The @ symbol

THE HISTORY OF THE @ SIGN

The @ symbol, used by grocers and accountants throughout the English-speaking world to indicate a rate, or cost per unit, as in “10 gal @ $3.95/gal” (ten gallons at three dollars and ninety-five cents per gallon), has become the delimiter in e-mail addresses, separating the user’s name from the domain name.

Although the change from at meaning “for a given amount per” to at meaning “in a specified (electronic) location” comes fairly naturally to English speakers, it does not for native speakers of other languages, for whom neither at nor @ meant anything until e-mail came around.

Indeed, a fair number of Internet users live in countries that don’t use the same alphabet English does (Japan, China, former republics of the Soviet Union including Russia, and Arabic-speaking countries, to name some major ones), and where the keyboards did not include the @ character until after its widespread use on the Internet made it a necessity.

As a result, while in some languages @ is simply called "at", in others, a wide variety of interesting nicknames have been developed for this little symbol. Most are based on the shape of the character, others are more abstract.

Metaphors range from
animals (snail, worm, little dog, horse, duckling)
to body parts (elephant’s trunk, monkey’s tail, cat’s foot, pig’s ear)
to food (strudel, cinnamon roll, pretzel).

Here you are another well-known examples:

In Basque, it is called "a bildua" (wrapped “a”).

In Catalan, it is called 'arrova' (which means a unit of measure), or 'ensaïmada' (because of the similar shape of this food speciality)

In Spanish and In Portuguese it is called 'arroba'. It denotes a pre-metric unit of weight and both the weight and the symbol are called arroba.

In French, it is arrobase or arrobe or “a” commercial . Same origin as Spanish, which could be derived from Arabic, ar-roub.

How do animals sound like?

Animal sounds

baa
verb to make the sound that a sheep makes
bark
verb to make the short loud sound that a dog makes
bay
verb if a dog bays, it makes a long loud sound, especially when it is hunting
bellow
verb to make the deep sound that a bull and some other large animals make
bleat
verb to make the sound that a sheep or goat makes
bray
verb to make the loud rough sound that a donkey makes
croak
verb when a frog croaks, it makes a low loud rough sound in its throat
grunt
verb if an animal such as a pig grunts, it makes a low sound
hiss
verb to make a long ‘s’ sound like the sound that a snake makes
howl
verb if a dog or similar animal howls, it makes a long loud sound
low
verb when cows low, they make their typical deep long sound
meow
the American spelling of miaow
mew
if a cat or kitten mews, it makes a short, very high sound
miaow
verb if a cat miaows, it makes a short high sound
moo
verb to make the long deep sound that a cow makes
neigh
verb to make the high loud sound that a horse makes
purr
verb if a cat purrs, it makes a continuous quiet low sound because it is happy
roar
verb if a lion roars, it makes a loud deep sound
snarl
verb if an animal such as a dog or a lion snarls, it makes an angry sound in its throat and shows its teeth
snicker
verb if a horse snickers, it makes a low quiet sound in its throat
trumpet
verb if an elephant trumpets, it makes a loud high sound
whine
verb if a dog whines, it makes a high noise, usually because it wants something
whinny
verb if a horse whinnies, it makes a high sound through its nose and mouth
yap
verb if a dog yaps, it makes short high sounds

That's curious!

Granny Smith is a variety of green apples. The name was taken from the Australian gardener Maria Ann Smith, also known as Granny Smith. She was the one who first grew the apple in Sydney in the 1860s.

Beefeater

This term originated in 1610, meaning a well-fed servant. Around the year 1700 it began to be used to refer to the traditional guards at the Tower of London. The meaning is quite clear as it's a reference to a servant spoiled by his master, in contrast to a "loaf eater" (a servant that eats only bread).

