Shiny Sheens Show

17 July 202517 July 2025 By Simon

Are the words show, sheen and shine connected? Let’s find out.

Show [ʃəʊ / ʃoʊ] means a play, dance or other entertainment; an exhibition of items, etc. It comes from Middle English schewe (show), from schewen (to show), from Old English scēawian (to watch, look at, examine, show), from Proto-West Germanic *skawwōn, from Proto-Germanic *skawwōną (to look, see, watch), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kewh₁- (to perceive, observe) [source].

A sheen [ʃiːn] is a thin layer of a substance (such as oil) spread on a solid or liquid surface; splendor, radiance or shininess. It comes from Middle English shene (beautiful, fair, handsome, glorious), from Old English sċīene (beautiful, fair, bright, brilliant, light), from Proto-West Germanic *skaunī (beautiful), from Proto-Germanic *skauniz (beautiful), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kewh₁- (to perceive, observe) [source].

Other words from the PIE root *(s)kewh₁- include caution in English, choyer (to cherish, pamper, coddle) in French, cauto (cautious) in Spanish, cautela (caution, care) in Italian, precaver (to prevent, take precautions) in Portuguese, czuć (to feel, sense) in Polish, and qyr (to observe, look, analyse) in Albanian [source].

Shine [ʃaɪn] means to emit or reflect light so as to glow, etc. It comes from Middle English schinen (to shine, stand out), from Old English sċīnan (tp shine), from Proto-West Germanic *skīnan (to shine, appear), from Proto-Germanic *skīnaną (to shine, appear), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ḱeh₁y- (to shine, shimmer) [source].

Other words from the PIE root *(s)ḱeh₁y- possibly include sheer and tinsel in English, schijnen (to shine, appear, seem) in Dutch, scheinen (to shine, gleam, seem, appear) in German, skina (to shine) in Swedish, siljati (to shine, beam, glitter) in Slovenian, and skaer (glow, glimmer, tinge) in Danish [source].

So show and sheen are related, but shine isn’t.

Here are a song called Show by Ado, a Japanese singer. It’s had 238 million views in a year – a few more than my videos – so she’s quite popular:

Pie in the Sky

10 July 2025 By Simon

If something is unlikely to happen, you might say that it’s just pie in the sky. Have you ever wondered where this expression comes from? Let’s find out.

Pie in the sky refers to:

a fanciful notion
an unrealistic or ludicrous concept
the illusory promise of a desired outcome that is unlikely to happen.

It first appeared in a song called The Preacher and the Slave written and published in 1911 by Joe Hill (1879–1915), a Swedish-American labour activist and songwriter. He wrote it as a parody of a Salvation Army hymn In the Sweet By-and-By, which was published in 1868. It is a criticism of the Salvation Army’s focus on future salvation rather than on present deprivations [source].

The phrase appears in the chorus of the song, which goes something like this:

You will eat bye and bye
In that glorious land above the sky
Work and pray live on hay
You’ll get pie in the sky when you die

You can hear this song sung by Utah Phillips here:

More details of this song and pie in the sky:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Preacher_and_the_Slave
https://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/pie-in-the-sky.html

Here’s a song I wrote recently based on this phrase, called Pie In The Sky:

If you fly up high
and open your eyes
you might just spy
some pie in the sky

At the end of the rainbow
you might just find
a pretty pot of gold
or so I’ve been told

If you search here and there
and everywhere
you might just snare
a castle in the air

Whatever you seek
Wherever you peek
You might just see
something unique

So open your eyes
and your ears and your mind
cause you never know
what you might find
cause you never know
what you might find

Simon Ager · Pie In The Sky

Other phrases that refer to fanciful notions or things that are unlikely to happen include: castle(s) in the air, eggs in moonshine, jam tomorrow, pipe dreams and the cake is a lie in English [source].

