Tony Thorne
@tonythorne007.bsky.social
Slang, new language, etymology, cultural history. Language Consultant at King's College London.
What autistic people – and those with ADHD and dyslexia – really think about the word ‘neurodiversity’
theconversation.com/what-autisti...
theconversation.com/what-autisti...
What autistic people – and those with ADHD and dyslexia – really think about the word ‘neurodiversity’
A new UK survey of more than 900 neurodivergent adults has revealed strong feelings about the language of neurodiversity.
theconversation.com
November 11, 2025 at 9:05 AM
What autistic people – and those with ADHD and dyslexia – really think about the word ‘neurodiversity’
theconversation.com/what-autisti...
theconversation.com/what-autisti...
Why threats to academic freedom are growing – and how universities can respond to intimidation
theconversation.com/why-threats-...
theconversation.com/why-threats-...
Why threats to academic freedom are growing – and how universities can respond to intimidation
When scholarship is politically steered, the public loses access to evidence and the means to hold power to account.
theconversation.com
November 11, 2025 at 9:01 AM
Why threats to academic freedom are growing – and how universities can respond to intimidation
theconversation.com/why-threats-...
theconversation.com/why-threats-...
Leaving my German spa hotel to buy a sausage. I’m going from Bad to Wurst.🥸
November 11, 2025 at 8:09 AM
Leaving my German spa hotel to buy a sausage. I’m going from Bad to Wurst.🥸
The expression "you've got me over a barrel" is American slang from the 1890s recorded in criminal and police usage, crossing into British colloquialism in the 1940s via detective fiction. Originally referring to corporal punishment in US schools and prisons.
November 10, 2025 at 1:39 PM
The expression "you've got me over a barrel" is American slang from the 1890s recorded in criminal and police usage, crossing into British colloquialism in the 1940s via detective fiction. Originally referring to corporal punishment in US schools and prisons.
Reposted by Tony Thorne
British Future is looking for a new Treasurer!
If you or someone you know has the skills and would like to join the trustee board of a dynamic thinktank working on issues of immigration, integration, race and identity, do please click on the link for more info:
www.britishfuture.org/jobs/treasur...
If you or someone you know has the skills and would like to join the trustee board of a dynamic thinktank working on issues of immigration, integration, race and identity, do please click on the link for more info:
www.britishfuture.org/jobs/treasur...
November 10, 2025 at 11:59 AM
British Future is looking for a new Treasurer!
If you or someone you know has the skills and would like to join the trustee board of a dynamic thinktank working on issues of immigration, integration, race and identity, do please click on the link for more info:
www.britishfuture.org/jobs/treasur...
If you or someone you know has the skills and would like to join the trustee board of a dynamic thinktank working on issues of immigration, integration, race and identity, do please click on the link for more info:
www.britishfuture.org/jobs/treasur...
Reposted by Tony Thorne
Since January 2022, we (me, 93% Club & SS) have been working a project that tackles accent bias in Higher Education, focusing on the 'elite' institution where we're based. Today, we're launching the project website which brings together all our work:
accentbias.ed.ac.uk
accentbias.ed.ac.uk
November 10, 2025 at 9:27 AM
Since January 2022, we (me, 93% Club & SS) have been working a project that tackles accent bias in Higher Education, focusing on the 'elite' institution where we're based. Today, we're launching the project website which brings together all our work:
accentbias.ed.ac.uk
accentbias.ed.ac.uk
Reposted by Tony Thorne
I’m not fussed by this, BUT! “Content” is a word for copy (& images and video) that is meant to acheive a goal (help complete a task), NOT creative work *intended* to entertain and *possibly* inform by default. But the suits used it to mean “the art we exploit for money” which IS the shitty part.
No other word has done more damage to the craft of writing in recent years than “content”. Even if you’re using the word “content” ironically, or as a cute little joke, don’t. When someone calls writing “content” they’re pissing on someone’s hard work & passion. “Content” is Technosatan’s henchword.
November 10, 2025 at 12:07 PM
I’m not fussed by this, BUT! “Content” is a word for copy (& images and video) that is meant to acheive a goal (help complete a task), NOT creative work *intended* to entertain and *possibly* inform by default. But the suits used it to mean “the art we exploit for money” which IS the shitty part.
I'll be on BBC Radio Bristol at 12.50 UK time today talking about the expression 'to have someone over a barrel'
November 10, 2025 at 11:04 AM
I'll be on BBC Radio Bristol at 12.50 UK time today talking about the expression 'to have someone over a barrel'
Reposted by Tony Thorne
"Universities teach us to ask questions without tidy answers. They train us to look for truths we didn’t know existed and to challenge assumptions we didn’t realise we held. At their best, they remind us that intellect isn’t about having opinions, it’s about earning them."
November 10, 2025 at 7:38 AM
"Universities teach us to ask questions without tidy answers. They train us to look for truths we didn’t know existed and to challenge assumptions we didn’t realise we held. At their best, they remind us that intellect isn’t about having opinions, it’s about earning them."
