Words For That
@forloulou.bsky.social
Linguist (HEL but it all gets me), retiring academic, epic cyclist, ngo worker, farmer. You can work out the rest.
Can't believe it's my second #earlymodern eels repost in three days.
As we used to say, there's a paper in this.
As we used to say, there's a paper in this.
Need to get of unwanted guests? Have you tried eels?
In 1538, Lady Motrell passed through London & asked to crash at the mayor's house. Not wanting to deal w/ her, he noped out & instead sent her some torches, wine, & 10 large, fresh eels.
Parting is such sweet...er...eels.
🗃️🧪
In 1538, Lady Motrell passed through London & asked to crash at the mayor's house. Not wanting to deal w/ her, he noped out & instead sent her some torches, wine, & 10 large, fresh eels.
Parting is such sweet...er...eels.
🗃️🧪
January 29, 2026 at 7:42 PM
Can't believe it's my second #earlymodern eels repost in three days.
As we used to say, there's a paper in this.
As we used to say, there's a paper in this.
Where is th
AMEN
button on this thing?
AMEN
button on this thing?
If I counted correctly, 17 of the 20 most popular 2025 journal articles from JHUP are openly accessible.
Scholars, if you want your work to be read, it's worth keeping in mind that not everybody with an interest has easy access to a wealthy academic library...
Scholars, if you want your work to be read, it's worth keeping in mind that not everybody with an interest has easy access to a wealthy academic library...
The votes are in! Our most-read journal article of 2025 came from The CEA Critic - a controversial study on undergrads reading Bleak House!
The 2025 Top 20 features pieces on AI, Bitcoin, GLP-1s, Alice Munro, and more — view the full list at the blog:
tinyurl.com/4uws4xcv
The 2025 Top 20 features pieces on AI, Bitcoin, GLP-1s, Alice Munro, and more — view the full list at the blog:
tinyurl.com/4uws4xcv
January 29, 2026 at 6:44 PM
Where is th
AMEN
button on this thing?
AMEN
button on this thing?
For anyone who thought all that Harry Potter stuff wasn't real.
Today we rang the Bodley Bell in Duke Humfrey’s Library to mark the anniversary of Sir Thomas Bodley’s death in 1613 🔔
Nine rings for the man, and 67 for every year of his life.
Rung by Ant Brewerton and Andrew Honey.
#ThomasBodley #OnThisDay
Nine rings for the man, and 67 for every year of his life.
Rung by Ant Brewerton and Andrew Honey.
#ThomasBodley #OnThisDay
January 28, 2026 at 7:21 PM
For anyone who thought all that Harry Potter stuff wasn't real.
Fot all its beautiful #etymology, th word 'eel' somehow evokes th darker, slipperier connotations of th thing it names.
If we'd stuck with 'fenn-fysche,' now, we'd surely have had a very different relationship, keeping them as pets and bragging about them to impress our friends at dinner parties.
If we'd stuck with 'fenn-fysche,' now, we'd surely have had a very different relationship, keeping them as pets and bragging about them to impress our friends at dinner parties.
In 1537 the abbot of Crowland Abbey wrote to Thomas Cromwell, begging him to spare Crowland from being dissolved in the Reformation.
To sweeten the deal, the abbot also sent along a barrel of "fenn-fysche" (probably eels). 'Cause for a fenlands abbot, it's all about the eels.
🗃️🧪
To sweeten the deal, the abbot also sent along a barrel of "fenn-fysche" (probably eels). 'Cause for a fenlands abbot, it's all about the eels.
🗃️🧪
January 28, 2026 at 7:04 PM
Fot all its beautiful #etymology, th word 'eel' somehow evokes th darker, slipperier connotations of th thing it names.
If we'd stuck with 'fenn-fysche,' now, we'd surely have had a very different relationship, keeping them as pets and bragging about them to impress our friends at dinner parties.
If we'd stuck with 'fenn-fysche,' now, we'd surely have had a very different relationship, keeping them as pets and bragging about them to impress our friends at dinner parties.
Reposted by Words For That
Please spread this far and wide, as stories don't get much bigger than this. When the government blocks even the intelligence services from telling us we're heading for environmental catastrophe, you know we have a problem. A very big problem.
