A little of this and that...

The Romans did not number days of a month sequentially from the first through the last day. Instead, they counted back from three fixed points of the month: the Nones (5th or 7th, depending on the length of the month), the Ides (13th or 15th), and the Kalends (1st) of the following month. The Ides occurred near the midpoint, on the 13th for most months, but on the 15th for March, May, July, and October. The Ides were supposed to be determined by the full moon, reflecting the lunar origin of the Roman calendar. On the earliest calendar, the Ides of March would have been the first full moon of the new year.[2]

So there you have it today s the ides of October

Just another piece of useless information

I’m reading a book called Mud Beneth My Boots. By Allan Marriott. I spotted it in the local library when I was browsing through the shelves looking for books set in the time my grandfather would have been at war 1914 1918.

The sub heading on the front page caught my eye.

A poignant memoir of the effects of war on a young New Zealander

 So of course I had to borrow it.

I’m always interested in reading about the experiences of real people rather than dry history books. And this one certainly fits the bill. And not only that , The Man’s grandfather was a member of the New Zealand Expeditionary Forces

"Fit the bill" appears to be a variation: the Oxford English Dictionary notes printed use of the expression "to fill the bill" as early as 1861; they expound its meaning as, "to fulfil the necessary requirements; to come up to the requisite standard" - a "bill" can have been any kind of written document, not only theatrical but any sort of advertisement, invoice, inventory, shipping label, sale catalogue, membership list, etc. etc.

I can certainly recommend it if you are at all interested in the era.

Did you know that...

 Wasn’t sure what to write about tonight until I heard th name ‘Nobby Clark’ in a programmes we are watching.

I’d be really surprised if you haven’t heard of this.

So where did the nickname come from, for that matter why is it called a ‘nick’ name

OK first things first.

‘Nobby Clark’

Nobby is a nickname most commonly used in English for those with the surname Clark or Clarke.

Nobby Clark

The explanation given for the use of this nickname is that clerks (pronounced "clarks" in British dialects) in the City of London used to wear Nobby hats, or top hats. Alternate spellings include "Knobby" and "Clarke".

An alternate explanation for the name Nobby attached to the surname Clarke is thus: 16th century monks wrote letters for the illiterate. These monks were referred to as "Clerks". The outcome of so much writing causes callouses on the fingers "nobs" and therefore Nobby Clerks was born'

In England the term "nob" is used to refer to a member of the aristocracy and by extension a posh person. A clerk (pronounced "clark" in British dialects) would deal with the common people but would be better educated, better paid and in a position of relative power. To the uneducated, clerks were posh and therefore considered to be "nobs". Hence, nobby Clark. Clerks were also required to maintain a high standard of dress, and were paid a clothing allowance. The result was that they always appeared smart. Both the Oxford English and the English Dialect Dictionaries list nobby as being of a rich man, a nob or toff, or “smart”, and gives it a wide distribution, so smart persons were "nobby".

Now for ‘nick names.

 
Here is the trivia word for the day. The term "nickname" originated as an Anglo-Saxon word: ekename. In the Anglo-Saxon tongue, "eke" meant "also" or "added." The term seemed just a bit awkward to pronounce; so, it became slurred, converting ekename to nekename and finally to become nickname.

The idea of a nickname didn't come from English origins, though. They were originally common in ancient Greece and Rome, especially when used as terms of affection, which the Greeks called hupokorisma, meaning "calling by an endearing name."

It was not uncommon for English parents to give their children long names and abbreviate them for ordinary use, which they called "nurse names" - so Harold became Hal and Elizabeth became Betsy.

Of course, children and adults often get tagged with somewhat less endearing names. Lefty, Shorty, Pinky and many others were probably not earned in the nursery.

From the news...

I do wish that news announcers would get their grammar correct.

I heard the following very sad news, that a woman was killed with her seven month old child.

No I’m not making fun of the tragedy that is exactly what the Sky news person said

What did surprise me even more was the fact that I had to explain the error to our, admittedly young, receptionist.

The Man and I were dismayed to read about thousands of alcohol fuelled revellers who filled parts of Regents Canal in inflatable boats. In the aftermath local residents woke to what was described as an unspeakably appalling state. Towpaths littered with broken glass and abandoned dinghies. Residents in the area found that their gardens had been used as toilets often openly peeing.

Apparently the organisers had tried to call it off, but obviously way too late.

Finishing on a good note is the news from New Zealand that the Queens Birthday Road toll is zero. Well done all those careful drivers

Its a funny old language

The English language has some odd sayings.

Take ‘big girls blouse’ for example.

There was me thinking it was a very old saying, wen in fact it is reasonably recent.

Well if you can call 1969 recent.

It is believed to be the shortened version of ‘He’s flapping like a big girls blouse’. According to Wiki the expression was first used in a TV sitcom called nearest and Dearest.

And no I’ve never heard of it either.

Ok, how about this one then: ‘soppy date’ or ‘soppy apeth’ Now I used to think that the ‘apeth’ bit was related to apes in general, ad so Mum was calling is silly monkeys.

I cannot find an origin, but my Mum used to use both expression. With a bit of googling I discovered that the ‘apeth’ is  likely to be a shortened version of ha’peth, or halfpenny.

Have you ever herd anyone say in surprise ‘well I’ll go to the foot of our stairs’. This colloquialism is supposed to have come from the Birmingham area, but that is about as much as I can discover about it.

Have you ever been told to ‘take a hair of the dog’ to recover from a night out on the town. Doctors in medieval times believed that the treatment for being bitten by a rabid dog was to put one of the hairs of that dog that bit you into the wound, in other words as the antidote.

Well time for me to go get some shut eye. So all I have left to say is Goodnight sleep tight.

Seems that comes from the times when mattresses were supported in bedframes by ropes, tight ropes meant a good night’s sleep on a firm bed.

I did not know that

Here we go with Friday again. Seems like only yesterday I was saying the self-same thing.

Names are interesting things aren’t they?

Well I think they are.

The other day our young receptionist asked why a chap with the fist name of Bill had  I written n his file as William.

Do you know?

I didn’t

And I still don’t. I couldn’t find any satisfactory reason. Do you know?

Did you ever wonder why the days of the week were called the names that they are?

Well I did.

The days of the week were named after Norse gods and giant objects in the sky.

These names come to us originally from the Greeks and Romans, who named the days of the week after their gods.

The Anglo-Saxons, who invaded Britain hundreds of years ago, adopted this idea but substituted their own gods. The English language has inherited and changed those names a bit, but the ones we use today resemble those names.

Here's how:

• Sunday: Sun's Day. The Sun gave people light and warmth every day. They decided to name the first (or last) day of the week after the Sun.
• Monday: Moon's Day. The Moon was thought to be very important in the lives of people and their crops.
• Tuesday: Tiw's Day. Tiw, or Tyr, was a Norse god known for his sense of justice.
• Wednesday: Woden's Day. Woden, or Odin, was a Norse god who was one of the most powerful of them all.
• Thursday: Thor's Day. Thor was a Norse god who wielded a giant hammer.
• Friday: Frigg's Day. Frigg was a Norse god equal in power to Odin.

Saturday: Seater's Day or Saturn's Day. Saturn was a Roman god.