Jon D. of King of Prussia, Pa. writes in with a Mailbag Friday question: " There has been a lot of talk about a landslide victory during this recent presidential election. Not being sure if we actually experienced one or not, I was wondering if you could educate us on what the term actually means and its historical context in describing elections."  Continue reading...

The literary world lost Michael Crichton and Studs Terkel in recent days. Watch interviews with both Crichton and Terkel on the Charlie Rose Show.

Michael Crichton, best-selling author of Jurassic Park, The Andromeda Strain, and many other science-themed novels, died unexpectedly on Tuesday. Some valedictions from around the Web.

Wired

Reader's Digest

EW PopWatch

Slate

Like NyQuil, a good euphemism can quiet the mind, induce sleep, and stop you from coughing up unpleasant things, like truth or phlegm.

Unlike NyQuil, not all euphemisms are available in local drug stores. For the fine euphemism connoisseur, I hope you'll enjoy these lesser-known dances around the truth — their lexical jigs may be unfamiliar, but their style is unmistakable, in this land of purple majesties, low-information voters, and rhetorical flourishes.  Continue reading...

Last night, the Council of Literary Magazines and Presses held its fifth annual Spelling Bee in support of its non-profit efforts to help out independent literary publishers. The CLMP always attracts an all-star cast of spellers from the New York book world. This time around, the Visual Thesaurus joined forces with the CLMP Bee, supplying the words to stump the cream of the literary crop.  Continue reading...

A small pronunciation incident in the Lounge recently has driven us down the path of reflection on the need for an easygoing approach to the way other people talk.  Continue reading...