In English, the phrase rule of thumb refers to an approximate method for doing something, based on practical experience rather than theory. This usage of the phrase can be traced back to the 17th century and has been associated with various trades where quantities were measured by comparison to the width or length of a thumb.
The Baptes were priests of the Greek goddess Kotys. The word comes from the Greek verb βάπτω (baptō), meaning "to dip in water". The Baptes practised nocturnal ceremonies, which were associated with rampant obscenity and insobriety.
Ebenezer Cobham Brewer, was a British lexicographer and the author of A Guide to the Scientific Knowledge of Things Familiar, Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, and The Reader's Handbook, among other reference books.
A slang dictionary is a reference book containing an alphabetical list of slang, which is vernacular vocabulary not generally acceptable in formal usage, usually including information given for each word, including meaning, pronunciation, and etymology. It can provide definitions on a range of slang from more mundane terms to obscure sexual practices. Such works also can include words and phrases arising from different dialects and argots, which may or may not have passed into more common usage. They can also track the changing meaning of the terms over time and space, as they migrate and mutate.
A Guide to the Scientific Knowledge of Things Familiar, also known as The Guide to Science or Brewer's Guide to Science, is a book by Ebenezer Cobham Brewer presenting explanations for common phenomena. First published in the United Kingdom around 1840, the book is laid out in the style of a catechism and proved very popular. 47 editions were printed by 1905 in English alone and translations made into various other languages. A revised version was produced for the US market which was digitised and republished in 2005 as part of Making of America IV: the American voice, 1850–1877.
Harrap's Shorter French Dictionary, published by Chambers Harrap Publishers, is one of the best known English/French bilingual dictionaries in the United Kingdom and France. The eighth edition was published in April 2007. In the United States it is sold under the title Harrap's French and English College Dictionary.
Chambers is a reference publisher formerly based in Edinburgh, Scotland, which held the property rights of W. & R. Chambers Publishers.
"That that is is that that is not is not is that it it is" is a grammatically correct English word sequence demonstrating syntactic ambiguity. It is used as an example illustrating the importance of proper punctuation.
Chambers's Edinburgh Journal was a weekly 16-page magazine started by William Chambers in 1832. The first edition was dated 4 February 1832, and priced at one penny. Topics included history, religion, language, and science. William was soon joined as joint editor by his brother Robert, who wrote many of the articles for the early issues, and within a few years the journal had a circulation of 84,000. From 1847 to 1849 it was edited by William Henry Wills. In 1854 the title was changed to Chambers's Journal of Popular Literature, Science, and Art, and changed again to Chambers's Journal at the end of 1897.
"With flying colours" is a popular idiom of the English language that is used to describe how well someone has completed a task. For example, a common use of the phrase is to refer to someone having passed a test or other examination "with flying colours," i.e. passed the test easily or with an exceptionally high score. The phrase originated in the Age of Discovery, when ships would return to port with their flags ("colours") either raised or lowered to signify that the ship had either been successful or defeated, with raised flags indicating success and lowered flags indicating defeat. Thus, "with flying colours" literally means that someone has completed a task, although idiomatically connotes particular success in that task.
"As easy as pie" is a popular colloquial idiom and simile which is used to describe a task or experience as pleasurable and simple. The phrase is often interchanged with piece of cake, which shares the same connotation.
The sands of time is an English idiom relating the passage of time to the sand in an hourglass.
Adrian Richard West Room was a British toponymist and onomastician, a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and a prolific author of reference works relating primarily to the origins of word and place-names.
Dornix, also known as dornicks and darnacle, is a wool and linen fabric, first used in the 16th century.
A knobstick wedding is the forced marriage of a pregnant single woman with the man known or believed to be the father. It derives its name from the staves of office carried by the church wardens whose presence was intended to ensure that the ceremony took place. The practice and the term were most prevalent in the United Kingdom in the 18th century.
Mezzoramia is a mythical paradise in the African desert, from a story by Simon Berington. Gaudentio di Lucca, the main character of the tale, discovers the secret, narrow road that provides the only access to the oasis, and resides there for twenty-five years.
Adam's ale is a colloquial allusion meaning water. It alludes to the idea that the biblical Adam had only water to drink. This inference gained popularity around the beginning of the 19th-century temperance movement.
The Winchester Three were three young Irish citizens who were found guilty in 1988 of a plot to murder British politician Tom King, who was the Northern Ireland Secretary at the time, and sentenced to 25 years in prison. Their convictions were later quashed by the Court of Appeal, after having served two-and-a-half years. The decision was criticised by Lord Denning.
Swami in Hinduism is an honorific title given to a male or female ascetic who has chosen the path of renunciation (sanyāsa), or has been initiated into a religious monastic order of Vaishnavas. It is used either before or after the subject's name.
