English Language FAQ

Longest words in English? The Oxford University Press English Dictionary  disqualifies the word nominated by The Readers Digest with this withering put down: 

Laughable Adjective : to inspire laughter: comically ridiculous. A variation based on laugh which evolved from the Middle English laughen, laghen  

Estimates of the number of new words and phrases used in the complete work of William Shakespeare vary considerably.  In 1942, leading Shakespeare scholar Alfred Hart, wrote that the Stratford playwright is "credited by the compilers of the Oxford English Dictionary with being the first user of about 3,200 words."  That number is now considered an overestimate. But by how much? A British Council website from 2016 suggests 'more than two thousand' while the invaluable Online Shakespeare Biography goes with around 1200.

The original meaning of blackmail was not directly connected to the concept of extortion

The words parody and satire are often used interchangeably but they are not synonymous .

The word  performative  has become ubiquitous but is often misused  .   Parliamentary  kabuki The always informative Dot Wordsworth points out in her Spectator column that the correct usage of performative is 'as a label useful in identifying a sort of utterance that is different from a statement of fact.'  She cites as examples, 'I do (in the marriage ceremony), I bet, I name this ship the Queen Elizabeth, I promise, Let there be light (if you are God) and I apologise.' Performative does not mean to play to the gallery (or TV cameras!) or act insincerely for public consumption. Kabuki is the word that  better describes theatrical behaviour that attempts to attract maximum media attention. What is kabuki?