All the fun of llamas, but with the added comfort of hats! Be sure to check out the new Llamas with Hats merchandise: www.cafepress.com
The llamas are back, in another hat-filled adventure! Be sure to check out the new Llamas with Hats merchandise: www.cafepress.com
The continued adventures of two llamas and two hats. Be sure to check out our Llamas with Hats merchandise! Or spend all your money on ring pops ...
This etymological dictionary gives the origins of some 20,000 items from the modern English vocabulary, discussing them in groups that make clear the connections between words derived by a variety of routes from originally common stock. As well as giving the answers to questions about the derivation of individual words, it is a fascinating book to browse through, and includes extensive lists of prefixes, suffixes, and elements used in the creation of new vocabulary.
What is the origin of the word Svengali? « Missouri Hypnotist
After Svengali, a musician and hypnotist, in the novel Trilby written by George du Maurier (1834-1896). In the story, Trilby is an artist’s model. She’s tone-deaf, but Svengali transforms her into a singing sensation under his hypnotic spell. Another eponym to come out of the novel is the word for a man’s hat: trilby. A trilby was a soft felt hat with a narrow brim and an indented crown. The word arose because such a hat was worn in the stage production of the novel "’Idol’ was created by Simon Fuller, the Spice Girls svengali, and first aired in England in 2001, as ‘Pop Idol.’" — Sasha Frere-Jones; Idolatry; The New Yorker; May 19, 2008.
A person who, with evil intent, tries to persuade another to do what is desired: "a crafty Svengali who lures talented people with grand promises yet gives them little lasting operational authority" (Chris Welles).
[After Svengali, the hypnotist villain in the novel Trilby by George du Maurier....
Dartblog: "Easter egg Etymology"
[1601 J. VAN NECK Jrnl. Voy. Eight Shippes of Amsterdam f. 56v, The second day (being Easter day) we were allowed to our Easter egges a dish of small beanes with a dish of dried fish, and a kan of sacke, in lieu of Arack.]
1737 tr. C. de Bruyn Trav. into Muscovy I. 31/2 They then begin to give Easter eggs, which continues for a fortnight, a custom as well among the great as the small, the old as the young, who mutually make each other presents of them.
1772 tr. Antidote 199 The custom of giving eggs is only among the common people; and that not alone in Russia, but in Germany, and many other countries, where every one undeniably has heard of Easter eggs.
1804 M. WILMOT Let. 11 May in M. Wilmot & C. Wilmot Russ. Jrnls. (1934) I. 97, I must not forget Easter Sunday… The service is the same, and after it is over Easter Eggs are presented painted and carv’d and decorated in a variety of ways.
1825 W. HONE Every-day Bk. I. 426 Easter Eggs..pass about at Easter week under the name of pask, paste, or pace eggs.
...