English Conversation

Leper`Squint: A very small window in a church where lepers could stand outside and see the alter while watching and taking part in the church service...this was concealed from the view of the congregation.

IGONOMINIOUS. Public disgrace, humiliating, inglorious,deserving or causing public disgrace. INSOUCIANT. Arrogance, nonchalant, indifferent, showing lack of concern. ROMANCE. Have your courtship. Those days of cautious advance, coy retreat, shy surrender, are, I have always heard, the sweetest of ones life. Unknown author.

INIMIMICAL. Obstructive. Harmful. Detrimental..the policy was inimical to Britains real interests.Unfriendly;hostile. fr.Late Latin inimicalis Enemy. PANASHE. Flamboyant style or manner. Origin19th cent. from French 'flaming, blazing'.fr .flambe ' a flame'. This leads to 'why is a blazer ( a mans jacket ) is called a blazer? The answer lies here in Cambridge; Lady Margaret Beaufort Mother Of Henry V11 and grandmother of HenryV111 founded Saint Johns College in 1505 and she like other colleges had a rowing crew - she chose a bright red jacket for her boys which became known as the 'blazer'.

Uxorious: Showing great or excessive fondness for ones wife. Panacea:A solution or remedy for all difficulties or deseases fr. Greek panakeia. 'all healing ' alos 'remedy' Sorry about this but I am at home with a broken ankle into my 5th week....

Ellipsis: words left out when they can be understood from what has gone before or later in the sentence. Or a set of dots indicating such an omission.....this process is called Ellipsis. as in 'told you so' - 'sounds fine to me' which is standard informal English.

Smidgen ( informal ) a very small amount of anything. 'just a smidgen please'...of sugar, salt, ice etc C19: from Scots smitch

Rigmarole: a long and complicated procedure - a long rambling story. 'what a rigmarole ' C18: ragman roll, denoting a legal document recording a list of offences.

Crony/Cronies Origin C17 Cambridge universtity UK ' He is drinking with his cronies' this was formed by a group of students who were chums/ friends who wanted a name for their group. Greek and Latin were spoken in Cambridge and the word was taken from Gr Khronios 'long lasting' everlasting friendship! This is now said all over the world.......

Elided: Omit a sound or syllable c16th Latin 'crush out'.

Fillip: Stimulus or boost.
Archaic Middle English - a movement made by flicking the thumb and little finger together suggesting that someone could move a little faster. Mortgage rates were down which caused a fillip in the house market.

Eavesdropper: From early C17 Middle English - someone who secretly listens to someone else's conversation ...from under the eaves. From eavesdrop ' the ground on to which water drips from the eaves'.
From Old Norse upsardropi, from ups 'eaves'- dropi 'a drop'. The word took on a new meaning when Henry V111 made it Treason Law to question his rights to the church or to his new marriage - at Hampton Court he had carved figures/faces leaning over the eaves warning the people ...that it meant death to anyone in the congregation who talked against him.....the eaves droppers were a reminder that someone was listening.
The carved colourful faces are worth seeing ....but remember not to gossip...someone is eavesdropping!!!!
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Solecism: grammatical mistake in speech or writing. From the same author....1937 she begins sentences with AND...a conjunction like 'and' is now perfectly acceptable but there maybe criticism so do not use it in anything formal. jrp_janetparr@yahoo.co.uk

From the same book:Tatterdemalion early 17thcent fr Old Norse Tqrar ' rags' Tatterdemalion: a person in tattered clothing...at least I now know the origin of ' in tatters' !

In the last hour two new words from an historical book which I am reading. Glebe (archaic) Land;fields -origin fr latin gleba'glaeba'clod,soil. Land serving as part of a glergyman's benefice and providing income. Also Confluffle (archaic ) commotion, fuss caused by conflicting views -Origin scottish/Irish: confusion/disorder. Now spelled Kerfuffle how much easier/fun to use this word rather than ' there was a loud arguement etc.etc.etc' in most cases using the older word means you use less words in a sentence...this can only be good when you are learning English and longer sentences are difficult!!! Do not let your friends say 'no-one says that word anymore - they DO in good literature!!!! Pass the new word on and enjoy English from all angles.

English spoken with a foreign accent is beautiful.

My interest Started 10yrs ago with a Russian student who realised that I used more vocabulary than most people.My passion for etymology has been shared with other students from Germany,China,Japan,Spain.The 'one to one' sessions begin with phrasal verbs/idioms then moving on by adding more vocabulary and structure to a sentence.My teaching methods must remain a 'secret' however acting out words is involved! My students usually have a good grasp of English Grammer the next step is to find that flair for conversation.I have turned the origin of words into a useful pastime.