Search Content
Mispronunciation of 'Nuclear' Goes 'Noo-kyoo-lur' Jun. 11, 2025
President Donald Trump deserves credit for having one talent that many previous presidents have lack... Read More
Why Checking More Boxes Is Not the Solution Jun. 06, 2025
A smile spreads over your face as you discover Saturday night leftovers hiding in the fridge behind ... Read More
Straight From the Horse's Mouth Jun. 04, 2025
Q: Is it "champing at the bit" or "chomping at the bit"? I'm champing/chomping at the bit to know! &... Read More
Combative Language Makes You the Victim of Your Own Success May. 30, 2025
Imagine: Your counterculture social media campaign goes viral, igniting a conflagration of cultural ... Read More
Gifts of Gab for Grad or Dad May. 28, 2025
If there's a grad or dad on your giving list this June, consider one of these new books about words.... Read More
The Words You Use Create the Person You Will Be May. 23, 2025
If you haven't read George Orwell's dystopian masterpiece "1984," read it. If you have read it, read... Read More
Pangrams Pack Punch From A to Z May. 21, 2025
What do these oddball sentences have in common? "Jackdaws love my big sphinx of quartz"; "The five b... Read More
Why Teachers Race Through the 'Curriculum' May. 14, 2025
As the spring semester ends, many teachers are frantically rushing through the curriculum as if they... Read More
Does 'Money' Make the Words Go Round? May. 07, 2025
Is there any "money" in alimony? Anything "holy" about "halo"? And why do we say a gun has been fire... Read More
Let's Tariff These British Imports! Apr. 30, 2025
Call it the British Invasion. No, it's not the war that started 250 years ago. It's the current all-... Read More
Show Your 'Wile' When Using 'While' Apr. 23, 2025
Dear Word Guy, I have a lot of time on my hands now, what with being expelled from the U.S. Congress... Read More
English and I -- or Maybe Me Apr. 18, 2025
I have no facility with languages. I'm incoherent in Latin, French, Spanish and, far too often, in E... Read More
These Lemons Need To Be Squeezed Apr. 16, 2025
The Word Guy Blooper Patrol has plucked the ripest, juiciest mistakes from newspapers and magazines.... Read More
After a Century, Eloquence of 'Gatsby' Still Enchants Us Apr. 09, 2025
F. Scott Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby," published 100 years ago this month, endures as a cherished... Read More
A-E-I-O-U and Sometimes Why Apr. 02, 2025
Q: Are there any other words besides "facetious" that contain all the vowels in alphabetical order? ... Read More
Illuminating a Linguistic Blind Spot Mar. 26, 2025
A reader from Rocky Hill, Connecticut, writes with a question about road signs that read "Blind Driv... Read More
Go Home -- We're Drunk Mar. 21, 2025
An attorney I used to know told me how he figured out when to go home. "When I can't pronounce 'judi... Read More
Diary of a Young 'Whip'-persnapper Mar. 19, 2025
During my college years, I alleviated the tedium of a summer job flipping burgers by concocting word... Read More
Everything You Always Wanted To Know About Sects Mar. 12, 2025
Have you ever wondered how Protestant denominations acquired their names? I'll tell you anyway. As a... Read More
'Official English' Is Tone-Deaf to Rhythms of a Multicultural America Mar. 11, 2025
SAN DIEGO — President Donald Trump is a shameless cultural warrior who pits citizens against o... Read More
