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Dial 'M' for Misuse Aug. 16, 2023
Many words beginning with "m" are easily confused with one another. Can you select the correct "m" w... Read More
Readers 'Letter' Rip! Aug. 09, 2023
Do you know why the call letters of most radio TV stations east of the Mississippi begin with a W, w... Read More
When Tech Terms 'Fly' Astray Aug. 02, 2023
Using a technical or scientific term incorrectly is like using a computer keyboard to swat a fly. Yo... Read More
Verbs 'Conjugate' at the Gym Jul. 26, 2023
In today's episode, Hulk Hogan takes his grandnephew Winky on a tour of the Verb Gym... Hulk: Look! ... Read More
Waste No Time in Reading This Column! Jul. 19, 2023
Today's column is a grab bag of linguistic tidbits. — When I write college recommendations for... Read More
CAn This CAnny Quiz CAtch You? Jul. 12, 2023
Try taking this quiz on words beginning with "ca" to see whether you'll earn a "C" or an "A": 1. Own... Read More
Torrent of Mixed Metaphors Rages Like Wildfire Jul. 05, 2023
"It's just a blatant smoke screen to keep on feathering the nest." This sentence, recently uttered b... Read More
Stop This Noun Clog Clutter Clotting Now! Jun. 28, 2023
A major bank distributed a document titled "Government Securities Dealership Customer Account Inform... Read More
I'm Shocked, Shocked to Find These Errors! Jun. 21, 2023
No experience is more delicious than catching someone in an act of hypocrisy. And that goes double w... Read More
Answering a Raft of Moot Questions Jun. 14, 2023
Q: What's your opinion on double possessives? When describing Huckleberry Finn and Jim floating down... Read More
When Caterpillars 'Butterfly' into Verbs Jun. 07, 2023
In recent years, usage purists have been wringing their hands helplessly as lowly, immobile caterpil... Read More
Take a Verbal Voyage This Summer May. 24, 2023
Become a "word" traveler this summer with one of these new books about language. If you're reading t... Read More
The Season of Pomp and Circumlocution May. 17, 2023
Ah, graduation. Time for all the academic regalia: pomp, circumstance, mortarboards, diplomas and ye... Read More
Yes, Ira, There Is an Adjectival Clause May. 10, 2023
Q: I am writing on behalf of my seventh-grade class. We consulted four dictionaries, and all of them... Read More
Readers Have Their Say on What We Say May. 03, 2023
Some of my readers are fully capable of writing this column. So today I'm turning it over to them. "... Read More
The Not So Good Old Daze Apr. 26, 2023
How much tougher was life in the old days? When The Washington Post put that question to readers a w... Read More
Reviewing Some Principal Principles Apr. 19, 2023
Bob Calnen of Manchester, Connecticut, is a man of "principles" — and "principals." He loves t... Read More
Readers Weigh In, But Word Guy Still Sins Apr. 12, 2023
What are my readers' top pet peeves about poor English usage? (Of course, I would never commit any t... Read More
Swimming Through the Cold Porridge of Academese Apr. 05, 2023
Consider these memorable opening lines: "Call me Ishmael"; "It was the best of times, it was the wor... Read More
You'll Find This Column Puzzling Mar. 29, 2023
Some of my readers are posers. No, they're not pretentious phonies. They simply enjoy posing word pu... Read More