Reposted by Tony Thorne
Have you got your tickets? 🎟️
Courting: An Intimate History of Love and the Law
⏰ 18:00 to 20:00 | 📅 13 Nov | 📍 King's College London
🔗 www.kcl.ac.uk/events/court...
Courting: An Intimate History of Love and the Law
⏰ 18:00 to 20:00 | 📅 13 Nov | 📍 King's College London
🔗 www.kcl.ac.uk/events/court...
November 10, 2025 at 10:07 AM
Have you got your tickets? 🎟️
Courting: An Intimate History of Love and the Law
⏰ 18:00 to 20:00 | 📅 13 Nov | 📍 King's College London
🔗 www.kcl.ac.uk/events/court...
Courting: An Intimate History of Love and the Law
⏰ 18:00 to 20:00 | 📅 13 Nov | 📍 King's College London
🔗 www.kcl.ac.uk/events/court...
‘Content’: text (sometimes visual and audio material) as commodity
No other word has done more damage to the craft of writing in recent years than “content”. Even if you’re using the word “content” ironically, or as a cute little joke, don’t. When someone calls writing “content” they’re pissing on someone’s hard work & passion. “Content” is Technosatan’s henchword.
November 10, 2025 at 10:29 AM
‘Content’: text (sometimes visual and audio material) as commodity
Reposted by Tony Thorne
New publication on @ipragmatics.bsky.social, out now and available open access:
My work on the digital language ideologies of generative AI, in particular the "AI is here to stay" construction and its connections to presentism, techno-optimism, and tech bro culture
My work on the digital language ideologies of generative AI, in particular the "AI is here to stay" construction and its connections to presentism, techno-optimism, and tech bro culture
Presentism as a digital language ideology in generative AI discourse
This paper gives a critical discourse-analytical account of presentism as a digital language ideology. It outlines how this ahistorical understanding of sociotechnical change centering the here-and-no...
benjamins.com
November 10, 2025 at 8:55 AM
New publication on @ipragmatics.bsky.social, out now and available open access:
My work on the digital language ideologies of generative AI, in particular the "AI is here to stay" construction and its connections to presentism, techno-optimism, and tech bro culture
My work on the digital language ideologies of generative AI, in particular the "AI is here to stay" construction and its connections to presentism, techno-optimism, and tech bro culture
Reposted by Tony Thorne
✍️ Babel Young Writers' Competition! You could win publication in Babel (Spring 2026)!
📜 Guidelines: babelzine.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Advert-Young-Writers-Competition-No54.pdf
🏆 Previous winner Dong Hyun Kang looks at wars on language: babelzine.co.uk/ArticlePDFs/...
📜 Guidelines: babelzine.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Advert-Young-Writers-Competition-No54.pdf
🏆 Previous winner Dong Hyun Kang looks at wars on language: babelzine.co.uk/ArticlePDFs/...
November 10, 2025 at 7:03 AM
✍️ Babel Young Writers' Competition! You could win publication in Babel (Spring 2026)!
📜 Guidelines: babelzine.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Advert-Young-Writers-Competition-No54.pdf
🏆 Previous winner Dong Hyun Kang looks at wars on language: babelzine.co.uk/ArticlePDFs/...
📜 Guidelines: babelzine.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Advert-Young-Writers-Competition-No54.pdf
🏆 Previous winner Dong Hyun Kang looks at wars on language: babelzine.co.uk/ArticlePDFs/...
Reposted by Tony Thorne
One for the linguists.
My dad was a working class lad done good, he spoke in a middle-class accent but when telling us off as kids he'd turn Cockney, like his dad. To my horror I've realised I now do the exact same. Normally I sound like Tom Hollander but when telling my kids off I go full Winstone
November 9, 2025 at 7:34 PM
One for the linguists.
Reposted by Tony Thorne
Congrats to @tsunglunone.bsky.social on the publication of "From online parody to mainstream media: The remediation of mock Vietnamese Mandarin in Taiwan" always exciting to see a new paper on mock language in a new context!
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
From online parody to mainstream media: The remediation of mock Vietnamese Mandarin in Taiwan
This paper investigates how Ruan Yuejiao—a drag parody of a Vietnamese migrant spouse created by Taiwanese influencer A-Han—becomes remediated from be…
www.sciencedirect.com
November 9, 2025 at 6:44 PM
Congrats to @tsunglunone.bsky.social on the publication of "From online parody to mainstream media: The remediation of mock Vietnamese Mandarin in Taiwan" always exciting to see a new paper on mock language in a new context!
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Reposted by Tony Thorne
You want some Christmas fun, poems and stories for your children? Then come to my show at the Old Vic Theatre, Waterloo, London on Dec 20
It's early! 9.30 am, but nearly sold out.
It's early! 9.30 am, but nearly sold out.
November 9, 2025 at 4:26 PM
You want some Christmas fun, poems and stories for your children? Then come to my show at the Old Vic Theatre, Waterloo, London on Dec 20
It's early! 9.30 am, but nearly sold out.
It's early! 9.30 am, but nearly sold out.