In French you might talk about une promesse en l’air (an empty promise, lit. “a promise in the air”), un château en Espagne (a castle in Spain), or des paroles en l’air (empty words, lit. “words in the air”) [source].

In German you might refer to Zukunftsmusik (future music), ein Luftschloss (a castle in the air), or das Blaue vom Himmel (the blue of the sky) [source].

In Welsh it’s breuddwyd gwrach (a witch’s dream) [source], in Irish you might talk about caisleáin óir (golden castles) [source], and in Swahili you could mention raha ya mbinguni (heavenly bliss) or ndoto za mchana (daydreams) [source].

What about in other languages?

Roomy Houses

2 July 2025 By Simon

One of the Swahili words I learnt recently is chumba (room). I wondered where it comes from and what other words are related to it. Let’s find out.

Chumba means room, chamber, cabin or cloakroom, and is a diminutive of nyumba [ˈɲu.ᵐbɑ] (house, apartment), which comes from Proto-Bantu *njʊ̀mbá (house) [source].

Related words include

chumba cha kulia = dining room
chumba cha kulalia = bedroom
kichumba = small room
jumba = mansion, large building
kijumba = cottage, small house
uchumba = courtship, engagement
-chumbisha = to get engaged to be married (of a man)
-chumbishwa = to get engaged to be married (of a woman)
mchumba = financé(e), lover, partner
wachumba = spouse, couple
unyumba = married life, marital relations
nyumba ya uzazi = womb, uterus (“house of parenthood”)
nyumbani = at home, in the house

Other room-related words in Swahili include:

bafu (bath, bathtub, bathroom), which was borrowed from English bath
darasa (classroom, class period, lesson), which was borrowed from Arabic دَرْس (dars – study, studies, lesson, class)
msalani (bathroom, toilet), a locative of msala (private chamber, retreat, bathroom, toilet), from Arabic مُصَلَّى (muṣallan – place of prayer, prayer room/hall)
faragha (privacy, private chamber, retreat, opportunity), which was borrowed from Arabic فَرَاغ (farāḡ – empty space)
sebule (living room), which was borrowed from Arabic (?)

Here are a few house- and home-related proverbs and sayings in Swahili:

Nyumba njema si mlango.
A good house isn’t judged by the door.
Kinywa ni jumba la maneno.
The mouth is a house of words.
Nyumba ya udongo haihimili kishindo.
A house made of mud cannot withstand a strong wind.
Mkate mkavu wa nyumbani ni bora kuliko nyama ya shuwa ya pengine.
A piece of dry bread from home is better than a roasted piece of meat from someone else’s home.

Sources: https://mhariri.com/kamusi/learn-swahili/proverbs-in-swahili-and-their-translations-and-meanings/, https://pristinetrails.com/blog/swahili-proverbs/

The more Swahili I learn, the more interesting it gets.

Gasting Flabbers

26 June 2025 By Simon

Is a flabbergast a gast that’s flabbered? Let’s find out.

A flabbergast is an awkward person, or an overwhelming confusion, shock or surprise, and to flabbergast is to overwhelm with bewilderment, or to amaze, confound, or stun, especially in a ludicrous manner.

Related words include

flabbergastion = bewildered shock or surprise; the state or condition of being flabbergasted
flabbergaster = a person, thing, fact or event that is flabbergasting, or that causes extreme shock; a state of surprise or fear
flabbergastly = surprisingly, astonishingly or amazingly

Flabbergast possibly comes from the Suffolk dialect words flap(py) (to strike) and aghast (terrified), or from Scots flabrigast (to swagger, boast, quite worn out, extremely fatigued). There are also versions of this word from Lancashire: flobbergrast and Northampton: flappergast [source].

Aghast means terrified; struck with amazement, or showing signs of terror or horror. It comes from Middle English agast, from agasten (to frighten or terrify), from Old English gǣstan (to frighten, gast, torment, afflict), from Proto-West Germanic *gaistijan, from Proto-Germanic *gaistijaną, which is related to *gaistaz (fear, terror, spirit, ghost, mind) [source].

