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Cock And Bull Story
"Cock and bull story" is an English-language idiom for a far-fetched and fanciful story or tale of highly dubious validity. It is often used to describe a description of events told by someone who is being deceitful or giving an excuse, perhaps unconvincingly. The first recorded use of the phrase in English was in John Day's 1608 play ''Law-trickes'' or ''Who Would Have Thought It'': The inns on Watling Street The Cock and the Bull inns in Stony Stratford were staging posts for rival coach lines on Watling Street, the LondonBirmingham turnpike road. It is said that local people, regarding the passengers staying at the inns as a source of news, were told fanciful stories; there was even rivalry between the two inns as to who could tell the most outlandish story. These inns are still in existence: the Cock Hotel is documented to have existed n one form or anotheron the current site since at least 1470; the present building dates from 1742. The history of The Bull is less w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
English-language Idioms
An idiom is a common word or phrase with a figurative, non-literal meaning that is understood culturally and differs from what its composite words' denotations would suggest; ''i.e.'' the words together have a meaning that is different from the dictionary definitions of the individual words (although some idioms do retain their literal meanings – see the example "''kick the bucket''" below). By another definition, an idiom is a speech form or an expression of a given language that is peculiar to itself grammatically or cannot be understood from the individual meanings of its elements. For example, an English language, English speaker would understand the phrase "''kick the bucket''" to mean "''to die''" and also to actually kick a bucket. Furthermore, they would understand when each meaning is being used in context. To evoke the desired effect in the listener, idioms require a precise replication of the phrase: not even articles can be used interchangeably (e.g. "''kick a buc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fenny Stratford
Fenny Stratford is a constituent town of Milton Keynes, a city in Buckinghamshire, England. It is administered by Bletchley and Fenny Stratford, a civil parish under the Milton Keynes City Council. It is located around Watling Street, at the southern edge of the city, just east of Bletchley and west of the modern A5. It was included in Milton Keynes when the latter was designated in 1967. Today A mixture of old buildings and new developments, Fenny Stratford is a small town on the edge of Milton Keynes. The market is no longer active, but the town still features a variety of shops, restaurants, pubs, newsagents, and hotels, primarily along Aylesbury Street. Pink Punters, an LGBT nightclub, is on Watling Street. Fenny Stratford railway station, one of the seven railway stations that serve the Milton Keynes urban area, is served by the ( Bletchley - Bedford) Marston Vale Line. History The town name is an Old English language word that means 'marshy ford on a Roman r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Baron Munchausen
Baron Munchausen (; ) is a fictional German nobleman created by the German writer Rudolf Erich Raspe in his 1785 book '' Baron Munchausen's Narrative of His Marvellous Travels and Campaigns in Russia''. The character is loosely based on baron Hieronymus Karl Friedrich Freiherr von Münchhausen. Born in Bodenwerder, Hanover, the real-life Münchhausen fought for the Russian Empire during the Russo-Turkish War of 1735–1739. After retiring in 1760, he became a minor celebrity within German aristocratic circles for telling outrageous tall tales based on his military career. After hearing some of Münchhausen's stories, Raspe adapted them anonymously into literary form, first in German as ephemeral magazine pieces and then in English as the 1785 book, which was first published in Oxford by a bookseller named Smith. The book was soon translated into other European languages, including a German version expanded by the poet Gottfried August Bürger. The real-life Münchhausen wa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jonathan Swift
Jonathan Swift (30 November 1667 – 19 October 1745) was an Anglo-Irish writer, essayist, satirist, and Anglican cleric. In 1713, he became the Dean (Christianity), dean of St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin, and was given the sobriquet "Dean Swift". His trademark deadpan and ironic style of writing, particularly in works such as ''A Modest Proposal'' (1729), has led to such satire being subsequently termed as "Swiftian". He wrote the satirical book ''Gulliver's Travels'' (1726), which became his best-known publication and popularised the fictional island of Lilliput and Blefuscu, Lilliput. Following the remarkable success of his works, Swift came to be regarded by many as the greatest satirist of the Georgian era, and one of the foremost prose satirists in the history of English literature. Swift also authored works such as ''A Tale of a Tub'' (1704) and ''An Argument Against Abolishing Christianity'' (1712). He originally published all of his works under pseudonyms—including L ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gulliver’s Travels
''Gulliver's Travels'', originally titled ''Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World. In Four Parts. By Lemuel Gulliver, First a Surgeon, and then a Captain of Several Ships'', is a 1726 prose satire by the Anglo-Irish writer and clergyman Jonathan Swift, satirising human nature and the imaginary " travellers' tales" literary subgenre. It is Swift's best-known full-length work, one of the most famous classics of English literature, and popularised the fictional island of Lilliput. The English poet and dramatist John Gay remarked, "It is universally read, from the cabinet council to the nursery." The book has been adapted for over a dozen films, movies, plays, and theatrical performances over the centuries. The book was an immediate success, and Swift claimed that he wrote ''Gulliver's Travels'' "to vex the world rather than divert it". Plot Part I: A Voyage to Lilliput The travel begins with a short preamble in which Lemuel Gulliver gives a brief outline of his lif ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
History Of Milton Keynes