Bug

The word bug is used nowadays to refer to an error or defect that prevents a computer from working correctly. It is believed that Thomas Edison was the first to use it with this meaning, but there is also a more recent story. In 1945, Grace Hopper, a computer pioneer at the Naval Warfare Centre in Dahlgreen, Virginia, found an insect inside a malfunctioning machine. She didn't invent the term, but she used it in the logbooks, stating that a bug had been found.

Hot dog

The use of this word to mean sausage comes from the XIX century. Hot referred to the temperature of the sausage, of course. And dog may have been a reference to the alleged contents of the sausage. In 1845 there were many accusations against sausage makers of using dog meat to make the sausage (which was not true). The term became popular and was often used in newspapers, making it as common as it is today.

Aztec Aphrodisiac Hot Chocolate for Valentine’s Day

This sweet-and-spicy recipe is just what the love doctor ordered. The comforting aroma will calm your heart and stimulate your senses, making it the perfect Valentine’s Day brew. In a small saucepan, combine 1/2 cup water, 1 1/2 cups of milk, 2 1/2 tablespoons of sugar, 2 whole cloves, a pinch each of ground ginger and crushed red pepper. Bring to a boil and remove from heat. With a wire whisk, stir in 1/4 cup of unsweetened cocoa, 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract, and 1/4 teaspoon of cardamom. Strain into 2 large mugs, top with whipped cream, and enjoy.
PREP TIP: For a lighter treat use water or almond milk instead of cow’s milk. For a richer delicacy substitute the cocoa with 1/4 cup of 70 percent dark chocolate chips by melting them in a double boiler and heating the milk, sugar, and spices in a separate pot. Strain the milk mixture before slowly stirring in the melted chocolate.
HEALTH BENEFITS: Dark chocolate is rich in magnesium, may lower blood pressure and cholesterol, and is packed with disease-fighting antioxidants.
(Extract from http://www.care2.com/)

Happy Valentine's Day

St Valentine Day

THE IRONIES OF ENGLISH

HAVE YOU THOUGHT ABOUT THE FACT THAT:

• "Diphthong" contains only pure vowel sounds, no diphthongs.
• "Monosyllabic" has five syllables, not one.
• "Abbreviation" is such a long word.
• People who have a lisp (1) can't say "lisp".

(1) LISP: speech impediment affecting the pronunciation of /s/.

SILLY NAMES

Some English names can sound comical. The following website http://www.thebabywebsite.com/ has compiled a list of "the most unfortunate names in Britain". All the names given are authentic. This website mentions the following names - can you work out why these names are comical?

1. Will Power
2. Paige Turner
3. Justin Case
4. Terrry Bull
5. Ray Gunn
6. Jo King
7. Helen Back
8. Anna Sasin
9. Carrie Oakey
10. Barry Cade

SOLUTIONS

The names sound like : 1. willpower (1) , 2. page turner (2) , 3. just in case, 4. terrible, 5. ray gun , 6. joking, 7. hell and back (3) , 8. an assassin, 9. karaoke, and 10. barricade.

1. WILLPOWER: determination
2. PAGE TURNER: very interesting book or magazine.
3. TO GO TO HELL AND BACK: suffer a lot and survive.

MY NAME MEANS WHAT?!

Some foreign names can also sound comical to native English-speakers, because they may suggest something completely different to them. For example, Frenchman Marcel Bich, who produced the ballpoint pen, changed the name of his company to Bic because he knew that English-speakers tended to pronounce his surname /bɪtʃ/, a homophone of bitch (1) .

More examples are:

• Gelo (diminutive of Ángel) sounds like "hello"
• Juan, depending of the pronunciation, can sound like "one"
• Maite sounds similar to mighty (2)
• Mari sounds like the English verb "marry".
• Marta sounds much like "martyr" in English.
• Messi (the surname of the Barcelona FC player) is a homophone of "messy " which means "chaotic".
• Patxi sounds like "patchy" which means "fragmentary" or "sporadic" or "erratic".
• Pepa (diminutive for Josefina) is a homophone of "pepper".
• Rosi (familiar form of Rosa) sound like rosy (3) .
• Txiki sounds exactly like "cheeky" (4) .