Related words include ghost, ghast (an evil spirit or monster) and ghastly in English, gast (ghost) in Swedish, geest (ghost, spirit, mind) in Dutch, and Geist (spirit, essense, mind, ghost) in German [source].

Incidentally, gast is an old word in English meaning to frighten, and also comes from the same roots [source], as does the Old English word gāst (spirit, ghost, breath, demon), which became gost / gast / gaast / goost / goste in Middle English [source]. It acquired an h and became ghoost in the late 15th century due to influence from the Flemish word gheest, possibly thanks to Wynkyn de Worde, William Caxton‘s assistant [source].

Dwile Flonking

18 June 2025 By Simon

Have you ever flonked a dwile or gathered your girt in a snurd?

Dwile flonking is mentioned in a novel I’m currently reading, Fiends in High Places by D.C. Farmer, and as I had no idea what it meant, I thought I’d find out.

According to Wiktionary, dwile flonking is

“An obscure and intentionally preposterous sport in which teams take turns to dance while avoiding a “dwile” (beer-soaked cloth) thrown by their opponents.” It is also written dwile flunking, dwyle flonking, dwyle flunking. The first documented game took place in 1966 [source].

According to Wikipedia,

“dwile flonking, dwyle flunking or nurdling is a British pub game played by two teams, with one dancing around in a circle, while a player from the other team attempts to hit them by throwing a beer-soaked cloth. The game is associated with the counties of Norfolk and Suffolk. Although the game can supposedly be traced back to the 16th century, it is thought to have been invented in the mid-1960s [source].

Apparently dwile flonking requires a dwile, a driveller (a stick of some kind) and a bucket full of beer. The dwile is soaked in beer, then one team forms a snurd (circle) of girts, while a member of the other team, the flonker, stands in the middle holding a dwile on a driveller. The jobanowl (referee) yells let’s go t’gither, and the girts begin to girt (dance in a circle) in one direction, while the flonker turns in the other direction and attempts to flonk the dwile at or over the head of one of the girts. Participants dress up in local rustic attire, and drink rather a lot of beer before, during and after the flonking of the dwile. Other ridiculous rules apply. See TradFolk for details.

It sounds like an ideal sport for the Olympics, and is in fact included in the Cotswold Olimpick Games, and is played annually in Beccles and Lewes in East Sussex in the south of England.

Dwile used to refer to a cloth for wiping or cleaning, and comes from Dutch dweil (floorcloth, mop, worthless person, weakling), from Middle Dutch dwâle (cloth, towel), from Old Dutch *thwāla (towel, washcloth), from Proto-West Germanic *þwahilu (towel, washcloth), from *þwahan (to wash, bathe) from Proto-Germanic *þwahaną (to wash, bathe) [source].

Words from the same roots include þvo (to wash, do laundry) in Icelandic, två (to wash) and tvål (soap) in Swedish, tovaglia (tablecloth, cloth) in Italian, toalha (towel, tablecloth) in Portuguese, and towel in English [source].

Flonking possibly comes from flong, an old past tense form of fling, which comes from Middle English flyngen (to dash, rush, charge, fly, strike, throw, fling), from Old Norse flengja / ᚠᛚᛁᚾᚴᛁᛅ (to whip, ride furiously), from Proto-Germanic *flangijaną, from Proto-Indo-European *pleh₂k- [source].

Stages & Balconies

12 June 2025 By Simon

What links the Italian word palco (stage), with words like balcony, plank and block? Let’s find out.

Palco [ˈpal.ko] means platform, stand, layer, (theatre) box, stage, antler in Italian. Related words include palchetto (shelf, sidebar, upper tier box), palchettista (boxholder – ticket holder for the gallery or an upper tier box [in a theatre]), palcoscenico (stage), sottopalco (understage (area), backstage), and spalcare (to dismantle scaffolding, to prune or lop [trees]) [source].

