Rose-Tinted

1 August 2025 By Simon

If you are generally optimistic, and/or view things in a positive way, you could say that you see the world through rose-tinted spectacles or rose-colored glasses. What have roses got to do with positivity? Let’s find out.

Here in the UK we might talk about rose-tinted spectacles or rose-coloured spectacles, while elsewhere, you might talk about rose-colored glasses, rose-tinted glasses or rose-colored lenses, and you might look through, see through or wear them.

These phrases refer to an optimistic perception of something; a positive opinion, or seeing something in a positive way, often thinking of it as better than it actually is. Apparently the use of rose-coloured spectacles to mean something pleasant dates back to the 1830s, and is based on the idea that roses are widely regarded as uncommonly beautiful.

Rose-colour was used to refer to a “pleasant outlook”, and is possibly based on the French phrase coleur de rose (rose colour), which was used in poetry.

English isn’t the only language to associate the roses or particular colours with positivity:

Catalan: ulleres violetes = purple glasses
Czech: růžové brýle = rose-colo(ur)ed glasses
Danish: rose bril = rose glasses
French: lunettes roses = rose(-coloured) glasses
Irish: spéaclaí bándearg = pink glasses
Spanish: gafas violeta = purple glasses
Welsh: sbectol-lliw rhosyn = rose-coloured glasses

However, in Italian, you might see the world through gli occhi di un bambino (the eyes of a child), and in Croatian you might talk about svijetla strana medalje (the bright side of the coin.

You might also talk about people being rosy-eyed (optimistic, idealistic), or say that everything in the garden is rosy (things are going well, everything is fine), or even paint a rosy picture (to describe a situation or events in an upbeat, optimistic manner, especially if everything is coming up roses (favourable, developing in a pleasing or advantageous manner), and you want to come up smelling of roses (be regarded as appealing, virtuous, respectable, untainted or unharmed).

Then again, every rose has its thorn (every good situation includes some aspect of misfortune or adversity), and there’s no rose without a thorn (to enjoy a pleasant subject or thing, one must take trouble and hardship).

Incidentally, the word rose, which refers to a shrub of the genus Rosa, a flower of the rose plant, and various other things, comes from Middle English ro(o)se (rose, a morally upstanding and virtuous individual, reddish-purple), from Old English rōse (rose), from Latin rosa (rose, dear, sweetheart, love), probably from Ancient Greek ῥόδον (rhódon – rose), from Proto-Hellenic *wródon, maybe from Proto-Iranian *wardah (flower, rose).

Related words in English include roseate (like the rose flower, pink, rosy, full of roses, excessively optimistic), rosette (an element or ornament resembling a rose), and possibly rosemary (a shrub Salvia rosmarinus that produces a fragrant herb used in cooking and perfumes), although this might come from Latin rōsmarīnus (rosemary), from rōs (dew, moisture) &‎ marīnus (marine, of the sea).

Sources: https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/rose-colored_glasses#English
https://www.etymonline.com/word/rose-colored
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/rosy#English
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/come_up_roses#English
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/smell_like_a_rose#English
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/rose#English
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/rosemary#English

Gigs, Jigs & Fiddles

25 July 202525 July 2025 By Simon

What links the words gig and jig, and what do they have to do a German word Geige (violin)? Let’s find out.

A gig [ɡɪɡ] can mean:

A live performance by a musician, band, musicial group or comedian
A job or role for a performer (in film, television, theatre, etc.)
Any job, especially one that is freelance or temporary, or done on an on-demand basis. Other meanings are available [source].

Its origins are lost in the mists of etymology, but its possibly related to the Old French word gigue (a string instrument similar to a mandolin, a kind of dance), which comes from Frankish *gīge (dance, fiddle), from Proto-Germanic *gīganą (to move, wish, desire), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰeyǵʰ- (to yawn, gape, long for, desire) [source].

The German word Geige [ˈɡaɪ̯ɡə] (violin, fiddle) possibly comes from the same roots, via Middle High German gīge, Old High German gīga and Proto-Germanic *gīganą (to move, wish, desire), etc [source].

The English word jig refers to such things as a light, brisk musical movement; a lively traditional Irish dance in 6/8 time, also known as a double jig (other types of jig are available); or an English Morris dance performed by one or two individual dancers. It shares the same roots as gig and Geige – maybe via Middle English gyge (fiddle), from Old French gigue etc. [source].

Another word from the same roots is guinguette, which in English and French is an old name for a sort of outdoor tavern that once existed in the suburbs of Paris, and appears to be used in modern French to refer to any outdoor bar (see above). It comes from French guinguet (a rough wine produced near Paris), from ginguer (to run, play, move a lot), from giguer (to dance, jump), from gigue (a string instrment, a jig, etc), and so on [source].

