Category Archives: English language

QUIZ: Elementary, my dear readers!

Posted on November 5, 2010 by Cath@VWXYNot?

Ooh, this is gonna be a good one! Remember that this time I’ve activated comment moderation (for the first time EVAH), and you have 24(ish) hours to submit as many answers as you can before I open up the comments … Continue reading →

Posted in competition, English language, science | 20 Comments

Context is everything

Posted on October 28, 2010 by Cath@VWXYNot?

Gotta love the intersection between science / clinical trial acronyms and automated word choice suggestions: Yes, lots of people eat rye bread in the former colonies, but that’s not quite what I was going for. In other news, I started … Continue reading →

Posted in English language, science, silliness, technology | 14 Comments

Days of hours of minutes

Posted on October 13, 2010 by Cath@VWXYNot?

A blog buddy (who may or may not wish to identify themselves in the comments) posted a wee ditty on their Facebook page recently that rang very true indeed: just received something from a fellow sufferer that will only be … Continue reading →

Posted in career, communication, English language, food glorious food, medicine, science, silliness, travel | 7 Comments

Friday Quiz: Missing Links

Posted on October 1, 2010 by Cath@VWXYNot?

It’s time for another quiz taken from my puzzle of the day desk calendar! I think I’m going to have to buy myself another calendar next year if Santa doesn’t bring me one; it’s provided some really fun blogging experiences. … Continue reading →

Posted in competition, English language, science, silliness | 46 Comments

Hankie enlightenment

Posted on September 22, 2010 by Cath@VWXYNot?

I found an absolute gem in my automated search results this morning: a bio of a man I know fairly well, having worked for two of the organisations named in the piece. However, it turns out that I didn’t know … Continue reading →

Posted in English language, furry friends, photos, science, silliness | 14 Comments

Cath has misheard that the bird is the word

Posted on September 16, 2010 by Cath@VWXYNot?

A wonderful bird is the pelican,His mouth can hold more than his belly can,He can hold in his beak,Enough food for a week.I’m damned if I know how the hell he can! (by Dixon Lanier Merritt, apparently. Not Ogden Nash. … Continue reading →

Posted in English language, freakishness, furry friends, limericks, nature, silliness, television | 12 Comments

Tuesday Pet Peeve: Careless North Americans

Posted on September 8, 2010 by Cath@VWXYNot?

A certain phrase has been on my mental pet peeves list for a while. Every time I hear someone say it, it jars – it’s not one of those UK*/North America differences where both ways are equally valid and I … Continue reading →

Posted in English language, plagues, videos | 24 Comments

Friday Wednesday Quiz-ology

Posted on September 1, 2010 by Cath@VWXYNot?

Yes folks, it’s time for another fun quiz from my puzzle-a-day desk calendar!   I was going to save this for Friday, but I just submitted a grant after much stress and panic and lost sleep,* so I could do … Continue reading →

Posted in career, competition, English language, grant wrangling, nature, science, silliness, technology | 91 Comments

TMA: Too Many Acronyms

Posted on August 12, 2010 by Cath@VWXYNot?

My Computer files and email inbox are awash, overflowing, drowning in the acronyms used by various funding agencies, academic institutes, media outlets, and assorted other organisations. I’m sure many of my readers have the same issue. However, my problem is … Continue reading →

Posted in Canada, career, communication, English language, grant wrangling, science, silliness, travel, UK | 21 Comments

Friday Quiz: Scrambled Geometry

Posted on August 6, 2010 by Cath@VWXYNot?

My sister-in-law got me a “puzzle of the day” desk calendar for Christmas. She apologised profusely for not getting me anything “better” (by which she meant “more expensive”), but honestly it’s one of the best presents I got! Some of … Continue reading →

Posted in competition, English language, family, science, silliness | 41 Comments