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A brief history of the mortgage, from its roots in ancient Rome to the English ‘dead pledge’ and its rebirth in America

The average interest rate for a new U.S. <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/home-loan-mortgage-interest-rate-7-percent-highest-since-2001/">30-year fixed-rate mortgage topped 7% in late October 2022</a> for the first time in more than two decades. It’s a sharp increase from one year earlier, when <a href="https://www.valuepenguin.com/mortgages/historical-mortgage-rates">lenders were charging homebuyers only 3.09%</a> for the same kind of loan. Several factors, including <a href="https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/mortgages/fed-mortgage-rates">inflation rates and the general economic outlook</a>, influence mortgage rates. A primary driver of the ongoing upward spiral is the <a href="https://abc7chicago.com/fed-interest-rate-decision-today-hike-federal-reserve-meeting-november/12408055/">Federal Reserve’s series of interest rate hikes</a> intended to tame inflation. Its decision to increase the benchmark rate by <a href="https://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/pressreleases/monetary20221102a.htm">0.75 percentage points on Nov. 2, 2022</a>, to as much as 4% will propel the cost of mortgage borrowing even higher. Even if you have had mortgage debt for years, you might be unfamiliar with the history of these loans – a subject I cover <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=KVv47noAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">in my mortgage financing course</a> for undergraduate business students at Mississippi State University. The term dates back to <a href="https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/learn/story-of-england/medieval/">medieval England</a>. But the roots of these legal contracts, in which land is pledged for a debt and will become the property of the lender if the loan is not repaid, go back thousands of years. <h2>Ancient roots</h2> Historians trace the <a href="https://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/Nehemiah-5-3/">origins of mortgage contracts</a> to the reign of King Artaxerxes of Persia, who ruled modern-day Iran in the fifth century B.C. The Roman Empire formalized and documented the legal process of pledging collateral for a loan. Often using the <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%202%3A13-16&version=NIV">forum and temples as their base of operations</a>, mensarii, which is derived from the word mensa or “bank” in Latin, would set up loans and charge <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%202%3A13-16&version=NIV">borrowers interest</a>. These government-appointed public bankers required the borrower to put up collateral, whether real estate or personal property, and their agreement regarding the use of the collateral would be handled in one of three ways. First, the <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fiducia">Fiducia</a>, Latin for “trust” or “confidence,” required the transfer of both ownership and possession to lenders until the debt was repaid in full. Ironically, this arrangement involved no trust at all. Second, the <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pignus">Pignus</a>, Latin for “pawn,” allowed borrowers to retain ownership while <a href="https://scholarship.law.upenn.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https://www.google.com/&httpsredir=1&article=1684&context=penn_law_review">sacrificing possession and use</a> until they repaid their debts. Finally, the <a href="https://legaldictionary.lawin.org/hypotheca/">Hypotheca</a>, Latin for “pledge,” let borrowers retain both ownership and possession while repaying debts. <h2>The living-versus-dead pledge</h2> <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Claudius-Roman-emperor">Emperor Claudius</a> brought Roman law and customs to Britain in A.D. 43. Over the next <a href="https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/learn/story-of-england/romans/">four centuries of Roman rule</a> and the <a href="https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/learn/story-of-england/early-medieval/">subsequent 600 years known as the Dark Ages</a>, the British adopted another Latin term for a pledge of security or collateral for loans: <a href="https://worldofdictionary.com/dict/latin-english/meaning/vadium">Vadium</a>. If given as collateral for a loan, real estate could be offered as “<a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/vadium%20vivum">Vivum Vadium</a>.” The literal translation of this term is “living pledge.” Land would be temporarily pledged to the lender who used it to generate income to pay off the debt. Once the lender had collected enough income to cover the debt and some interest, the land would revert back to the borrower. With the alternative, the “<a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mortuum%20vadium">Mortuum Vadium</a>” or “dead pledge,” land was pledged to the lender until the borrower could fully repay the debt. It was, essentially, an interest-only loan with full principal payment from the borrower required at a future date. When the lender demanded repayment, the borrower had to pay off the loan or lose the land. Lenders would keep proceeds from the land, be it income from farming, selling timber or renting the property for housing. In effect, the land was <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/1321129.pdf">dead to the debtor</a> during the term of the loan because it provided no benefit to the borrower. Following <a href="https://www.royal.uk/william-the-conqueror">William the Conqueror’s victory</a> at the Battle of Hastings in 1066, the English language was heavily influenced by <a href="https://blocs.mesvilaweb.cat/subirats/the-norman-conquest-the-influence-of-french-on-the-english-language-loans-and-calques/">Norman French</a> – William’s language. That is how the Latin term “Mortuum Vadium” morphed into “Mort Gage,” Norman French for “dead” and “pledge.” “<a href="https://www.etymonline.com/word/mortgage">Mortgage</a>,” a <a href="https://ia600201.us.archive.org/1/items/cu31924021674399/cu31924021674399.pdf">mashup of the two words</a>, then entered the English vocabulary. <h2>Establishing rights of borrowers</h2> Unlike today’s mortgages, which are usually due within 15 or 30 years, English loans in the 11th-16th centuries were unpredictable. <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/1323192.pdf">Lenders could demand repayment</a> at any time. If borrowers couldn’t comply, lenders could seek a court order, and the land would be forfeited by the borrower to the lender. Unhappy borrowers could <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/chancery">petition the king</a> regarding their predicament. He could refer the case to the lord chancellor, who could <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Chancery-Division">rule as he saw fit</a>. <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Francis-Bacon-Viscount-Saint-Alban">Sir Francis Bacon</a>, England’s lord chancellor from 1618 to 1621, <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/752041">established</a> the <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/equity_of_redemption">Equitable Right of Redemption</a>. This new right allowed borrowers to pay off debts, even after default. The official end of the period to redeem the property was called <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/foreclosure">foreclosure</a>, which is derived from an Old French word that means “<a href="https://www.etymonline.com/word/foreclose">to shut out</a>.” Today, foreclosure is a legal process in which lenders to take possession of property used as collateral for a loan. <h2>Early US housing history</h2> The <a href="https://www.loc.gov/classroom-materials/united-states-history-primary-source-timeline/colonial-settlement-1600-1763/overview/">English colonization</a> of what’s now <a href="https://themayflowersociety.org/history/the-mayflower-compact/">the United States</a> didn’t immediately transplant mortgages across the pond. But eventually, U.S. financial institutions were offering mortgages. <a href="https://www.huduser.gov/publications/pdf/us_evolution.pdf">Before 1930, they were small</a> – generally amounting to at most half of a home’s market value. These loans were generally short-term, maturing in under 10 years, with payments due only twice a year. Borrowers either paid nothing toward the principal at all or made a few such payments before maturity. Borrowers would have to refinance loans if they couldn’t pay them off. <h2>Rescuing the housing market</h2> Once America fell into the <a href="https://www.history.com/topics/great-depression">Great Depression</a>, the <a href="https://www.stlouisfed.org/news-releases/2008/05/02/does-the-great-depression-hold-the-answers-for-the-current-mortgage-distress">banking system collapsed</a>. With most homeowners unable to pay off or refinance their mortgages, the <a href="https://www.federalreservehistory.org/essays/great-depression">housing market crumbled</a>. The number of <a href="https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-and-education-magazines/housing-1929-1941">foreclosures grew to over 1,000 per day by 1933</a>, and housing prices fell precipitously. The <a href="https://www.fhfaoig.gov/Content/Files/History%20of%20the%20Government%20Sponsored%20Enterprises.pdf">federal government responded by establishing</a> new agencies to stabilize the housing market. They included the <a href="https://www.hud.gov/program_offices/housing/fhahistory">Federal Housing Administration</a>. It provides <a href="https://www.consumerfinance.gov/ask-cfpb/what-is-mortgage-insurance-and-how-does-it-work-en-1953/">mortgage insurance</a> – borrowers pay a small fee to protect lenders in the case of default. Another new agency, the <a href="https://sf.freddiemac.com/articles/insights/why-americas-homebuyers-communities-rely-on-the-30-year-fixed-rate-mortgage">Home Owners’ Loan Corp.</a>, established in 1933, bought defaulted short-term, semiannual, interest-only mortgages and transformed them into new long-term loans lasting 15 years. Payments were monthly and self-amortizing – covering both principal and interest. They were also fixed-rate, remaining steady for the life of the mortgage. Initially they skewed more heavily toward interest and later defrayed more principal. The corporation made new loans for three years, tending to them until it <a href="https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,858135,00.html">closed in 1951</a>. It pioneered long-term mortgages in the U.S. In 1938 Congress established the Federal National Mortgage Association, better known as <a href="https://www.fanniemae.com/about-us/who-we-are/history">Fannie Mae</a>. This <a href="https://www.financial-dictionary.info/terms/government-sponsored-enterprise/">government-sponsored enterprise</a> made fixed-rate long-term mortgage loans viable <a href="https://www.investopedia.com/terms/s/securitization.asp">through a process called securitization</a> – selling debt to investors and using the proceeds to purchase these long-term mortgage loans from banks. This process reduced risks for banks and encouraged long-term mortgage lending. <h2>Fixed- versus adjustable-rate mortgages</h2> After World War II, Congress authorized the Federal Housing Administration to insure <a href="https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CPRT-108HPRT92629/html/CPRT-108HPRT92629.htm">30-year loans on new construction</a> and, a few years later, purchases of existing homes. But then, the <a href="https://files.stlouisfed.org/files/htdocs/publications/review/69/09/Historical_Sep1969.pdf">credit crunch of 1966</a> and the years of high inflation that followed made adjustable-rate mortgages more popular. Known as ARMs, these mortgages have stable rates for only a few years. Typically, the initial rate is significantly lower than it would be for 15- or 30-year fixed-rate mortgages. Once that initial period ends, <a href="https://www.investopedia.com/terms/a/arm.asp">interest rates on ARMs</a> get adjusted up or down annually – along with monthly payments to lenders. Unlike the rest of the world, where ARMs prevail, Americans still prefer the <a href="https://sf.freddiemac.com/articles/insights/why-americas-homebuyers-communities-rely-on-the-30-year-fixed-rate-mortgage">30-year fixed-rate mortgage</a>. About <a href="https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?q=DP04&t=Housing">61% of American homeowners</a> have mortgages today – with <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/15214842.2020.1757357">fixed rates the dominant type</a>. But as interest rates rise, demand for <a href="https://www.corelogic.com/intelligence/interest-rates-are-up-but-arm-backed-home-purchases-are-way-up/">ARMs is growing</a> again. If the Federal Reserve fails to slow inflation and interest rates continue to climb, unfortunately for some ARM borrowers, the term “dead pledge” may live up to its name. Image credits: Getty Images This article originally appeared on <a href="https://theconversation.com/a-brief-history-of-the-mortgage-from-its-roots-in-ancient-rome-to-the-english-dead-pledge-and-its-rebirth-in-america-193005" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>.

