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Lab Leak Story: How Elite Scientists Lied and Concealed the Truth Mar. 03, 2023
When the Wall Street Journal reported in a front-page lead story that the Department of Energy had c... Read More
Jack Be Lively; Jack Be Quick Jan. 06, 2021
Q: How in the world did Bill come to be a nickname for William; Bob for Robert; Chuck for Charles; D... Read More
Style Is a Melange of Earlier Designs Sep. 06, 2019
Q: Enclosed is a photo of an antique chair I purchased in 1969 in Columbus, Ohio. The elaborately ca... Read More
As the World Turns Sep. 05, 2019
Week of Sept. 8-14, 2019 We've all had those days where nothing seems to move. No matter where you g... Read More
Reader Offers a Clever 'Why's Crack?' Sep. 04, 2019
Q: Why is the adjective "crack" used to describe someone who's good at something, as in a "crack sho... Read More
Porcelain Dinnerware Decorated With Violets Aug. 30, 2019
Q: This is a picture of one of the plates in a service-for-eight dinnerware set we purchased when we... Read More
Newspaper Nomenclature Has Nautical Nature Aug. 28, 2019
Q: I've noticed that the word "masthead" is often used to refer to the name on the front page of a p... Read More
A Colorful Stellar Pair Aug. 22, 2019
Week of Aug. 25-31, 2019 Summer is a wonderful time for stargazing. Not only is the nighttime weathe... Read More
Using 'Times Less' Subtracts From Clarity Aug. 21, 2019
Q: I see the following two phrases all too often: 1) "Three (or two or four) times less." I would th... Read More
Monk Figure Made by Van de Meulebroucke Aug. 16, 2019
Q: I have enclosed a photo of a monk figure that was given to me many years ago. It is made of some ... Read More
How Bright Are the Stars? Aug. 15, 2019
Week of Aug. 18-24, 2019 Open any book or magazine about astronomy and you're likely to encounter th... Read More
'Trooper' Trope Troubles Troupers Aug. 14, 2019
Q: The lead character in the comic strip "Rex Morgan, M.D." recently referred to someone as a "real ... Read More
Little Big Moon Aug. 08, 2019
Week of Aug. 11-17, 2019 One of the most beautiful sights in nature is a massive, full moon rising o... Read More
Turn On, Tune In, Drop Album Aug. 07, 2019
Q: Musicians used to "release" a new album, but now a new album is "dropped." What the heck is that?... Read More
When Modifiers Unbuckle, They Give Us a Chuckle Jul. 31, 2019
"Watch the birds as they hunt for fish using your own binoculars." Will the birds swoop down and gra... Read More
New Verb Provides an 'Other' Perspective Jul. 24, 2019
In a recent op-ed piece urging us to welcome and celebrate differences among people, Trinity College... Read More
The Great Summer Triangle Jul. 18, 2019
Week of July 21-27, 2019 Now that we in the Northern Hemisphere are firmly rooted in summertime, we ... Read More
Full Speed 'Ahead'! Jul. 17, 2019
Some random dispatches from the Word Front ... — Off With Their "Aheads": When did "ahead of"... Read More
Space Age Lingo Is Still in Orbit Jul. 10, 2019
As the 50th anniversary of the Apollo moon landing blasts off, commentators will surely cite the spa... Read More
Saturn: Lord of the Rings Jul. 04, 2019
Week of July 7-13, 2019 It is often said that beauty lies in the eye of the beholder, so if I were t... Read More
