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English as She Is Spoke, and Why People Are Wrong So Often Sep. 04, 2020
An old editor once told me, "If everyone believes it, it's probably wrong," which is why Rep. Joseph... Read More
From Prison to Purge: The Linguistic Origins of 'Cancel Culture' Sep. 02, 2020
The term "cancel culture" has been batted around like a volleyball during the past few weeks. It ref... Read More
And Now a Few Words From Our Sponsor Aug. 26, 2020
"God sees everything," says George Wilson, the disconsolate husband in F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel "... Read More
Online Actions Have In-Person Consequences Aug. 21, 2020
Dear Annie: My direct manager recently deleted me on the networking website LinkedIn. I have repeate... Read More
And Now for Some Literary 'Critter'cism Aug. 12, 2020
Edith Frankel of Hannawa Falls, New York, sent me this sentence from Science News: "An array of crit... Read More
This Question Comes Up 'Biannually' Aug. 05, 2020
Q: I was taught that a biannual event occurred every other year. Now it seems "biannual" is being us... Read More
Do Brainstorms Cause Thunder and Enlightening? Jul. 29, 2020
We've all been there. You and your colleagues are brainstorming during a Zoom session, shouting out ... Read More
Are You Woke About 'Woken'? Jul. 22, 2020
Q: In a story I just read, I found this: "I was woken up bright and early." Is "woken" a word? ̵... Read More
Heading for the 'High' Ground Jul. 15, 2020
Why do we say that people enjoying an opulent, elegant lifestyle are living "high on the hog"? The t... Read More
Classic Ann Landers Jul. 12, 2020
Editor's Note: Hundreds of Ann Landers' loyal readers have requested that newspapers continue to pub... Read More
Will You 'Cotton' to These Word Origins? Jun. 24, 2020
"I don't cotton to that idea," a friend said the other day. The idea he wasn't "cottoning to" was my... Read More
Find What's Weak, and Make a Tweak Jun. 17, 2020
Sentences, like radios, often require fine-tuning. Misplaced modifiers, ambiguous pronoun references... Read More
'Gregarious' and 'Ruminate' Share Beastly Origins Jun. 10, 2020
Whenever a minister speaks of a congregation as a "flock" — the last time this happened, by th... Read More
Are You A-Where of These Regional Terms? May. 20, 2020
Despite the homogenization of American language during the past century, many delightful words uniqu... Read More
The Fake That Launched a Thousand Slips May. 13, 2020
When the origin of a word seems obvious, beware! Consider these tricksters: Launch: You might assume... Read More
The Nation's Report Card May. 06, 2020
The Department of Education just released results of the quadrennial National Assessment of Educatio... Read More
Are You Game for Some Word Games? May. 06, 2020
What is the only letter that does not appear in the name of any U.S. state? What do the city of Pari... Read More
Are You Ready for a 'Double-Cross-Word' Puzzle? Apr. 29, 2020
Let's play "Guess the Word Origin!" Can you select the correct derivation of these terms? 1. When so... Read More
Slash Your Way Through These Prose Thickets Apr. 22, 2020
Reading awkward, verbose prose can feel like trying to navigate a dense thicket of branches and bush... Read More
A Trap Play in the Grapefruit League Apr. 15, 2020
While working as a busboy in the dining hall during my college days, I became the victim of what wou... Read More
