How would you write the sound of a tadpole tap-dancing, or stiff spaghetti banging into a cook's face? MAD Magazine cartoonist Don Martin knew the answer. Read a compendium of Martin's onomatopoetic genius here.

In Napalm and Silly Putty, George Carlin wrote, "I don't like euphemistic language, words that shade the truth. American English is packed with euphemism, because Americans have trouble dealing with reality, and in order to shield themselves from it they use soft language."  Continue reading...

Marvin Terban gets kids laughing (and learning) about language with these illustrated books of funny idioms.

Mad as a Wet Hen!

Punching the Clock

In a Pickle

Another week, another Word of the Year selection! The latest comes from the editors at Webster's New World Dictionary, who have selected the useful verb overshare. They define it as: "to divulge excessive personal information, as in a blog or broadcast interview, prompting reactions ranging from alarmed discomfort to approval." It's certainly a word that captures the zeitgeist of the Age of Too Much Information.  Continue reading...

For Shakespeare it was "And let us two devise to bring him thither," but for us it's likely to be "And let's figure out how to get him there." This month in the Lounge we tip our hat to some English adverbs now in their dotage but still available for duty when called upon.  Continue reading...