What do you say when somebody sneezes? Some of you may say “God bless you”. Others will use the Germanism “Gesundheit!” (pronounce: ga-‘zoont-hite), which means health and is a kind wish on the sneezer. How this word made it into American English? Because of the vast numbers of German immigrants, of course. Don’t ask me […]
Let’s Talk! – Watch for Me by Moonlight
What a tricky prompt Tyrean Martinson’s book gave us for today’s conversation topic … My first train of thought was “person, moonlight, danger”, and I ended up with werewolf! Now, I could make up a story of me turning into a werewolf, of course. Is the female form “werewolverine”, by the way? Knowing my friend, […]
Across the Fence: Hamster
We all have encountered this Germanism during the Corona virus pandemic – hamster (pronounce hum-stah). Indeed, the English version of the noun and verb is identical in its unconjugated or undeclined form whereas the German infinitive adds an “n”, hamstern. As a linguist, I’m thrilled of course, to find that word, although allegedly derived from […]
In the Book Nook with … D.L. Fowler
Author D.L. Fowler from Gig Harbor, WA, a former investment manager and tax accountant, began writing in about 2007 and published his first novel in 2011. “The Turn: a bond that shaped history” was a finalist in several competitions and won first place in historical fiction in the Pacific Northwest Writers Association literary contest. His […]
Let’s Talk! – Walk the Red Carpet
Red carpets are always related to a special event. After the 19th century’s Industrial Revolution, red carpets were apparently associated with power and wealth. Train companies started using them for their clients to board trains. Hotels spread them at their entrances. One of my first children’s books was by German author James Krüss; it told […]
Across the Fence: Hosenrolle
How often have we laughed about the situations created on stage or in films when a woman is cross-dressing as a male and gets mistaken for one or makes the oddest mistakes BECAUSE she is a woman? Think, for example, of Shakespeare’s comedy “As You Like It” in which Lady Rosalind dresses as a man […]
In the Book Nook with … Janet McGiffin
Author Janet McGiffin lives in Tacoma, WA, just down the hill from her son and daughter-in-law and two grandchildren, after living some time in Lakewood, WA, Greece, and New York City. She used to work for the Milwaukee, Wisconsin Health Department, was a press officer for the Washington State Senate in Olympia, and worked in […]
Let’s Talk! – The Moment That Defines Awkwardness
Have you made yourselves comfy? Have you put away your smartphones and switched off your TV-set? For here is the first of a whole year of Friday invites to talk, to ponder, or to write. I have this fun book by my author-friend Tyrean Martinson (https://www.amazon.com/Pocket-Sized-Jumble-Writing-500-Prompts/dp/1735769509) – and prompt number one reads as you see […]
Across the Fence: Rollmops
First of all, Happy New Year to you, dear reader! How did you celebrate the turn of the year? Did you end up with a little hangover? If so, Germans have a proven method to deal with it: Rollmops (pronounce ‘rawl-mops). No, it’s not a rolling pug as the name suggests, but a rolled up […]