The word gig can also refer to:

A small, narrow, open boat carried in a larger ship, and used for transportation between the ship and the shore, another vessel, etc.
A similar rowing boat or sailboat, especially one used for racing; specifically, a six-oared sea rowing boat commonly found in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly (see above).
A two-wheeled carriage drawn by a single horse.

It comes from Middle English gigg (spinning object, a top), possibly from Old Norse (?), from Proto-Germanic *gīganą (to move, wish, desire), etc, or ultimately onomatopoeic [source].

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?

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].

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”).

Dog Days

29 April 2025 By Simon

What does the word canicule have to do with heat waves and dogs? Let’s find out.

In French, canicule [ka.ni.kyl] refers to a heat wave or hot spell, the dog days of summer, or Sirius (Canis Major / the Dog Star). A heat wave is also known as une vague de chaleur. In English, it’s an old word for dog days. It comes from Latin canīcula (puppy), from canis (dog, hound), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱwṓ (dog) [source].

Related words include caniculaire (scorching), chenille (caterpiller), chien (dog) and chiot (puppy) in French, and canine (of or pertaining to a dog), cynophile (a dog lover) and kennel (a dog house) in English.

What are the dog days (of summer)?

(archaic) The days following the heliacal rising of Sirius, now in early August at dates varying by latitude.
The unpleasantly hot days of late summer.
Any similar period of inactivity, laziness, or stagnation.

The expression dog days is a calque of Latin diēs caniculārēs (puppy days), a calque of Ancient Greek κυνάδες ἡμέραι (kunádes hēmérai – dog days). The return of Sirius to the night sky (its heliacal rising), occurred in antiquity around 25th July in Athens and 29th July in Rome, and was considered by the Greeks and Romans to herald what were considered the hottest, least healthy, and least lucky days of summer [source].

Bad weather is also associated with dogs in French: temps de chien (‘dog weather’) means bad, filthy, dreadful or awful weather. Similar associations are made in Italian: tempo da cani (‘dog weather’ – bad or rotten weather); German: Hundewetter (‘dog weather’ – bad weather), and Dutch: hondenweer (‘dog weather’ – particularly bad or rough weather, the kind of weather when it is raining cats and dogs) [source]. In Welsh, unsettled weather is tywydd llwynog (‘fox weather’) [source].

Is bad weather associated with dogs, or other canines, in other languages?

Incidentally, the letter R was known as littera canīna (‘dog’s letter’) in Latin because its trilled pronunciation sounds a bit like a dog [source].

Piecemeal Time

25 April 2025 By Simon

The word piecemeal means made or done in pieces or one stage at a time, but why meal? Does it have something to do with food?

Piecemeal is [ˈpiːs.miːl] comes from Middle English pēce(s)-mēle (in pieces, piece by piece, bit by bit), from pēce(s) (a fragment, bit, piece) and -mēl(e) (a derivational suffix in adverbs) [source].

Pēce(s) comes from Old French piece (piece, bit, part), from Late Latin pettia (piece, portion), from Gaulish *pettyā, from Proto-Celtic *kʷezdis (piece, portion), possibly from a non-Indo-European substrate [source].

Words from the same Proto-Celtic roots include piece in English, pièce (room, patch, piece, play, document) in French, peza (piece, fragment, part) in Galician, pieze (piece, part) in Spanish, peth (thing, object, material) in Welsh, pezh (piece, bit, room, part, what) in Breton, cuid (part, share, portion, some) in Irish, and cooid (certain, some, stuff, goods, part) in Manx – for more related words in Celtic languages see the Parts and Portions post on the Celtiadur [source].

-mēle comes from Old English mǣlum (at a time), from mǣl (measure, mark, sign, time, occasion, season, the time for eating, meal[time]), from Proto-West Germanic *māl (time, occasion, mealtime), from Proto-Germanic *mēlą (time, occasion, period, meal, spot, mark, measure), from Proto-Indo-European *meh₁- (“to measure”) [source].

The English word meal can refer to food that is prepared and eaten, usually at a specific time, and usually in a comparatively large quantity (as opposed to a snack), and food served or eaten as a repast, and used to mean a time or an occasion. It retains this last meaning in the word piecemeal. Related words include footmeal (one foot at a time) and heapmeal (in large numbers, heap by heap) [source].

Related words in other languages include maal (meal, time, occurrence) in Dutch, Mal (time, occasion) and Mahl (meal) in German, mål (target, finish, goal, meal) in Swedish, and béile (meal) in Irish.

