In recent years there has been a bit of a trend to reduce the number of hyphens in our writing – perhaps part of the general tendency towards fewer little marks dotted and dashed around text. We now see fewer Read More …

Anyone who has worked in a government organisation will have had to use, if not embrace, acronyms. But have you ever wondered what an acronym is? Some will put all commonly used sets of initials into the acronym basket, others Read More …

Flight paused, then frowned. ‘Winching?’ Now he too was smiling, though trying hard not to show it. Rebus laughed aloud. ‘It means dating,’ he said. ‘Next you’ll be telling me you don’t know what hoolit means.’ ‘Try me,’ said Flight, Read More …

…of the science dictionary. I picked up a French-English science dictionary that a colleague gave me after a clean-up. She knew I had a scattering of French to add interest to the years of science language and veterinary terminology, and Read More …