Real Estate

The most misused word in the English language

A traffic jam when you’re already late. A free ride when you’ve already paid. The fact that the King James Bible is the most shoplifted book in the United States. One of these three things is an example of irony – the reversal of what is expected or intended. The other two (no offense to Alanis Morissette) are not. The difference between them may be one of the most rage-inducing linguistic misunderstandings you’re likely to read about on the Internet or hear about from the determined grammar nerds in your life. “Ironic” does not, technically, mean “unfortunate,” “interesting” or “coincidental,” despite these terms often being used interchangeably. And that frequent misuse has not escaped linguists. According to the editors at <a href="http://WWW.DICTIONARY.COM">Dictionary.com</a>, “We submit that ironic might be the most abused word in the English language.” That’s a tough claim to prove, but it’s clear that confusion over the definition of irony is persistent and decades old. “Irony” makes Harvard linguist Steven Pinker’s <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/the-58-most-commonly-misused-words-and-phrases-a6754551.html">list</a> of the 58 most commonly misused words in English, and ranks in the top 1 percent of all word lookups on Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary. Even Great Gatsby author F. Scott Fitzgerald got it wrong, some say, when he claimed in 1939, “It is an ironic thought that the last picture job I took yielded me five thousand dollars five hundred and cost over four thousand in medical attention.” So what does irony mean, really, and where does the confusion come from? Part of the ambiguity probably stems from the fact that there are no fewer than three definitions of irony depending on which dictionary you use. There’s Socratic irony (an ancient rhetorical move), and dramatic irony (an ancient theatrical move), but the definition of irony we care about – and the kind that’s most bitterly debated – is situational irony. Situational irony occurs when, as the Oxford English Dictionary defines it, “a state of affairs or an event… seems deliberately contrary to what one expects and is often wryly amusing as a result”. The trick, according to purists, is the deliberately contrary part – for a situation to be ironic, it must be the opposite of what is expected, not merely an amusing coincidence. A traffic jam when you’re already late may be an undesirable coincidence, but it is not the opposite outcome one would expect when leaving for work late (especially if that person lives in a major city). In an article titled <a href="http://www.collegehumor.com/post/229130/lines-from-alanis-morissettes-ironic-modified-to-actually-make-them-ironic">Lines From Alanis Morissette’s “Ironic,” Modified to Actually Make them Ironic</a>, College Humor writer Patrick Cassels corrects the situation like this: “A traffic jam when you’re already late… to receive an award from the Municipal Planning Board for reducing the city’s automobile congestion 80 per cent.” Now that’s irony. Not every linguist goes by this limited view, though. Ever the champions of fluid language growth, Merriam Webster <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/irony">argues</a> that Mr. Fitzgerald, Ms. Morissette, and anyone else who uses “ironic” to mean “coincidental” isn’t actually wrong, but is actually just trailblazing. “The word irony has come to be applied to events that are merely curious or coincidental,” the editors write, “and while some feel this is an incorrect use of the word, it is merely a new one.” Now isn’t that something. Image credit: Shutterstock Written by Brandon Specktor. This article first appeared in <a href="http://www.readersdigest.com.au/true-stories-lifestyle/our-language/most-misused-word-english-language">Reader’s Digest</a>. For more of what you love from the world’s best-loved magazine, <a href="http://readersdigest.innovations.com.au/c/readersdigestsubscribe?utm_source=readersdigest&utm_campaign=RDSUB&utm_medium=display&keycode=WRA85S">here’s our best subscription offer</a>.

Retirement Life

From Elfin to Garlick: Take inspiration from this list of medieval dog names

In a world of Bellas, Spots, Lunas, Milos and more, one 600-year-old document could be the source of a unique name for your new best friend. The Names of All Manner of Hounds is one of several texts included in a manuscript dating back to the 15th century, with an apparently unknown author, which includes a hefty list of 1065 medieval names used for hunting dogs. While the manuscript itself is owned by a private collector (and unavailable to be analysed), one researcher, David Scott-Macnab, has compiled a list of the names, which include proper names, descriptions, virtues, vices, and human occupations. The list categorises the names for the type of dogs, like running hounds, terriers and greyhounds, as well as by gender. According to Scott-Macnab, the list has plenty of names taken from history and mythology, including Boleyne, Charlemagne, Nero, Arture, Achilles, Hercules, Romwlus and Pompeye. Others refer to desirable qualities for hunting dogs, such as Birdismowthe, Fynder, Corage, and Cachefaste, while some, like Filthe, Oribull, Plodder and Cruell, are less positive. The names also seem to be inspired by nature - like Dolfyn, Flower, Garlik, Sycamore and Dyamound - as well as nationalities - Jewe, Romayne, and Ducheman are just a few - and occupations and human categories, such as Leper, Archere, Wodeman (or woodsman), and Monke. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> in the early 15th century, edward, 2nd duke of york, wrote a list of 1,126 names he considered to be suitable for dogs. highlights from the list: -nosewise -garlik -pretyman -gaylarde -norman -filthe <a href="https://t.co/7MuvHJKM5f">pic.twitter.com/7MuvHJKM5f</a> — weird medieval guys (@WeirdMedieval) <a href="https://twitter.com/WeirdMedieval/status/1595169422448201751?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 22, 2022</a></blockquote> The lengthy list of names in Middle English, known as the language of Chaucer, also contains Middle English words found nowhere else in the texts that have survived from that time period, adding to its value and giving us a snapshot of 15th century life. These include Mownferaunt (mun ‘my’ + ferant ‘grey’), Aufyne (a term of contempt), Kilbucke (‘kill buck’), and Lwfkyn (‘little love’). A snapshot of life While it’s amusing to think of dogs named Clowder, Crabbe, Pretiboy or Plodder, Scott-Macnab argues that All Manner of Hounds sheds light on the language spoken day-to-day in the fifteenth century, a period where writing things down wasn’t the norm or accessible to everyone. “It is clear from the hunting treatises that I quoted earlier that high-status hunters felt little need to record the names of entire packs of hounds; they make their point with a few representative names,” he writes. “But dog-handlers who trained, bathed, nursed and fed the hounds on a daily basis, and who whipped them into line when hunting, must have lived by a different imperative, one that required them to know their dogs as individuals.” These names also show that the relationships between us and dogs hasn’t changed much hundreds of years later, with equal numbers of names showing affection and “ironic displeasure” - from Litilman, Nise (Nice) and Best-of-all to Rude, Noty (Naughty) and Symple. To see the full list and read Scott-Macnab’s full paper, head <a href="https://www.academia.edu/44222801/THE_NAMES_OF_ALL_MANNER_OF_HOUNDS_A_UNIQUE_INVENTORY_IN_A_FIFTEENTH_CENTURY_MANUSCRIPT" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>. Image: Trivulzio Book of Hours

