The ubiquitous, and relatively recent, commercial sense of nation veers away from the word's earlier meanings. And it intersects in interesting ways with a related word that's also in the spotlight right now: nationalism.
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The ubiquitous, and relatively recent, commercial sense of nation veers away from the word's earlier meanings. And it intersects in interesting ways with a related word that's also in the spotlight right now: nationalism.
Continue reading...
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Writers Talk About Writing
How to Develop the Writing Habit
April 10, 2019
Building any new habit can be challenging, but these ten steps will dramatically increase your chances of succeeding at creating a writing habit.
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Article Topics:
Evasive Maneuvers
Euphemisms old and new
Mephitic Weasels in the Garden House
April 5, 2019
Here are some of the latest and non-greatest lengths your fellow hairless apes have gone to not say what they mean.
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The relations among words are not so different from those among people. It's not unusual for, say, first cousins to bear no obvious resemblance to each other, but if we examine their DNA we find that they have a grandparent in common.
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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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"Dreyer's English": An Utterly Readable Style Guide
March 18, 2019
- 1 Comment
What, By Gosh, is Euphemism of the Year?
January 9, 2019
- 5 Comments
The Year of "Tender Age"
January 7, 2019
- 2 Comments
2019: The International Year of Indigenous Languages
January 1, 2019
- 3 Comments
"Talk on the Wild Side" Is a Sharp Ode to Our Unruly, Resilient Language
December 21, 2018
- 1 Comment
Brand Names of the Year for 2018
December 17, 2018
- 3 Comments
Deinstitutionalizing Policy Time and Other Mischaracterizations
Click here to browse all the articles in our archive by date.
December 7, 2018
- 2 Comments
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How to Stop Yourself from Being a Quitter
Katie K. said,
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Joyce U. said,
"Quitting is a bad habit!"
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Mephitic Weasels in the Garden House
Dan F. said,
"In the "outplacement" category, how about: "He lost his job." The idiot. How could he just lose his job? I guess it's better than being fired. Kind of..."
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Unexpected Cousins
Juan Jose Hartlohner said,
"Oral and oval, were closely related some twenty years ago."
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Adolf V. said,
"As both a linguaphile and retired Sanskrit (संस्कृतम्) teacher (Emory University), I thoroughly enjoy articles like this one. Orin, thank you for..."
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How to Stop Yourself from Being a Quitter
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"thank you. It's nice to know I'm not alone."
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Unexpected Cousins
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"Dreyer's English": An Utterly Readable Style Guide
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Unplanned Descents into Drivel
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"I commend to all readers the book by Australian author and political speech writer Don Watson 'Death Sentence', about the decay of public language, it..."
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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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