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Taking the Terror out of 'Terrific' Feb. 26, 2020
Q: Could you explain why "terrible" and "horrible" are synonyms but "terrific" and "horrific" are an... Read More
Iowa Caucus 'Debacle': Worse Than We 'Thaw't' Feb. 19, 2020
Well, we finally found something that both Democrats and Republicans can agree on: The Democratic Io... Read More
Some Metaphors Are Beyond Comparison Feb. 05, 2020
We swim in a sea of metaphors. Our everyday conversations teem with the minnows of comparison: We bi... Read More
Sitting in the Cat Word Seat Jan. 29, 2020
On an evening dark and dreary, I was pondering possible topics for my next column when my gray tabby... Read More
Dad Fires Up His 'Range' Rover Jan. 22, 2020
My 23-year-old daughter called me the other day to tell me that her landlord had provided a "new ove... Read More
Bristle While You Work Jan. 15, 2020
One of the occupational hazards of writing a language column (other than introducing myself and havi... Read More
Blooper Patrol Finds Cash in the Cellar Jan. 08, 2020
Members of the ever-vigilant Word Guy Blooper Patrol have sent me this latest collection of gaffes, ... Read More
Repartee in the Rathskeller? You Don't Say! Dec. 25, 2019
Here's your chance to test your mastery of frequently mispronounced words. I'll even throw in some l... Read More
Experts Have Pronounced Differences Over 'Ukraine' Dec. 04, 2019
Today, some random dispatches from the Word Front ... — Scratching Our U-craniums Recent test... Read More
Unleashing the Primal Word Guy Nov. 27, 2019
Anyone who regularly reads this column knows that I'm an easygoing guy who customarily accepts and e... Read More
Walking in a Winter 'Worder'-land Nov. 20, 2019
Put some words in your wassail and some punctuation in your punch this holiday season with one of th... Read More
Shoo, 'Of,' Don't Bother Me! Nov. 06, 2019
The seemingly harmless preposition "of" is the fly in the ointment of good writing. This pesky pest ... Read More
Reader Offers a Clever 'Why's Crack?' Sep. 04, 2019
Q: Why is the adjective "crack" used to describe someone who's good at something, as in a "crack sho... Read More
Using 'Times Less' Subtracts From Clarity Aug. 21, 2019
Q: I see the following two phrases all too often: 1) "Three (or two or four) times less." I would th... Read More
'Trooper' Trope Troubles Troupers Aug. 14, 2019
Q: The lead character in the comic strip "Rex Morgan, M.D." recently referred to someone as a "real ... Read More
Dogged Readers Snarl at Pet Peeves Jun. 05, 2019
Every so often, I like to unleash my readers' pet peeves, aka 'pete noires, 'cur'sed terms and 'dog'... Read More
Can You Catch 40 Winks? May. 15, 2019
Can you find and replace each of the 40 usage errors in this account of my spring-cleaning? (The num... Read More
Should We Topple This 'Regime'? Jul. 16, 2014
Three readers have sent me questions about three different sentences: —Sandy Duffy of Princeto... Read More
Summer Reading for Word Lovers Jul. 09, 2014
Whether you're heading for hostels, highways or hammocks this summer, curl up with one of these new ... Read More
I.O.U. an Explanation of I.E. Jun. 25, 2014
Q: One linguistic usage that always throws me for a loop is whether to use "i.e." or "e.g." to cite ... Read More
