Breaking News Headlines Today | Ground News

See every side of every news story

Interesting Literature image

News from Interesting Literature

Top Interesting Literature News

A Summary and Analysis of ‘The Argonauts of the Air’ by H. G. Wells

Loughborough · Loughborough

A Summary and Analysis of ‘The Argonauts of the Air’ by H. G. Wells

By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University) ‘The Argonauts of the Air’ is a short story by H. G. Wells (1866-1946), first published in Phil May’s Annual in 1895. The story is another of Wells’s prophetic tales, anticipating the Wright Brothers’ first powered flight in a heavier-than-air craft eight years later, at Kitty Hawk in 1903.…Read Article

Breaking News Topics Related to Interesting Literature

The Curious Origins of the Word ‘Antediluvian’

By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University) What does the word ‘antediluvian’ mean, and what are its origins? To discover the answers to these questions, we have to travel back to the Old Testament, and to one of the most famous stories found in the Book of Genesis. In the Book of Genesis, we are told…Read Article

The Curious Origins of the Word ‘Scapegoat’

By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University) The term ‘scapegoat’ is well-known: it refers to an innocent person who has to carry the blame for something on behalf of other people. As the Oxford English Dictionary defines the word: the ‘scapegoat’ is ‘one of two goats that was chosen by lot to be sent alive into ...Read Article

The Curious Origin of the Word ‘Gobbledygook’

By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University) What connects the word ‘gobbledygook’ with the word ‘maverick’? To discover the link, we need to delve into the origins, or etymologies, of both words. But first, let’s consider how we came to have the word gobbledygook to refer to meaningless jargon or nonsense. First of all, how is ...Read Article

The Curious Origins of the Word ‘Avocado’

By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University) Anyone who has eaten an avocado has, at least etymologically speaking, eaten a testicle. How is this so? Let’s delve into the curious origins of the word for the fruit, avocado and see how they got bound up with the world of the legal profession and with male genitalia.…Read Article

The Curious Origins of the Word ‘Naked’

By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University) The word ‘naked’ is so well-known, so familiar to us, that it’s easy to overlook its strangeness. It rhymes with no other word in English, and looks like a weird hybrid or cross between a verb and an adjective. How did the word naked come about, and what are…Read Article

The Curious Origins of the Word ‘Mayonnaise’

By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University) Where does the word mayonnaise come from? Many people will confidently say they know the answer, but perhaps the matter is a little more complex – and a little more interesting – than is widely believed. Before we plunge ourselves into the origin of ‘mayonnaise’, then, let’s make it…Read Article

The Curious Story of the Word ‘Alphabet’

By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University) Where does the word ‘alphabet’ originally come from? Let’s begin by posing the question as a quiz. We’ll make it multiple-choice so it’s (potentially) a bit easier. So, here goes: where does the word ‘alphabet’ come from? a) Greek ‘alpha’ and ‘beta’ b) Semitic aleph and beth c) ‘Ox-house’…Greece · Greece Read Article

The Curious Origins of the Word ‘Orange’

By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University) What does the word orange literally mean? What is the derivation or origin of orange? The word’s etymology is interesting, and also more than a little mysterious, so let’s take a closer look at the origins of the word orange. If you had to guess on the word’s origins,…Read Article