Beldame n. 1. An old woman, especially an ugly one; a hag. 2. (Obsolete) Grandmother. When I did a Google search for “beldame,” the first several pages of results mostly related to a famous racehorse from the early 1900’s, so it may be worth keeping in mind that the […]
It’s become something of mine to do a little special reading for the Halloween season. Two years ago, I read and blogged about Frankenstein along with HP of the Every Day Should Be Tuesday book review blog. Last year was Poctober, a reading of some of Edgar Allen Poe’s stuff. […]
Dray n. A vehicle used to haul goods; especially a strong cart or wagon without sides. v. To haul on a dray. Not too long ago we looked at a similar word – “wain.” Like “wain,” “dray” is another word for a wagon or cart, and like these […]
Shagreen n. 1. An untanned leather covered with small round granulations and usually dyed green. 2. The rough skin of various sharks and rays when covered with small, close-set tubercles. “Shagreen” is another cool word that I first encountered through Howard’s Conan stories. The material was originally made from horse […]
It seems to be a recurring theme with me – that for years I was unaware of such-and-such an author or was mistaken about the nature of his or her writings. Such was the case with Edgar Allen Poe. Last year, for the Halloween season, I did a little bit […]
Last month I wrote about the largely forgotten grandmaster of weird SFF, Clark Ashton Smith. Recently I’ve revisited the “best of” collection of another undeservedly obscured scifi great (and another Smith) – Cordwainer Smith. I wrote a bit about Cordwainer Smith last year over at the Castalia House blog. If […]
It’s a shame, but I think the term “classic literature” puts off a lot of readers. I know that for my part, I long considered “the classics” ponderous books to be read in school. It wasn’t until recent years that I became intellectually curious enough to really start dipping into […]
Owing to the intensity of starting a new job in a rushed situation, my reading of Witch World has been placed on hold. I have, however, been able to get some Jurgen, A Comedy of Justice in, for reasons only immediately obvious to myself. Jurgen is an odd but wonderful admixture. Filled to […]
On the most recent episode of Geek Gab, our hosts talked a little about reading and buying digital vs paper books. Of course it’s not a new discussion – for some people, there’s no adequate substitute for the physical sensation of a book in their hands. “Real” books are much […]
Pellmell adv. 1. In a disorderly, headlong haste; in a recklessly hurried manner. 2. In a confused or jumbled mass, crowd, manner, etc. adj. 1. Indiscriminate; disorderly; confused. 2. Overhasty or precipitate; rash. n. 1. A confused or jumbled mass, crowd, etc. 2. A disorderly, headlong haste. “Pellmell” […]
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