Have you ever heard of the German term “Bock”? The beer drinkers among you certainly know it to be a strong, dark lager variant. But why is it called “bock”?! To be honest, I didn’t know this either, except that it is a strong beer. And that, accordingly, Doppel-Bock (“double bock”) must be doubly strong. […]
In the Book Nook with … Alle C. Hall
Author Alle C. Hall from Seattle, Washington, used to be a national sales and marketing manager and freelance writer before she became a stay-at-home mom. She started as a journalist in 1991 and, in 1998, began to write her novel, which was published this past March. Her book, “As Far as You Can Go Before […]
Across the Fence: Leitmotif
For the first time, I came across the German term “Leitmotiv” (spelled with a “v”, pronounced ‘light-mo-teef, meaning leading theme) in music when I was in fifth grade, my very first year in grammar school. We had a music teacher who was simply amazing when it came to explaining the difference between rhythm and meter […]
In the Book Nook with … Lauren Marie
Author Lauren Marie lives in Marysville, Washington. She retired over a year ago, after working for forty years in medical offices, hospitals and clinics as a receptionist, scheduler and transcriptionist. She started writing when she was about 12 years old. For many years, she wanted to be the female Tom Clancy or Scott Turow but […]
Across the Fence: Edelweiss
Think of one of the flowers you associate with German-speaking countries – and you might come up with Edelweiss. In German it is spelled with an “ß“, Edelweiß, but pronounced the same as in English; the name means simply “noble white”. There are other Germanic nicknames, and different languages call it different names – but […]
In the Book Nook with … Linda Jordan
Author Linda Jordan lives in Tulalip, Washington, and writes for a living. She started writing in her late 20s and had her first novel published in 2011. Linda belongs to the Writers Cooperative of the Pacific Northwest. “Most other groups I avoid because I’m introverting.” When Linda isn’t writing, she likes gardening and what she […]
Across the Fence: Nix
It seems that, in order to stress an expression, we often use foreign terms for emphasis. Think of a word like voilà, which sounds so much more sophisticated than a mere “here you are” or, even worse, a triumphant “ta-dah!” The German term “nix” – same pronunciation as in English – is an even more […]
In the Book Nook with … Denise Frisino
Author Denise Frisino has been spending most of her life in and around her native Seattle area. For over six decades she has been working as an actress, writer, director, producer, and teacher. Her first novel, “Whiskey Cove”, a murder mystery set during Prohibition in Washington’s San Juan Islands, was published in 2012; the story […]
Across the Fence: Fest
Summer – no season lends itself for fests like this. Fest is actually an English Germanism. And the German word Fest (the noun, not the adjective with an entirely different meaning) is actually a borrowed word from Latin festum. How is that?! Well, remember Roman emperor Julius Cesar and all that? He had his military […]