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- gnome - word of the day
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- Charles Hodgson
Charles Hodgson's "Etymology Moment" is a series of two to three minute pieces exploring the history of common English words. Intended to be played as a series, either daily or less frequently, each episode talks about a single word, the different meanings it might have had through history and related trivia such as an interesting historical character who used the word early on. The series already has hundreds of episodes to choose from and more are being added each week.
Listener endorsements for Charles Hodgson's work include:
"A staple of my daily listening, always interesting, kind of relaxing and educational to boot! I love it." (Russell Jenkins)
"Mr Hodgson's dry wit and gentle delivery entertain, inform, and calm me down a bit after a hard day's work. A treasure I found months ago and it keeps on giving." (Hamilton UCI)
"This is a daily must-listen." (Laurence Simon)
"We love this program. It is a great way of learning, one word at a time. Charles has a unique way of pronouncing and interpreting the words. And we love his soothing voice." (Roland Popp)
In addition to his "Etymology Moment" Charles Hodgson has written a book (publication August 2007) entitled CARNAL KNOWLEDGE - A Navel Gazer's Dictionary of Anatomy, Etymology, and Trivia.
Richard Lederer, host of NPR's A Way With Words says of the book: "Master etymologist Charles Hodgson offers a passionate lesson...illuminates how just about every part of the amazing human chassis got its name."
Lynne Truss, author of Eats, Shoots & Leaves says: "Delight your friends (or lose them rapidly) with this fabulous new knowledge presented with deftness and wit."
More from Charles Hodgson
salamander - word of the day
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From: Charles Hodgson
The story behind the word "salamander"
Piece Description
Charles Hodgson's "Etymology Moment" is a series of two to three minute pieces exploring the history of common English words. Intended to be played as a series, either daily or less frequently, each episode talks about a single word, the different meanings it might have had through history and related trivia such as an interesting historical character who used the word early on. The series already has hundreds of episodes to choose from and more are being added each week. Listener endorsements for Charles Hodgson's work include: "A staple of my daily listening, always interesting, kind of relaxing and educational to boot! I love it." (Russell Jenkins) "Mr Hodgson's dry wit and gentle delivery entertain, inform, and calm me down a bit after a hard day's work. A treasure I found months ago and it keeps on giving." (Hamilton UCI) "This is a daily must-listen." (Laurence Simon) "We love this program. It is a great way of learning, one word at a time. Charles has a unique way of pronouncing and interpreting the words. And we love his soothing voice." (Roland Popp) In addition to his "Etymology Moment" Charles Hodgson has written a book (publication August 2007) entitled CARNAL KNOWLEDGE - A Navel Gazer's Dictionary of Anatomy, Etymology, and Trivia. Richard Lederer, host of NPR's A Way With Words says of the book: "Master etymologist Charles Hodgson offers a passionate lesson...illuminates how just about every part of the amazing human chassis got its name." Lynne Truss, author of Eats, Shoots & Leaves says: "Delight your friends (or lose them rapidly) with this fabulous new knowledge presented with deftness and wit."
Broadcast History
content posted in different format as a podcast
Transcript
This is the etymology moment, and I'm Charles Hodgson. Today we'll hear the story behind the word gnome.
In 2004 a travel ad campaign was launched using a garden gnome who appeared on skis, in a hot tub. A similar plot device was used in the movie Amelie where Amelie steals her dad's garden gnome and sends it off to exotic locations, from where a friend mails back pictures of the gnome enjoying itself. This little trick seems to have been around for decades and the earliest evidence I came across is from the 1980s when an Australian gnome went missing for two weeks, sent home a postcard and reappeared on his lawn with a shoe polish suntan. Most of these stunts involve air travel, but the etymology of the word gnome is far more terrestrial. Gnome appeared in English from the pen of Alexander Pope about 100 years after Shakespeare, but the word had appeared almost 200 years before th...
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