Category Archives: word origins

Author’s “Voice” ~ What is It?

Posted on April 29, 2022 by Regina Jeffers

Writers often hear another author warn them about losing their “voice.” But what exactly is “voice”? In reality, there are so many theories on this question that I could be here for years debating them all. I am of the … Continue reading →

Posted in editing, literature, publishing, reading, word origins, word play, writing | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Doublespeak: Favorite Euphemisms or How I Learned Something of “Poppycock”

Posted on January 17, 2022 by Regina Jeffers

Euphemisms? We learn them in the most peculiar ways. I recall as a child that my mother was very upset with me when I used the word “poppycock.” You see, I thought myself quite sophisticated to learn a new word … Continue reading →

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Early History of the Oxford English Dictionary

Posted on September 20, 2021 by Regina Jeffers

Several times per week, I am looking at the OED (Oxford English Dictionary) for word origins or synonyms or a variety of other searches. Yet, until recently, I had not thought much about this fabulous resource’s beginnings. It took from … Continue reading →

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Pride and Prejudice and Nuance, a Guest Post from Leila Eye

Posted on December 4, 2020 by Regina Jeffers

Whenever you start to become a fan of something, that’s when you tend to pay attention to the nuances and all of the details involved. You start placing more importance on what makes something different rather than just what you … Continue reading →

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Rites of Mourning and the Recent Release of “Where There’s a FitzWILLiam Darcy, There’s a Way”

Posted on September 28, 2018 by Regina Jeffers

The mourning rites we customarily think of as being so strict during the Regency era, were actually those imposed by Queen Victoria after the death of her husband, Prince Albert. Victoria was known to wear black for many years and … Continue reading →

Posted in Austen Authors, book excerpts, book release, books, British history, eBooks, estates, Georgian England, Georgian Era, historical fiction, history, Jane Austen, Living in the Regency, Living in the UK, Pride and Prejudice, reading, research, romance, tradtions, Vagary, Wales, word origins, writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Do You Know These Words and Phrases?

Posted on August 5, 2018 by Regina Jeffers

Inexpressibles ~ Etymology Compare to unmentionables ‎(“underwear”). Geri Walton at her Unique Histories from the 18th and 19th Centuries tells us “That part of the dress which it is now unlawful to name, seems of old to have had the … Continue reading →

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The Lovely World of the English Language ~ Do You Know These Idioms?

Posted on January 31, 2017 by Regina Jeffers

Are you like me? Do you wonder from where a particular phrase originates? I am often in a position to search out a phrase or a word to determine whether it is too modern for my writings set in the … Continue reading →

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Are You Familiar With These Words and Phrases?

Posted on November 16, 2016 by Regina Jeffers

Spillikin ~ The Oxford Living Dictionaries gives us: [treated as singular] A game played with a heap of small rods of wood, bone, or plastic, in which players try to remove one at a time without disturbing the others, while Wikitionary … Continue reading →

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Author’s Voice

Posted on August 19, 2016 by Regina Jeffers

Years ago, when I was still beating my head against the wall while teaching English in the public classrooms of three different states, I attempted repeatedly to explain “author voice” to my students. I encouraged my students to write with … Continue reading →

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Are You Familiar with These Phrases and Words?

Posted on July 14, 2016 by Regina Jeffers

Today we will look at phrases/words we have inherited from England. Go to the Dickens! (or) What the Dickens! Believe it or not, neither phrase has anything to do with the Victorian novelist, Charles Dickens. Actually, “dickens” comes to us … Continue reading →

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