Futility Closet

A Manner of Speaking

Posted in Language by Greg Ross on October 31st, 2009

http://www.flickr.com/photos/davidesimonetti/3576883477/

It’s said that when Christopher Wren completed St. Paul’s cathedral in 1708, Queen Anne told him his work was “awful, artificial, and amusing.”

He took this as a compliment — in those days these words meant awe-inspiring, artistic, and amazing.

(Image: Flickr)