest to cover the alphabet! That may prove impossible due to the vast number of words in the English language, but I can try to find a few fascinating examples. For a list of all my archived posts covering the topic: VOCABULARY Flea Market The term flea market...
American Independence Facts In May, 1776, after nearly a year of trying to resolve their differences with England, the colonies sent delegates to the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia. Finally, in June, admitting that their efforts were hopeless, a committee was formed to compose the formal Declaration of Independence....
The final and full text of the Declaration of Independence was adopted in Congress on July 4, 1776. In the words of Thomas Jefferson, the intention of the Declaration was not to say something new, but– …to place before mankind the common sense of the subject, in terms so plain...
Continuing the quest to cover the alphabet! That may prove impossible due to the vast number of words in the English language, but I can try to find a few fascinating examples. For a list of all my archived posts covering the topic: VOCABULARY Earl Earl is the counterpart of...
Incroyable et Merveilleuse was a set of 33 engravings, published in 1814, depicting extremely fashionable French men and women. They were engraved by George-Jacques Gatine after drawings by Horace Vernet and Louis-Marie Lanté. While most fashion plates were on a small scale designed to fit in women’s magazines such as...
Today is Maundy Thursday, also referred to as Holy Thursday or Covenant Thursday or Great Thursday. The term “Maundy” comes from the Latin mandatum which means “command” and refers to the command Jesus issued on the last Thursday of His life, which was to “love one another as I have loved...
