Think-a-link! Is it in?

Newsletter 38 -

Catching out the Uk's finest pedagogues is such a joy

You would have thought that, as I'm only a couple of leg glances away from raising my bat for my personal half-century, I would have stopped my puerile ways. But, oh no, I have no desire in growing up whatsoever. Pedagogue (meaning 'teacher') is a marvellous word in its own right but is made that much better due to its second meaning......'Pedant'....which is me, to a tee....a pedantic teacher.

Talking of 'Tee'....Golfer Ernie Els' initials are TEE (Theodore Ernie Els). Very happy with that.

Here's a great example of my pedantry - I can't help but titter to myself when people say.....A friend of Andy's...when it should be....A friend of Andy.

Thankfully, there aren't many of you out there like my goodself but, in the words of Catherine Tate, am I bovered?.....(Jason Orange - what's all that about?)

As ever, I digress.

If you ever want to catch out a friend (or a friend of a friend's) who is a top speller then do I have the puppy for you? The word in question is 'Supersede' (meaning to replace or assume control, usually in office). I would say that only 3 out of 100 teachers I have run this bad boy by have nailed it. The world, including yours truly, thought it was 'Supercede' very much like 'Concede' as 'Cede' means to yield or grant. But, nay, my uneducated colleagues, it derives from the Latin verb 'Sedere' meaning to sit (i.e Sedentary). 'Super' means above or over. So, literally, it means to sit above.

When I'm giving a presentation to just the teachers, I always kick off with this absolute pearler when I'm on the spelling section. The English and Classics teachers bung their hands up in a heartbeat, coming out with the inevitable 'Supercede'. What makes my grin even wider is hearing them splutter their subsequent lesser guesses, i.e Superceed and Superscede. Whatever happens that 'C' aint going nowhere.

When I drop the bombshell, they sit there in stunned silence, especially the Latin scholars. One lady, who is head of the Classics department at one of the top senior schools in the country, went so pale that she nearly fell off her chair. It was as if she'd had her identity taken away. Her junior, sitting next to her (or should that be 'Citting'), went online on his mobile in the vain hope that 'Supercede' was an alternative spelling. At a different school, a straight A*s GCSE student desperately proffered that 'Supersede' was an American variant of 'Supercede'. We love a straw-clutch, especially when the boy said it accusingly. Heaven. I do warn everyone that they really ought not to mess with the best as we all know what the best don't do.

Told you I was childish.

Two links for Supersede, if you need them:

1. Hitler and the SS SuperSeded the German government.

2. In mens tennis, Nadal and Djokovic have managed to superseDE 'Super' seED Federer.

(change the ends ED around like they change ends in tennis)

Minuscule, as opposed to Miniscule, is the other absolute screamer. It comes from Minute i.e small not 60 seconds. Unfortunately, due to constant misuse, like so many other words, the OED caved a few years ago, allowing it as a variant spelling. Very, very poor. I will hunt down the committee who crumbled and fine them accordingly.

One more quickie......Surely it should be pronounced 'Zoo logy' or 'Zo ology' (as in 'Zo'rro)? If it was pronounced 'Zoo ology' then it needs to have a triple O which would be absolutely tremendous. I'll have a natter with the Oxford clowns in the same visit......and don't get me started on 'In hindsight'.

People are nowhere near agreeing on 'Gadaffi' or' Gaddafi'. I prefer to spell it with a triple 'e' (Gaddafeee)....or should that be Tripoli?

Gotta love it.

Your chance to get involved

The site is a meeting-place for linkers & learners alike. So if you have a link for the most outlandish of facts, and I've had some goodies, then submit it to the site and let's see if the world thinks they're not worthy. As it's an evolving site, you can request anything to be linked, absolutely anything. Linking knows no bounds.

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Competition

Congratulations to Louise Harper for getting the 4 answers correct thereby becoming the proud owner of a signed copy of the book Thinkalink and a Thinkalink t-shirt.

The answers were

1. Hirsute 2. Copernicus 3. 1861/65 4. Truculent

Here is the next one Competition

Email the answers to Answers and you will be entered into the draw for a signed copy of the book Thinkalink along with a Thinkalink t-shirt.

......and finally.

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An acrostic (A x ✓) is an excellent learning-tool, particularly when it comes to spelling. It's where the first letter of each word in a sentence represents something else. Never Ever Support Wolves (Compass Points)...My Very Enormous Monster Just Sucked Up Neptune (order of the planets). However, it is a massively overused technique. Of the 3000 or so words in the spelling category, I have used it about 10 times. Here are some examples.....