Family & Pets

English cottage comes with free theme park tickets

A small cottage in the English countryside is up for sale, and it comes with an unusual bonus for its new owner. The two-bedroom home in Staffordshire has been <a href="https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/126610616#/?channel=RES_BUY" target="_blank" rel="noopener">listed</a> for £200,000 ($NZ 395,000), and if its new owner moves in they can access free tickets to a local theme park. According to the Alton Towers Resort website, residents located within a three-kilometre radius can apply for 20 entries to its theme park or water park. With the charming cottage only a four-minute drive from Alton Towers Resort, the new residents will simply need to prove they live there with a council tax bill. As well as free tickets, the home also boasts a private garden, exposed stone walls that feature throughout, and a cosy interior of wooden cabinetry, timber floors, terracotta tiles and lattice windows. Barn-style doors are also found throughout the two-storey house, with the kitchen, lounge, and outdoor porch on the ground floor and two bedrooms and a shared bathroom on the first floor. Images: Rightmove

Real Estate

Five myths about Shakespeare’s contribution to the English language

Shakespeare’s language is widely considered to represent the pinnacle of English. But that status is underpinned by multiple myths – ideas about language that have departed from reality (or what is even plausible). Those myths send us down rabbit holes and make us lose sight of what is truly impressive about Shakespeare – what he did with his words. The <a href="http://wp.lancs.ac.uk/shakespearelang/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Encyclopedia of Shakespeare’s Language</a> project at Lancaster University, deploying large-scale computer analyses, has been transforming what we know about Shakespeare’s language. Here, incorporating some of its findings, we revisit five things that you probably thought you knew about Shakespeare but are actually untrue. <h2>1. Shakespeare coined a vast number of words</h2> Well, he did, but not as many as people think – even reputable sources assume more than 1,000. The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust puts it at <a href="https://www.shakespeare.org.uk/explore-shakespeare/shakespedia/shakespeares-words/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">1,700</a>, but carefully add that this number concerns words whose earliest appearance is in Shakespeare’s works. The word “hobnail” first appears in a text attributed to Shakespeare, but it’s difficult to imagine it arose from a creative poetic act. More likely, it was around in the spoken language of the time and Shakespeare’s use is the earliest recording of it. Estimates of just how many words Shakespeare supposedly coined do not usually distinguish between what was creatively coined by him and what was first recorded in a written document attributed to him. Even if you don’t make that distinction and include all words that appear first in a work attributed to Shakespeare, whether coined or recorded, numbers are grossly inflated. Working with the literature and linguistics academics <a href="https://english.asu.edu/content/jonathan-hope-professor-literature" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jonathan Hope</a> and <a href="https://slt-cdt.sheffield.ac.uk/students" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sam Hollands</a>, we’ve been using computers to search millions of words in texts pre-dating Shakespeare. With this method, we have found that only around 500 words do seem to first appear in Shakespeare. Of course, 500 is still huge and most writers neither coin a new word nor produce a first recording. <h2>2. Shakespeare IS the English language</h2> The myth that Shakespeare coined loads of words has partly fuelled the myth that Shakespeare’s language constitutes one-quarter, a half or even all of the words of today’s English language. The number of different words in Shakespeare’s texts is around 21,000 words. Some of those words are repeated, which is how we get to the total number of around one million words in works attributed to Shakespeare. (To illustrate, the previous sentence contains 26 words in total, but “of”, “words” and “to” are repeated, so the number of different words is 22). The Oxford English Dictionary has around 600,000 different words in it, but many are obscure technical terms. So, let’s round down to 500,000. Even if every word within Shakespeare had been coined by him (which is of course not the case, as noted above), that would still only be 4.2% of today’s English language. So, Shakespeare could only ever have contributed a very small fraction, though quite possibly more than most writers. <h2>3. Shakespeare had a huge vocabulary</h2> Ludicrously, popular claims about Shakespeare’s huge vocabulary seem to be driven by the fact that his writings as a whole contain a large number of different words (as noted above, around 21,000). But the more you write, the more opportunities you have to use more words that are different. This means Shakespeare is likely to come out on top of any speculations about vocabulary size simply because he has an exceptionally large surviving body of work. A few researchers have used other methods to make better guesses (they are always guesses, as you can’t count the words in somebody’s mind). For example, <a href="https://academic.oup.com/sq/article-abstract/62/1/53/5064657?redirectedFrom=fulltext" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Hugh Craig</a>, a Shakespearean scholar who has pioneered the use of computers for analysing language in literature, looked at the average number of different words used across samples of writings of the same length. He found that, relative to his contemporaries, the average frequency with which different words appear in Shakespeare’s work is distinctly … average. <h2>4. Shakespeare has universal meaning</h2> Sure, some themes or aspects of the human condition are universal, but let’s not get carried away and say that his language is universal. The mantra of the historical linguist is that all language changes – and Shakespeare isn’t exempt. Changes can be subtle and easily missed. Take the word “time” – surely a universal word denoting a universal concept? Well, no. For each word in Shakespeare, we used computers to identify the other words they associate with, and those associations reveal the meanings of words. “Time”, for instance, often occurs with “day” or “night” (for example, from Hamlet: “What art thou that usurp'st this time of night”). This reflects the understanding of time in the early modern world (roughly, 1450-1750), which was more closely linked to the cycles of the moon and sun, and thus the broader forces of the cosmos. In contrast, today, associated words like “waste”, “consume” and “spend” suggest that time is more frequently thought of as a precious resource under human control. <h2>5. Shakespeare didn’t know much Latin</h2> The myths above are popular myths, spread by academics and non-academics alike (which is why they are easy to find on the internet). Myths can be more restricted. Within some theatrical circles, the idea that Shakespeare didn’t know much Latin emerged. Indeed, the contemporary playwright Ben Jonson famously wrote that Shakespeare had “small Latin, and less Greek”. Shakespeare lacked a university education. University-educated, jealous, snooty playwrights might have been keen to take him down a peg. Working with the Latin scholar <a href="https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/english/staff/caterina-guardamagna/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Caterina Guardamagna</a>, we found that Shakespeare used 245 different Latin words, whereas in a matching set of plays by other playwrights there were just 28 – the opposite of what the myth dictates. That Shakespeare used so much Latin without a university education makes his achievement in using it all the greater. This article originally appeared on <a href="https://theconversation.com/five-myths-about-shakespeares-contribution-to-the-english-language-189402" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>. Image: Shutterstock

