contributor

Mark Peters

Mark Peters is a language columnist, lexicographer, and humorist who has written for Esquire, The Funny Times, New Scientist, Psychology Today, Salon, and Slate. He contributes to OUPblog and writes the Best Joke Ever column for McSweeney's. You can read Mark's own jokes on Twitter, such as, "I play by my own rules, which is probably why no one comes to my board game parties anymore."
8 9 10 11 12 Displaying 64-70 of 214 Articles

Word Routes

Exploring the pathways of our lexicon

Octlantis: A Word and World With Many Tentacles
Mon Dec 04 00:00:00 EST 2017
By Mark Peters

The recent discovery of Octlantis, an undersea community of octopuses just off the eastern coast of Australia, is a reminder of how a novel blend can perfectly name a new phenomenon, no matter how wild or multi-tentacled.  Continue reading...
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Evasive Maneuvers

Euphemisms old and new

Black and Orange Process Upsets in the Pause Pod
Sun Nov 12 00:00:00 EST 2017
By Mark Peters

A high percentage of that malarkey consists of euphemisms, which is why we could probably develop fusion energy by harnessing the grave-spinning of George Orwell.  Continue reading...
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Evasive Maneuvers

Euphemisms old and new

Urban Rain Forests and Other Benevolent Bunkum
Wed Oct 04 00:00:00 EDT 2017
By Mark Peters

Don't want to be known as a climate change denier? Call yourself a climate change agnostic. I can't deny that there's a metric tuchus-load of euphemisms out there, because the evidence is enough to overwhelm a drivel agnostic.  Continue reading...
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Word Routes

Exploring the pathways of our lexicon

"Fatberg" is the Tip of the Word-berg
Tue Sep 26 09:00:00 EDT 2017
By Mark Peters

London's colossal clog is a reminder of the history of berg and its parent word iceberg. With language, there's always a lot going on beneath the surface.  Continue reading...
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Evasive Maneuvers

Euphemisms old and new

Secular Twaddle and Cockamamie Community Bunk
Wed Sep 06 00:01:00 EDT 2017
By Mark Peters

Are you scared of group warfare? You should be, because group is now a euphemism for gang. Anyhoo, here's your monthly meal of weak words I caught in my lexical lobster trap. All these words are safe for home use: they have no sharp edges or blunt meanings whatsoever.  Continue reading...
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Evasive Maneuvers

Euphemisms old and new

Carbon-restrained Health and Lifestyle Lunacy
Wed Aug 09 00:00:00 EDT 2017
By Mark Peters

Are you so worried about global warming you can't carbon-restrain yourself? If so, you have a vocabulary term in common with Energy Secretary Rick Perry. This term, and the other euphemisms collected here, are real but insubstantial, like a vengeful ghost or stubborn denial of science.  Continue reading...
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Evasive Maneuvers

Euphemisms old and new

Breadcrumbing Challenges in the Environmental Park
Wed Jul 12 00:00:00 EDT 2017
By Mark Peters

One purpose of slang is to keep illegal doings off the radar of any noisy bystanders, especially cops. So even though slang and euphemisms tend to be on opposite ends of the honesty scale, they can both be used as cloaking devices.  Continue reading...
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8 9 10 11 12 Displaying 64-70 of 214 Articles