@mashedradish.bsky.social - John Kelly

15 Sep 2026 20:52 +0000

Cue one of my lessons this very week, where I literally put on a slide: "We don't read for IXL and standardized tests. We read to make meaning in our lives." [contains quote post or other embedded content]

05 Sep 2026 13:54 +0000

“Dolly” is pet form of an Ancient Greek-derived name later repurposed for toys and film cameras. A belated etymological tribute: https://mashedradish.com/2026/09/04/dolly-name-origin-doll-etymology/

01 Sep 2026 21:58 +0000

It really says something about this moment when my sixth-graders, in response to a prompt on "If you could change one rule in your life...," were responding about food and gas being free because prices are so high for their families.

23 Aug 2026 15:24 +0000

I teach Grade 6 English. EVERY parent/guardian I met at our recent family night was RELIEVED and HEARTENED when I told them, verbatim: "In reading class, we read. In writing class, we write. I minimize time on screens and computers. Goodness knows they get enough of that everywhere else in life." [contains quote post or other embedded content]

22 Aug 2026 16:12 +0000

The origin of the word STUDENT seems like something a teacher would have cooked up. https://mashedradish.com/2026/08/22/teacher-student-word-origins/

20 Aug 2026 22:17 +0000

First day of school for the middle schoolers. During independent reading (yeah, we read books right away in my classes), not one but two—TWO—students in separate classes chose the big, beautiful American Heritage Dictionary in my classroom library's reference section. Gonna be a good year.

03 Aug 2026 13:25 +0000

I wrote about the diarrhea. OK, I wrote about lettuce, which means I wrote about how the word is literally "milk." https://mashedradish.com/2026/08/03/lettuce-word-origin-cyclosporiasis/

01 Aug 2026 15:04 +0000

"AI gooning" [contains quote post or other embedded content]

27 Jul 2026 13:23 +0000

"... a lot of just want to see the Cyclops already!" Me, riffing in a fun interview with CNN about the origin and evolution of the word 'odyssey.' https://www.cnn.com/2026/07/23/entertainment/word-of-week-odyssey-cec

22 Jul 2026 13:24 +0000

Today in staring at words too closely like their the sun: KEEP. What even are you, KEEP? I shield my eyes.

20 Jul 2026 13:24 +0000

Mythic origin of ODYSSEUS given in Odyssey is HATED (BY GODS & MEN). Folk etymology, though heavy with valences. Actual origin? Obscure. Could be Pre-Greek *OD/LUKYEU-, probably referring to some Bronze Age dude who did a thing, hero worship ballooning from there. https://mashedradish.com/2026/07/18/odyssey-odysseus-word-origin/

18 Jul 2026 18:33 +0000

Well, this turned out to be an adventure. https://mashedradish.com/2026/07/18/odyssey-odysseus-word-origin/

06 Jul 2026 14:01 +0000

RESCIND < Latin RESCINDERE, meaning TEAR OFF and by extension REPEAL. Its past participle is RESCISSUS. That form ultimately sets up the English RESCISSION. Oh, the -SCIND-/-SCISS- (TO CUT, SPLIT) part of this all is ultimately related to the English SHIT. You can put the rest together.

04 Jul 2026 13:20 +0000

America celebrated a SESQUICENTENNIAL (150 years) in 1926. It was a world's fair in Philadelphia—and it was also a bust, though nowhere nearly as bad as whatever is (or isn't) happening on the National Mall. https://philadelphiaencyclopedia.org/essays/sesquicentennial-international-exposition/ [contains quote post or other embedded content]

04 Jul 2026 13:16 +0000

I mean, we could have gone with DUCENTIQUINQUAGINTENNIAL... https://mashedradish.com/2026/07/04/semiquincentennial-word-origin/

03 Jul 2026 16:04 +0000

Everyone now and again, apropos of literally nothing, I like to remember that the word "crisp" comes from the Latin for "curled." How 'bout that?

24 Jun 2026 11:42 +0000

It was great talking to CNN's Harmeet Kaur on why we call a DRAW, as in TIE, a DRAW: https://www.cnn.com/2026/06/24/sport/word-of-week-draw-world-cup-cec

24 Jun 2026 01:23 +0000

Very interesting: - OED first attests DREADLOCKS in 1960 - DREAD + LOCKS (of hair) - DREAD part may refer to Rastafarians' DREAD (fear, awe) of God (Jah) Also: - DREAD is from Old English ONDRÆDAN, "to advise against" - O/AND- (against) + RÆDAN (advise), source of READ (!!!)

21 Jun 2026 18:40 +0000

Not a ton to say about the etymology of ALGAE as such. From the Latin ALGA, "seaweed," whose deeper roots are obscure. The plural of ALGA in Latin is ALGAE. Borrowed in early 1500s, used in singular early until, as now, the plural form took over.

22 Jun 2026 16:45 +0000

This prompted me to look up its etymology. Neat! USHER comes from French "doorkeeper" (cf. huissier), ultimately from Latin OSTIUM (door), related to OS (mouth). [contains quote post or other embedded content]

21 Jun 2026 18:44 +0000

What are other examples of English words that feature a change in consonant pronunciation between singular forms, as with singular ALGA's 'hard g' and the plural ALGAE's 'soft g'? (Original Latin is a hard g. Suspect 'soft g' form prevails due to English phonological conditions, biases?) [contains quote post or other embedded content]

21 Jun 2026 18:40 +0000

21 Jun 2026 18:33 +0000

English FATHER and Latin PATER? Related? You better believe they are. And something known as Grimm's Law explains how. And why not read about it in the context of ... the etymology of FOOTBALL? https://mashedradish.com/2026/06/20/football-history-word-origin/

20 Jun 2026 16:20 +0000

Cock-threshing. Shrovetide. Hocktide. I-mutations. Grimm’s Law. Octopodes. Pajamas. Private schools. Private parts—and resistance thereof. The origin of FOOTBALL has it all. I go medieval on it. Like this lil guy on an animal bladder, once used to play the game. https://mashedradish.com/2026/06/20/football-history-word-origin/