I have always enjoyed learning English and I will remember this joke that my mom shared with us, she asked us,

What do you call a baby owl?
Owlet

What do you call a baby eagle?
Eaglet

What do you call a baby pig?
Piglet

What do you call a baby bull?
...

And we all know our answer is wrong but we will start shouting bullet in unison. English is pretty fun if you learn to play with its rhymes and euphemism. For instance if a person want to say I have to urinate, he will be saying, ‘I will have to spend a penny’ or a ‘clothing optional beach’ is another term for a nudist beach.

Sometimes I get very curious how certain phrases or words come into existence. It maybe from history or mythology. Here is one example.

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Many of you may have watched the dashing Brad Pitt starring in the movie Troy. From this story alone how the Greeks invaded Troy the English language has introduced new words that we so commonly use but may not be reminded of its origins.

The Story of Troy: Trojan Horse and Achilles Heel

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The city Troy was known to be impenetrable. The Greek after trying for 10 years without success in crumbling the walls surrounding the city of Troy, resorted to trickery. They created a Trojan horse and left it at the entrance of the city of Troy and pretended to desert the war. The horse was a symbol of offering and to mark the end of war. The Trojan horse was in fact a hollow wooden horse where the Greek soldier hid. When the entire city was sleeping after celebrating the retreat of the Greek soldiers, the soldiers opened the gates of Troy from within and the impenetrable Tory was besieged.

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Today the term ‘trojan horse’ is used to refer to any act of subversion from an infiltration that is clothed to look innocent and harmless. Trojan horse today is also used to describe a malware that infiltrates our computer disguised as a beneficial software.

Example of use:
‘I don’t quite trust John in our company, he was from our competitor and I think he is a Trojan horse.’

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Achilles is the seventh child of Zeus. He is a warrior and almost infallible. He is almost always triumphant in any battle. In the epic story written by Homer, Achilles was enraged by the death of his friend to Hector, the Prince of Troy. Achilles challenged Hector to a duel and killed Hector to avenge for his friend. The prince’s body was dragged in front of the gates of Troy too humiliate and demoralise the people of Troy and to sooth the raging fury burning within Achilles.

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Achilles is infallible because when he was young he was dipped into the River Styx by his mother to make him immortal. However his mother was oblivious to the fact that the point that she held Achilles at his heel, it was untouched by the water in River Styx. The part is the only part of Achilles that is vulnerable. Achilles subsequently died after he was shot by an arrow that struck his heel.

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The Battle of Waterloo

History is also capable of infusing our English language with colours. Napolean was a great leader and a very ambitious one. He rose to fame during the French revolution. He became a military leader and the emperor of the French. Many has described him as a genius strategist. In stories and drawings, Napolean is often depicted as a short man with one of his hands tucked into his vest.

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Napolean fought many battles and has been victorious. His final battle took place in Waterloo where he met with defeat in the hands of the Duke of Wellington. Today, if a successful man suffered a massive failure and is unable to recover from the failure is said to have met ‘his Waterloo’ a reference to the battle that brought the fall of Napolean.

Example of use:
'Nixon meet his Waterloo at the Watergate Scandal'

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The English language has always been an interesting tool for the play of words and knowing the origin of words and phrases brings more colours to this beautiful language. I end this with a poem.

No spear or arrows could sink Achilles,
Because he was kissed by River Styx,
Little to man’s wisdom,
In the immortal bath, the heel tasted freedom,
Only to manifest as a weakness,
To a warrior’s prowess.

Napolean showed, small man can rise tall,
Battle with ambition never too small,
Always ride a horse because retreats can be fast,
To ensure that the battle do last,
However to every rise there is the fall,
Waterloo is where Napolean danced his last ball.

I am not an educator, but I am just someone who is very fond of the English language.