The Writer's Thesaurus
By Dr Oliver Tearle
‘Ye cannot serve God and mammon’. This is one of many famous Bible quotations. Indeed, it is one of many famous quotations from the New Testament. More specifically, it is one of many famous quotations from a single moment in the New Testament: the Sermon on the Mount. Continue reading “The Meaning and Origin of ‘Ye Cannot Serve God and Mammon’”
By Dr Oliver Tearle
Here’s a quiz question for you. Who was the first high-profile writer to use the phrase ‘mad as a hatter’? How about we narrow it down a little more, and ask: which high-profile Victorian writer first used the phrase ‘mad as a hatter’? Continue reading “The Curious Meaning and Origin of the Phrase ‘Mad as a Hatter’”
By Dr Oliver Tearle
‘Man is born free, and everywhere he is in chains.’ Who said, or wrote, this well-known sentence? Karl Marx? Vladimir Lenin?
Not either of those political figures, but someone who lived quite a long time before either of them. Continue reading “‘Man is Born Free, and Everywhere He is in Chains’: Meaning and Origin”