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Jul 17, 2024
This week’s themeWhose what? This week’s words Chekhov's gun Parkinson's law Barney's bull John Thomson's man collier's faith ![]() ![]() Illustration: Anu Garg + AI
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with Anu GargBarney’s bull
PRONUNCIATION:
MEANING:
noun: Someone or something in a very bad condition or situation.
ETYMOLOGY:
Apparently from a popular 19th-century pantomime in which an escaped bull
is chased by various characters until the exhausted animal is captured by
a farmhand. Earliest documented use: 1834.
USAGE:
“Barney’s bull of a pain in my innards.” Charles Boardman Hawes; The Mutineers; Atlantic Monthly Press; 1920. A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
Never underestimate the determination of a kid who is time rich and cash
poor. -Cory Doctorow, author and journalist (b. 17 Jul 1971)
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