Posts Tagged: beer

  • Definition of suds in UK and in US English overlayed onto picture of a beer being poured

    What are suds doing on the menu?

    I was checking out a wine bar on-line that was running a wine tasting (of Hunter Valley Semillons, btw). Out of curiosity, I looked up their wine list and right at the end of the 20 pages (well of course) there was a tiny selection of beers and non-alcoholic drinks. The beers were called suds. […]

  • mage of a cow referring to post Bandwurmwörter on RINDFLEISCHETIKETTIERUNGSÜBERWACHUNGSAUFGABENÜBERTRAGUNGSGESETZ—meaning beef labeling regulation and delegation of supervision law.

    Bandwurmwörter – German long words

    The German language German (Deutsch) is a sub-language of the Indo-European language family, mainly spoken in Central Europe. The area it is spoken in known as the German Sprachraum. German is the official language of: Germany, Austria, several cantons of Switzerland, & Liechtenstein. It is a co-official language of: Belgium, Luxembourg, and Italy (South Tyrol). […]

  • Cartoon coronavirus showing them as cells wearing crowns.

    Why is it called a coronavirus?

    Musing about coronas I am settling into social isolation along with the rest of Australia and the world. I am lucky to have had work to keep me busy. But now it is Friday afternoon I can put my feet up with a cigar and a beer and watch the sun set while musing on […]

  • ast week (5 April 2018) saw the passing of Eric Bristow, the five times World Darts Champion known as the Crafty Cockney. Our word of the week is oche to remember him.

    Farewell from the oche Eric Bristow

    Last week (5 April 2018) saw the passing of Eric Bristow, the five times World Darts Champion known as the Crafty Cockney. He is no longer at the oche. As one sports commentator cleverly wrote, Bristow died at the age of treble twenty, sixty being the highest achievable score with one dart. Reading of Bristow’s […]

  • Image drawing of man holding stein. Text: Booze originally a verb meaning to drink a lot (from 1768).

    Nothing moderate about booze

    As Christmas approaches we will be looking forward to the seasonal feasts of rich food washed down with our favourite booze. On Christmas day we are likely to be very mellow by the end of the day, perhaps having anaesthetised ourselves against the stress of getting on with our family. So in honour of the […]

  • If you could buy kiwi from the supermarket

    How to roast a kiwi on a barbeque

    Are you having a rugby barbecue this weekend? I suggest you roast a kiwi or two. Here is an easy recipe. Choose young kiwis so that they won’t be tough and too slow to cook. If you are using old kiwis that have been running around too long you might have to beat them a few […]

  • The author, Tim Entwisle, is a beer barbarian. Seen here after after an evening drinking London Pride, in a pub in Sydney.

    Why do barbarians drink beer?

    Where did beer come from? The Ancient Greeks and Romans, who provided the starter words for many European languages, were wine drinkers. Beer was (as probably some would think now) a drink of the barbarian peoples (although the Egyptians and Persians did also enjoy a pint). It was first brewed in the European area by […]

  • Image of a berserker with sword and BERSERKER in large type behind

    Bear-shirted vikings go berserk

    Beserk was a great warrior from Norse mythology. He didn’t fight in armor but in his bera serkr, literally bear shirt or bearskin in Old Norse. He gave his name to the berserks, the wild frenzied shock troops of the marauding Vikings.

  • Hiram Codd and his Codd Bottle

    Codswallop—a load of old or new

    Codswallop is slang for nonsense. It is a way of calling something fanciful and untrue without having to resort to the more overtly crude bullshit. Although there is no doubt to its meaning its origins are not clear. It has only been found in written English in the last fifty years. Wallop has been in […]

  • Picture of a perry from Independent Perry Co. in the US.

    Save perry

    What is perry? Between 2004 and 2006  my family and I lived in Tewkesbury in England. As a history buff, I had a great time in Tewkesbury as it is the site of one of the great battles of the War of the Roses. It has a magnificent medieval abbey church. As a rugby tragic, […]

  • Afraid of the dark, Lagerboy. Photoshopped Hobgoblin advertisement from Wychwood Brewery.

    Advertising hobgoblins

    What is a hobgoblin A hobgoblin is a mythological or magical sprite (an elf or fairy) that is smaller than a goblin but far more mischievous. (It is a common mistake to think that a hobgoblin is larger than a goblin.) The goblin, apparently, originated in France, as a Gobelin, a particular sprite haunting parts […]

  • Debating the merits of foment and ferment with David

    Fomenting ferment

    I am heading into the city to have a couple of beers with my friend David. Reading the Sydney Morning Herald on the train I come across the sentence: A debate continues to ferment in the market over whether Westfield group will launch a big equity raising fairly soon. I think now, surely, the debate […]