The AnswerBank Articles

What is a lingua franca

A. Literally it means 'Frankish language' in Italian, and it referred originally to a common language consisting of Italian mixed with French or Occitan, Spanish, Greek and Arabic that was spoken in00:00 Mon 14th May 2001

What is it with game shows and catchphrases

Q. 'You are the weakest link. Goodbye.' What's it all about A. Short and not so sweet, but it rapidly became a countrywide catchphrase and has now spread to the USA - thanks to Anne Robinson, who00:00 Mon 14th May 2001

Who or what was Jim Crow

Q. Who or what was Jim Crow A. The Jim Crow Law is a general term covering any of the laws that were brought in to enforce racial segregation in the southern states of the USA. Q. Why Jim Crow A. An00:00 Mon 14th May 2001

Who said what on their deathbed

Q. What makes last words famous A. Two factors make final utterances famous: the person has been sufficiently well known in life for there to be general interest in his or her parting words or the00:00 Mon 07th May 2001

Dialect and accent: what's the difference

Q. What is a dialect A. Dialect is the term used for the distinct form of a language spoken by people in a particular geographical area or social class. Q. Is that not the same as an accent A. No.00:00 Mon 07th May 2001

Do Inuits really have 300 words for snow

Q. Do Inuits really have 300 words for snow A. No, though this whole topic seems to be a minefield of misinformation and it's hard to find out the truth without actually asking an inuk (Inuktikuk -00:00 Mon 07th May 2001

What is stream of consciousness

A. It's a phrase coined by the American philosopher and psychologist W. James in his Principles of Psychology (1890) to describe the flow of thoughts of the waking mind. In the book, James treated00:00 Mon 30th Apr 2001

How is the word NASDAQ arrived at

A. NASDAQ is an acronym derived from the National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotation. Created in 1971 as an offshoot of the NASD, the US National Association of Securities Dealers,00:00 Mon 30th Apr 2001

Epidemic and pandemic: what's the difference

A. An epidemic - from the Greek epidemos, 'to the people' - refers in its strictest sense to an infectious disease affecting a disproportionately large number of individuals within a population or00:00 Mon 30th Apr 2001

Who or what is Tuesday named after

Q. Who or what is Tuesday named after A. Tuesday is named after one of the oldest gods in the pantheon of the Germanic peoples, Tiw or Tiu in Anglo-Saxon and T r in Old Norse, the language of00:00 Tue 24th Apr 2001

What is Pig Latin

A. The dictionary defines it as a jargon that is made by systematic alteration of English by the addition of another syllable. Q. Such as A. Anymay ofway ouyay illway alreadyway owknay owhay otay00:00 Tue 24th Apr 2001

Someone told me 'not to tilt at windmills'. What does this mean

asked janelhA. The phrase means don't fight imaginary enemies or grievances. Q. Where does it come from A. It originates in Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes. The eponymous hero of the story00:00 Tue 24th Apr 2001

What does the saying 'we should tend our gardens' mean

A. It means that the simple life is best and we should just get on with things. Q. Where does it come from A. The original line, 'il faut cultiver notre jardin', comes from the philosophical fantasy00:00 Tue 17th Apr 2001

Where does the term Sterling as in 'Pounds Sterling' originate

A. The etymological derivation of the word Sterling is a bit vague, but a strong contender seems to be from the Anglo-Saxon word steorling, which referred to one early type of Norman penny marked with00:00 Tue 17th Apr 2001

What were the Elysian Fields

A. As Papillon says, the Elysian Fields - variously called Elysian Plains and Elysium - were, in Greek mythology, a kind of paradise. The epic poems of Homer - composed some time between the 9th and00:00 Tue 17th Apr 2001

Q. Why do Australians call the British "Poms"

asks Sue:A. Whether it's Pom, Pommy or Pommie, this is a term Australians and New Zealanders use for the English, sometimes affectionately and sometimes not. It's most evident when it comes to cricket00:00 Mon 09th Apr 2001

There was a competition to find the country's favourite word last year - what was the result

asks Mayastar: A. The competition, which was launched by The Word, London's Festival of Literature, together with the publisher, Bloomsbury, and sponsored by Encarta, The World English dictionary, was00:00 Mon 09th Apr 2001

Why 'beyond the pale'

asks Miss Don: A. 'Beyond the pale' means means outside the limits of what is considered civilised behaviour. Q. What is a 'pale' A. It's from the Latin palus, a stake, and is a long, thin piece of00:00 Mon 09th Apr 2001

What is the Butterfly Effect

asks Will Smith:A. In 1979, an American weather guru, called Edward Lorenz wrote a paper called 'Does the flap of a butterfly's wings in Brazil set off a tornado in Texas ' It described how chaos00:00 Mon 02nd Apr 2001

Where did the curate's egg originate

asks MissDon: A. The expression, 'like the curate's egg; good in parts' originated with a Punch cartoon published on November 9, 1895 (vol CIX), which was entitled 'True Humility'. It shows the00:00 Mon 02nd Apr 2001