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Misquoted: Sherlock Holmes – “Elementary, My Dear Watson”

The well known phrase “Elementary, my dear Watson”, was never actually said by the Sherlock Holmes character in any of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s written...

English Language: Portmanteau

A portmanteau (or portmanteau word) is a blend of two (or more) words into one new word. It typically combines both sounds and meanings, as in smog,...

Name Origins: James Bond

Author Ian Fleming took the name for his 007 character from American ornithologist James Bond, a Caribbean bird expert and author of the definitive field...

Tricks and Traps: Mountweazels

Mountweazels, aka fictitious entries, copyright traps, and ghost words, are deliberately incorrect entries in written and reference works such as dictionaries, encyclopedias, and maps...

The Musical CATS is Based on the Work of T.S. Eliot

CATS the musical, composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber, is based on Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats by T. S. Eliot. Published in 1939, the book is a collection...

Famous Last Words: Oscar Wilde

Irish poet and playwright Oscar Wilde died on November 20, 1900 while in exile at the Hôtel d’Alsace in Paris.  His last words are...

Curious Geoge was Originally Named FiFi.

Curious George made his first appearance in the 1939 children’s book Cecily G. and the Nine Monkeys by H.A. (Hans) Rey and wife Margret Waldstein.  In that...

Carolyn Keene: Who Really Wrote Nancy Drew?

Carolyn Keene is the pseudonym of the author(s) of the Nancy Drew mystery stories and The Dana Girls mystery stories, both produced by the Stratemeyer Syndicate. First published in 1930, Mildred...
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