August 2015
Word of the Day: Sabbatical
Definition: A period of paid leave granted to a university teacher for study or travel, traditionally 1 year for every 7 years worked. Of or pertaining to the Sabbath (archaic). So we’ve been pretty quiet lately. It’s because [...]
Word of the Day: Filibuster
Definition: Act obstructively in a legislative assembly (Parliament), especially by speaking at inordinate length. Stuff I find interesting (even if no one else does): Australian parliamentary rules mean that a filibuster is difficult to pull off [...]
July 2015
Word of the Day: Dysania
Dave called in sick. 'I have a raging case of dysania', he said.'
To freeze the balls off a brass monkey
You've probably heard some nonsense about it relating to ships and cannonballs and some kind of cannonball holder called a 'monkey'...
A call to action—aka a Facebook confessional
Did you know that East Edit is on Facebook as well as Twitter? If not, you should. Please like us on Facebook (and in general, really)! I used to hate social media. I shut down my [...]
Word of the Day: Procrastinate
Definition: Delay or postpone action. Put off doing something. This word came from the Latin words ‘pro’, meaning ‘forward’ and ‘crastinus’ meaning ‘tomorrow’. Those words fused into the ‘procrastinat-’ prefix—putting off until tomorrow, or until the [...]
Word of the Day: Sangfroid
Definition: Composure or coolness shown in danger or under trying circumstances. Sometimes spelled ‘sang-froid’. In French, it literally means ‘cold blood’—English borrowed the word in the 18th century. I think I first read this word [...]
Accessibility, conferences, chilli sauce, and web-writing courses
Much has been happening: I'm speaking about accessibility at the Queensland Business Writers' Conference, and we have our first public web-writing course booked.