From Fossilised Fishhooks to Rickrolling: The Changing Face of Language -- Ruth Leigh
Words. Gosh I love them. I expect you do too. We writers relish finding new ones, playing with established ones and looking back at the way our predecessors used language. I was on the school run yesterday morning when the inspiration for this blog hit me, due to the following conversation: Son: It was so lame in English the other day. Someone told the teacher his hero was Rick Astley. When she asked why, he said he would never give him up, let him down, tell him a lie or desert him. She wasn’t impressed. Daughter: That’s funny. Son: In lockdown, one of my Maths group nearly got chucked out of the class by the teacher. Daughter: Why? Son: He Rickrolled her. Me: Rickrolled? What on earth does that mean? Daughter (with patient sigh): You know, like when someone sends a link and it looks normal but when you click on it, you get Rick Astley singing “Never Going to Give You Up.” Me: Oh. I didn’t know that was a thing. Hmm....