Column 8

Sydney Morning Herald

Friday February 18, 2011

Tim Holmes, of Yass, refers us all to the perennial problem of doona covers eating socks and undies in the washing machine - the irritation of such items winding up inside the cover by the time the wash is done. "The solution is simple," Tim insists. "You put them into the doona cover before you wash, and when the cycle is finished, they've all have managed to escape." We pass this on as part of Column 8's ongoing commitment to improving the quality of life of readers. It's the little things that make a difference, we find."'If John Grinter denies the existence of a word when it's not in any dictionary, I wonder how any word finds its way into the dictionary in the first place," muses Dominic Case, of East Balmain ("contranyms" etc, Column 8, Wednesday). "As to the name given for cleave/cleave and the like, taking a lead from 'ambidextrous', how about 'ambinym'? On the one hand it means this, on the other hand it means that."But Dominic has been beaten to the punch, and a long time ago, too, according to M. G. Carter of the Centre for Medieval Studies, University of Sydney, who writes: "The correct term for the property of having simultaneously opposite meanings is enantiosemia. It is familiar to serious students of Arabic because there were so many such words that the mediaeval grammarians collected them by the bookful.""It would be remiss of me not to mention that the UNSW University Medal for Music was won by A. C. Sung," writes Phil Morey, of no fixed orchestra pit. "I have no doubt euphoniously too." A. C., eh? We wonder if he ever won a bronze medal for music while still at school. If so, A. C. would have been a minor third.We have to hand a neat rejoinder to the sign in the Silverton pub we ran on Valentine's Day, which read: "Never criticise your husband's faults. It may be these little imperfections that stopped him from getting a better wife." Trish Morgan, of Mudgee, recently congratulated a friend on her engagement. The young woman replied, "I could have done worse. He couldn't have done better."Referring to the huge amphetamine bust in George Street on Tuesday, Doug McLaughlin, of Bonnet Bay, writes, "I can see the headline now: 'Ice on The Rocks'!""Ken Wallwork asks why we need a first aid officer in a place full of nurses," we're reminded by Donna McKinnis, of Toronto (Column 8, yesterday). "It would be for the same reason we have to have a first aid box where I work - in a pharmacy. It has a sign on it - 'Do not use' - because it's there for no other reason than to satisfy OH&S regulations.""Speaking of synonyms for synonym," asks Noel Elliot, of Culburra Beach (Column 8, yesterday), "why is there only one word for thesaurus?" As for the original question, "A synonym synonym is poecilonym," according to Christopher Woods, of Mount Victoria.Richard Murnane, please get in touch - we've misplaced your address, and can't send you your C8PhD prize until you do!Column8@smh.com.au(no attachments please).Phone 9282 2207 fax 9282 2772. (include name, suburb, daytime phone)

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