Where does the word Halloween come from?
Halloween, or All Hallows' Eve , falls on the night of 31 October, in anticipation of All Hallows' Day (1st November).
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Origin of Bob's your uncle?
The phrase 'Bob's your uncle' is commonly used in British English and Commonwealth variants. It is a flexible idiom that loosely means 'and there you have it.'
Countries without an official language?
Only four internationally recognised nation-states do not currently have a de jure or official primary language:
What is hype? Where does the word come from?
The first dictionary definition of hype (1967) was ' excessive or misleading publicity or advertising'.
Which language has the most words?
Counting the total number of words used in a language is complex.
Official English language rule book?
No single institution governs English use. Nor is there a definitive 'rule' book that covers all contexts.
Who decides English language rules?
English does not have an equivalent to the Académie française . There are no 'official' rules, only accepted conventions. Some of these conventions are effectively rules because they are inherent to the language's grammatical structure. No native speaker would naturally put the noun before the adjective in the sentence I bought a red car . (I a red car bought) But they might break another 'rule' by starting a sentence with a conjunction, as I just have. In this case, the rule/convention comes from another language: Latin. Is there an official English language rule book?
Irish English: What is cat melodeon?
Don't shoot me, I'm only the piano accordion player! Cat/ Cat melodeon ( a): dreadful, no good, awful, very bad.
Why is English not the official language of England?
58 countries list English as an official language - but not the UK.
Four differences between parody and satire?
People often use parody and satire interchangeably, but they aren't synonymous .
Why uppercase and lowercase?
The conventions of using uppercase and lowercase letters evolved over centuries. The terms themselves relate to printing and typesetting.
Where does the word meme come from?
In The Selfish Gene (1976) the scientist Richard Dawkins expands the Darwinist concept of natural selection to the realm of ideas.
Origin of 'chatterbox'?
The parents, instead of applauding her, called her a noisy chatterbox and told her sharply that small girls should be seen and not heard. Matilda by Roald Dahl
How many countries have English as their official language?
It is important to distinguish between de jure (legally declared) and de facto national languages.
Why does the USA not have an official language?
58 countries have English as an official language. Surprisingly, the list does not include the USA.