Jail vs Gaol
The spelling gaol was the accepted spelling in Australian English until the 1990s… Read more…
macquarie
Fit as a fiddle
The phrase fit as a fiddle dates back to the 1600s in British English, but had a slightly different meaning then. Read more…
Far-fetched or far-flung?
A bit of research revealed to me that far-flung instead of far-fetched was gaining in frequency. Read more…
Portmanteau words
Crunching words together to make a new coinage has been a popular pastime in the English language since the nineteenth century… Read more…
Easter
There is so much symbolism surrounding the festival of Easter that it is hard to unpick. Read more…
Antique words
Just as we love our antique bric-a-brac, so too do we love our antique words. We pick up an object, speculate on its purpose in life, admire its shape and colour even if we have no idea where it came from and what it is supposed to do. Read more…
Books that inspire: Susan Butler
So, Australia’s word guru, the woman who has been at the helm (if a dictionary can be said to have a helm) of the Macquarie Dictionary for decades, the arbiter of word taste: what would you guess she would name as her inspirational books? You’re right: she does: here’s the list… Universal Etymological English Dictionary compiled … Read more
The Great Australian Spelling Book
Introducing The Great Australian Spelling Book, the official companion to The Great Australian Spelling Bee, the hit TV series from Network TEN. Written by the Macquarie Dictionary editors, The Great Australian Spelling Book provides a comprehensive and fun guide to better spelling, and is perfect for parents and teachers helping children of all ages learn to spell. Read more or buy now.