Books

You could become King of this medieval castle

You could become a lord or lady of your very own medieval castle, after the sprawling home in Rochester, Minnesota hit the market for just $2.5 million ($NZD 4.07 million). The sprawling property, complete with 26 rooms, a wine cellar, hot tub, and its very own pub, was built in the 1990s and has been <a href="http://www.signaturesir.com/property/detail.php?market=MI_REALCOMP&mlsn=20221030870" target="_blank" rel="noopener">listed</a> on Zillow and Signature Sotheby’s International Realty. Enclosed by a wrought-iron fence, the 567-square-metre home also boasts two gated towers, a drawbridge, arched windows and soaring ceilings. Other highlights include timbered and mirrored walls, ceilings covered in artwork, chandeliers, and a red-carpeted grand staircase in the foyer, as well as a portcullis, five fireplaces and an elevator. Each of the seven bathrooms - which outnumber the five bedrooms - is decorated with statues, marble details, and gold railings. The listing describes the home as “the perfect private palace”, which took over a team of international artisans over six years to construct. The castle is 18 metres tall - rising above a standard four-storey building - and comes with a few surprises, including secret rooms and passageways, as well as a hidden staircase. Images: Signature Sotheby’s International Realty

Real Estate

The Green Knight review

Review: The Green Knight, directed by David Lowery. Nothing about The Green Knight, the new film from director David Lowery, is comfortable. From its opening scene, where Gawain (Dev Patel) sits in an empty throne room, a crown menacingly hovering above his head as flames suddenly engulf him, this film is wonderfully unsettling. The Green Knight is a reimagining of the Middle English poem <a rel="noopener" href="https://quod.lib.umich.edu/c/cme/Gawain?rgn=main;view=fulltext" target="_blank">Sir Gawain and the Green Knight</a>, which tells the story of Gawain, a knight of King Arthur’s court. Gawain accepts a challenge from a supernatural Green Knight (Ralph Ineson) to use his axe to strike this knight, and take a reciprocating blow from him the following Christmas. Although Gawain beheads his opponent, the Green Knight does not die. When Gawain departs the following year to fulfil his promise, he demonstrates chivalry and fidelity to duty. But despite this show of chivalry, his honour is tested by the lord and the lady of the Hautdesert, a castle in which he takes refuge. This narrative poem is a part of the larger collection of stories about King Arthur: a pseudo-history caught up in ideas about nationhood and identity. Throughout this tradition, Arthur is posited as a “once and future king”; Camelot as a utopian government. <iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/I_GhSLFFGaQ?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe> Today, representations of the Middle Ages have been <a rel="noopener" href="https://theconversation.com/why-the-far-right-and-white-supremacists-have-embraced-the-middle-ages-and-their-symbols-152968" target="_blank">embraced by right-wing nationalists</a>. But Lowery’s adaptation disrupts these narratives of a utopian past and future. Lowery presents a series of contradictions and conflicts between duty, heroism, honour, fear and temptation. He offers viewers a medieval world in which contemporary anxieties about nationality, national identity and personal politics can be explored. The hero’s journey Despite being named for the monstrous Green Knight, this film follows the story of Gawain, the nephew of King Arthur (Sean Harris). Awed by the King’s invitation to sit with him, Gawain quietly contends the other knights present “have spilled enough blood” to be more deserving of the honour. But despite his inexperience, Gawain is the first to meet the challenge of the eponymous knight: to strike him and receive the same blow in return the following year. Although Gawain severs the knight’s head with one clean blow, he retrieves his gruesome head, his raspy laughter echoing off the walls. Unlike the knightly figure in the medieval poem, Patel’s Gawain is not yet a knight. The bulk of this film forms his hero’s journey: his chance to spill blood for his King and be worthy of a seat at the table. <a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/423754/original/file-20210929-14-1t8auxi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/423754/original/file-20210929-14-1t8auxi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" alt="Dev Patel holds a sword." /></a> The Green Knight is a hero’s journey: Gawain’s quest to prove he is worthy of becoming a knight. Image: A24/Eric Zachanowich Gawain was a celebrity as he left Camelot. The hero of street theatre productions and the subject of portraits; a popular culture icon recognised by all. But his bravery had been untested. Indeed, the chivalric bravery expected of a legendary knight is remarkably absent during this journey. This Gawain displays weakness, uncertainty and fear. He cites “honour” as the motivation for his journey. Yet the Gawain of this film asks the restless spirit of a raped and murdered woman for payment to retrieve her head so that she may be at peace. He succumbs to the sexual advances of the lady of the house in which he is given refuge. He would use an enchanted girdle to trick his way out of his knightly duty. Honour does not seem to be one of his virtues. De-romanticising the medieval This disparity between the celebrated hero of medieval legend and the flawed Gawain of this film invites us to consider how the medieval is reconstructed in popular culture. The Green Knight begins in a conquered land. When Gawain rides to the Green Chapel, the signs of war are all around him, from the stark landscape pocked with ruin to an entire battlefield of recently dead men. These are the Saxons the King is referring to when he gives his Christmas speech: <blockquote> Out my window this morn, I looked and I saw a land shaped by your hands. You have lain those same hands on your Saxon brethren, who now in your shadow bow their heads like babes. Peace. Peace you brought to your kingdom. </blockquote> The peace was won through a bloody conquest, but our contemporary imagining of a medieval past often romanticises these conquests. This sort of romanticisation encourages the use of the medieval in right-wing politics, and can <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.publicmedievalist.com/vile-love-affair/" target="_blank">legitimise racism</a>. This film interrupts those narratives not just with the colour-conscious casting of Gawain and his mother Morgana (Sarita Choudhury), but also with its demand that we look beyond the common plot points of medievalist stories into what lies beneath: the conquests, the displacement of people, the grotesque Middle Ages. <a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/423755/original/file-20210929-26-i47o7n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/423755/original/file-20210929-26-i47o7n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" alt="Dev Patel is getting dressed by three women." /></a> The Green Knight asks us to consider what lies beneath narratives of the Middle Ages. Image: A24/Eric Zachanowich Patel’s performance as Gawain is nothing short of captivating. Doubt, vulnerability and trepidation pour from him throughout the quest. Lowery’s film is beautifully cast and beautifully shot, but always disquieting and inquisitive. It leaves the viewer with more questions than answers. From the lilting, hissing, ominous voice over of the opening scene, The Green Knight will enthral you - right through to the ambiguous ending where you will release a breath you did not even know you were holding. The Green Knight is on Amazon Prime from 28 October.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/167364/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a rel="noopener" href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/sabina-rahman-1264650" target="_blank">Sabina Rahman</a>, Sessional Academic in English Literature, <a rel="noopener" href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/macquarie-university-1174" target="_blank">Macquarie University</a> This article is republished from <a rel="noopener" href="https://theconversation.com" target="_blank">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a rel="noopener" href="https://theconversation.com/the-green-knight-review-a-wonderfully-unsettling-cinematic-reimagining-of-the-medieval-story-of-sir-gawain-167364" target="_blank">original article</a>. Image: A24/Eric Zachanowich

Movies

Liked Netflix’s The Chair? Here are 4 moving, funny novels set in English departments

