Cheaper Than Dirt
When something is really cheap it’s said to be cheaper than dirt. That’s incredibly cheap. That could be a once in a lifetime deal. It’s even cheaper than dirt cheap which is in itself very inexpensive.
Etymology is the study of the origin of words. Words come from many different sources. Latin provides the roots for many English words. Some words derive from Old English words which derived from Latin. It’s an interesting study. Cheaper than dirt has its own origin .
In time some words mean opposite of what they originally meant. For example, the term girl used to refer to a young child of either gender. Over time it began to be used as a slur, or insult, meaning a man who had not grown up. Then it took on the modern meaning of a young woman. That flip took place in 1530. It is something of a word expressing love from about 1648. It was expanded to girlfriend in 1892. The Greek root meant a virgin. It makes sense to use it to describe young single people.
Now for the etymology for the term cheaper than dirt. It’s an ancient expression. The phrase denoted things that were worthless, and therefore given rather than sold. There was a similar phrase dirt cheap. Although, according to the words, it would mean something even cheaper. It replaced dog cheap in the 1860’s.
Some people value dirt a great deal. For example in Haiti dirt is so valuable that Haitians will cross into the Dominican Republic to steal topsoil . Hitler stole dirt by the train load. He used it for gardens. His people demanded a lot of food.
Top soil isn’t cheaper than dirt. Sometimes people pay a premium price for dirt. Some companies have taken advantage of the name to denote that they offer bargain prices for soil and other gardening products. These are companies like The Dirt Cheap Mulch Company. It even has its own website.
Now you know the meaning of cheaper than dirt.
http://dirtcrazy.com/
March 16, 2009
Learn To Speed Read With These Simple Techniques
Once you can read faster but you still comprehend and remember the same level of information then you will essentially be able to learn more information with the same level of effort. This eventually translates into a higher level of academic success and better grades. But how easy or difficult is it to develop this talent? The key to understanding this is to figure out the qualities required for speed reading.
To be able to read and comprehend facts fast you would need good concentration power and the ability to understand the meaning of a word without reading every letter; to retain what you’ve read you would need a good memory. Therefore to be able to learn how to speed read you would have to develop these qualities. This article will now cover a few techniques to help you improve your reading – from subliminal speed reading techniques, to meditation:
Mediation- When you meditate, you focus on your breathing, chant a mantra repeatedly or pay complete attention to a repetitive music. This focusing on a simple task wil train your mind to concentrate on just one thing at any one time. If you get regular meditation you will de clutter your mind and you will be read faster and remember the information due to an increased level of concentration.
Practice reading silently- Reading out aloud slows down your reading speed. When reading aloud you read every word fully before moving on to the next one,but with silent reading you read the first few letters of the word and move to the next, which obviosuly helps you to skim over and read faster. However, you need to take care not to miss out words while silently reading, so you need to boost your ability to focus.
Listen to subliminal messages- Our subconscious directs our so called “natural behavior”. Our natural behavior consists largely of habits formed and ingrained over time. Our reading habits, such as reading each every letter of a word before moving to the next one or getting distracted while reading silently seem to come naturally to us.
If you listen to subliminal cds repeatedly you’ll see a marked improvement in your speed reading ability, this doesn’t work by magic, but subliminal messages simply help to rewire your brain so you can naturally read text faster, and skim over text without needing to fully process it on a conscious level in order to understand it.
You can adopt the tips and techniques you feel most comfortable with, however it is important to remember that a complete change of behavior would require efforts at both the conscious and the subconscious level.