Marian W.
Subscriber since: Sat May 21 06:50:18 EDT 2005
Location: Fareham, United Kingdom
About Me
I am a trainer and a coach. I teach "Clean language", a way of helping someone to pay attention to, and develop, the metaphors that people use naturally when they speak. When the metaphors change and evolve, a corresponding change generally occurs in the 'real' world, in relation to what the metaphors were standing for. The 'clean' in Clean Langauge refers to the facilitator's intention NOT to 'contaminate' the client's experience with their own judgements, assumptions or advice. See www.cleanlearning.co.uk for more info.


I also like playing games (especially Settlers of Catan, Dopplekpopf, Scrabble), inventing games (am working on a treasure hunt game at the moment), reading (mostly nonfiction), swimming and playing with my grandson!

My Word Lists
My Favorites

Favorite Quote:

"The human soul doesn't want to be fixed, it simply wants to be seen and heard. The soul is like a wild animal - tough, resiliant and shy. When we go crashing through the woods shouting for it to come out so we can help it, the soul will stay in hiding. But if we are willing to sit quietly and wait for a while, the soul may show itself."
- Parker J. Palmer (The Courage to Teach, p. 151)

Favorite Topics:

Blogs:

Ben Zimmer on How Technology is Shaping Language
Tue Oct 08 00:00:00 EDT 2013
On Slate, Lexicon Valley Launches a New Language Blog
Tue Sep 10 00:00:00 EDT 2013

Books:

"Nine Nasty Words": How and Why We Curse
Fri Aug 13 09:00:00 EDT 2021
Highly Entertaining and Informative
Tue Aug 03 08:00:00 EDT 2021

Branding:

The Rare, Overstuffed "Turduckenym"
Thu Sep 16 00:00:00 EDT 2021
Electrifying!
Thu Jun 17 00:00:00 EDT 2021

Business writing:

Nine ways to finish the writing you start
Thu Jul 28 11:00:00 EDT 2022
When You Should Reduce Your Goals
Thu Aug 26 09:00:00 EDT 2021

Copywriting:

Nine ways to finish the writing you start
Thu Jul 28 11:00:00 EDT 2022
The Lingo of Film Noir
Fri Nov 19 00:00:00 EST 2021

Creativity:

Nine ways to finish the writing you start
Thu Jul 28 11:00:00 EDT 2022
Of Time, Happiness, Creativity and Writing Accomplishments....
Thu Dec 23 00:00:00 EST 2021

Dictionaries:

The Post-Dictionary World?
Thu Jun 03 09:00:00 EDT 2021
Finding (or Inventing) Euphemisms in the Latest OED Update
Wed Nov 13 00:00:00 EST 2019

Fun:

Predictive Human Balderdash and Other Managed Malarkey
Thu May 12 00:00:00 EDT 2022
Very Spatial and Capable Lethal Aid
Thu Feb 10 00:00:00 EST 2022

Grammar:

Seven Sentences You Should Stop Writing
Mon Nov 23 09:00:00 EST 2020
How to Make Your Sentences Shorter
Thu Jun 25 09:00:00 EDT 2020

How to write:

Nine ways to finish the writing you start
Thu Jul 28 11:00:00 EDT 2022
How to Survive Until You're Famous or Successful
Thu Mar 24 00:00:00 EDT 2022

Language:

Metaphors We Live By (Updated)
Thu Mar 03 00:00:00 EST 2022
Brand Names of the Year for 2021
Thu Dec 16 00:00:00 EST 2021

Language arts:

The Enduring Impact of English Teachers on Students
Tue Apr 28 00:00:00 EDT 2015
The Art of Subterfuge: Using Pop Culture to Create Interest in the Classics
Fri Dec 05 00:00:00 EST 2014

Libraries:

Librarians Suggest Good Books for Kids of All Ages
Tue Jan 15 00:00:00 EST 2013
Love Your Librarian
Mon Sep 26 00:00:00 EDT 2011

Linguistics:

Scale Your Onboarding
Thu Jun 02 00:00:00 EDT 2022
Tricky, Special, Fruitful, Space-Flavored Fiddle-Faddle
Thu Apr 14 00:00:00 EDT 2022

Linguists:

Joseph Stalin and Problems of Linguistics
Thu Apr 07 00:00:00 EDT 2022
Of Dialects, Vernaculars, and Code-Switching
Thu Feb 03 00:00:00 EST 2022

Marketing:

What Do Plus Signs Add?
Thu Jul 15 09:00:00 EDT 2021
Brand Names of the Year for 2019
Thu Dec 19 00:00:00 EST 2019

