Dr. Google seems to think that BSL stands for either British Sign Language or Breed-Specific Legislation or maybe even Biosafety Level. “But what,” you ask, “do any of those have to do with lobster?” Nothing, of course. That’s because BSL… Read More ›
Month: December 2022
A very traditional Christmas dinner
In accordance with tradition, Barbara and I had our Christmas dinner yesterday at a Chinese restaurant: Chau Chow in Dorchester. It was more a feast than a dinner, leaving plenty of yummy leftovers. Unfortunately they were sold out of roast… Read More ›
They say that Christmas is for everyone—even Jews. But is it?
Julie Golick posted the following observations to Facebook in 2018. In response to several requests, she then made the post shareable by all . Every year, I run into a discussion about how Christmas isn’t REALLY religious anymore and about… Read More ›
Fantastic ______s and Where to Find Them
This book reminds me of the caller who asked the Magliozzi brothers a question about his Volkswagen Quantum: he couldn’t get it repaired because he didn’t know any Quantum mechanics. What’s the connection? Well, first you need to know what… Read More ›
Answers for linguistics quiz
Six days ago I gave you a linguistics quiz that Lynne Murphy designed for the holiday season. The quiz is reprinted below so you don’t have to flip back and forth. Here are the answers, with annotations in some cases:… Read More ›
At holiday time…
…we always want to return to our local favorite where everybody knows your name. In our case, that’s the Ashmont Grill, with excellent food, first-class service, and the feeling of being home. So Barbara and I had our penultimate 2022… Read More ›
Hints for linguistics quiz
Four days ago I gave you a linguistics quiz that Lynne Murphy designed for the holiday season. The quiz is reprinted below so you don’t have to flip back and forth. Full answers will be posted on Tuesday. For the… Read More ›
ChatGPT from OpenAI
Apparently I’m late jumping on the bandwagon. Everywhere I look, someone else is trying out ChatGPT and commenting on it. This app is supposed to respond like a real human being, given any particular prompt you may type. So I… Read More ›
Flicka naps in the sun.
Flicka is feeling Turkish and has found the best place to nap on a sunny day:
Your lingquiz for the season
You have been selected to take this language/linguistics quiz written by an American-British linguist. No fair asking Dr. Google or anyone else for help! Hints will be posted on Sunday, answers on Tuesday.