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Put a Sock in It!
Sometimes you put your foot(wear) in your mouth. Let's look at the origins of some "soxy" and "sole"ful terms.
— Blue stocking
Oddly enough, this derogatory term for an intellectual woman derives from an intellectual man. …Read more.
Cue up a Queue of Tricky Phrases
Verbs followed by prepositions can be tricky. Can you select the correct verb in each phrase?
1. At dawn, the band's fans started to (cue up, queue up) for tickets.
2. The danger of infection (militates against, mitigates against) extensive surgery.…
…Read more.
Let Us Now Pronounce Famous Men
Q: What's the proper way to pronounce "Carnegie"? I am from Pittsburgh, where the guy lived for many years and had a university named for him — Carnegie Mellon. We pronounce it "kahr-NEG-ee" in these parts of the woods. I …Read more.
Getting Our Kilter Back in Whack
Why do we say something is "out of kilter" or "out of whack"? Has something ever been "in kilter" or "in whack"?
I first heard the term "out of kilter" as a kid while watching my father build a …Read more.
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Is a Blocked Highway 'Impassible' or 'Impassable'?Q: When I look up "impassible" in the online dictionaries, the definitions are typically "not subject to suffering or pain; unfeeling." But when I check for usage examples, most deal with roads made impassible, as by bad weather. Are the roads just insensitive to the wheels of traffic, or is there a change of meaning taking place here? — Tom Rountree, Cheraw, S.C. A: Well, let's hope those roads ARE insensitive, considering that they're routinely pounded by 20-ton trucks, studded tires and cars with snow chains. Ouch! The correct word to describe blocked highways is "impassable," meaning "incapable of being traveled; blocked." Though nearly identical in spelling, "impassable" and "impassible" derive from two Latin roots with identical spellings but different meanings. "Impassible" comes from "passus," the past participle of "pati," the Latin word for "to suffer," which is also the root of "patient," "passive" and "passion." "Impassable" derives from the Latin noun "passus," meaning "a step or stride." This "passus" is the root of "pass," "passage" and "pace." Understandably, people confuse "impassible," meaning "unfeeling," with "impassable," meaning "blocked." The most common mistake is using "impassible" for "impassable," as in "the highway was impassible." My method for remembering the difference is to think of the "a" in "road," but you may choose to think of the "a" in "highway." In other words, it's my way or the highway. Q: Is there anything ever "ulterior," other than a motive? Or is anything "gaping," other than a hole (or, I suppose, a maw)? How did these words come to be such one-trick ponies? Were they ever used more broadly? — Jim Maloy, Greensburg, Pa. A: I've always been fascinated by these one-trick ponies.
One of my favorite one-tricks is "whopping," which is invariably used with "increase." As language maven Edwin Newman once asked, "When does an increase begin to whop?" To answer your question, "ulterior" was once used to modify many adjectives. The Oxford English Dictionary lists citations for "ulterior accomplishments," "ulterior designs" and "ulterior intentions." Readers, can you pony up any other words used exclusively in one phrase? Please send me your one-tricks! Rob Kyff, a teacher and writer in West Hartford, Conn., invites your language sightings. Send your reports of misuse and abuse, as well as examples of good writing, via e-mail to Wordguy@aol.com or by regular mail to Rob Kyff, Creators Syndicate, 5777 W. Century Blvd., Suite 700, Los Angeles, CA 90045. To find out more about Rob Kyff and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com. COPYRIGHT 2010 CREATORS.COM
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