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Have Tour Guides 'Taut' Us a Big Lie? Jan. 26, 2022
Insidious invaders have infested the homestead museums and historic houses across our great land. No... Read More
Origin of 'Dumbbell' Rings True Jan. 19, 2022
Q: Why are hand weights called "dumbbells"? — J. H., West Hartford, Connecticut A: It's hard t... Read More
'Historic' or Jan. 12, 2022
Q: We have seen signs that read "Historical Site" as well as "Historic Site." Which is correct? R... Read More
Looking Further Into 'Farther' Jan. 05, 2022
Q: When is it correct to use the word "farther" as opposed to "further"? Both words seem to fit gram... Read More
Coming Clean on Word Origins Dec. 29, 2021
"It's as clean as a whistle," my father would often say after washing the family car. I always thoug... Read More
'Gazebo Effect' Is Bitter Pill To Swallow Dec. 22, 2021
The ever-vigilant members of the Word Guy Blooper Patrol have sent me these errors from newspapers a... Read More
Prep Perps, Potboilers Make Me Want To 'Flea' Dec. 15, 2021
Today, some random dispatches from the Word Front ... — Prep School — A while back, I sc... Read More
Put Some 'Clause' in Your Santa! Nov. 17, 2021
Your holidays will be jolly days if you give — or get — one of these nifty new books abo... Read More
Earn Your Chops and You'll Get Props Nov. 10, 2021
A reader writes, "In the newspaper I keep seeing sentences like 'So-and-so showed his acting chops i... Read More
Do You Like Spinach More Than Me? Nov. 03, 2021
Q: In a recent television commercial, someone said, "I am not afraid of companies bigger than us." M... Read More
Salty Language That's Nautical, Not Naughty Oct. 27, 2021
"Sailing, sailing, over the bounding main ... " We're all familiar with this exhilarating maritime s... Read More
Patient Survey Summons 'Room'inations Oct. 20, 2021
After a recent visit to the doctor's office, I was asked to fill out a survey on my "patient experie... Read More
These Quirky Words Are Spellbinding Oct. 13, 2021
Today, I serve up an alphabet soup of lettery lore. Letter rip! "Strengths" is the longest word in E... Read More
Complexities Troll 'Comptroller,' 'Controller' Oct. 06, 2021
What's the deal with "comptroller" and "controller"? Peter Van Winkle of Boston asked me that questi... Read More
Ladling Out Some Alphabet Soup Sep. 29, 2021
Loyal readers have just scooped up the latest batch of errors in newspapers and other publications. ... Read More
The Shot Heard Round the World of Words Sep. 22, 2021
Seventy years ago, on Oct. 3, 1951, New York Giants outfielder and second-baseman Bobby Thomson blas... Read More
I Know There's a 'Rifle' in There Somewhere! Sep. 15, 2021
I was riffling through my mailbox the other day, when I came across this letter from John Daigle of ... Read More
Bank 'Bail Outs' Reflect Every Sense of the Term Sep. 08, 2021
Q: When we talk about bailouts of banks, does "bail" refer to bailing out a boat with a bucket or to... Read More
Let's Puncture Archaic Punctuation! Sep. 01, 2021
Q: I'm all for eliminating spaces and hyphens! No more "cell phones!" It should be "cellphones." No ... Read More
Prefixes 'En' and 'In' Battle for Dominance Aug. 25, 2021
Q. When should "enclosed" be used vs. "inclosed"? Is there a difference in meaning? — Katherin... Read More
