Why are letters printed with a slant to the right described as "italics"?

October 2, 2004

A Venetian printer, Aldus Manutius, in 1501 printed a book by Virgil which appeared with sloping letters, in a poor attempt to pass it off as his own handwriting. Europe (or at least the part of it that could read) was shocked beyond measure. Called italics because it was invented in Italy, it was more difficult to read than normal print (and resembled handwriting, at least in that respect).

David Buley, Seaforth

The most important bureaucracy in the Renaissance world was the Papal Chancery in Rome. Scribes needed to work fast to keep up with correspondence which was sent all over the Catholic World. By the mid-15th century, the rounded Humanist hand became oval, joined and sloped to the right - resulting in a cursive hand, the Chancery Hand (cancellaresca corsiva).

In the two decades it took to reach England, it became known as "italic" or "Roman" hand. Shakespeare alludes to it in Twelfth Night: "I think we do know the sweet Roman hand."

Heather Courtis, Killara

Why do people spit chips when they are angry?

The phrase is one of many that has its origins in boxing. When someone has been punched so badly that they are "spitting chips" of teeth, it is a fair bet they are pretty ticked off.

Penelope Reilly, Rosehill

What was the first dangerous precedent? And did it set one?

The concept of precedents. And yes, it did.

Christian Catchpole, Neutral Bay

Why is the funny bone so named?

The single bone in the arm between shoulder and elbow is called the humerus. There is a large superficial nerve that curls around the back of it on its inner side. When hit or pinched, the nerve sends strong "electric" nerve tingles up and down the arm, so "to hit one's funny bone" is a play on the word "humourous".

Jules Black, Randwick

When someone else bangs his funnybone, he suffers sudden, sharp, severe pain. What could be funnier than that?

Tony Turner, Tuross Head

What is the origin of the phrase "like chalk and cheese", and why are they deemed to be opposites?

The phrase comes from the English county of Wiltshire, roughly divided by the London/Bristol commercial route. To the north of it the sheep bred for their wool grazed on the chalk grasslands of the Marlborough Downs, while to the south there is the Vale of Pewsey and valleys of the rivers Avon and Kennet, where on the green pasturelands dairy herds fed, providing milk and cheese.

Roy Beaumont-Edmonds, Lawson


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