It’s this week’s This-or-That Tuesday:
1. Holland or Netherlands? I was just thinking the other day how long it’s been since I’ve heard anyone refer to “Holland.”
2. Emu or Ostrich? Well, they’re actually two different birds. But I’ve never eaten emu.
3. Biff or Happy? Please, God, tell me that nobody actually says “biff” for “happy.”
4. Quincy or Braintree? Hey, John Adams was from Braintree. And it’s such a cool name, too.
5. Cassius Clay or Muhammad Ali? I remember when he was the former, but I suppose if he wants to call himself the latter, that’s his biz.
6. Istambul or Constantinople? I’m a fan of the latter, myself.
7. Pig or Swine? An interesting case of how Norman French and Anglo-Saxon both contributed to the richness modern English.
8. Barf or Puke? We try to avoid both words in our household, or at least the need to use them.
9. Potatoes or Spuds? The last spuds I ran into was McKenzie.
10. Squeeze Box or Accordion? Does anyone call it a Squeeze Box any more? Everybody polka!