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Where does 'catch a cold' come from?

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Lest the bargain should catch cold and starve. (Iachimo, Act 1 Scene 4)   Shakespeare introduces the phrase 'to catch cold' in Cymbeline (1610). This was his 'comeback'  play after theatres had been 'dark' (closed) for a long period due to a plague epidemic in London.  'Catch cold' is a euphemism here. Iachimo is thinking of something more serious than a blocked nose and a sore throat. The Common Cold: Vocabulary Worksheet

What is the difference between an epidemic and a pandemic?

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An epidemic is the rapid spread of an infectious disease, usually in a particular area over a short period of time. E pidemiologists look for these additional key features a high number of infections in relation to the expected number. Endemic diseases (like influenza) return every year but usually at a low and predictable rate. spread accelerated by person-to-person transmission a rapidly increasing morbidity rate (proportion of the population with disease)  a population that extends beyond shared accommodation (not a cruise ship, for example, where the world outbreak would be used.) For endemic diseases an epidemic can be clearly marked on a statistical chart - with a sudden rising curve .  Here the data from hospital visits in the US suggests a possible influenza epidemic in the winter of 2007/8  (credit: modification of work by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from ' The language of epidemiology ') With a new pathogen, it is more difficult to identify the start

Where does the word Halloween come from?

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Photo by  freestocks.org  on  Unsplash Halloween or All-Hallows-Eve takes place on the night of 31 October in anticipation of All-Hallows-Day (1st November) . It has emerged from a combination of Christian and pagan traditions. Etymology Hallow is the old English word for saint. Halloween is a Scottish variation dating back to the 1700s. The 'een' suffix is a contraction of 'evening'. 'Hallowed evening' or 'holy evening' was later understood to mean eve or 'night before' as with Christmas Eve  All Hallows Day is now called All-Saints-Day in the Catholic calendar. It commemorates Christian martyrs   All Souls Day follows on 2 November. On All Souls Day Catholics pray for the 'souls of the (faithful) departed'. Photo by  Tony J  on  Unsplash Halloween FAQ - brief history of Halloween customs - free 3 min read Halloween often features in Victorian ghost stories. Read and/or listen to E. Nesbit’s ‘Man-Made-in

Where does the word baseball come from?

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The earliest reference to baseball comes in a diary entry of a Surrey solicitor, William Bray.

What is Bloomsday?

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On June 16, 1904 James Joyce met his future wife, Nora. He later memorialised the date as Bloomsday - the day of  Leopold Bloom 's  twenty-four hour mock-odyssey around Dublin in Ulysses (1922).  Ulysses  is renowned for the daunting challenge it poses readers ( see here for a brief beginner's guide). It also weighs in at at close to a thousand pages in the paperback edition.  What happens on Bloomsday? Joyce - whose self-importance  matched his monumental talent - believed Ulysses would provide scholars with 'a lifetime' of material. Doubtless, he would think it fitting that thousands now attend public readings of his work - most famously in Dublin where Bloomsday is a major tourist event.   What happens in Ulysses? English Language Teaching Pack   -  only £1.99

What is the 'language instinct'?

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In the early 1960s the linguist and cognitive scientist Noam Chomsky developed a theory which became known as universal grammar. The posited that we are born with the innate capacity to master a language.