It comes from Lombardic palk (stand, stage), from Old High German balko (beam), from Proto-West Germanic *balkō (beam, balk), from Proto-Germanic *balkô (beam, balk), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *bʰelǵ- (beam, plank), or from PIE *bʰelǵʰ- (to swell) [source].

The English word balcony comes from the same roots, via Italian balcone (balcony, floor-length window), Old Italian balcone (scaffold), Lombardic *balk(o) (beam), Proto-Germanic *balkô (beam, balk), etc [source].

Plank also shares the same roots, but arrived via Middle English plank(e) (plank, counter, tablet, prop), Old French planke (plank, board), Late Latin planca (slat, plank), from Latin palanca (slat, plank, stake), from phalanga (wooden roller, carrying pole), from Ancient Greek φᾰ́λᾰγγᾰ (phắlăngă – phalanx, battle order), from φάλαγξ (phálanx – line of battle, phalanx, main body, trunk, log, beam), from PIE *bʰelǵ- (beam, plank) [source].

Block comes to us from Middle English blok (log, stump), from Old French bloc (log, block), from Middle Dutch blok (treetrunk), from Old Dutch *blok (log), from Proto-West Germanic *blokk (block, log), from Proto-Germanic *blukką (block, log, beam), from PIE *bʰelǵ- (beam, plank) [source].

Other words from the same roots include balk, bulk, fulcrum and phalanx in English, balk (beam, solid support) in Dutch, Balken (beam, bar) in German, balcão (counter, balcony) in Portuguese, and folcire (to support, sustain, guide, direct), fulcro (fulcrum, pivot,crux, core, thrust) and falca (gunwhale) in Italian [source].

Strong Names

5 June 2025 By Simon

What connects the names Cathal, Ronald, Valerie and Walter? Let’s find out.

Where’s Walter / Wally?

The name Cathal comes from Irish Cathal [ˈkahəlˠ], from Old Irish Cathal, from Proto-Celtic *Katuwalos from *katus (battle) and *walos (prince, chief), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂welh₁- (to rule, to be strong). The Welsh names Cadwal and Cadwaladr come from the same roots [source].

Names that also share the Proto-Celtic root *walos (prince, chief) include Conall – from *kū (dog, wolf) and *walos; Donald / Domhnall from *dubnos (world) and *walos, and (O’)Toole – from *toutā (people, tribe, tribal land) and *walos [source].

The name Ronald comes from Scottish Gaelic Raghnall [ˈrˠɤ̃ː.əl̪ˠ], from Old Norse Rǫgnvaldr, from Proto-Germanic *Raginawaldaz from *raginą (decision, advice, counsel) and *waldaz (wielder, rule), from *waldaną (to rule), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *h₂welh₁- (to rule, to be strong) [source].

Names that also share the Proto-Germanic root *waldaz (wielder, rule) include Harold – from *harjaz (army, commander, warrior) and *waldaz; Oswald – from *ansuz (deity, god) and *waldaz; Gerald – from *gaizaz (spear, pike, javelin) and *waldaz, and Walter – from *waldaz and *harjaz (army, commander, warrior) [source].

The name Valerie comes from French Valérie, from Latin Valeria, a feminine form of the Roman family name Valerius, from Latin valere (to be strong), from valeō (to be strong, to be powerful, to be healthy, to be worthy), from Proto-Italic *waleō (to be strong) from Proto-Indo-European *h₂wl̥h₁éh₁yeti, from *h₂welh₁- (to rule, to be strong) [source]. Names from the same Latin roots include Valentine, Valeria and Valencia.

Parts of all these names can be traced back to the Proto-Indo-European root *h₂welh₁- (to rule, to be strong) – the same is true for the names Arnold, Reginald, Reynold and Vlad(imir) [source].