In Old English, the word styċċemǣlum was used to mean piecemeal, piece by piece, in pieces, gradually, etc. It became stichmeal in early modern English. Related words include bitmǣlum (bit by bit), dropmǣlum (drop by drop), which became dropmeal, and stæpmǣlum (step by step), which became stepmeal [source].

Jolly Jaunts

14 April 202514 April 2025 By Simon

Do you like to go on a little jaunt? Maybe you do now, but in the past, maybe not so much.

a jaunting car going for a jaunt

Jaunt is [ˈdʒɔːnt / dʒɑnt] refers to a short excursion for pleasure or refreshment, a ramble or a short journey; and to jaunt means to ramble here and there, to stroll or to make an excursion [source].

In the past it meant a wearisome journey, to jolt or jounce, to ride a jaunting car, or to tire a horse by riding it hard back and forth. That doesn’t sound like so much fun.

To jounce means to jolt or shake, especially by rough riding or by driving over obstructions. It is possibly a blend / portmanteau of jolt and bounce [source].

A jaunting car (see photo above) was a kind of low-set horse-drawn open vehicle, used in Ireland, in which the passengers ride sideways, sitting back to back. They are still used to give rides to tourists in some places, apparently, and the name is used for similar horse-drawn passenger vehicles [source].

The origins of jaunt are uncertain – it’s possibly a version of daunt (to discourage, intimidate, overwhelm), which comes from Middle English daunten (to subjugate, overwhelm, domesticate), from Old French danter, donter (to tame), from Latin domitō (to tame), from domō (to tame, conquer), from Proto-Italic *domaō (to tame, subdue), from Proto-Indo-European *demh₂- (to domesticate, tame). [source].

Related words may include jaunce (to prance, frolic, jolt shake; a jaunt) in English [source], and jaunder (gossip, to talk idly) in Scots [source].

Incidentally, the word jaunty, which means airy, showy, dapper, stylish or ostentatiously self-confident, is not related to jaunt. Instead, it’s related to gentle, genteel and gentry, and comes from French gentil (helpful, kind, pleasant), from Old French gentil (noble, courteous), from Latin gentīlis (belonging to the same family, tribe, clan, etc), from gēns (clan, tribe), Proto-Italic *gentis, from Proto-Indo-European *ǵénh₁tis (birth, production) from *ǵenh₁- (to produce, beget, give birth) [source].

Lord of the Marches

11 April 202511 April 2025 By Simon

How do you pronounce the word marquis? This is something I was discussing with a friend the other day, and we concluded that there is no one right way to say it.

In the UK, one way to pronounce marquis is [ˈmɑː.kwɪs] (mah-kwis), although some people prefer to pronounce it [ˈmɑː.ki] (mah-kee). In General American, it is apparently pronounced [mɑɹˈki] (mar-kee) or [ˈmɑɹ.kwɪs] (mar-kwis). Other pronounciations are no doubt available

What is a marquis, you may ask. According to Wiktionary:

A nobleman in England, France, and Germany, of a rank next below that of duke, but above a count. Originally, the marquis was an officer whose duty was to guard the marches or frontiers of the kingdom. The office has ceased, and the name is now a mere title conferred by letters patent or letters close.
Any of various nymphalid butterflies of the Asian genus Bassarona (or Euthalia).

It literally means “lord of the march” (march as in border country), and comes from Middle English markis (marquis), from Old French marchis (marquis), from Midieval Latin marchensis, from Old High German marcha (border, march) and/or Frankish *markōn (to mark, notice), from Proto-Germanic *markō (border, boundary, region,area), from Proto-Indo-European *mórǵs (border, boundary) [source].

Related words in English include:

marquisate = the territory held by a marquis, margrave or marchioness; the state or rank of a marquis
marquess = a man ranking beneath a duke and above an earl (an alternative spelling of marquis)
marquise = marquee; an oval cut gemstone with pointed ends; a canopy
marquee = a large tent with open sides, used for outdoors entertainment; a projecting canopy over an entrance
marchioness = the wife of a marquess; a woman holding the rank of marquess in her own right
march = a formal, rhythmic way of walking, used especially by soldiers, by bands and in ceremonies; to walk with long, regular strides, as a soldier does; border region, especially one originally set up to defend a boundary (archaic, historical)
margin = the edge or border of any flat surface

Words from the same roots in other languages include mark (field) in Danish, mark (ground, land, soil, territory) in Swedish, margen (margin, edge, leeway) in Spanish, bro (region, country, land, neighbourhood, border, boundary) in Welsh, brolo (small vegetable garden) in Italian [source].

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