1. BITCH: female dog / unpleasant woman
2. MIGHTY: powerful
3. ROSY: pink, healthy
4. CHEEKY: insolent, impertinent

EINSTEIN'S RIDDLE

The story behind Einstein's riddle is that Albert Einstein created it in the late 1800s, and claimed that 98% of the world population couldn't solve it. We cannot be sure of the true origin, but I have seen it around the Internet for quite a while, and it is a good brain exercise. My own niece, aged 15, has solved it without difficulty.
Try yourselves!

Here it is:

- In a street there are five houses, painted five different colours.
- In each house lives a person of different nationality.
- These five homeowners each drink a different kind of beverage, smoke different brand of cigar and keep a different pet.

Einstein's riddle is: Who owns the fish?

Necessary clues:

(Take into account that the houses are seen from left to right)

1. The British man lives in a red house.

2. The Swedish man keeps dogs as pets.

3. The Danish man drinks tea.

4. The Green house is next to, and on the left of the White house.

5. The owner of the Green house drinks coffee.

6. The person who smokes Pall Mall rears birds.

7. The owner of the Yellow house smokes Dunhill.

8. The man living in the centre house drinks milk.

9. The Norwegian lives in the first house.

10. The man who smokes Blends lives next to the one who keeps cats.

11. The man who keeps horses lives next to the man who smokes Dunhill.

12. The man who smokes Blue Master drinks beer.

13. The German smokes Prince.

14. The Norwegian lives next to the blue house.

15. The Blends smoker lives next to the one who drinks water.

CHRISTMAS ALPHABET.

Christmas Alphabet
(Author Unknown)

C is for the Candy trimmed around the Christmas tree.

H is for the Happiness with all the family.

R is for the Reindeer prancing by the window pane.

I is for the Icing on the cake as sweet as sugar cane.

S is for the Stocking on the chimney wall.

T is for the Toys beneath the Tree so Tall.

M is for the Mistletoe where every one is kissed.

A is for the Angels who make up the Christmas list.

S is for old Santa who makes every kid his pet.

Be good and he'll bring you ev'rything you wish for Christmas !

EXAM HOWLERS

For many years examiners have been carefully recording the funniest sentences they come across while correcting exams. Here is a list of some of the most bizarre (0) examples. I offer you the sentences as they appeared in the students' exam answers. Try to work out what they meant to say. In "Corrected Versions" I'll offer you the answer.

• "The process of turning steam (1) back into water again is called conversation"

• "H2O is hot water, and CO2 is cold water"

• "Blood (2) flows (3) down one leg and up the other"

• "A triangle which has an angle of 135 degrees is called an obscene (4) triangle"

• "Water is composed of two gins, Oxigin and Hydrogin. Oxigin is pure water. Hydrogin is gin and water"

• "A fossil is an extinct animal. The older it is the more extinct it is"

• "Three kind of blood vessels (5) are arteries, vanes (6) and caterpillars (7)"

GLOSSARY

BIZARRE (0) strange

STEAM (1) hot water vapour

BLOOD (2) red liquid found in veins and arteries

TO FLOW (3) (of liquids) run, move

OBSCENE (4) offensive, indecent, vulgar

BLOOD VESSELS (5) naturally occurring tube through which blood flows

VANES (6) pointer that shows the direction of the wind

CATERPILLARS (7) the larva of a butterfly or moth

CORRECTED VERSION:

"The process of turning steam back into water again is called condensation"
"H2O is water, and CO2 is carbon dioxide".
"Blood flows from the heart in arteries and back to the heart in veins".
"A triangle which has an angle of 135 degrees is called an oblique triangle".
"Water is composed of two elements: hydrogen and oxigen. ".
"A fossil is the petrified remains of a prehistoric plant or animal".

"Three kind of blood vessels are arteries, veins and capillaries ".