Freedom gas. Molecules of freedom. In appreciation of these insane terms, I'd like to look at some past terms that freedom has spawned in the cesspool of English.  Continue reading...

If you ask me to complete the phrase "hotter than ________", "July" is what comes to my mind first. The calendar inspires the subject of this month's column, which I might characterize as "uses and abuses of the comparative".  Continue reading...

Here are seven tips to help you sit down actually write something when your subject makes you quiver with boredom.  Continue reading...

Peter Martin's new book, The Dictionary Wars, is an account of the beginnings, twists, and turns in American lexicography that have led to the unique place of the name "Webster" in the minds of Americans today. If you're a lover of words and dictionaries, you'll want to put this excellent book on your reading list.  Continue reading...

Do you find 21st-century life shallow and superficial? Take another look: In fact, ours is an era of extraordinary depth — linguistically speaking, anyway. As the 2011 song by Adele put it, we're rolling in the deep.  Continue reading...

If only all reprehensible rewordings were satirical rather than serious. But as long as homo sapiens hem and haw and holler horse apples, I'll be on the job, collecting those apples in my train of twaddle.  Continue reading...

Lexicography has been and continues to be a gig occupation for many who do it, and that is the case for Charles Sanders Peirce. One place he found work was in writing definitions for the Century Dictionary, which may be the greatest dictionary you've never heard of.  Continue reading...