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Generational Words Birth a Terrific Lexical Book
October 29, 2015
By Mark Peters
BROWSE BY DATE:Articles from OCTOBER 2015Dog EaredBooks we loveGenerational Words Birth a Terrific Lexical Book October 29, 2015 By Mark Peters![]()
In the seventy-one columns I've written for the Visual Thesaurus, I've stuck to writing on writing, examining the art's principles and its quirks. But now with the presidential debates growing hot as autumn grows cold, I'd like to say a few words about the role of writing and politics in our democracy.
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Word RoutesExploring the pathways of our lexiconA Real Humdinger of an Etymology October 20, 2015 By Ben Zimmer
On the latest installment of the Slate podcast Lexicon Valley, I look into the origins of the slang term humdinger, which hit it big around the turn of the 20th century to refer to someone or something remarkable or impressive.
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Article Topics:CandlepowerAd and marketing creativesFall-ify Your Vocabtoberfest! October 19, 2015 By Nancy Friedman
Maybe it's the newly chilly air, or the dwindling daylight, or the thrilling prospect of costumes and candy. Whatever the reason, each autumn brings a harvest of seasonal neologisms, word blends, and commercial coinages as colorful as the falling leaves.
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Article Topics:Word CountWriters Talk About WritingWhy You Should Paraphrase More October 15, 2015 By Daphne Gray-GrantWhen I was in high school and university, I hated writing. I adored editing, mind you, but I found the pain of extracting that first draft torturous. The most painful part? Paraphrasing. Continue reading...Article Topics:Dog EaredBooks we loveEggcorns Finally Get Their Due in a Bountiful Book of Malapropisms October 8, 2015 By Mark Peters
Do you like sowing your wild oaks? Do you sometimes feel like a social leopard? Could you use a new leaf on life? Or do you just enjoy the infinite creativity of the English language, even when people make mistakes? If you answered yes to any of the above, you need to check out Robert Alden Rubin's terrific new book Going to Hell in a Hen Basket: An Illustrated Dictionary of Modern Malapropisms.
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Evasive ManeuversEuphemisms old and newMinding Like-Minded Individuals With a Low Blue Flame October 6, 2015 By Mark Peters
Have you encountered a transition counselor lately? I hope not. In the real world, a transition counselor is a diabolical euphemism for a profession made famous by George Clooney's character in Up in the Air: someone who fires people for a living. But in Matt Kindt's extraordinary conspiracy thriller Mind MGMT, the term has an even darker sense: assassin.
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