http://www.worldwidewords.org Copyright 1997-2009 Michael Quinion World Wide Words examines the English language from a British viewpoint. It discusses word histories, new words, the background to words in the news and problems of English usage. webmaster-rss@worldwidewords.org (Michael Quinion) rss@worldwidewords.org (Michael Quinion) Sat, 27 Jun 2009 09:00:00 GMT en-gb 1440 http://www.worldwidewords.org/weirdwords/ww-cuc1.htm A <i>cucking-stool</i>, like its later variation the <i>ducking-stool</i>, was a method of female punishment. Sat, 27 Jun 2009 09:00:00 GMT http://www.worldwidewords.org/weirdwords/ww-cuc1.htm http://www.worldwidewords.org/reviews/re-imn1.htm Review of <em>I&rsquo;m Not Hanging Noodles on Your Ears</em>, by Jag Bhalla. Sat, 27 Jun 2009 09:00:00 GMT http://www.worldwidewords.org/reviews/re-imn1.htm http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-win2.htm Various curious names exist for big bottles of wine, mostly derived from the names of characters in the Old Testament. Who named them, when and why? Sat, 27 Jun 2009 09:00:00 GMT http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-win2.htm