The correct (or at least original) spelling for the term is "wot". "What, what!" is a malaprop that results from, and perpetuates, a misinterpretation of the term's meaning. "Wot" is very old. It comes from an …

Whatnot strikes me a a respelling of the King James Biblical expression "wot not," meaning "don't know" as in "we wot not what is become of him" --Acts 7:40. Of course, that was a verb form, transitioned to …

May 14, 2020 · Wonder where is the origin of this phrase? I first heard it on Monty Python. Typical scenario being, a sort of clueless Scotland yard cop enters the scene and asks "alright... what's all …

Is there any (even the most subtle) difference between the meaning (or connotation) of that is and i.e.? I used to be convinced that they were synonyms, until an editor of a scientific journal cha...

Nov 25, 2016 · I am interested in early versions of English, and while reading I've often encountered the word wottest being used. For example: Then he said, "Galahad, son, wottest thou what I hold …

Nov 18, 2019 · “ [t]he original conjugation, typically represented by to wit or wete , present I and he wot, thou wost, we, ye, and they wite, past tense wist, past participle witen, presented many apparent …

Jan 4, 2017 · As we all know, the underworld cannot fornicate as it is not a living being (probably). Where then, did the natural-feeling pairing of swear-words "Fucking hell" come from?

Nov 9, 2010 · Wotcher: Meaning A colloquial greeting. Origin 'Wotcher' is so strongly associated with the south of England, and especially London, that it is often assumed to be Cockney Rhyming Slang. …

According to the OED, Cor is a vulgar corruption of God and first documented in J.B. Priestley's Angel Pavement (1931): Cor! — you're in the wrong part of the theatre, boy. Lummy is also a corruption of …

Jan 17, 2011 · Which is correct: worse comes to worst or worst comes to worst? The former seems more logical but the latter is what appears in Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary.