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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
Linguistic Changes Foster Respect, Inclusion Aug. 18, 2021
Spinster. Gypped. Grandfather clause. These are among many terms now deemed racist, sexist, ageist o... Read More
Cancel Culture and Wokeness Will Destroy Our Country Aug. 11, 2021
The enabling tool of what we call "cancel culture" or "wokeness" is language. People are put in cat... Read More
Night of the Living Deadbeat Aug. 11, 2021
I recently applied for a refinance of my home mortgage. You know the drill: Scour your files to find... Read More
This Reader and I Are 'Like' Minded Aug. 04, 2021
Q: I know that the sentence "He looks like me" is correct usage. Does the same apply in sentences su... Read More
July 27, 2021 Jul. 27, 2021
Dear Annie: I am married with three children. Recently, my husband, without much research, discussio... Read More
Teachers Savor Students' 'Mist Queues' Jul. 21, 2021
Sometimes, when grading my students' papers and tests, I encounter errors that disarm me because the... Read More
Woke Language Jul. 21, 2021
Have you noticed how our language is changing? At a congressional hearing on "Birthing While Black,"... Read More
These Derivations Are on the Money Jul. 14, 2021
"The rich are different from us," F. Scott Fitzgerald supposedly told Ernest Hemingway. "Yes," Hemin... Read More
Pet Peeves Pounce on Prancing Prey Jul. 07, 2021
I occasionally ask readers to unleash their pet peeves about grammar and usage. While at first, thes... Read More
Meaning of 'Moot' Is a Moot Question Jun. 16, 2021
It's 11:45 a.m. at the faculty lunch table. A heated argument breaks out when an art teacher asks: "... Read More
Is Converting Adjectives to Nouns an Automatic? Jun. 09, 2021
The linguistic purist Tradition Al discusses an alarming trend with his more permissive friend Open ... Read More
Language Books for the Summer Hammock May. 26, 2021
"Summer made her light escape / Into the Beautiful," wrote Emily Dickinson. Make your own light esca... Read More
The Strange Etymologies of 'the Left,' 'Liberals,' 'Progressives' and 'Red Parties' (Part II) May. 22, 2021
Since its origins in revolutionary France, the definition of "the left" has continuously evolved in ... Read More
U.S. Builds Barriers To Stop 'Title' Wave May. 19, 2021
"All kings is mostly rapscallions," Mark Twain wrote in "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn." Twain'... Read More
The Strange Etymologies of 'the Left,' 'Liberals,' 'Progressives' and 'Red Parties' (Part I) May. 15, 2021
Languages, especially their vocabularies, are in constant flux. Like living organisms, they are born... Read More
Conservatives Should Start Paying Attention to Language May. 14, 2021
In certain ways, it must be fun to be a left-winger. Pushing for any policy that seems socially just... Read More
By Any Other Name Lacks Respect May. 09, 2021
When he responded to my call with a deep, slow hello, it sounded like I roused him from sleep. I blu... Read More
Semantic Subterfuge: Democrats, Deception and Distortion Apr. 13, 2021
Democrats have a little problem with the truth. For example, they called H.R. 1319 their "COVID-19 r... Read More
