When I was in college and rode an English bicycle, I carried a set of spanners in case minor adjustments were necessary. But a monkey wrench is what one uses for pipefitting. They're different, or at least that's what I learned as a child.

An overshoe, worn to protect one's shoes and keep one's feet dry from rain, snow and slush; usually used in the plural. When I was in high school, the current term for something later considered "cool" or "neat" was "shoe". And something especially cool was over "s...

This word appeared in my emailbox this morning, but hasn't yet been reiterated among current postings. My immediate reaction was that "velouté" must be related. And certainly that fits in with the various gastronomical observations. Regarding the latter, I was born (just barely) below the ...

Maybe the frequency of use depends on where you're located. For at least several years, "fidget toys" have been nearly ubiquitous in the U.S. For examples, see https://www.verywellfamily.com/best-fidget-toys-6744333 (not meant as an advertisement). This does mention ADHD as being relevant ...

"Stage" would be a good word to explicate. It can be a verb with at least two senses (stage a play, stage packages for delivery), and as a noun, it can also mean a stage in the progression of a disease. Maybe more.

One might extend the applicability of the term to "worship" of Brigitte Bardot. The summer after my freshman year in college, I was cashier for a small art theater, where the current flick was "And God Created Woman". But I wasn't old enough to be allowed in to watch it. (Instead...

This has been around for an awfully long time without graduating. Isn't it about time?

What about "converge"? Two (or more) verges (edges) coming together?

Wondering whether "bulgur", the delicious Middle Eastern wheat foodstuff, is related. Probably not.

(Pilaf, made with half rice, half bulgur, and a smattering of crumbled vermicelli, is even more delicious than any one of those ingredients alone. Especially when cooked over a campfire.)

I've always thought it quite appropriate that the Greek "potamos" was so nicely replicated in the name of the Patowmack River that runs past Washington, DC. I've even considered whether hippopotami (plural thanks to Flanders & Swann) would find that river a pleasant place to inhabit; p...

2-cent stamp? Why, Slava, I just found a stack of (unused!) penny postcards! Remember those?

When you go out on a limb with a saw in your hand, be careful which side you turn to before you start cutting.

Ever since I first heard it, I've appreciated the slogan "Eschew obfuscation" of the sorely missed WCRB Saturday Night, when that Boston classical music radio station was still commercial. Other things learned about there were the charming songs of Flanders & Swann and the British come...

Oh, I use that word quite frequently, but I've always thought it would be spelled "squush". (I've never looked it up.) And in the cleanup project that currently occupies much of my time, I'm finding entirely too many things that are squushy from neglect.

Gargantua reminds me of Pantagruel, a fondly remembered restaurant that formerly existed on the St. Lawrence shore of the Gaspé Peninsula. The owner, a native of France, was delighted to hear from my husband a continental, rather than Québécois, accent. The food and service were both excellent, and ...

Well, David, my "splurges" have consisted mostly of books (some really gorgeous productions from private presses), travel (to the annual meeting of the user group I'm involved in, to an undeveloped island on the Georgia coast, and "educational" jaunts to places or on subjects I w...