Author Archives: Don Cram

Numskull

The spelling lacks the letter b, although the word derives from numb + skull. It is probably best used in self-deprecation, perhaps with a slight knocking on one’s own head.

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Obsolete or Obsolescent

Things that are no longer of any usefulness are obsolete; things of declining usefulness are obsolescent. I feel a bit of the latter as I approach 70 years of age. Then comes the former.

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Shelley and Tennyson

Percy Bysshe Shelley’s sonnet is named “Ozymandias” not “Oxymandias.” Shelley’s wife Mary wrote “Frankenstein.” Percy Bysshe (pronounced “Bish”) Shelley’s life is that of a candle, though not burning long burned exceedingly bright. Alfred, Lord Tennyson is among the top ten … Continue reading

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