Dave Brown
@adavebrown.bsky.social
Trail running, PhD in inter-generational metaphor in Paul and Seneca, Disability Theology, inclusion, academic for hire, Anglican minister, family and kindness. The odd day at the cricket.
If it turns out that I’m wrong about anything, I hope that in being wrong I’m found to also have been kind.
November 9, 2025 at 10:28 AM
If it turns out that I’m wrong about anything, I hope that in being wrong I’m found to also have been kind.
The word "pedigree" comes from the Middle English "pedegru", via the Old French "pie de true", meaning "foot of a crane". The metaphor comes from the habit of marking family lineages at the time with a three-lined "claw mark" that looked like a crane's foot.
#phdposting #linguistics
#phdposting #linguistics
August 13, 2025 at 4:53 AM
The word "pedigree" comes from the Middle English "pedegru", via the Old French "pie de true", meaning "foot of a crane". The metaphor comes from the habit of marking family lineages at the time with a three-lined "claw mark" that looked like a crane's foot.
#phdposting #linguistics
#phdposting #linguistics
Random #cricket thought, but instead of a hard two-tier split in #testcricket, why couldn’t we give test status to matches between the second tier nations and the leading ‘A’ sides? A lot of logistics obviously - but watching NZ rest key players against Zimbabwe it’s not bizarre.
July 30, 2025 at 10:47 AM
Random #cricket thought, but instead of a hard two-tier split in #testcricket, why couldn’t we give test status to matches between the second tier nations and the leading ‘A’ sides? A lot of logistics obviously - but watching NZ rest key players against Zimbabwe it’s not bizarre.
/tldr - Copernicus was a plagiarist and the universe holds lots of sand.
So the kids made me watch a documentary thing about Galileo, and I had the thought “wasn’t there some ancient dude who hypothesized a heliocentric universe?” So I looked it up and yeah, Archimedes mentions Aristarchus… (1/4)
So the kids made me watch a documentary thing about Galileo, and I had the thought “wasn’t there some ancient dude who hypothesized a heliocentric universe?” So I looked it up and yeah, Archimedes mentions Aristarchus… (1/4)
June 21, 2025 at 10:52 AM
/tldr - Copernicus was a plagiarist and the universe holds lots of sand.
So the kids made me watch a documentary thing about Galileo, and I had the thought “wasn’t there some ancient dude who hypothesized a heliocentric universe?” So I looked it up and yeah, Archimedes mentions Aristarchus… (1/4)
So the kids made me watch a documentary thing about Galileo, and I had the thought “wasn’t there some ancient dude who hypothesized a heliocentric universe?” So I looked it up and yeah, Archimedes mentions Aristarchus… (1/4)
My two methodological tools are metaphor study and comparative approach. I now have multiple sources speaking of parallelomania and metaphoromania.
What is happening in academia. A man can only take so much mania.
#PhDLife #CognitiveLinguistics
What is happening in academia. A man can only take so much mania.
#PhDLife #CognitiveLinguistics
November 25, 2024 at 1:09 AM
My two methodological tools are metaphor study and comparative approach. I now have multiple sources speaking of parallelomania and metaphoromania.
What is happening in academia. A man can only take so much mania.
#PhDLife #CognitiveLinguistics
What is happening in academia. A man can only take so much mania.
#PhDLife #CognitiveLinguistics
In the negated present tense form of every form of the verb "to be" in English, the speaker has the choice to form a contraction with either the pronoun and the verb, or the verb and the negator.
Except for the first person singular. I amn't happy about this.
#linguistics
Except for the first person singular. I amn't happy about this.
#linguistics
November 22, 2024 at 1:31 AM
In the negated present tense form of every form of the verb "to be" in English, the speaker has the choice to form a contraction with either the pronoun and the verb, or the verb and the negator.
Except for the first person singular. I amn't happy about this.
#linguistics
Except for the first person singular. I amn't happy about this.
#linguistics
Every day I see all kinds of viciousness and stereotyping online, and then every morning I go for a run and am reminded that the overwhelming majority of my neighbours are wonderful people.
November 20, 2024 at 11:19 AM
Every day I see all kinds of viciousness and stereotyping online, and then every morning I go for a run and am reminded that the overwhelming majority of my neighbours are wonderful people.