Will the world end with a flash or a whimper? The lack of respect for our environment lends credence to the whimper. Our eagerness to do war lends credence to the flash. Saint Peter's, "The elements shall melt with fervent heat" might favor the flash. However, the right interpretation of t...

Debbymoge: To my mind Spanish is the most beautiful language in the world. I believe it was Carlyle who, when he learned that mariposa was the Spanish word for butterfly, declared Spanish the most beautiful language in the world. I agree with Carlyle. English is the most powerful and amazing languag...

Perhaps so Debbymoge. I appreciate your using the word "betimes" in a correct way. I have heard and seen people use it incorrectly. It is a good word if one knows it's definition.

David. I don't think I said I had a repartee. One does not HAVE one or TAKE one in any literal sense. One does create a repartee and engage in repartees. An exchange of witty remarks is usually a pleasant occupation.

Debbymoge: I like you and the Ashkenazim. Yiddish, not so much.

No apology required Good Doctor.

I believe "Oy vey" is Yiddish. Are you Ashkenazim Debbymoge?

My travel has been largely limited to business trips and hence I never got to Ireland even though it is to me, the auld sod. I do know blarney when I hear it. I wouldn't kiss the stone under any condition. I have two stones in my study and am looking at them now. They are strictly decorative. I have...

Debbymoge: Perhaps we are all victims of abulia or antonomasia. The whole discussion has thrown me into a state indolence that I hardly care. I am alert enough to leave a few emoji.

Here in the hinterlands folks frequently raise the window down. When English folks agree to table an issue, they mean the opposite to what people in the US of A mean.

Do I really want to respond to this good word? What if I am too listless? What if I care nothing about whose drummer is beating what tattoo? I am just not up to commenting?

Thanks Slava.
Debbymoge: did Slava's post answer your question?

Debbymoge: If one is from Minnesota, one might hear or say "Oofdah." Scandinavian descendants are rife there. A Minnesota friend was married to a Swede. and she sometimes used Swede as a pejorative. When asked her ethnicity she proudly identified herself as a Hanyok, a Czech name for a ras...

Both linguistically and genetically, our Jewish friends and our Arab friends are close kin. Hence, an antisemite may be someone who is against Jews or is against Arabs or both. We have too many people who are against things because they don't understand them. There are evil things such as war that w...

Literal basking is not much practiced here in the hinterlands. We only have two seasons: summer and winter. In summer it is too hot to bask, and, in winter it is too cold. If one insists on basking in the summer, it is a good idea to baste oneself thoroughly with sunscreen. That is unless you are a ...