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Is There a Fossil on Your Tongue? Aug. 10, 2022
Have you ever wondered why "bravado" means a FALSE sense of courage? "Bravado" is a linguistic fossi... Read More
'Primrose' Path Leads to 'Buttery' Slope Jul. 27, 2022
Did you know there's no "linger" in "malinger," no "butter" in "buttery" and no "rose" in "primrose"... Read More
Books Everywhere Jul. 16, 2022
When I was a student in the fourth grade, our teacher gave us an assignment investigating different ... Read More
Old Words for New Wizardry Jun. 08, 2022
"Class, please use your stylus to write the correct answer on your tablet." Are these instructions f... Read More
Bank Goes on a 'Power' Trip Jun. 01, 2022
Today, some random dispatches from the Word Front... —Power Play — "What would you like ... Read More
English Shows Off Nerves of 'Steal' May. 25, 2022
The English language is a great thief. Like an out-of-control kleptomaniac, our Mother Tongue has ra... Read More
Writer's Block Tried to Ruin Me May. 21, 2022
Acute panic accompanies a blank page, so I almost never use one. It's a mental trick. You see, I wri... Read More
Would You Like to Have Coffee with this Author? Part III May. 21, 2022
I invite my history students to have coffee with several other Caribbean authors — metaphorica... Read More
This Comma Quiz Will Give You Pause May. 11, 2022
"The fewer commas you use," Nicholas Baker once wrote, "the more of a tyrant you would be if placed ... Read More
How I 'Zoom' Through Deadlines Every Week With Friends Mar. 04, 2022
On Sunday afternoons, I log in to my Zoom account, join a meeting, mute myself and ignore everyone e... Read More
Forget Writer's Block; Writer's Remorse Is the Real Pain Feb. 12, 2022
My husband once asked me if I ever got writer's block. "No," I answered, with the boundless confiden... Read More
Why Not Write Your Life? Jan. 21, 2022
When I'm not writing columns or working on my books, I devote a lot of time to helping seniors commi... Read More
Words Fail a Writer Jan. 14, 2022
Dear Annie: I am a published author and have been struggling to write my next book. I've written a h... Read More
The Cure for Writer's Block Jan. 11, 2022
Dear Annie: I used to write every day — mostly poems but also essays. I really want to get bac... Read More
Do Children Read Books Anymore? Aug. 13, 2021
DR. WALLACE: I'm told that I have a great imagination and that has made me consider becoming a write... Read More
Refills from a Blessed Cup Jun. 11, 2021
It was hard for my dad to describe to me what he did at work when I was little. He was a mechanic in... Read More
Is Converting Adjectives to Nouns an Automatic? Jun. 09, 2021
The linguistic purist Tradition Al discusses an alarming trend with his more permissive friend Open ... Read More
Big Tech and Free Speech Apr. 22, 2021
A colleague recently asked me if I approved of Big Tech censoring political and cultural voices on t... Read More
Your Story: Part 2 Apr. 16, 2021
In my last column, I addressed the benefits of writing a memoir, both for yourself and your family m... Read More
Avoid Snacking on Linguistic Bonbons Mar. 24, 2021
We all have our nasty little habits: binge-eating potato chips, chomping on gum and reading columns ... Read More