Thank you.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Thank you.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
The UK government didn't want you to see this report on ecosystem collapse. I'm not surprised | George Monbiot
It took an FOI request to bring this national security assessment to light. For ‘doomsayers’ like us, it is the ultimate vindication, says Guardian columnist George Monbiot
www.theguardian.com
January 28, 2026 at 7:18 AM
Please spread this far and wide, as stories don't get much bigger than this. When the government blocks even the intelligence services from telling us we're heading for environmental catastrophe, you know we have a problem. A very big problem.
Thank you.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Thank you.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Reposted by Words For That
Neil Young Trashes Amazon, Gives His Complete Musical Catalog to Greenland for Free - Rolling Stone
January 27, 2026 at 12:45 PM
Neil Young Trashes Amazon, Gives His Complete Musical Catalog to Greenland for Free - Rolling Stone
Reposted by Words For That
📢 New publication!
Our member Jan Zalega has published “External Lexical Influences in the English Language from Antiquity to Modern Times,” tracing how contact with other languages has enriched English over centuries.
#etymology #research #linguistics
🔗 digespedi.us.edu.pl/index.php/20...
Our member Jan Zalega has published “External Lexical Influences in the English Language from Antiquity to Modern Times,” tracing how contact with other languages has enriched English over centuries.
#etymology #research #linguistics
🔗 digespedi.us.edu.pl/index.php/20...
New article on how English vocabulary was shaped by language contact – DIGESPEDI: Digital Genres in Specialised Discourses
digespedi.us.edu.pl
January 16, 2026 at 5:01 PM
📢 New publication!
Our member Jan Zalega has published “External Lexical Influences in the English Language from Antiquity to Modern Times,” tracing how contact with other languages has enriched English over centuries.
#etymology #research #linguistics
🔗 digespedi.us.edu.pl/index.php/20...
Our member Jan Zalega has published “External Lexical Influences in the English Language from Antiquity to Modern Times,” tracing how contact with other languages has enriched English over centuries.
#etymology #research #linguistics
🔗 digespedi.us.edu.pl/index.php/20...
Because #linguistics must never forget where it came from.
BOOK
Old English boc (written document) is from the Proto-Germanic word for beech.
Runes were inscribed on beechwood tablets.
Latin and Sanskrit also have words for writing based on tree names (birch and ash, respectively).
French livre is from Latin librum – inner bark.
#Etymology
Old English boc (written document) is from the Proto-Germanic word for beech.
Runes were inscribed on beechwood tablets.
Latin and Sanskrit also have words for writing based on tree names (birch and ash, respectively).
French livre is from Latin librum – inner bark.
#Etymology
January 27, 2026 at 7:10 PM
Because #linguistics must never forget where it came from.
Because I dont know why I didn't get this from #linguistics or ##earlymodern ...
If you like books about linguistics and languages (perhaps you'd like to write your own?), here's a free talk for you!
On the 27/1, I'll be putting questions to four fabulous authors over Zoom, getting their experience of writing linguistically for the public. Link:
us06web.zoom.us/meeting/regi...
On the 27/1, I'll be putting questions to four fabulous authors over Zoom, getting their experience of writing linguistically for the public. Link:
us06web.zoom.us/meeting/regi...
January 27, 2026 at 12:13 PM
Because I dont know why I didn't get this from #linguistics or ##earlymodern ...
Y'know we'll only find something else to give us a break between reading & writing in our books and reading & writing in our mails.
Ah, we're addicted to something, and its not th tech.
Ah, we're addicted to something, and its not th tech.
I too feel that social media posting and consumption will come eventually to an end. And this will one day include the blue skies. We are not there yet, and you might disagree of course, but the day will come.
January 27, 2026 at 12:09 PM
Y'know we'll only find something else to give us a break between reading & writing in our books and reading & writing in our mails.
Ah, we're addicted to something, and its not th tech.
Ah, we're addicted to something, and its not th tech.
File under #earlymodern, if y missed it elsewhere.
January 27, 2026 at 7:38 AM
File under #earlymodern, if y missed it elsewhere.