English departments are strange places. Even to those of us who spend our working lives inside them, they can seem utterly mysterious. Those looking in from outside must find them even more baffling. What exactly do lecturers do all day? They teach and interact with students, but what happens the rest of the time? Literary scholars everywhere, writes <a href="https://www.lancaster.ac.uk/english-literature-and-creative-writing/people/terry-eagleton">Terry Eagleton</a>, “live in a state of dread – a dread that one day, someone … will suddenly get wise to the fact that we draw salaries for reading poems and novels.” This fact, say Eagleton, “is as scandalous as being paid for sunbathing [or] eating chocolate.” He has a point. Harvard professor <a href="https://english.fas.harvard.edu/people/deidre-shauna-lynch">Deidre Shauna Lynch</a> says even more bluntly that what English academics get up to simply “does not look like work” to those on the outside. Those of us writing on literature, she suggests, must make our peace with this fact. We must resign ourselves to being largely unknown to the broader culture, living in quiet obscurity. And yet, as Netflix’s The Chair makes clear, life within an English department can actually look a lot like life in any other workplace. At the fictional Pembroke University, there are familiar office politics and dramas, as well as the usual mixture of ambition, resentment, and status-seeking that exist elsewhere. Professor Ji-Yoon Kim (Sandra Oh) steers a team of colleagues who have eccentric literary quirks but are recognisable figures in many workplaces. If you enjoyed this series, I’d recommend checking out these four novels, all of which offer compelling depictions of English departments. Forget the Campus Novel – the English Department Novel is a more interesting sub-genre. <h2>1. Richard Russo, Straight Man (1997)</h2> <a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/428162/original/file-20211025-19-ar21bw.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/428162/original/file-20211025-19-ar21bw.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" alt="" /></a> Russo’s comic novel shares many similarities with The Chair. It centres on the madcap adventures of William Henry Devereaux, Jr., who chairs an English department similar in size to that of Pembroke. Furious about recent financial cuts, Devereaux takes matters into his own hands. He uses a local television network to publicise his cause, threatening to kill one goose from the university pond every day until his department’s budget is reinstated. Russo emphasises the slapstick, farcical side of departmental politics. Straight Man is a glorious send up of self-serious academics, the politics of literary theory, and intellectual ambition. It also offers a perfect gloss on the old adage that academic politics are so vicious precisely because the stakes are so low. I strongly suspect that the writers of The Chair had Devereaux in mind while creating the similarly hapless Bill Dobson (Jay Duplass). <h2>2. John Williams, Stoner (1965)</h2> <a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/428161/original/file-20211025-13-1glczfs.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/428161/original/file-20211025-13-1glczfs.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" alt="" /></a> John Williams may well have written the most moving novel ever to be set in an English department. In understated, elegiac prose, Williams gives us the tragic life story of William Stoner, an obscure English professor at the University of Missouri, who enters as an agriculture student but develops a lifelong passion for literature. He lives his entire life against the backdrop of the university, and all of his significant relationships are found within the English department. While Stoner’s contributions to the field seem middling to his colleagues, he inspires generations of students with his generous and rigorous teaching. His personal life may well be a kind of tragedy, but he finds redemption in his teaching and research, and a true home in the department. Williams gives us an example of the English department novel at its most existential and weighty, one beloved of readers inside and outside the academy. <h2>3. Mary McCarthy, The Groves of Academe (1952)</h2> <a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/428163/original/file-20211025-27-16tzpl7.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/428163/original/file-20211025-27-16tzpl7.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" alt="" /></a> McCarthy’s novel takes us back to comedy once again, mining the same territory as The Chair and Straight Man but written well in advance of either. Drawing on her own experiences at Bard College and elsewhere, McCarthy gives us a farce with a serious political edge. Set at the fictional Jocelyn College, the novel centres on Henry Mulcahy, an expert on James Joyce who learns he has been let go, seemingly without cause. As he fights to save his position, McCarthy shows us the subtle and shifting nature of allegiances within the English departments she knew firsthand, as well as the petty disputes and lurid scandals they can harbour. She pulls no punches, laying bare the gossip, naked careerism, and backstabbing that even seemingly mild-mannered English academics are capable of. The novel also gives us a classic bait-and-switch. The central character, Mulcahy, whom we initially see as sympathetic and unfairly mistreated, slowly comes into focus as manipulative and profoundly unlikable. As we begin to see the central events from the perspective of once minor characters, the truth is revealed, and McCarthy skillfully shows us the mistakes of our earlier judgments. <h2>4. Wallace Stegner, Crossing to Safety (1987)</h2> <a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/428164/original/file-20211025-15-1u6vbym.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/428164/original/file-20211025-15-1u6vbym.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" alt="" /></a> This wise and moving novel explores the lifelong friendship between two couples, Larry and Sally Morgan and Sid and Charity Lang. Sid and Larry are English professors in Madison, Wisconsin, and the novel follows them as they chase literary ambitions while also managing substantial teaching duties. Both are striving for tenure and are forced to negotiate complicated faculty politics. Ultimately, this is a novel about “quiet lives,” as the narrator tells us. Its great themes are friendship, marriage, and the nature of love. And while the English department often fades into the background as Stegner explores other aspects of his characters’ lives, its politics are never far away. Sid and Larry are often concerned with the petty machinations of their academic colleagues, and Crossing to Safety includes many details that still resonate with life at a university today. Stegner’s novel also offers a fascinating glimpse into the evolution of literary studies from the 1930s to the 1970s. Of course, there are many other novels within this sub-genre, including David Lodge’s beloved campus trilogy, as well as novels by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pnin">Vladimir Nabokov</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disgrace">J.M. Coetzee</a>, and others. While eating chocolate and sunbathing wouldn’t necessarily make for interesting fiction, life in an English department, it seems, certainly does.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/170110/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/lucas-thompson-1261087">Lucas Thompson</a>, Lecturer, Department of English, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-sydney-841">University of Sydney</a> This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/liked-netflixs-the-chair-here-are-4-moving-funny-novels-set-in-english-departments-170110">original article</a>. Image: Netflix

"My English is not good": Roger Federer stumped by interview question

Roger Federer has proved he is human after all. The Swiss athlete was involved in a hilarious moment during his on-court interview following his first-round clash with Adrian Mannarino at Wimbledon. Federer moved on to the second round after France's Mannarino was forced to retire from their match after slipping and injuring his knee with the match level at two sets all. In his post-match interview on centre court, the 39-year-old was left completely stumped by a question you would usually expect him to answer easily. “Roger, is it true what they say about absence making the heart grow fonder, being back here?” the interviewer asked. “Sorry, I didn’t understand it,” Federer replied with a puzzled look on his face. “I heard something absence and then I don’t know my mind went blank.” The interviewer repeated the question: “Is it true what they say about absence making the heart grow fonder and being back on centre court?” “I don’t understand that saying. My English is not good enough,” Federer laughed, clearly stumped by the old proverb. The interviewer pressed on, asking: “Basically, having missed out last year, having been away for two years, how special is it to be back here on centre court?” “Yes, there you go. A good reminder my English is not very good,” Federer said, much to the amusement of the packed crowd. The comedic exchange was a nice reminder that English is not Federer's first language. He is fluent in Swiss German, standard German, English and French. He can also speak functional Italian and Swedish.

