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lead

I’m rooting for the connection to Tamazight; we don’t have enough words from the Tamazight languages.

Dave Wilton

Dec 22, 2023 • 2 min read

A Roman, lead water pipe, c. 1–300 CE. The inscription indicates the pipe was produced by an imperial procurator aquarum (manager of waters).

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grog

Grog is another name for booze. Originally, it applied specifically to a mix of rum and water, often with added sugar and lime juice, served to sailors in the Royal Navy, and over time it came to be applied to any spirit or beer. The etymology of the word has

Jul 3, 2024 11 min read

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yassify / yas (paid)

Jul 3, 2024 4 min read

stool pigeon

In American underworld slang, a stool pigeon is a police informer. The stool is puzzling to most. It is a variant on an older word, stale, meaning a decoy or lure. That word comes from the Old English stæl, meaning place (also the source of our present-day word stall). The

Jul 1, 2024 3 min read

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