Pseudonyms are names adopted by a person for a particular purpose, which differs from his or her true name. There are so many examples of pseudonyms that I will have to break this topic into several posts in order to cover author "pen names," and those chosen by musicians, social activists, politicians, actor stage names, visual artists, athletes, fashion designers, or criminals.
Even fictional characters that are not real have pseudonyms, for example, almost all superheroes.
Just a few examples from various fields:
The visual artist Caravaggio was born Michelangelo Merisi, while Le Corbusier (Charles Edouard Jeanneret) Man Ray (Emmanuel Radnitzky) and Marc Chagall (Moishe Shagal) were all known for their pseudonyms.
Social activists Mahatma Gandhi (Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi) and Mother Teresa (Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu), Malcolm X (Malcolm Little), Mother Jones (Mary Harris Jones) are best known for their pseudonyms. Israeli leader Golda Meir was originally Golda Meyerson.
Taking activism to another revolutionary level, during the underground fight against the British in Mandatory Palestine, commander Yitzchak Shamir (later Prime Minister of Israel) adopted the nom de guerre "Michael", in honour of Ireland's Michael Collins. Mexican revolutionary Francisco "Pancho" Villa was José Doroteo Arango Arámbula. North Vietnamese leader Ho Chi Minh was Nguyễn Sinh Cung and Russian dictator Joseph Stalin was originally Ioseb Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili.
During World War II, the German pilot known as The Red Baron was really Manfred von Richthofen, but he was known as The Red Knight, which was the pseudonym created by British journalists for von Richthofen.
16 October 2017
09 October 2017
Is it baited or bated breath?
It is not uncommon to hear some use the term "with bated breath." But I have seen the expression written, incorrectly, as "with baited breath."
"Bated" is a form of "abate," which means “to diminish, lessen or reduce.”
If you are "waiting with bated breath for the release of the final episodes of Game of Thrones based on George R.R. Martin's books" then you are so eager, anxious, excited, or frightened that you're almost holding your breath.
Though you may hear abated used more frequently - "The storm finally abated overnight" - I can't think of any time I have heard "bated" used as an adjective other than connected to "breath."
The only way I can imagine "baited breath" would be if you decided you munch on some night crawlers, grubs or insects. That would certainly give you baited breath - and probably abate you chances of being kissed.
"Bated" is a form of "abate," which means “to diminish, lessen or reduce.” If you are "waiting with bated breath for the release of the final episodes of Game of Thrones based on George R.R. Martin's books" then you are so eager, anxious, excited, or frightened that you're almost holding your breath.
Though you may hear abated used more frequently - "The storm finally abated overnight" - I can't think of any time I have heard "bated" used as an adjective other than connected to "breath."
The only way I can imagine "baited breath" would be if you decided you munch on some night crawlers, grubs or insects. That would certainly give you baited breath - and probably abate you chances of being kissed.
02 October 2017
Measuring natural disasters
September 2017 was a month of natural disasters - hurricanes, earthquakes and tornadoes. Two terms you may have heard used are examples of eponyms.
Charles F. Richter (1900–1985) was an American seismologist and physicist who came up with the earthquake-measuring scale in 1935 that bears his name. It has lost some of its prevalence as scientists have replaced it with other, more precise systems.
The most dangerous tornadoes are classified as EF5. Tetsuya “Ted” Fujita (1920–1998) id the "F" in that measurement system. He was a Japanese-born storm researcher who created a system for classifying tornadic destructiveness. As with the Richter scale, a newer refined Enhanced Fujita scale has been adopted. Fujita also contributed to hurricane and thunderstorm analysis.
Charles F. Richter (1900–1985) was an American seismologist and physicist who came up with the earthquake-measuring scale in 1935 that bears his name. It has lost some of its prevalence as scientists have replaced it with other, more precise systems.
The most dangerous tornadoes are classified as EF5. Tetsuya “Ted” Fujita (1920–1998) id the "F" in that measurement system. He was a Japanese-born storm researcher who created a system for classifying tornadic destructiveness. As with the Richter scale, a newer refined Enhanced Fujita scale has been adopted. Fujita also contributed to hurricane and thunderstorm analysis.
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