International Travel

Living Language: Let It Go

I was walking to work when I heard, then saw them. Two little girls, about six, both dressed as Elsa, singing “Let it Go” very loudly and badly. Behind them trotted what had to be a brother, as he had that eyerolling disgust only a sibling can manage. I was about to grin at him in shared Frozen overload sympathy, when he lost his cool. “You’re doing it WRONG!” he shouted, before launching into a pitch-perfect version. I sometimes feel we approach language not unlike that little boy, more upset with missed notes than with the joy in the singing. I know it took me years to come to grips with people using “fulsome” to mean “lots”. And our editor-in-chief has a little eye twitch when people say less instead of fewer. But we’re seeking help. The truth of the matter is that some things have changed, some don’t matter, and some were never rules anyway. Moving with the times Often, the meaning of words just changes over time. Enormity is a good example. The word derived from the Latin enormitas, meaning a transgression, and in English it meant the “extreme scale or seriousness of something bad or morally wrong” according to the Oxford English Dictionary. So you would say of a mass murderer that “citizens were shocked by the enormity of his crimes.” But the word sounds very much like enormous, and so has come to have a second, more common meaning of just “very large”. Some may point to this as a clear sign of Society In Decay, but English speakers have been doing it for over 200 years without civilisation collapsing. It’s a similar story for fulsome, with “fulsome praise” once meaning “excessively flattering” and now just as often meaning “a lot of praise”. The problem is that both are meanings with lots of history. It started off in Middle English meaning plump and full, morphed into overstuffed by the 17th century, and was used mostly in a negative sense from the late 1600s to the late 1900s. It’s one of those tricky words where you need to be really certain from context what the user meant. This happens more than you might think. Some of our most common words have flipped meaning altogether: nice once meant silly and silly once meant blessed. And most of us are old enough to remember when cool was hot and hot was really cool. But I know what you mean There are a lot of words that many people do use “wrongly”. Fewer and less are the classic pair: the rule is that fewer should be used when referring to something that can be counted (“I have fewer shoes than Jack does”) while less is for amounts that can’t be numbered (“I have less interest in shoes.”) Yet in many shops you’ll see “10 items or less” aisles, and even newsreaders say “Less than 50 people have been found”. Technically, it is wrong, but does it really matter? The meaning is still obvious. It’s like irregardless, which is the word regardless with an extra “ir”. It’s not an official word – regardless already means what irregardless would – but it is obvious what the person is trying to say. Same with people who use decimate to describe something other than killing one in ten. There are so few Roman legionaries around these days that I suspect we can move on from the original meaning. Which isn’t to say that it’s not a fine thing to be precise. It’s just that concentrating on a lack of precision rather than whether you understand what’s written can veer into pedantry and may cause premature frown lines. I sympathise with those who flinch when it comes to literally being used to mean anything other than literally, even if some dictionaries have added “figuratively” to their list of definitions. But it’s usually easy to spot: “I literally exploded!” would have to come through a medium if meant traditionally. You’re making that up Some “rules” really aren’t. Infinitives (to run, to see, etc.) shouldn’t be split in Latin, but there’s no such rule in English: Star Trek’s “to boldly go” is perfectly fine. Similarly, aside from the fact it will irritate a handful of teachers, there’s no reason not to end a sentence in a preposition (about, of, for, to, off, on, with). It’s just another holdover from the days when Latin shared schoolrooms with English and people tried to force its rules onto the younger language. Ending with a preposition is often the only way to construct a sentence in a way that sounds “normal”. “Who’s he with?” sounds like friends talking; “With whom is he fraternising?” sounds like a magistrate interrogating. Many people say “What’s he on about?” while only characters in 19th century novels would ask: “On what topic is he expostulating?” And it’s fine to start a sentence, or even a paragraph, with a conjunction. But it does create a relaxed tone, so keep it for writing that doesn’t need to be formal. Worth fighting for Despite recommending a more relaxed attitude as a recipe for both lower blood pressure and occasional delight (whenever I read of a politician I dislike receiving “fulsome applause”, I giggle), most of us have words we still fight to protect. For me, it’s disinterested, meaning not having a stake in a topic and therefore unbiased, and uninterested, meaning not caring about the topic. Their meanings are so usefully distinct that I find it distressing when people blur them. A disinterested jury will guarantee you a fair trial; an uninterested jury might spend all their time daydreaming. Why fight this battle and not the others? In all the other cases, the shifts in meaning are usually clear. New words have risen up to fill gaps – snarky applause may not be identical to fulsome, but it’s definitely a fraternal twin, just as egregious does a lot of the heavy lifting enormity used to do. For disinterested, though, there is no other single word that does the job. And if you still want to take a marker pen to “10 items or less” signs, I really can’t blame you. But for the sake of orderly behaviour in supermarkets, I think we need to accept that, like my attempted ban on Frozen references in the magazine this issue, sometimes we just need to let it go … Written by Donyale Harrison. This article first appeared in <a href="https://www.readersdigest.co.nz/true-stories-lifestyle/our-language/When-To-Ignore-The-Rules-Of-Proper-English">Reader’s Digest</a>. Find more of what you love from the world’s best-loved magazine, <a href="https://readersdigest.innovations.co.nz/c/readersdigestemailsubscribe?utm_source=over60&utm_medium=articles&utm_campaign=RDSUB&keycode=WRA93V">here’s our best subscription offer</a>.

Mind

Cate Blanchett adds haunted English manor to real estate portfolio

After letting go of all of her Sydney properties, Cate Blanchett has added a sprawling English manor to her real estate property. The Australia actress, along with her playwright-director husband Andrew Upton, purchased the Highwell House in the UK for $6.25 million. However, the home comes with its own dark history and sordid past and is revealed to have been a famous haunted house that also was a drug den, a meeting place for pagans and a notorious hide-out for criminals on the run. The Victorian manor was built on the estate in 1890 and began to fall into disrepair in the early 2000s before it was refurbished in 2015. While the home today carries an airy, luxurious yet subtle charm, the property was labelled as Britain’s 13th most creepy abandoned house in 2015. A Facebook page dedicated to Highwell Estate, which was previously named Potters Manor House, is said to feature pictures from people who visited the home and claimed to have captured images of ghosts or spirits. Reports say local residents are overjoyed to have Cate, Andrew, and their four children moving into the home as they believe it has made the home safer. Scroll through the gallery to see the sprawling property in all its Victorian-style glory.

Real Estate

5 trendy words that are actually ancient

Hip dudes have been friending each other for centuries. Legit! 1. Legit Legit as a shortening of legitimate has been around since the 1890s. It started as theatre slang for things associated with legitimate drama (versus vaudeville or burlesque). From the 1920s on, it referred to authenticity. If you were ‘legit,’ you were being honest. 2. Friend (as a verb) <div class="slide-image">When did friend become a verb? The answer is sometime in the 1400s. In the Oxford English Dictionary, the verb friend means ‘to make friends or to help someone out.’ One example of its usage from 1698: ‘Reports came that the King would friend Lauderdale.’</div> 3. Unfriend If you could friend someone, it was only natural, according to the productive rules of English word formation, that you could unfriend her too. The word appears in Thomas Fuller’s 1659 book The Appeal of Injured Innocence, ‘I Hope, Sir, that we are not mutually Un-friended by this Difference which hath happened betwixt us.’ <div class="at-below-post addthis_tool" data-url="https://www.readersdigest.com.au/culture/5-trendy-words-that-are-actually-ancient">4. Hipster</div> <div class="tg-container categorySection detailSection"> <div id="primary" class="contentAreaLeft"> <div id="page4" class="slide-show"> <div id="test" class="slide listicle-slide"> <div class="slide-description"> Hipster shows up in a 1941 dictionary of hash-house lingo, meaning ‘a know-it-all.’ The word hip appeared in the 1900s and referred to being up on the latest trends. 5. Dude </div> </div> </div> <div id="page5" class="slide-show"> <div id="test" class="slide listicle-slide"> <div class="slide-description"> In the 1880s, dude had a negative, mocking ring to it. A dude was a dandy, someone very particular about clothes, looks, and mannerisms, who affected a sort of exaggerated high-class British persona. As one Brit noted in an 1886 issue of Longman’s Magazine, “Our novels establish a false ideal in the American imagination, and the result is that mysterious being ‘The Dude.’”. By the turn of the century, it had come to mean any guy, usually a pretty cool one. Source: <a href="https://www.rd.com/funny-stuff/funny-trendy-words-ancient/">RD.com</a> Written by Brandon Spektor. This article first appeared in <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.readersdigest.com.au/culture/5-trendy-words-that-are-actually-ancient" target="_blank">Reader’s Digest</a>. </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <img style="width: 100px !important; height: 100px !important;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7820640/1.png" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/f30947086c8e47b89cb076eb5bb9b3e2" />

Books

Prince Charles and Duchess Camilla’s “love shack” on the market for $5 million

The English country manor which Prince Charlie used to court Princess Diana, and later had an affair with the Duchess of Cornwall, is being sold for an asking price of $5 million. The vast Bolehyde Manor in Allington, Wiltshire has a grand eight bedrooms, a swimming pool, tennis court, three cottages, stables, and can also boast a "tree house complex,” expansive gardens and more on 80 acres of expansive farmland. <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/B9rSX0cAvzj/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="12"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/B9rSX0cAvzj/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">A post shared by British Royal Family (@britishmonarchy)</a> on Mar 13, 2020 at 6:59am PDT </div> </blockquote> The site has been dubbed the “love shack” for Prince Charles and his wife Camilla, and dates back to around 700 years. According to the outlet, the Prince of Wales wooed his first wife Diana at Bolehyde Manor in the early days of their courtship and later had an affair with Camilla at the home. She lived there during her marriage to ex-husband Andrew Parker Bowles. <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/CBI3p7gJ_mk/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="12"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CBI3p7gJ_mk/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">A post shared by Prince Charles Doing Things (@princecharlesdoingthings)</a> on Jun 7, 2020 at 8:17am PDT </div> </blockquote> Camilla’s ex sold the manor home to the Earl and Countess of Cairns in 1986 for about $761,000, the Daily Mail has reported. Now the residence, which holds a scandalous history can be anyone’s for $4.75 million. Scroll through the gallery to see the former “love shack” of the royal couple.

