www.alphadictionary.com

A nice little piece from Roger Cohen of the NYT:
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/02/opini ... d=36849752

Enjoyed it and a couple of dozen comments. I've encountered all or most of those through reading English authors. Still, I had a roommate from London in the late fifties and was more interested in his pronunciations, such as shedule for skedule. He's also the guy who asked me, while working on a Christmas sermon, whether we had the word "outhouse." I told him yes, but the meaning that first came to mind was an outdoor privy. His reply was, "I better not say Jesus was born in an outhouse." I agree. You can also wonder about my thoughts in reading history when I came across a privy counsel.

In his second sentence, Mr Cohen mischaracterizes American English. He says "It can be as blunt as the shift from 'restroom' to 'toilet.'" It should be "bathroom" to "toilet." Living as I do in a place where the bath is only rarely forced into coexistence with the toilet, I resent this usurpation of this lovely word by yahoos as a means to avoid referring to excretory functions, particularly since euphemisms can only fail.

a privy counsel.

Well no matter what we talk about there's always someone to tell us how to do it.

M. Tongue-firmly-in-cheek Bailey

As I understand it, French kings used to do their business while they were doing their "business" and that is why it was called the Privy Counsel. If I am wrong about this, please don't disillusion me.

I won't...