Other words from the same PIE root include: ambivalent, cuckold, evaluation, invalid, prevalence, unwieldy, valour and value in English, gwlad (country, sovereignty) and gwaladr (ruler, sovereign) in Welsh, walten (to rule, exercise control) in German, vallita (to prevail, predominate, reign) in Finnish, vládnout (to rule, reign) in Czech, and власт (vlast – power, authority, influence, government) in Bulgarian [source].

Foreign Eggplants

28 May 202528 May 2025 By Simon

When is a tomato not a tomato?

Recently I’ve been brushing up my knowledge of Mandarin Chinese by doing some Chinese lessons on Duolingo. The kind of Chinese taught there is Mandarin from Mainland China, which differs somewhat from the Mandarin of Taiwan that I’m more familiar with.

One difference is the word for tomato. In Mainland China it’s 西红柿 [西紅柿] (xīhóngshì), and in Taiwan it’s 番茄 (fānqié). 西红柿 means literally “western red persimmon”, and was borrowed into Tibetan as ཞི་ཧུང་ཧྲི (zhi hung hri) [source]. 番茄 means literally “foreign eggplant / aubergine”, and was borrowed into Zhuang as fanhgez [source].

Is 番茄 used at all in Mainland China, or in other Chinese-speaking regions?

Incidentally, the word tomato comes from Spanish tomate (tomato), from Classical Nahuatl tomatl (tomatillo), from Proto-Nahuan *tomatl (tomatillo) [source].

A tomatillo is “A plant of the nightshade family originating in Mexico, Physalis philadelphica, cultivated for its tomato-like green to green-purple fruit surrounded by a thin papery skin.” and is a diminutive of tomate – see above [source].

Other words that differ include:

Mainland China	Taiwan
土豆 (tǔdòu) = potato (“earth bean”)	馬鈴薯 (mǎlíngshǔ) = potato (“horse bell potato / yam”)
自行车 (zìxíngchē) = bicycle (“self go vehicle”)	腳踏車 (jiǎotàchē) = bicycle (“pedal vehicle”)
公交车 (gōngjiāochē) = bus (“public transport vehicle”)	公共汽車 (gōnggòngqìchē) = bus (“public car”) 公車 (gōngchē) = bus
出租车* (chūzūchē) = taxi (“vehicle for hire”)	計程車 (jìchéngchē) = taxi (“vehicle caculated by mileage”)
计算机** (jìsuànjī) = computer (“calculating machine”)	電腦 (diànnǎo) = computer (“electric brain”)

*出租車 (chūzūchē) = rental car in Taiwan.
**計算機 (jìsuànjī) = calculator in Taiwan.

Hosting Hostages

21 May 202524 May 2025 By Simon

Are the words hostage and host related? Let’s find out.

A host of daffodils

A hostage [ˈhɒs.tɪʤ / ˈhɑs.tɪʤ] is:

A person given as a pledge or security for the performance of the conditions of a treaty or similar agreement, such as to ensure the status of a vassal.
A person seized in order to compel another party to act (or refrain from acting) in a certain way, because of the threat of harm to the hostage.
other meanings are available.

It comes from Middle English (h)ostage (hostage), from Old French (h)ostage, either from Old French oste (innkeeper, landlord, host), or from Latin obsidāticum (condition of being held captive), from Latin obses (hostage, captive, security, pledge), from ob- (in front of) and sedeō (to sit) [source].

A host [həʊst / hoʊst] is:

One which receives or entertains a guest, socially, commercially, or officially.
A person or organization responsible for running an event.
A moderator or master of ceremonies for a performance.
other meanings are available.

It comes from Middle English hoste (host), from Old French oste (innkeeper, landlord host), from Latin hospitem, from hospes (host, guest, visitor, stranger, foreigner, unaware, inexperienced, untrained), from Proto-Italic *hostipotis (host), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰóstipotis (lord, master, guest), from *gʰóstis (stranger, host, guest, enemy) and *pótis (master, ruler, husband) [source].

