Q. Lady Whistledown, aka the Gossip Girl of Netflix’s wildly popular 1800s drama Bridgerton, is quick to report on the scandals of the British upper classes. Who were some of her real-life equivalents?   A. ‘London is awash these days with Ambitious Mamas.’ So writes the pseudonymous ‘Lady Whistledown’ in

Q. So, what exactly are mince or mincemeat pies? Plenty of people who have eaten them at holiday parties aren’t so sure. . A. We see mince pies featured in multi-layer meaning nursery rhymes: Little Jack Horner Sat in a corner, Eating a mincemeat (or Christmas) pie He stuck in

Q. Which phrases do people find most annoying? . A. As it turns out, there are a lot. ‘This is true.’ (😖 ) Big Picture Annoyances This December, Marist polled 1,753 adults about the words and phrases that annoy them most. Survey says.. 2020 Most Annoying Words or Phrases i. Whatever

Q. Why do some animals have such beautifully considered collective nouns while others are lumped together under rude, or perhaps worse, indifferent ‘nouns of assembly’? . A. It does seem unfair that we celebrate an exaltation of larks, a caravan of camels, pride of lions, streak of tigers, romp of

Q. What are some of the common characteristics that define songs that hit the top of the charts? . A. Some would argue that dissecting art is a fool’s errand, that the magic is in the mix. If it was easy, surely more people would have followed ‘hit song’ research

Q. What are some lesser used words to describe crushing arrogance? . A. Airish Acting superior and snobby with nothing but hot air to back it up. Biggity Self-important, boastful, unbearably vain. Blandiose Grandiose meets bland. Blatteroon A person who brags and babbles endlessly. Bumptious Loudly, gratingly, cluelessly cocky. Frustraneous

Q. What are the ingredients in some famous literary love potions and how do things work out post-ingestion? . A. Short answer: herbs, flowers, hard to find nature bits. And, not well. One-way love potion are Illegal, of course. But even those literary couples who decide to drink love potions

Q. Do you have a favourite dessert spoon? Does spaghetti taste that much better when you’re using your fork? Stressful situations can make us more territorial, but why do some people insist that specific foods taste better with cutlery of a specific size, shape, weight, even colour? . A. We

Q. Which numbers do people most commonly consider lucky? . A. Do you have a lucky number? If so, what is it? Fans of the Big Bang Theory will know that Sheldon Cooper has a most particular answer to this question. . . In travelling, many of us have noticed global

Q. It’s that time. What is Oxford English Dictionary’s official word of 2020? . A. 2020 is such a hot mess, it broke the dictionary. ‘Given the phenomenal breadth of language change and development during 2020, Oxford Languages concluded that this is a year which cannot be neatly accommodated in