This history of Milton Keynes details its development from the earliest human settlements, through the plans for a 'new city' for 250,000 people in northern Southeast England, its subsequent urban design and development, to the present day. Milton Keynes, founded in 1967, is the largest settlement and only city in Buckinghamshire. At the 2021 census, the population of its urban area was estimated to have exceeded 256,000. Before its 1967 designation as the site for a new town, the area to be developed was largely farmland and undeveloped villages. Before construction began, every area was subject to detailed archaeological investigation: doing so has exposed a rich history of human settlement since Neolithic times and has provided a unique insight into the history and archaeology of a large sample of the landscape of north Buckinghamshire. Pre-history and early human settlement Long before England existed, this area was at the bottom of a primeval sea. The most notable of th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Folk Etymology
Folk etymology – also known as (generative) popular etymology, analogical reformation, (morphological) reanalysis and etymological reinterpretation – is a change in a word or phrase resulting from the replacement of an unfamiliar form by a more familiar one through popular usage. The form or the meaning of an archaic, foreign, or otherwise unfamiliar word is reinterpreted as resembling more familiar words or morphemes. The term ''folk etymology'' is a loan translation from German ''Volksetymologie'', coined by Ernst Förstemann in 1852. Folk etymology is a productive process in historical linguistics, language change, and social interaction. Reanalysis of a word's history or original form can affect its spelling, pronunciation, or meaning. This is frequently seen in relation to loanwords or words that have become archaic or obsolete. Folk/popular etymology may also refer to a popular false belief about the etymology of a word or phrase that does not lead to a change in t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Batsford Books
Batsford Books is an independent British book publisher. Batsford was founded in 1843 by Bradley Thomas Batsford. For some time it was an imprint of Pavilion Books. Upon the purchase of Pavilion Books by HarperCollins, on 1 December 2021, B. T. Batsford Ltd once again became an independent publishing house, with Pitkin as an imprint. Polly Powell, former owner of Pavilion Books, became the owner of Batsford Books and John Stachiewicz was appointed chairman. Harry Batsford, nephew of the founder Bradley Thomas Batsford, was the chairman but also an author for the company writing at least 11 books on English architecture and countryside (some reprinted into the 21st century). Many were co-authored by Charles Fry, Chief Editor and a director of the company. During the Depression years after 1928 there was a period when the firm tried to rely just on their books, illustrated by Batsford's nephew Brian Cook. A prominent chairman of the firm from 1952 until 1974 was Brian Batsford, kno ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
A5 Road (Great Britain)
The A5, the London-Holyhead trunk road, is a major road in England and Wales. It runs for about from London to the Irish Sea at the ferry port of Holyhead. In many parts the route follows that of the Roman Iter II route which later took the Anglo-Saxon name Watling Street. History Roman road The section of the A5 between London and Shrewsbury is roughly contiguous with one of the principal Roman roads in Britain: that between ''Londinium'' (modern-day London) and ''Deva'' (modern-day Chester), which diverges from the present-day A5 corridor at Wroxeter ('' Viroconium Cornoviorum'') near Shrewsbury. Telford's Holyhead Road The Act of Union 1800, which unified Great Britain and Ireland, gave rise to a need to improve communication links between London and Dublin. A parliamentary committee led to an act of Parliament, the ( 55 Geo. 3. c. 152) that authorised the purchase of existing turnpike road interests and, where necessary, the construction of new road, to com ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Day (dramatist)
John Day (1574–1638?) was an English dramatist of the Elizabethan and Jacobean periods. Life He was born at Cawston, Norfolk, and educated at Ely. He became a sizar of Caius College, Cambridge, in 1592, but was expelled in the next year for stealing a book. He became one of Philip Henslowe's playwrights, collaborating with Henry Chettle, William Haughton, Thomas Dekker, Richard Hathwaye and Wentworth Smith. There are 22 plays to which he is linked. However his almost incessant activity does not seem to have paid, to judge by the small loans, of five shillings and even two shillings, that he obtained from Henslowe. Little is known of his life beyond these small details, and disparaging references by Ben Jonson in 1618/19, describing him, (with Dekker and Edward Sharpham) as a "rogue" and (with Thomas Middleton and Gervase Markham) as a "base fellow". It may be indicative of his abilities that of all the writers who did a substantial amount of work for Henslowe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Milton Keynes
Milton Keynes ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in Buckinghamshire, England, about north-west of London. At the 2021 Census, the population of Milton Keynes urban area, its urban area was 264,349. The River Great Ouse forms the northern boundary of the urban area; a tributary, the River Ouzel, meanders through its linear parks and balancing lakes. Approximately 25% of the urban area is parkland or woodland and includes two Site of Special Scientific Interest, Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs). The city is made up of many different districts. In the 1960s, the government decided that a further generation of new towns in the United Kingdom, new towns in the South East England , south east of England was needed to relieve housing congestion in London. Milton Keynes was to be the biggest yet, with a population of 250,000 and area of . At designation, its area incorporated the existing towns of Bletchley, Fenny Stratford, Wolverton and Stony Stratford, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Turnpike Trust
Turnpike trusts were bodies set up by individual Acts of Parliament in the United Kingdom, Acts of Parliament, with powers to collect road toll road, tolls for maintaining the principal roads in Kingdom of Great Britain, Britain from the 17th but especially during the 18th and 19th centuries. At the peak, in the 1830s, over 1,000 trusts administered around of turnpike road in England and Wales, taking tolls at almost 8,000 toll-gates and side-bars. During the early 19th century the concept of the turnpike trust was adopted and adapted to manage roads within the British Empire (Ireland, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, India, and South Africa) and in the United States. Turnpikes declined with the Railway mania, coming of the railways and then the Local Government Act 1888 gave responsibility for maintaining main roads to county councils and county borough councils. Etymology The term "turnpike" originates from the similarity of the gate used to control access to the road, to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