I got these for you…
November 9, 2025 at 4:39 PM
I got these for you…
Reposted by Tony Thorne
no amount of state propaganda will ever convince me this man is my enemy
November 9, 2025 at 3:05 PM
no amount of state propaganda will ever convince me this man is my enemy
Reposted by Tony Thorne
If you’d like to learn more about Mary Bishop & her extraordinary work, I wrote this for The Wellcome Collection in 2023.
But more than that, I would recommend looking for yourself at some of her work which is available to view online through their catalogue
wellcomecollection.org/stories/mary...
But more than that, I would recommend looking for yourself at some of her work which is available to view online through their catalogue
wellcomecollection.org/stories/mary...
November 9, 2025 at 1:50 PM
If you’d like to learn more about Mary Bishop & her extraordinary work, I wrote this for The Wellcome Collection in 2023.
But more than that, I would recommend looking for yourself at some of her work which is available to view online through their catalogue
wellcomecollection.org/stories/mary...
But more than that, I would recommend looking for yourself at some of her work which is available to view online through their catalogue
wellcomecollection.org/stories/mary...
Reposted by Tony Thorne
Een draadje over de verdwenen plakkaten van zwarte Amerikaanse soldaten , trumpiaanse bedoeningen op nl grondgebied, belachelijk.
1/ The US Government has quietly removed a memorial to Black soldiers who died in World War II from the Netherlands American Cemetery in Margraten, South Limburg. The move follows a complaint from the right-wing Heritage Foundation to the American Battle Monuments Commission. ⬇️
November 9, 2025 at 9:53 AM
Een draadje over de verdwenen plakkaten van zwarte Amerikaanse soldaten , trumpiaanse bedoeningen op nl grondgebied, belachelijk.
Reposted by Tony Thorne
Se las conoce como las 12 costureras de Víznar, aunque no todas tenían esa profesión. Quedaron unidas en sus horas finales por el fusilamiento a manos de franquistas y el enterramiento en una fosa común. Fueron homenajeadas por el Gobierno el 31 de octubre
La historia repudia a sus asesinos. A ellas, las homenajea. La lucha por la democracia de las 12 costureras de Víznar
Estas granadinas, ejecutadas al inicio de la Guerra Civil, son las primeras exhumadas del barranco donde fueron sepultadas. Hace poco han sido homenajeadas por el Gobierno por su contribución a la democracia
social.elpais.com
November 9, 2025 at 9:34 AM
Se las conoce como las 12 costureras de Víznar, aunque no todas tenían esa profesión. Quedaron unidas en sus horas finales por el fusilamiento a manos de franquistas y el enterramiento en una fosa común. Fueron homenajeadas por el Gobierno el 31 de octubre
Reposted by Tony Thorne
Democracy had a good week. That is good reason to hope. That is good reason to oppose—with renewed purpose—the forces behind my choice for the 2025 Word of the Year:
FASCISM.
Dive into my lexical—and etymological—treatment of this challenging word on my blog:
mashedradish.com/2025/11/04/f...
FASCISM.
Dive into my lexical—and etymological—treatment of this challenging word on my blog:
mashedradish.com/2025/11/04/f...
The 2025 Etymology of the Year
“Fascism” is a challenging word for a challenging moment, and its origins may bear lessons for us.
mashedradish.com
November 8, 2025 at 3:52 PM
Democracy had a good week. That is good reason to hope. That is good reason to oppose—with renewed purpose—the forces behind my choice for the 2025 Word of the Year:
FASCISM.
Dive into my lexical—and etymological—treatment of this challenging word on my blog:
mashedradish.com/2025/11/04/f...
FASCISM.
Dive into my lexical—and etymological—treatment of this challenging word on my blog:
mashedradish.com/2025/11/04/f...
An important article, a must-read on the state of Britain. But disowning and blaming ‘the Sixties’ is to misunderstand how those impulses and ideas were traduced.
November 8, 2025 at 12:09 PM
An important article, a must-read on the state of Britain. But disowning and blaming ‘the Sixties’ is to misunderstand how those impulses and ideas were traduced.
Reposted by Tony Thorne
Imagine if you met someone irl who kept talking like people do on here, throwing under the bus, kept the receipts, lives rent-free etc, you'd quite rightly punch them in the face
November 7, 2025 at 1:03 PM
Imagine if you met someone irl who kept talking like people do on here, throwing under the bus, kept the receipts, lives rent-free etc, you'd quite rightly punch them in the face
Reposted by Tony Thorne
Japan's "Mundane Halloween" costume contest is back!
Each year website DailyPortalZ holds a contest where people dress up as something super duper ordinary.
Here's a thread of some of my favorites from the 2025 contest!
#MundaneHalloween
Each year website DailyPortalZ holds a contest where people dress up as something super duper ordinary.
Here's a thread of some of my favorites from the 2025 contest!
#MundaneHalloween
November 2, 2025 at 9:15 AM
Japan's "Mundane Halloween" costume contest is back!
Each year website DailyPortalZ holds a contest where people dress up as something super duper ordinary.
Here's a thread of some of my favorites from the 2025 contest!
#MundaneHalloween
Each year website DailyPortalZ holds a contest where people dress up as something super duper ordinary.
Here's a thread of some of my favorites from the 2025 contest!
#MundaneHalloween