Real Estate

“Yeah, nah!”: University entrance exam from 1895 has people scratching their heads

A 124-year-old entrance exam for a prestigious English college has gone viral online, with many arguing that it is “proof we are being dumbed down to a frightening extent”. Oxford history professor William Whyte shared the photo of the 1895 entrance exam for Cambrige’s Trinity College on Twitter yesterday, with 12 questions focusing on English history from 1485 to 1815. Applicants were advised that “not more than eight questions are to be attempted by any candidate”. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en-gb"> Entrance examination for Trinity College Cambridge 1895: history of England <a href="https://t.co/JfNZbbMU4O">pic.twitter.com/JfNZbbMU4O</a> — William Whyte (@william_whyte) <a href="https://twitter.com/william_whyte/status/1189268763532779522?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">29 October 2019</a></blockquote> The questions are as follows: 1. Give your estimate of the foreign policy of Henry the Eighth before 1520. 2. How did the doings of the reforming party under Edward the Sixth facilitate a return to Catholicism under Queen Mary? 3. Did the execution of Mary Queen of Scots increase or diminish the difficulties of Elizabeth’s position? 4. How did the policy of James the First change for the worse after the death of Robert Cecil? 5. How did the acceptance by the English Parliament of the Solemn League and Covenant affect the subsequent progress of the war between the Parliament and the King? 6. Discuss the good and the bad features of the government of England under the Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell. 7. Illustrate the political importance of the Protestant Dissenters in the reigns of Charles the Second and James the Second. 8. On what matters of practical policy did the Whigs and the Tories differ most markedly in the later years of William the Third? 9. Was there any utility to England in Walpole’s jealousy of rivals? 10. How did the elder Pitt differ in political opinions from Newcastle or Rockingham and their followers? 11. How did the general election of 1784 make the House of Commons a less unpopular institution than it had been? 12. In what respects was the Spanish Peninsula more advantageous ground for an attack by Great Britain on Napoleon’s power than any other part of Europe? Many were quick to respond to the tweet, saying that they doubt they’d be able to answer any of the questions. “Note that this is not the final exam for a college course in English history. It’s part of the entrance examination,” one person wrote, with another adding, “It looks like you’d already need a degree in history to answer it.” One person said, “Proof that we are being dumbed down to a frightening extent. Our high-school grads don’t know who’s the Vice President of the US and who Jean Chretien was, now look at the entrance exam for Cambridge in 1895.” Psychology professor Geoffrey Miller noted a stark difference between the admissions for college. “College admissions, 1895: tell us about your nation’s history. College admissions, 2019: tell us about your personal struggles.”

Mind

Famous Czech ossuary to clamp down on tourist photographs

The Sedlec Ossuary in the Czech Republic’s medieval city of Kutna Hora has become the latest tourist attraction to clamp down on photography, with new rules to be enforced starting next year. The chapel, also known as the “Church of Bones”, features bones from nearly 60,000 skeletons as decoration. Some of the most popular include a chandelier made from every bone in the human skeleton. According to the parish director Radka Krejčí, many tourists have removed bones from the walls, kissed skeletons, put hats or sunglasses on skulls for photos or committed other disrespectful acts despite signs in many languages asking guests to be polite and mindful. Under the new rules, visitors will have to request permission to take photos at the parish for at least three days prior to their visit. “We believe that our visitors will respect this decision and at the same time understand the reasons that led us to this step,” Krejčí told news agency <a href="https://www.lonelyplanet.com/articles/photos-famous-czech-site-permission-in-advance">CTK</a>. Krejčí said in 2017 about half a million guests visited the chapel, a number that is expected to keep rising. The nearby Cathedral of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary and Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, both managed by the Sedlec parish, will also be subject to the three-day rule. Some popular sites around the world, such as Mexico’s <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/sedlec-ossuary-selfie-ban-intl-hk/index.html">Casa Azul</a> and <a href="https://www.lonelyplanet.com/articles/famous-mexican-archaeological-site-to-charge-selfie-taking-tourists">Tulum National Park</a>, charge a fee for visitors looking to take a snapshot.

International Travel

Affect or effect?: How to use the terms

It is one of the most popular conundrums in the English language. Choosing between the word “affect” and “effect” can indeed be confusing – they are both verbs and nouns, and their meanings overlap. To help quash any doubt, there is a simple trick. In most contexts, the acronym RAVEN – Remember Affect Verb, Effect Noun – can be applied. Affect is more often used as a verb, meaning to influence, produce a change, make a difference in something. For example, bad habits affect your health, an argument affects your relationship, and a nightmare will affect your mood. Effect is generally used as a noun, meaning a result or a consequence. The group warns of the effects of climate change. Cycling has positive effects on your health. The effect of the policies has been overwhelming. The word can also be used as part of phrasal verbs, such as take effect (rather than affect) and in effect. For example, the new rule may take effect soon and once it does, it is in effect. Keep in mind that some exceptions apply – affect can be used as a noun, and effect can be used as a verb. In the noun context, affect means a feeling or an emotion: “My friend has a sad affect”. Effect as a verb could be defined as to bring about or cause something to happen: “The government is unable to effect any change”, or “The tax cut is hoped to effect economic growth”. These cases are less common, but it is good to understand how the two words can be used in different ways.

Books

10 commonly misused words you need to stop getting wrong

Did you know that every time you misspeak, a kitten cries? Okay, that’s not true. But get these commonly misused words down and you’ll look smarter than ever. 1. Definitive You think it means: Clearly true or real; clearly stated Incorrect use: My boss gave a definitive no to my idea for a start-up centred around the Sprocket – a Spring Roll/Hot Pocket hybrid. It really means: Done or reached decisively and with authority; conclusive Correct use: Instead, he told me to do a thorough study of the Croissant/Hot Pocket category because he thought there was great demand for a definitive history of the Crocket. 2. Actually You think it means: Used to emphasise a strongly felt opinion Incorrect use: I believe that Love Actually is actually the finest film about relationships ever made. It really means: As an actual fact; used to stress something unexpected or surprising Correct use: But I may be biased by the fact that the movie was actually recommended to me by both Hugh Grant and Chiwetel Ejiofor, two of its stars. 3. Addicted You think it means: Having a love or a particularly strong preference for a particular person, place, thing, or activity Incorrect use: He grew so addicted to his Fitbit fitness tracker that he found himself walking in his sleep in order to rack up more steps. It really means: Having a compulsive physiological or psychological need beyond one’s control and to one’s detriment for a habit-forming substance. Correct use: He started playing late-night poker to curb his sleep-walking, and while his nighttime marches ended, he got addicted to Texas Hold ‘Em. 4. Disruptive You think it means: Unconventional; cutting-edge; bold Incorrect use: Her blind date told her that the two of them were incompatible because her favourite TV shows were Big Little Lies and Game of Thrones and his tastes were “much more daring and disruptive” than hers. It really means: Marked by unrest, disorder or insubordination; in business terms, the process by which an innovation enters a market or sector and redefines it Correct use: The next day, she used her influence with the transit union to launch a disruptive strike that forced him and other commuters to walk miles to work. 5. Granular You think it means: Extremely detailed or specific Incorrect use: Much to their dismay, the weary accountants were instructed to go more granular with the budget and break down each of the 20 categories into 256 sub-categories. It really means: Resembling small grains or particles Correct use: In shredding the old budgets, a malfunction turned the sheets of paper into teeny-tiny spitballs and the accountants became buried under a granular blizzard of numbers. 6. Tortuous You think it means: Very painful or unpleasant; like torture Incorrect use: After sitting through a tortuous, all-mime version of Moby Dick, she found the musical adaptation sung in Icelandic to be enjoyable if a bit noisy. It really means: Twisting or winding; devious or indirect; circuitous or involved Correct use: Still, she appreciated the tortuous, decades-long road that the mimers had silently trudged to bring their show to her town. 7. Nonplussed You think it means: Unfazed Incorrect use: Jack was nonplussed when his new girlfriend described him as “slovenly” – he had been called that since he was a toddler and took it as a compliment. It really means: Confused, surprised Correct use: But Jack’s brother Will was nonplussed when his new girlfriend described him as slovenly – he had always been neat, even as a toddler. Make sure you know these other words that mean the complete opposite of what you thought. 8. Ironic You think it means: Coincidental Incorrect use: Patrick told his friend it was ironic that both their children were training to join the police force. It really means: Using words that mean the opposite of its literal meaning; marked by an incongruity between expectation and reality Correct use: It’s quite ironic that Patrick’s son was arrested the day after he graduated police academy. 9. Verbal You think it means: Relating to spoken words Incorrect use: Nancy gave me a verbal “yes” to my request to have baby animals visit the office on Fridays, but I still need written confirmation. It really means: Relating to words or language in any form Correct use: After baby sloth day, I got tons of verbal enthusiasm via email and by the water cooler from coworkers who said it was a hit. 10. Travesty You think it means: Tragedy Incorrect use: It was such a travesty that I was sick when there was cake in the office. It really means: A horribly inferior imitation Correct use: Then again, I heard down the grapevine that the gluten-free, vegan, keto-friendly cake was a travesty of the birthday cakes I grew up with. Written by Daryl Chen. This article first appeared in <a href="https://www.readersdigest.com.au/true-stories-lifestyle/our-language/10-commonly-misused-words-you-need-to-stop-getting-wrong?slide=all">Reader’s Digest</a>. For more of what you love from the world’s best-loved magazine, <a href="http://readersdigest.innovations.co.nz/c/readersdigestemailsubscribe?utm_source=over60&utm_medium=articles&utm_campaign=RDSUB&keycode=WRN93V">here’s our best subscription offer.</a> <img style="width: 100px !important; height: 100px !important;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7820640/1.png" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/f30947086c8e47b89cb076eb5bb9b3e2" />

