Clipmarks | Idioms Clips

Quotes 20080821

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 19:29:24 GMT

clipped by: ricardoviana

The advantage of a classical education is that it enables you to despise the wealth that it prevents you from achieving.
- Russell Green

There are two kinds of people, those who finish what they start and so on.
- Robert Byrne

Prediction is very difficult, especially about the future.
- Niels Bohr

A diplomat... is a person who can tell you to go to hell in such a way that you actually look forward to the trip.
- Caskie Stinnett

The great enemy of clear language is insincerity. When there is a gap between one's real and one's declared aims, one turns as it were instinctively to long words and exhausted idioms, like a cuttlefish spurting out ink.
- George Orwell

language

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 05:24:56 GMT

clipped by: joturtle
clipper's remarks: sadly, it is true

Clip Source: www.google.com

language

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 05:16:07 GMT

clipped by: joturtle
clipper's remarks: sad but true

Clip Source: www.google.com

George Orwell on clear language

Tue, 19 Aug 2008 18:58:06 GMT

clipped by: adamstephenhall
clipper's remarks: Insincerity, the enemy

Clip Source: www.ourcivilisation.com

Tags: writing

South Pointing Chariot - Ancient Chinese Invention

Sun, 18 May 2008 02:26:53 GMT

clipped by: Rustee
clipper's remarks: It was invented, forgotten, re-invented, and modified many times throughout Chinese history. While none of the historic South Pointing Chariots remain, full sized replicas can be found, along with smaller sized working models (some have even been made with LEGO's).

Clip Source: www.sciencemuseum.org.uk

Clip Source: en.wikipedia.org

The South Pointing Chariot is widely regarded as the most complex geared mechanism of the ancient Chinese civilization, and was continually used throughout the medieval period as well.

The chariot is a two-wheeled vehicle, upon which is a pointing figure connected to the wheels by means of differential gearing. Through careful selection of wheel size, track and gear ratios, the figure atop the chariot will always point in the same direction, hence acting as a non-magnetic compass vehicle.

The differential in the gear system integrates the difference in wheel rotation between the two wheels and thus detects the rotation of the base of the chariot. The mechanism compensates this rotation by rotating the pointer in the opposite direction.

Clip Source: www.odts.de

The old device still lives in the symbols of moden languages: The Japanese shinan, the Korean chinam and the Chinese chih-nan - meaning "point south" literally - are idioms used to express "to teach, guide, instruct".

Tags: engineering, invention, china, history

Latin idioms: "Fabula, sed vera"

Sat, 10 May 2008 18:46:44 GMT

clipped by: Johanna_G

Clip Source: audiolatinproverbs.blogspot.com

In English: A story, but a true one.

The word means simply "story" in Latin, and it gives us many English words, such as "fable," but also "fabulous." Today people use "fabulous" simply to mean something "good, great, excellent," but originally it meant something celebrated in myth or legend

More important, in the Romance languages, the late Latin word fabulare, "to tell stories, to narrate," came to have a more and more general meaning until it became the standard verb of speaking, as in Spanish hablar, which is directly descended from Latin fabulare, as is the Portuguese falar. The Greek word parabola, "parable," gave rise to a similar late Latin word, parabolare, also meaning "to tell stories," and this in turn gave rise to the Italian parlare and French parler. The poor Latin loquor did not have much of a future at all, compared to the fortunes of fabulare and parabolare.

17. Fabula, sed vera.

Tags: fables, parables, myths, legends, fairy tales, truth, latin

Idioms

Thu, 08 May 2008 11:13:39 GMT

clipped by: Gopsnath

Clip Source: www.goenglish.com

Idioms index

A to Z list of the most popular idioms

Idioms quiz

Today's Idiom = "A Blessing In Disguise"
GoEnglish.com Pocket English Idioms

History of 10 common phrases

Wed, 07 May 2008 07:15:48 GMT

clipped by: hitchhiker08
clipper's remarks: Nice explanations, I thought....

Clip Source: www.cracked.com

The Bizarre History of 10 Common Sayings

Clip Source: www.cracked.com

#1.

"Nitty-Gritty"

Now Means:
The heart of the matter. As in, "Let's get down to the nitty-gritty, home skillet."

Most say it came from ...
Nitty-Gritty has two popular origins, both of which may make you feel like a sack of shit for ever using the term.

So is that true?

#2.

"Dead Ringer"

Now Means:
An exact duplicate. As in, "That stripper's crotch is a dead ringer for your mom's."

Most say it came from ...

This origin holds that a "Dead Ringer" was a person that was prematurely buried and is supplied with a rope attached to a bell with which to draw attention to the not-so-dead guy in the totally-for-dead-people box.

#3.

"As Pleased as Punch"

#4.

"Wrong End of the Stick"

Now Means:

#5.

'By the Short Hairs"

Clip Source: www.cracked.com

#6.

"Raining Cats and Dogs"

#7.

"Bust Your Chops"

#8.

"Basket Case"

Now Means:

One that is in a completely hopeless or useless condition.

#9.

"Bite the Bullet"

#10.

"Rule of Thumb"

As in, "The rule of thumb is one part tonic to four parts gin."

Tags: phrases, idioms, quotes, english language

Heavens to Murgatroyd

Tue, 15 Apr 2008 15:03:39 GMT

clipped by: sahara

Clip Source: www.phrases.org.uk

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Heavens to Murgatroyd

Meaning

An exclamation of surprise.

