‘sausage’ to ‘affranchir’ to French currency

‘to free’ to ‘truthfully’ to “in my opinion’

‘liberal’ to ‘for free’ to honest

‘free of expense’ to ‘generous’ to ‘sincere’

It comes from the French word “affranchir”.

It was created by British lexicographer, John Ayto.

It is descended from the French franc.

It is a neologism.

Semantics

Formal register

Slang

Ambivalence

Not all letters are required to have stamps on them.

The writer frequently receives mail.

Letters are still being posted for free.

The letters go missing for a certain period of time.

To be clear in meaning

To be honest

A type of meat that has been made into a frankfurter.

To indicate that the postage has been paid

She was very young.

Her mother did not tell her she worked at a post office.

Her mother frequently spoke about a franking machine, which the daughter imagined made sausages.

Frankfurters were well-known to the writer.

She informs the reader that she will be frank about the facts.

She says all of us are interested in grammar errors.

She means that it will look in detail at the origin of the word, and how it has changes over time.

She says that people who enjoy grammar are nerds.

Pun

Irony