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Word Count
You Got Rhythm
Wed Apr 16 00:00:00 EDT 2008
Like music, writing has rhythm. Think of Shakespeare. He wrote his plays in iambic pentameter: Da dum, da dum, da dum, da dum, da dum. Okay, I know you're not Shakespeare but you and yours sales letter or your school essay or your e-zine article have rhythm too -- whether you know it or not. The beat that exists behind your writing is a key part of what we call your writing voice. It makes your work unique and recognizable. It expresses your personality. It's part of what makes you, you.
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Word Routes
Why Americans Celebrate Labor (and not Labour) Day
Mon Sep 07 00:00:00 EDT 2009
It's the first Monday in September, when the United States observes Labor Day by avoiding labor. Today is a holiday north of the border too, but in Canada it's called Labour Day. Labour, of course, is the accepted spelling in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth countries like Canada. Americans prefer labor to labour, just as they prefer color, favor, honor, humor, neighbor, and a few dozen other words ending in -o(u)r. How did the spellings diverge?
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Candlepower
Brand Names of the Year for 2015
Tue Dec 22 00:00:00 EST 2015
Coined names, dictionary-word names, an acronym, a surname: the year now ending was full of variety for anyone interested in branding trends. Here, in alphabetical order, are my top ten brand names for 2015.
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Wordshop
How Lewis Carroll Would Feel About Jeggings
Mon Apr 11 00:00:00 EDT 2011
Teachers, have you heard of jeggings? Well, if you haven't, surely your students have. Jeggings are skin-tight stretchy jeans, and their name was formed by fusing the words jeans and leggings. Jeggings and other popular words these days, like chillaxing and bromance, are all considered blends or portmanteau words — and worth exploring as a part of your students' word study.
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Contest
The Visual Thesaurus Crossword Puzzle: August Edition
Sat Aug 27 00:00:00 EDT 2011
For this month's Visual Thesaurus crossword puzzle, we're asking you to unlock a secret about two words. Solve it and you could win a Visual Thesaurus T-shirt!
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Word Count
Writing and Thought
Mon Mar 07 00:00:00 EST 2011
The essence of writing's value to humanity is this: the art can convey thought from one human to another. As in gift giving, in writing it's the thought that counts.
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Word Count
Great Expectations: How a Novel's First Line Draws in the Reader
Fri May 09 00:00:00 EDT 2014
The first line of a novel has to accomplish many things at once. It has to grab the reader in some way with its immediacy, but also effectively introduce the rest of the book. A great opening line isn't a tweet, and it can withstand all the spoilers in the world, because literature is something thought through, and the pleasures are deeper than the next immediate payoff.
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Language Lounge
Meme and Variation
Fri May 02 00:00:00 EDT 2014
Many popular Internet memes rely on a usually predictable manipulation of language as a part of their humor. Examining a number of popular memes suggests that they all in fact rely on theme and variation in order to proliferate, and the linguistic aspect of the meme is integral to its ability to spawn siblings and offspring.
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Word Routes
Mailbag Friday: Feeling "Nauseous"
Fri Mar 06 00:00:00 EST 2009
Last month a usage dispute broke out in the comments section here on the Visual Thesaurus. Our "Evasive Maneuvers" columnist Mark Peters described a friend who " started feeling nauseous." Two commenters objected to this use of nauseous, saying that the word properly describes someone or something that is sickening, and that the word Mark should have used is nauseated. Who's right?
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Contest
The Visual Thesaurus Crossword Puzzle: January Edition
Fri Jan 28 00:00:00 EST 2011
As many parts of the country battle the elements, we have a wintry crossword puzzle for you. Solve it and you could win a Visual Thesaurus T-shirt!
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