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A 'Soup'er Bowl Packed With Pigskin Palaver Jan. 31, 2024
The lingo of American football is a soup bowl bubbling with terms from almost every realm of life, f... Read More
'Recouping' Gives Reader Paws Jan. 17, 2024
Today, some questions from readers ... Curt Guenther of Memphis asked me to vet this sentence descri... Read More
Word Guy Gets a Taste of His Own Medicine Dec. 30, 2020
"Physician, heal thyself!" When I see that subject line in my email inbox, I know exactly what's com... Read More
Don't Waver in Heeding 'Wave/Waive' Distinction Dec. 09, 2020
"These guys never waiver in supporting me." When I read that sentence recently, I thought, "What a w... Read More
Do You Know the 'Bear' Facts of Usage? Nov. 18, 2020
Who said fairy tales were simple? See whether you can choose the correct words on this quiz about Go... Read More
Getting the Better of Bete Noires Oct. 28, 2020
We all encounter recurring questions about grammar, usage, punctuation or spelling that bedevil us e... Read More
A Glimpse Into the Kitchen of Language Oct. 14, 2020
We often create words in the same way we prepare delicious foods: We slice them, dice them, season t... Read More
A Canny Question Proves Uncanny Sep. 16, 2020
I had just been thinking about the odd words "canny" and "uncanny" when an email from a friend arriv... 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
Latin Abbreviations: The Seven 'Hells' of Rome Jul. 08, 2020
Seven-up! Can you spot an error involving the use of the Latin abbreviations "e.g.," "etc.," "et al.... 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
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
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
Politicos 'Stand Up' a New Buzzword Apr. 08, 2020
Today, two random dispatches from the Word Front ... — "Stand Up" Comedy — The Washingt... Read More
'Flatten' Down the Hatches! Apr. 01, 2020
The mantra of public health experts during the current coronavirus pandemic has been, "Let's flatten... Read More
'Epidemic'/'Pandemic' Distinction Requires Fine-Tuning Mar. 25, 2020
During the current coronavirus scare, I've been taking comfort in playing the piano. I'm a terrible,... Read More
How a Virus Got Its Name Mar. 18, 2020
As the current coronavirus disease spreads, several readers have asked me about the origin of its na... Read More
When Your Name Is Your Game Mar. 11, 2020
I recently heard a radio interview with a spokesman for Venture Data, a company that conducts teleph... Read More
All's 'Fare' in Love and 'Commuting' Mar. 04, 2020
Q: Why do we call someone who travels back and forth to work a "commuter"? — Chris Ryan, New Y... Read More
