Author: Kirk

Global Voice Translator

Foreign Languages

As I write this, it is Friday and time for some fun.

Go to the site for the new Pomegranate phone.

Oh my goodness. You have to see this thing!

The Pomegranate phone not only has everything that every other smart phone has today, it also includes a harmonica, a shaver, a coffee brewer, a projector, … and a global voice translator!

This thing rocks, and it makes me wonder when the Amazon Kindle will have all this functionality, too.

The makers of the Pomegranate — initially at model number NS08 — bill it as the ultimate all-in-one device, and I have to agree.

Even the accessories are awesome.

Be sure to click the “Release Date” button for the full scoop!

“gander”

Nouns

The noun “gander” is often heard in sentences such as “I’ll take a gander at it.”

I wondered about this use of the noun, so I checked a dictionary.

The primary meaning of “gander” is male of any goose species.

According to the Online Etymology Dictionary, the slang use of “gander” to mean glance comes from the image of someone taking a long look, as if craning his or her neck like a goose (or sex-specifically a gander).

Apparently this slang use of “gander” was first recorded in 1887.

I then wondered why “gander” instead of “goose” — which specifically refers to the female of any goose species — became popular as the slang form of the noun “glance”, so I did some more research.

Apparently “I’ll take a goose at it.” did not have a chance because seven years earlier — in 1880 — the slang use of “goose” as a poke between the buttocks to startle first appeared.

Conclusion: Be sure you know your “goose” from your “gander” when using these words in slang!

“state-of-the art technology”

Hyphens

I saw this in a promotion.

Problem:
A hyphen is missing.

Explanation:
The promotion appeared in an FAQ for new lofts at the University of Houston.

Perhaps the promotion’s author should get my new hyphenation book!

The full sentence was “Included in your rent is the AT&T U-Verse 100 state-of-the art technology and it provides about 100 cable channels, including ABC, CBS, NBC, BET, CNN, CSPAN and many more. ” — with a space between “state-of-the” and “art”.

Because these two parts together modify the noun “technology”, the entire sequence of words — “state” plus “of” plus “the” plus “art” — should be hyphenated.

It makes no sense to talk about “art technology” that is “state-of-the”.

Solution:
“state-of-the-art technology”