Origin

'Heavens to Murgatroyd' is American in origin and dates from the mid 20th century. The expression was popularized by the cartoon character Snagglepuss - a regular on the Yogi Bear Show in the 1960s, and is a variant of the earlier 'heavens to Betsy'.

The first use of the phrase wasn't by Snagglepuss but comes from the 1944 film Meet the People. It was spoken by Bert Lahr, best remembered for his role as the Cowardly Lion in The Wizard of Oz. Snagglepuss's voice was patterned on Lahr's, along with the 'heavens to Murgatroyd' line. Daws Butler's vocal portrayal of the character was so accurate that when the cartoon was used to promote Kellogg Cereals, Lahr sued and made the company distance him from the campaign by giving a prominent credit to Butler.

Tags: language, origins

The puddingproof

Wed, 09 Apr 2008 11:22:58 GMT

clipped by: Johanna_G

Clip Source: images.ucomics.com

Clip Source: ask.yahoo.com

Where does the phrase "the proof is in the pudding" come from?

Perhaps it's a sign of our increasingly fast-paced, short-attention-span society that even our old proverbs are being shortened and clipped down from the original full sayings. Word Detective and other etymology sites pointed out that the phrase originated as "the proof of the pudding is in the eating." It means that the true value or quality of something can only be judged when it's put to use. The meaning is often summed up as "results are what count."

14th century.

These days, some people shorten the phrase to simply "proof of the pudding." Even the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language trims it down. Occasionally, it is even further abbreviated to "proof in pudding," irritating purists who argue that the shortened versions don't mean anything on their own. Let's just hope it doesn't get further reduced any time soon. "Proofpudding" just doesn't cut it.

Tags: pudding, language, proverbs, idioms

Business English Podcast

Wed, 02 Apr 2008 16:32:25 GMT

clipped by: ricald
clipper's remarks: Recurso muy completo para estudiar inglés de negocios. Suscripción Premium 1 año por 60 Euros. Bastantes recursos gratis.

Clip Source: businessenglishpod.com

Links

Tags: business english, english, podcast

chinese idioms

Fri, 14 Mar 2008 10:49:03 GMT

clipped by: lingerawhile

Clip Source: www.answers.com

Chengyu are mostly derived from ancient literature. The meaning of a chengyu usually surpasses the sum of the meanings carried by the four characters, as chengyu are often intimately linked with the myth, story or historical fact from which they were derived. As such, chengyu do not follow the usual grammatical structure and syntax of the modern Chinese spoken language, and are instead highly compact and synthetic.

pQuery - Perl Port of jQuery.js

Wed, 27 Feb 2008 12:19:31 GMT

clipped by: ylodi

Clip Source: search.cpan.org

pQuery - Perl Port of jQuery.js

pQuery is a pragmatic attempt to port the jQuery JavaScript framework to Perl. It is pragmatic in the sense that it switches certain JavaScript idioms for Perl ones, in order to make the use of it concise. A primary goal of jQuery is to "Find things and do things, concisely". pQuery has the same goal.

pQuery exports a single function called pQuery. This function acts a constructor and does different things depending on the arguments you give it. This is discussed in the CONSTRUCTORS section below.

A pQuery object acts like an array reference (because, in fact, it is). Typically it is an array of HTML::DOM elements, but it can be an array of anything.

Like jQuery, pQuery methods return a pQuery object; either the original object or a new derived object. All pQuery METHODS are described below.

Tags: perl

End in sight for 'never-ending' task

Tue, 19 Feb 2008 10:23:38 GMT

clipped by: queerty

Clip Source: www.ananova.com

End in sight for 'never-ending' task

An end is finally in sight to the famously "never-ending" job of painting the Forth Rail Bridge.

It's said that as soon as workmen finish painting the massive 19th century bridge they have to begin all over again.

But Network Rail have announced that in four years' time they will at last be able to put down their brushes.

A new long-lasting paint is being put on the bridge that should last for 25 years, and could have a lifespan of up to 40 years.

The 8,300ft bridge is made of 51,000 tonnes of steelwork and was completed in 1890, reports the Daily Telegraph.

Constant maintenance work has been going on for more than 100 years, but Iain Coucher, chief executive of Network Rail, said the end was in sight.

The expression "like painting the Forth Bridge" features in the Cambridge International Dictionary of Idioms.

Tags: forth, road, bridge, edinburgh, scotland, paint, painting

Private Happiness, Public Gloom

Fri, 04 Jan 2008 06:51:09 GMT

clipped by: abailart
clipper's remarks: See Hannah Arendt's 'Human Condition' for a brilliant analysis of the decline of the public. Ultimately, the celebration and wallowing in personal fulfilment represent the depoliticisation of society, the abnegation of personal power and a fearful atomised defence mechanism in a world perceived to be hostile and all-powerful.

Clip Source: www.newstatesman.com

A dangerous gap exists between our personal experience, which is mainly happy, and our view of a society in decline

Progressive ideology relies on the capacity of human beings to live fulfilled lives in a just and co-operative society.

It is 50 years since J K Galbraith coined the phrase "private affluence and public squalor"; today, the dichotomy is between private hubris and public pessimism.

It is pessimism of a particular and pernicious kind. People are not generally negative about their own lives. In fact, we systematically exaggerate the control we have as individuals

First, there has been the inexorable rise in individualism since the Enlightenment.

consumer capitalism and the ubiquity of the idioms of psychotherapy have accelerated the process by which we see our authentic selves as revealed in the private and personal spheres, rather than the public and social.

the decline of industrial and pre-industrial collectivist institutions

Tags: public versus social, depoliticisation, democracy