Marketing copy:

What Do Plus Signs Add?
Thu Jul 15 09:00:00 EDT 2021
Dubiously Distinguished
Wed Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 2020

Naming:

Shoot! How Gun Idioms Color Our Speech
Thu Jul 21 12:00:00 EDT 2022
Understanding "Maven"
Thu May 19 00:00:00 EDT 2022

Online:

Strategic Flexibility and Other Bendy Balderdash
Thu Oct 07 00:00:00 EDT 2021
A Recipe for Time Travel
Tue Oct 06 00:00:00 EDT 2020

Puzzle:

To Bee or Not to Bee?
Thu Mar 18 09:00:00 EDT 2021
The Visual Thesaurus Crossword Puzzle: March Edition!
Fri Mar 21 00:00:00 EDT 2008

Reading:

How to Read More Books
Mon Nov 19 00:00:00 EST 2018
Pride and Prejudice and Natural Language Processing
Mon Apr 02 00:00:00 EDT 2018

Self-publishing:

How to Survive Until You're Famous or Successful
Thu Mar 24 00:00:00 EDT 2022
How to Protect the Important From the Urgent
Thu Mar 25 09:00:00 EDT 2021

Spelling:

To Bee or Not to Bee?
Thu Mar 18 09:00:00 EDT 2021
2015 Spelling Bee: Co-Champions Triumph Again, as Vanya and Gokul Prove Unbeatable
Fri May 29 00:00:00 EDT 2015

Storytelling:

Should You Self-Publish?
Mon Oct 26 09:00:00 EDT 2020
Why You Should Consider Back-And-Forth Writing
Thu Sep 24 09:00:00 EDT 2020

Teachers:

The Enduring Impact of English Teachers on Students
Tue Apr 28 00:00:00 EDT 2015
How Can English Teachers Nurture Young Writers?
Fri Mar 06 00:00:00 EST 2015

Teaching:

Teach Your Children Well
Fri Feb 01 00:00:00 EST 2019
The Enduring Impact of English Teachers on Students
Tue Apr 28 00:00:00 EDT 2015

Usage:

Comparative Nonsense
Fri Nov 01 00:00:00 EDT 2019
Unexpected Cousins
Mon Apr 01 00:00:00 EDT 2019

Visual Thesaurus:

The Post-Dictionary World?
Thu Jun 03 09:00:00 EDT 2021
Poll Stars
Mon Oct 19 09:00:00 EDT 2020

Vocabulary:

The Post-Dictionary World?
Thu Jun 03 09:00:00 EDT 2021
A "Dumpster Fire" of a Year
Wed Jan 11 10:14:00 EST 2017

Web tools:

Twitter Me This: New Technology in the Language Arts Classroom
Tue Nov 15 00:00:00 EST 2011
Tracking Dialects on Twitter: What's Coo and What's Koo?
Fri Nov 04 00:00:00 EDT 2011

Word Origins:

Shoot! How Gun Idioms Color Our Speech
Thu Jul 21 12:00:00 EDT 2022
Scale Your Onboarding
Thu Jun 02 00:00:00 EDT 2022

WordMasters:

WordMasters: Grade 3 Gold Division Jan-Feb '11
Mon Jan 31 00:00:00 EST 2011
WordMasters: Grade 3 Blue Division Jan-Feb '11
Mon Jan 31 00:00:00 EST 2011

Words:

Shoot! How Gun Idioms Color Our Speech
Thu Jul 21 12:00:00 EDT 2022
"Nine Nasty Words": How and Why We Curse
Fri Aug 13 09:00:00 EDT 2021

Writer's block:

Nine ways to finish the writing you start
Thu Jul 28 11:00:00 EDT 2022
How to Survive the Feast or Famine of Freelance Writing
Thu Apr 28 00:00:00 EDT 2022

Writers:

Nine ways to finish the writing you start
Thu Jul 28 11:00:00 EDT 2022
How to Survive the Feast or Famine of Freelance Writing
Thu Apr 28 00:00:00 EDT 2022

Writing:

Nine ways to finish the writing you start
Thu Jul 28 11:00:00 EDT 2022
How to Survive the Feast or Famine of Freelance Writing
Thu Apr 28 00:00:00 EDT 2022

Young readers:

How to Encourage Summer Reading
Wed Jul 16 00:00:00 EDT 2014
Fifteen Ways of Looking at "The Woods": Jumpstarting Poetry in the Classroom
Tue Jul 23 00:00:00 EDT 2013