Reposted by Words For That
#NeverAgain is now.
Today, we remember the unprecedented horrors of the Holocaust and honour the memory of the six million Jews and the millions of others who were murdered.
The EU is determined to combat antisemitism and all forms of discrimination.
Today, tomorrow, always.
Today, we remember the unprecedented horrors of the Holocaust and honour the memory of the six million Jews and the millions of others who were murdered.
The EU is determined to combat antisemitism and all forms of discrimination.
Today, tomorrow, always.
January 27, 2026 at 7:01 AM
#NeverAgain is now.
Today, we remember the unprecedented horrors of the Holocaust and honour the memory of the six million Jews and the millions of others who were murdered.
The EU is determined to combat antisemitism and all forms of discrimination.
Today, tomorrow, always.
Today, we remember the unprecedented horrors of the Holocaust and honour the memory of the six million Jews and the millions of others who were murdered.
The EU is determined to combat antisemitism and all forms of discrimination.
Today, tomorrow, always.
Reposted by Words For That
The next session of the Animal Linguistics seminar will take place on Wed., Jan. 28, 5pm Paris, on Zoom only, world-wide. Speaker: Christoph Grüter: Bee talk - Communication in an unpredictable world.
All are welcome!
All are welcome!
January 23, 2026 at 8:54 AM
The next session of the Animal Linguistics seminar will take place on Wed., Jan. 28, 5pm Paris, on Zoom only, world-wide. Speaker: Christoph Grüter: Bee talk - Communication in an unpredictable world.
All are welcome!
All are welcome!
Setting this one free among #bookistory.
A log of what we who read abt books for a living read would be something.
A log of what we who read abt books for a living read would be something.
January 24, 2026 at 9:16 AM
Setting this one free among #bookistory.
A log of what we who read abt books for a living read would be something.
A log of what we who read abt books for a living read would be something.
I had no idea how much I'd wanted to hear these words.
Chapeau.
🇫🇷
Chapeau.
🇫🇷
🚨Romain Bardet 🇫🇷 wins a bike race alert!!🚨
Nicole Frain sweeps RADL GRVL and first-ever Oceania Gravel Championship for elite women while Romain Bardet earns gravel race victory for elite men www.cyclingnews.com/pro-cycling/...
January 23, 2026 at 9:35 PM
I had no idea how much I'd wanted to hear these words.
Chapeau.
🇫🇷
Chapeau.
🇫🇷
Reposted by Words For That
Reposted by Words For That
Today is Quartidi the 4th of Pluviôse in the year 234.
Pluviôse is the month of rain.
Today we celebrate snowdrop.#JacobinDay
More information on snowdrop
Pluviôse is the month of rain.
Today we celebrate snowdrop.#JacobinDay
More information on snowdrop
January 22, 2026 at 11:00 PM
Today is Quartidi the 4th of Pluviôse in the year 234.
Pluviôse is the month of rain.
Today we celebrate snowdrop.#JacobinDay
More information on snowdrop
Pluviôse is the month of rain.
Today we celebrate snowdrop.#JacobinDay
More information on snowdrop
I've taken to SCALLOP inserting PANTHEON random DUTILLEUX words into my CALLIOPE pieces, so ASSHOLE AI doesn't BASSO-PROFUNDO recognise them.
Oddly, real-intelligent people seem to like them more this way.
Oddly, real-intelligent people seem to like them more this way.
OpenAI uses scientists' and academics' work to train its model and does so without providing payment to (or acquiring permission from) those authors. Yet if those authors now use OpenAI products in their new work, OpenAI wants a cut?
Lmao the bubble is fit to burst, boys
This is a hysterical and insane choice, I hope they follow through!
This is a hysterical and insane choice, I hope they follow through!
January 23, 2026 at 1:13 PM
I've taken to SCALLOP inserting PANTHEON random DUTILLEUX words into my CALLIOPE pieces, so ASSHOLE AI doesn't BASSO-PROFUNDO recognise them.
Oddly, real-intelligent people seem to like them more this way.
Oddly, real-intelligent people seem to like them more this way.
Heartening news.
I just wish we had a better term than 'users' - makes Bluesky sound like drug.