Mind

How to grow English Spinach

Famous for giving Popeye his bulging muscles, most of the iron in spinach is not easily absorbed by the body but this leafy annual is still a nutritional powerhouse. It’s an excellent source of vitamins A and C, and antioxidants. It’s also rich in B group vitamins like folate, plus protein and magnesium. Like many vegetables, spinach loses some of its nutritional value in cooking, so just wilt the leaves when boiling or steaming. Spinach grows best in a cool climate as in warm areas it is likely to bolt to seed. Grow in full to part sun in soil that is rich in nitrogen. Turn the soil over before planting so the taproot has a clear path for strong growth and add well-rotted compost. Good drainage is essential, so the roots don’t rot. Spinach is a hungry and thirsty plant, which explains its juicy, deep green leaves. Water regularly and apply a liquid fertiliser every two weeks to encourage fast growth. If the plant is slow to grow it can taste bitter. If you have more spinach than you can eat, trim the stalks, wash and drain the leaves then blanch them for two minutes in small batches. When it is cool enough to handle, squeeze out any excess moisture, pack into containers and freeze for use in soups and stews. Tip: Cultivate spinach alongside strawberries, broad beans and cauliflower for healthier plants. Choosing a variety Viking <ul> <li>Tasty dark green leaves</li> <li>Grows best in a shady spot</li> <li>Slow to bolt to seed </li> </ul> Bloomsdale <ul> <li>Heirloom variety</li> <li>Large, crinkled, rich green leaves</li> <li>Compact growing plant</li> </ul> Medania <ul> <li>Thick, rounded, dark green leaves</li> <li>Sweet and earthy flavour</li> <li>Reliable cropper</li> </ul> Growing Tips A fast-cropping winter green, spinach is ready to harvest about 10 to 12 weeks after sowing. SOW SEEDS into beds 100mm apart for picking leaves regularly or 200mm apart to harvest mature plants. Keep the soil moist but not wet and don’t let plants dry out or they’ll bolt to seed. Sow seeds every six weeks for a constant supply, soaking them in cold water overnight to speed up germination. HARVEST the outside leaves with a sharp knife when the plant has at least six leaves, each about 100mm long. If the plant looks like it is about to bolt, cut it at the base just below the soil surface and remove it. WATCH FOR downy mildew during prolonged periods of damp. Remove the worst affected leaves and spray with a mixture of 100ml full cream milk, 900ml water and a pinch of bicarb soda. Cucumber mosaic virus can be spread by aphids. Remove and burn stunted leaves with yellow mottling and spray aphids with white oil. Pick off caterpillars by hand and destroy or sprinkle with derris dust. Republished with permission of <a href="http://www.handyman.net.au/growing-english-spinach">Handyman Australia</a>.

Home & Garden

English rose! Duchess Kate's flawless style – pretty in pink

The royal family hosted the second annual garden party of the season and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were in attendance alongside their grandmother, the Queen. Duchess Kate looked absolutely stunning in a classic and regal look for the special occasion, choosing a summer baby pink. The royal member paired a coat-dress from one of her favourite designers, Alexander McQueen, along with a gorgeous matching headpiece by Juliette Botterill. The 37-year-old also adorned a pair of delicate pearl earrings which once belonged to the late Princess Diana. To tie the look altogether, the royal threw on a pair of classic nude suede pumps by Gianvito Rossi and a clutch by Loeffler Randall. The Queen dressed in a powder blue Stuart Parvin coat with a flora silk dress in shades of pink, blue and taupe. On her head, the royal member adorned a gorgeous hat by Rachel Trevor Morgan. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge chatted with Jonathan Jenkins and Lindsey Dixon from London’s Air Ambulance while at the event. The annual Buckingham palace garden parties began in the 1860s by Queen Victoria as a way to recognise and reward the hard work of those in public service jobs. While discussing the Chelsea Flower Show, Ms Dixon shared a hearty congratulations while the Duchess replied: “Oh no, it was a real family affair, I couldn’t have done it without William and the children. We were all very involved.” Royal fans have been spoilt the last few days by the Duchess of Cambridge, who has appeared at a number of events in breathtaking looks, thanks to the Chelsea Flower Show. The magnificent event involved a special garden the Duchess co-designed alongside other landscape designers to create a “back to nature” theme and yesterday after months of planning it was finally unveiled. Every year the Queen invited over 30,000 people to attend the parties, and while men are asked to wear morning or lounge suits, women are requested to dress in a “day” dress and usually with a hat or fascinator. Also present at the event was the Duke of York, the Earl and Countess of Wessex, The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, The Duke of Kent and Princess Alexandra. Scroll through the gallery above to see the royal family’s gorgeous looks for the royal garden party.

News

The most popular words in the English language

What is your favourite word in the English language? The most appealing word can vary for each person. Some people favour beautiful-sounding words, such as aquiver (adjective, defined as “quivering or trembling”), mellifluous (adjective, “smooth and musical to hear”), and discombobulated (adjective, “upset” or “confused”). Others decide on their favourite word based on the meaning or what they represent. Some examples include serendipity (noun, “the chance occurrence and development of events in a beneficial way”), defenestration (noun, “the act of throwing someone out of the window”) and petrichor (noun, “a pleasant smell frequently accompanying the first rain after a long period of warm, dry weather”). If English is not your first language, this may influence your answer, too. In 2004, the British Council surveyed <a href="https://curiosity.com/topics/these-are-the-70-most-beautiful-words-in-english-according-to-a-survey-curiosity/">more than 40,000 people</a> in 102 non-English speaking countries to discover the most beautiful words in the language. The word “mother” came out on top of the list of 70 words, winning over other contenders such as “passion”, “love” and “eternity”. Greg Selby, spokesman for the Council said, “It's interesting that mother, the only word of the 70 that describes a direct relationship between people, came top of the poll.”

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“Yeah, nah!”: University entrance exam from 1895 has people scratching their heads

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10 commonly misused words you need to stop getting wrong

How to grow English Spinach

English rose! Duchess Kate's flawless style – pretty in pink

The most popular words in the English language