James Baquet

    Mark is chatting with his classmate Ming in the common room of their dorm.

    Mark: Hi, Ming. Cool telescope!

    Ming: Thanks. I’ve had it for ages. I love looking at the moon.

    Mark: Just the moon? Not the stars, or the planets?

    Ming: Nope. Just the moon.

    Mark: Wow, you’re a real lunatic!

    Ming: Hey! Everybody needs a hobby. You don’t have to insult me!

    Mark: Actually, I was just making a little joke. The word “lunatic,” meaning a crazy person, comes from the idea that people’s behavior is influenced by the moon.

    Ming: How’s that?

    Mark: They weren’t sure, exactly. Aristotle thought it might have something to do with the fluids in the brain.

    Ming: Oh, the way the moon affects the tides?

    Mark: Exactly. So since the moon has affected your behavior so heavily, I just figured...

    Ming: Haha, Mark, very funny. But can you teach me some other moon-influenced terms?

    Mark: Sure! When someone is acting like a dreamer — especially when it comes to romance — we say he or she is “moonstruck.”

    Ming: I guess it’s similar to “lunatic,” right?

    Mark: Exactly. Just your luck to be moonstruck by the actual moon!

    Ming: Still not funny, Mark.

    Mark: Okay, sorry. Now, suppose you could get paid for looking at the moon, in addition to your regular job. We might call that “moonlighting.” The word applies to any second job, especially one your boss doesn’t know about. And it could be done at night.

    Ming: Can you give me another example?

    Mark: Yes. Some police officers moonlight as security guards. A school teacher might moonlight in a training center.

    Ming: So it’s a good thing.

    Mark: Yes, it is — now. But once upon a time, the expression referred to criminals who did their crimes at night —

    Ming: By moonlight!

    Mark: Exactly. Now here’s one more: “honeymoon.”

    Ming: Oh, I know what that is! That’s the vacation that people take right after they get married.

    Mark: Yes, that’s the main meaning. But it can also mean a period of happiness after a new beginning.

    Ming: Pardon?

    Mark: Say you get a new job. At first you love it. But then it becomes boring. So you might say, “The honeymoon is over.”

    Ming: I understand! Does that happen in marriages, too?

    Mark: Sometimes, unless the couple works hard to keep it fresh. By the way, “moon” there means “month,” the time it takes for one cycle of the moon.

    Ming: So it can happen pretty quickly.

    Mark: It can if they’re not careful!

    Ming: Thanks for these new words, Mark. Want to go take a look at the real moon?

    Mark: I’d love to!