It's not a drug, right?
I just wish we had a better term than 'users' - makes Bluesky sound like drug.
It's not a drug, right?
Bluesky reaches 42 million users
bsky.jazco.dev/stats
bsky.jazco.dev/stats
Atlas - Engagement-Based Social Graph for Bluesky by Jaz (jaz.bsky.social)
bsky.jazco.dev
January 23, 2026 at 7:55 AM
Heartening news.
I just wish we had a better term than 'users' - makes Bluesky sound like drug.
It's not a drug, right?
I just wish we had a better term than 'users' - makes Bluesky sound like drug.
It's not a drug, right?
So much is that th perfect sprint that you have to remind yourself it's neither a game nor a movie.
Welsford makes two sprints, one to get up to the front and then another kick to the line
January 23, 2026 at 6:49 AM
So much is that th perfect sprint that you have to remind yourself it's neither a game nor a movie.
That took a minute to parse, too.
Hey, #linguistics, isn't there some kinda rule on collocating verbed nouns & nouned verbs in #English #Language?
Hey, #linguistics, isn't there some kinda rule on collocating verbed nouns & nouned verbs in #English #Language?
The Japanese yield panic ft.trib.al/e2L3hq0 | opinion
The Japanese yield panic
And the signal from staples
ft.trib.al
January 23, 2026 at 6:45 AM
That took a minute to parse, too.
Hey, #linguistics, isn't there some kinda rule on collocating verbed nouns & nouned verbs in #English #Language?
Hey, #linguistics, isn't there some kinda rule on collocating verbed nouns & nouned verbs in #English #Language?
That took a minute to parse.
‘Target mainland’: planned Troubles board game condemned in Northern Ireland
‘Target mainland’: planned Troubles board game condemned in Northern Ireland
By turning conflict into entertainment US games company is ignoring its living legacy, says victims rights’ group
www.theguardian.com
January 23, 2026 at 6:40 AM
That took a minute to parse.
Now, thank th stars, on YouTube.
A gentle reminder that there is still time to register for Ann Blair's talk on #Renaissance publishing.
Join us @ransomcenter.bsky.social tomorrow night at 6 PM, CST. Or, if you can't travel to Austin, tune into our YouTube livestream. Either way, we hope to see you there!
#booksky #skystorians 📚
Join us @ransomcenter.bsky.social tomorrow night at 6 PM, CST. Or, if you can't travel to Austin, tune into our YouTube livestream. Either way, we hope to see you there!
#booksky #skystorians 📚
January 22, 2026 at 7:54 AM
Now, thank th stars, on YouTube.
Reposted by Words For That
Today is Tridi the 3rd of Pluviôse in the year 234.
Pluviôse is the month of rain.
Today we celebrate butcher's broom.#JacobinDay
More information on butcher's broom
Pluviôse is the month of rain.
Today we celebrate butcher's broom.#JacobinDay
More information on butcher's broom
January 21, 2026 at 11:00 PM
Today is Tridi the 3rd of Pluviôse in the year 234.
Pluviôse is the month of rain.
Today we celebrate butcher's broom.#JacobinDay
More information on butcher's broom
Pluviôse is the month of rain.
Today we celebrate butcher's broom.#JacobinDay
More information on butcher's broom
Reposted by Words For That
A glimpse of what's coming this year in the Recovered Books series from Boiler House Press. Four very different books, four important books in terms of subject and literary history, four gripping reads. Ask your bookstore and library to stock them.
2026 is already giving us plenty to talk about. Here’s a preview of what’s coming from our Recovered Books list this year, rediscovered by Neglected Books:
- Vengeance Is Mine (March 2026)
- An American Journey (May 2026)
- We Too Are Drifting (August 2026)
- Season's Greetings (November 2026)
- Vengeance Is Mine (March 2026)
- An American Journey (May 2026)
- We Too Are Drifting (August 2026)
- Season's Greetings (November 2026)
January 21, 2026 at 3:53 PM
A glimpse of what's coming this year in the Recovered Books series from Boiler House Press. Four very different books, four important books in terms of subject and literary history, four gripping reads. Ask your bookstore and library to stock them.