How a Yiddish word with Hebrew roots became a ubiquitous American brand name, backronym, and even a baby name.
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How a Yiddish word with Hebrew roots became a ubiquitous American brand name, backronym, and even a baby name.
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Evasive Maneuvers
Euphemisms old and new
Predictive Human Balderdash and Other Managed Malarkey
May 12, 2022
Please enjoy the list of latest and greatest euphemisms, full of managed malarkey you won't find anywhere else.
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A funny thing about the word funny is how frequently we use it to fill out the context of what we're about to say.
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Word Count
Writers Talk About Writing
How to Survive the Feast or Famine of Freelance Writing
April 28, 2022
No matter how much work you have, learn how to get through feast and famine as a freelance writer.
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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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Of Dialects, Vernaculars, and Code-Switching
February 3, 2022
- 2 Comments
13 Ways to Prevent Overwork From Affecting Your Writing
January 27, 2022
- 5 Comments
Why You Should Blog BEFORE Writing Your Book
Click here to browse all the articles in our archive by date.
December 23, 2021
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Predictive Human Balderdash and Other Managed Malarkey
David C. said,
"Don't be too skeptical about "managed retreat." Without it, we would not have superman. As for predictive human behavior, perhaps Ann was speaking..."
- Yesterday, 4:15 PM
Westy said,
"Your excellent writing skill alone is why we are entertained by this short list of uneventful and unimaginative euphemisms."
- Tuesday May 17th, 9:41 AM
Funny Business
Jeff H. said,
"At the end, does "how funny something is" perhaps mean "how something is funny?""
- Sunday May 8th, 4:04 PM
Tricky, Special, Fruitful, Space-Flavored Fiddle-Faddle
Dan F. said,
"So, was the Iraq "war" a "special military operation?" Was it different in any other way than degree from Russia's invasion?"
- Wednesday May 4th, 4:14 AM
Street Smarts
rgadagkar said,
"I have been using Visual Thesaurus for years. At first I enjoyed it but over the years I am finding it less interesting and less useful. It is not..."
- Sunday April 24th, 9:14 AM
Tony A. said,
""What3Words is ingenious, but it isn’t perfect. " Too true. What3Words gives no indication of what other addresses you are near to. You need an..."
- Friday April 22nd, 10:37 PM
Let Internet Randos Be Your Guide
sally L. said,
"Thank you for takin the time……. comment makes me think of a similar sounding comment about baking experiences from bakers on the King Arthur Comments..."
- Thursday April 21st, 12:12 PM
How to Survive Until You're Famous or Successful
Cris Mandelin Wood said,
"This article is just what I needed at this time in my life. Thank you!"
- Tuesday April 19th, 10:35 AM
Joseph Stalin and Problems of Linguistics
mike H. said,
"Well, Orin you have done it again, raising the emotions of everyone in the room by talking about language. Lisa and I rented a car and drove through..."
- Saturday April 16th, 10:13 PM
TitusPrime said,
"This isn't about our people being similarly culpable for allowing these crimes of manipulation to continue to justify our lack taking action within..."
- Saturday April 16th, 5:33 PM
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Lesson Plans
Put the VT to work in your classroom
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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