I’ve noticed a lot of written quizzes now seem to start with”Riddle me this.” It makes no sense. I do remember ‘The Riddler’ in the original Batman series using it, but it now seems to be creeping in to UK use.
lol I don’t hear that often around here except in the context of Batman’s The Riddler. I guess that would be considered an Americanism if it originates from American media, even if it isn’t well-accepted as a social norm in real American culture?
I never knew the words of anything I sang, even if they were in English, I was 16 before I found out that highway men said 'Stand and deliver', rather than 'Stand on your liver', which I know didn't make sense, but I just thought it one of those weird things everyone else knew and I didn't.
We sang Alouette at school and I thought it was French too, I've no idea what it means, we wre just made to sing it, not understand it.
I have one old French name in my family and he was from Western Ireland, whereas his wife has a really old Irish name, the rest of us are old English and have probably been in the upper Thames Valley for thousands of years
That’s interesting. When it’s not a common name it makes me wonder if your Northern Irish friends share a common ancestor with you.
There are small clusters of people with my French surname south of Dublin, with others in the west of Ireland, with some being distant cousins. Unrelated to those are small clusters in North West England, and some small related clusters.
I often wonder if people with the same unusual name are related, or if their names were given to unrelated ancestors but connected through location, trade or personal attributes or foibles.
That’s interesting. When it’s not a common name it makes me wonder if your Northern Irish friends share a common ancestor with you.
There are small clusters of people with my French surname south of Dublin, with others in the west of Ireland, with some being distant cousins. Unrelated to those are small clusters in North West England, and some small related clusters.
I often wonder if people with the same unusual name are related, or if their names were given to unrelated ancestors but connected through location, trade or personal attributes or foibles.
