David Mitchell is an English writer, author of five novels, most recently The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet (2010) and Black Swan Green (2006), and numerous shorter works. He lives in Ireland. Visit him at thousandautumns.com.
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ADVICE FOR THE LIT-LORN Why doesn’t anyone in North America say barmy for balmy? According to my research, Barmy came first and still enjoys a jolly life. But most North American dictionaries don’t even mention the earlier Scots barmy. —Simon McGavin, Cyberspace |