Arika Okrent's new book explores some methods behind the madness of English spelling and expressions.
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Writers Talk About Writing
What I Did on My Summer Vacation: Nothing!
July 22, 2021
Relax and find out why doing nothing is exactly what you need.
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One of the biggest trends in branding for the last several years has been something very small: the plus symbol. What does it all add up to?
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Article Topics:
Evasive Maneuvers
Euphemisms old and new
Industrial Athletes Championing Adjusted Ackamarackus
July 8, 2021
Join us for a euphemism-collecting trip full of the latest tchotchkes and gimcracks from Euphville.
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Automatically create lists of vocabulary from any text
using the Visual Thesaurus VocabGrabber.
January 18th is celebrated as Thesaurus Day to honor the birthday of the author of the first thesaurus, Peter Mark Roget. Get into the spirit by reading our two-part interview with Roget biographer Joshua Kendall here and here. Also check out an ode to the thesaurus penned by Franklin P. Adams here and Johnny Carson's hilarious "Funeral for a Thesaurus Editor" sketch here.
On the first Monday in September, the United States observes Labor Day, while Canadians celebrate Labour Day. If you want to know why labour is the accepted spelling in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth countries like Canada, while Americans prefer labor (and color, favor, honor, humor, and neighbor), check out this classic Word Routes column by Ben Zimmer.
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Multi-Purpose Malarkey That Facilitates Fiddle-Faddle
June 10, 2021
June 10, 2021
Plurals That Are Singular
April 29, 2021
- 9 Comments
Freshly Minted: "The Hidden History of Coined Words"
April 15, 2021
- 2 Comments
Genderful, Neanderthal Joggers and Other Variants of Concern
April 8, 2021
- 1 Comment
Sign, Sign, Everywhere a Sign
April 1, 2021
- 10 Comments
How to Protect the Important From the Urgent
March 25, 2021
- 3 Comments
Intimate, Non-Vintage Nuggets of Nincompoopery
Click here to browse all the articles in our archive by date.
March 11, 2021
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Industrial Athletes Championing Adjusted Ackamarackus
Dan F. said,
"I'd like to see "challenge" discussed as a euphemism. Maybe you've done this one before. Why must every problem be a challenge? For instance, if I..."
- Saturday July 17th, 1:34 PM
How to Find More Time to Write
Sam T. said,
"Change your picture."
- Tuesday July 6th, 12:50 PM
Martin G. said,
"It's not that I don't have time to write. It's what to write. I picture myself time after time being laughed out of the picture, so I don't."
- Monday July 5th, 11:53 PM
Linguistic Time Travel
Westy said,
"I found this to be a very good read."
- Friday July 2nd, 10:46 AM
Orin Hargraves said,
"Thanks, all, for comments and engagement. Elaine M, I'm sure you have "wash dress" right in the sense that Ethel used it because she often makes them..."
- Friday July 2nd, 8:35 AM
Gillian M. said,
"Thought-provoking article, thanks. Access to an ancestor's thoughts is the missing link for me, as I want to know the 'whys' and 'hows' in order to..."
- Thursday July 1st, 5:28 PM
Elaine M. said,
"I was born in 1951 and all my extended family lives in and around NW Tennessee in the Weakley/Henry counties area--generations of family all the way..."
- Thursday July 1st, 4:36 PM
Anne B. said,
"Thanks for an interesting article. I agree with G, above, that "come after" means "to pick up someone or something and take them or it home again." I..."
- Thursday July 1st, 3:25 PM
Rain said,
"Wash dresses sound just like what my mother wore around the house in the 1950s, but they were called housedresses in Ontario, Canada, where we lived...."
- Thursday July 1st, 2:51 PM
Paula B. said,
"Very interesting commentary of your great-grandmother's writing. So interesting. My husband (70 years old) is from the midwest and occasionally uses..."
- Thursday July 1st, 2:43 PM
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Stage Directions: the Vocabulary of Theatrical Delivery
November 1, 2013
How can interpreting the language of stage directions enhance students' comprehension of drama?
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