Host can also refer to a multitude of people arrayed as an army (e.g. a Heavenly host (of angels)). This comes from the same PIE root (*gʰóstis) as the other kind of host, via Middle English oost (host, army), Old French ost(e) (army), Latin hostis (an enemy of the state, a hostile), Proto-Italic *hostis (stranger, guest) [source].

Another meaning of host is the consecrated bread of the Eucharist. This comes from Middle English (h)oist (a sacrificial victim, the Eucharistic wafer), from Old French hoiste, from Latin hostia ( sacrifice, offering, victim, sacrificial animal, the consecrated bread), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰostiyo-, from *ǵʰes- (hand, to take, to give in exchange) [source].

So hostage and host might be related, at least in the first two senses.

Other words related to host include guest in English, Gast (guest) in German, gäst (guest) in Swedish, and gjest (guest) in Norwegian [source].

In Old English, the word ġīs(e)l [jiːzl] meant hostage, and comes from Proto-West Germanic *gīsl (hostage), from Proto-Germanic *gīslaz (hostage), from Proto-Celtic *geistlos (hostage, bail), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰeydʰ- (to yearn for). So a hostage is “one who yearns for (release)” [source].

Words from the same Proto-Celtic root (*geistlos), include giall (hostage) in Irish, giall (hostage, pledge) in Scottish Gaelic, gwystl (pledge, pawn, hostage) in Welsh, gijzelen (to take hostage) in Dutch, and Geisel (hostage) in German, gidsel (hostage) in Danish and gísl (hostage) in Icelandic [source].

Another word from the same Proto-Celtic root is kihlata (to betroth) in Finnish, which comes via Proto-Finnic *kihla (pledge, bet, wager, engagement gift), and Proto-Germanic *gīslaz (hostage) [source].

Rustling Frou-frous

16 May 202516 May 2025 By Simon

The word frou-frou came up last night at the French conversation group and I thought I’d find out more about it.

In French, frou-frou [fʁu.fʁu] refers to a rustling sound, as of silk fabric. It also means rustle, frilly, frilliness or frills. Related words include froufrouter (to swish, rustle), and froufroutement (rustle, scroop, swish) [source]. It is of imitative origin [source].

Scroop? Apparently it means a rustling sound like that produced from friction between silk fibres; to produce a harsh scraping, grating sound, as of friction; to make sounds such as of a chair on the floor or chalk on a blackboard; or to produce a rustling sound, like that from friction between silk fibres, and is of imitative origin [source].

Frou-frou [ˈfɹuːfɹuː] was borrowed into English and means:

A rustling sound, particularly the rustling of a large silk dress.
Liable to create the sound of rustling cloth, similar to 19th-century dresses.
Highly ornamented, overly elaborate; excessively girly.
Unimportant, silly, useless.
To move with the sound of rustling dresses [source].

It has also been borrowed into Portuguese as frufru, where it means overly decorated or colourful, or a ruff, rustle or rustling (of fabrics) [source], and into Spanish as frufrú (rustle, rustling (of fabrics)) [source]

Other ways to say rustle in French include:

froissement [fʁwas.mɑ̃] = rustle, rustling, crumpling, wrinkling (of paper, fabric, etc)
bruissement [bʁɥis.mɑ̃] = rustling (of paper), murmuring, swish
bruire [bʁɥiʁ] = to rustle, rattle, roar, murmur, whisper, hum, swish
froisser [fʁwa.se] = to crease, wrinkle, rustle, ruffle (feathers), strain (a muscle) hurt, offend, take offence [source].

If you want to talk about rustling cattle or other animals, the word voler (to steal, rob, fly) is used in French, and the French equivalent of to rustle up (to prepare quickly) is préparer en vitesse (“to prepare / make hurriedly”).

Omniglot Blog

Adventures in the world of words and language

Category: English