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Me and Cardi B Sep. 18, 2020
I wish to remark, and my language is plain, that I have said far filthier things than Cardi B has ev... Read More
'Ghost Words' Still Haunt Our Language Sep. 09, 2020
We throw our "suitcases" and other "luggage" into the "trunks" of our cars. But those "suitcases" pr... Read More
'Epic,' 'Heroic,' 'Patriots': Words We Have Abused Into Meaninglessness Sep. 08, 2020
I advise my students to avoid starting their papers with hackneyed platitudes — "Most historia... Read More
From Prison to Purge: The Linguistic Origins of 'Cancel Culture' Sep. 02, 2020
The term "cancel culture" has been batted around like a volleyball during the past few weeks. It ref... Read More
And Now a Few Words From Our Sponsor Aug. 26, 2020
"God sees everything," says George Wilson, the disconsolate husband in F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel "... Read More
Links to Slavery and Racism Taint Many Terms Aug. 19, 2020
In the wake of George Floyd's death and the reinvigoration of the Black Lives Matter movement, words... 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
This Question Comes Up 'Biannually' Aug. 05, 2020
Q: I was taught that a biannual event occurred every other year. Now it seems "biannual" is being us... Read More
Do Brainstorms Cause Thunder and Enlightening? Jul. 29, 2020
We've all been there. You and your colleagues are brainstorming during a Zoom session, shouting out ... Read More
Are You Woke About 'Woken'? Jul. 22, 2020
Q: In a story I just read, I found this: "I was woken up bright and early." Is "woken" a word? ̵... 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
Find What's Weak, and Make a Tweak Jun. 17, 2020
Sentences, like radios, often require fine-tuning. Misplaced modifiers, ambiguous pronoun references... Read More
Classic Ann Landers Jun. 14, 2020
Editor's Note: Hundreds of Ann Landers' loyal readers have requested that newspapers continue to pub... Read More
'Gregarious' and 'Ruminate' Share Beastly Origins Jun. 10, 2020
Whenever a minister speaks of a congregation as a "flock" — the last time this happened, by th... Read More
Are You Game for Some Word Games? May. 06, 2020
What is the only letter that does not appear in the name of any U.S. state? What do the city of Pari... 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
Slash Your Way Through These Prose Thickets Apr. 22, 2020
Reading awkward, verbose prose can feel like trying to navigate a dense thicket of branches and bush... 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
Trump's 'Chinese Virus' Reference Encourages Anti-Asian Hatred Mar. 23, 2020
The nation seems to have two Donald Trumps now: One is the calm, focused president who emerged last ... Read More
