Comments on: Quiz Answers!

By: Nicola

Nicola — Wed, 19 Sep 2012 16:28:12 +0000

Thank you, Cate!

By: Cate Sparks

Cate Sparks — Wed, 19 Sep 2012 14:39:37 +0000

Many thanks for the answers!!!

By: Nicola Cornick

Nicola Cornick — Wed, 19 Sep 2012 13:22:50 +0000

Word and phrase derivations are fascinating, aren’t they, Jami, and I love discovering their roots in history. So pleased you liked the quiz! Thanks again for entering.

By: Jami S

Jami S — Tue, 18 Sep 2012 17:47:55 +0000

i loved this.. there are so many out there.. two i just recently found were “barking up the wrong tree” and “beat around the bush” they both have to do with hunting. the first when the hunting dogs hunted raccoons and the second was while hunting boar they liked to hide in the bushes, the employed beaters did not want to directly chase the boars so merely beat the bush instead. it is surprising to read the true meanings of things. thank you again for a delightful time.

By: Nicola

Nicola — Tue, 18 Sep 2012 11:16:23 +0000

Thanks so much, Jolanda!

By: Jolanda

Jolanda — Tue, 18 Sep 2012 10:50:16 +0000

Thanks again for the quiz (and the answers of course), Nicola. And for your interesting blog.

By: Nicola

Nicola — Tue, 18 Sep 2012 07:10:18 +0000

That’s very interesting, HJ. One of the quiz entrants also mentioned the Irish pale. The idea of a park pale, with safety on the inside and wildness outside was originally a medieval concept, I think. There’s a park pale at Ashdown House dating from the 13th century.

The French were apparently the first to use the pale in a political and economic sense to separate populations. They created the Pale of Calais in 1360. The English created the Pale of Dublin and Catherine the Great of Russia also created a pale to restrict trade between native Russians and Jewish immigrants.

By: HJ

HJ — Mon, 17 Sep 2012 17:50:30 +0000

When I was studying “The Irish Question” years ago in history (it seems that for every period in English history there was an “Irish Question”) there was a further gloss on “beyond the pale”. When the English were first settling in Ireland (I think in Tudor/Stuart times?) they met resistance (!) and established a defended area called the Pale. I think it was originally called that because the first, smaller, area was surrounded by a fence called “the pale”. And as you say, “Within the pale was safe; beyond the pale was wild and barbarous.” I seem to remember that it went a bit further than that – the English considered only themselves to be civilised…