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."
5 6 7 8 9 Displaying 43-49 of 214 Articles

Evasive Maneuvers

Euphemisms old and new

Deinstitutionalizing Policy Time and Other Mischaracterizations
Fri Dec 07 00:00:00 EST 2018
By Mark Peters

It was recently revealed that the daily agenda of the most powerful person in the world included policy time (in addition to executive time). It's my policy to crank out a new roundup of euphemisms each month. Around these here parts, it's always malarkey time.  Continue reading...
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Evasive Maneuvers

Euphemisms old and new

Work-Life Malarkey in the Entrepreneurial Economy
Wed Nov 07 00:00:00 EST 2018
By Mark Peters

The well of drivel will never run dry, so let's amble through the latest and worst euphemisms I've collected during the first month of my second decade as a euphemism columnist.  Continue reading...
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Word Routes

Exploring the pathways of our lexicon

By the Light of the Moonmoon: The Joy of Reduplication
Wed Oct 31 00:00:00 EDT 2018
By Mark Peters

These days we need all the levity, lunar or otherwise, that we can get. This lexical lunacy is a flimsy excuse for me to write about my favorite type of word: the reduplication. From ack-ack to zip-zap, reduplicative words are silly, childish, catchy, animalistic, nonsensical, and awesome.  Continue reading...
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Evasive Maneuvers

Euphemisms old and new

A Decade of Drivel: Happy Column-versary to Me
Wed Oct 10 00:00:00 EDT 2018
By Mark Peters

In the spirit of my tenth anniversary, here's a look back at 10 euphemisms from previous columns that I particularly love—I mean, loathe! Loathe, obviously.  Continue reading...
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Evasive Maneuvers

Euphemisms old and new

Over Time, Euphemisms Develop
Premium content available only to Visual Thesaurus subscribers.Wed Sep 12 00:00:00 EDT 2018
By Mark Peters

Whatever name you go by in plea agreements and apocalyptic prophecies, I'm sure you appreciate discretion. In that spirit, here's my latest roundup of terms that beat around the bush so many times they could give George Orwell vertigo.  Continue reading...
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Word Routes

Exploring the pathways of our lexicon

The Lexical Constitution of "Constitution"
Mon Sep 10 00:00:00 EDT 2018
By Mark Peters

As long as there's a literal Constitution to amend and a metaphorical constitution to defend, constitution will remain an important word. Here's a look at this versatile word, just in time for September 17th — Constitution Day.  Continue reading...
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Dog Eared

Books we love

The Evasion-English Dictionary: A Smart Bomb Aimed at Sneaky, Self-deluded Language
Fri Aug 31 00:00:00 EDT 2018
By Mark Peters

Turns out evasion can take the form of a Trojan horsepucky so subtle and tiny most would not recognize it as evasive at all. This expanded edition of The Evasion-English Dictionary shows how small, everyday, nothing-to-see-here words can hide as much hokum as the longest and vaguest jargon.  Continue reading...
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5 6 7 8 9 Displaying 43-49 of 214 Articles