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  1. Evasive Maneuvers

     Rights for Robots and Other Alternative, Orderly, Restrictive Rubbish
    Tue Feb 07 20:41:00 EST 2017
    Though I made a case for alt-right as 2016's Euphemism of the Year, the American Dialect Society went in another direction, those rascals! They selected locker-room talk, which is a pretty solid euphemism, though I'm not sure it made the top ten twaddlesome terms of 2016. This year is young, but there's already a candidate I suspect everyone and their uncle is going to support or at least suggest for 2017's euphemism of the year: alternative facts.

  2. Language Lounge

     Spam: A Lexical and Pragmatic Guide
    Wed Feb 01 00:00:00 EST 2017
    When I open an email that a spam filter has misdirected I'm rarely in doubt about whether it is or isn't spam, and the basis of my certainty is nearly always linguistic. For me, the reasons that spam fails so colossally to convince can be divided into two convenient categories of linguistic analysis: lexical and pragmatic.

  3. Word Count

     The Problem with Being a Natural Writer
    Mon Jan 16 00:00:00 EST 2017
    There are some people we might describe as "Natural Writers." They write facilely and prolifically. They don't suffer from writer's block. But they also have some problems.

  4. Behind the Dictionary

     A "Dumpster Fire" of a Year
    Wed Jan 11 10:14:00 EST 2017
    At its annual meeting the American Dialect Society selected dumpster fire as its word of the year for 2016 and set a precedent by including an emoji in its announcement of the vote.

  5. Evasive Maneuvers

     What is the Euphemism of the Year?
    Wed Jan 04 00:00:00 EST 2017
    The American Dialect Society will be meeting in early January to present papers and share research about our ever-evolving language. They'll also pick the Word of the Year, along with many other categories—including Euphemism of the Year. Here's a list of suggested contenders.

  6. Evasive Maneuvers

     What is the Euphemism of the Year?
    Wed Jan 04 00:00:00 EST 2017
    This pick for Euphemism of the Year is the ultimate cloaking device for lies, baloney, and any theories that involve hordes of dinosaurs up to funny business on the moon.

  7. Language Lounge

     You Say You Want a Resolution?
    Sun Jan 01 18:15:00 EST 2017
    It would be an interesting social experiment to bring the language surrounding New Year's Resolutions more into line with the meaning of resolution—that is to say, the act of declaring a firm intention to act.

  8. Word Routes

     What Are You Doing New Year's Eve?
    Fri Dec 30 09:00:00 EST 2016
    Besides college football, New Year's Eve toasts and a rousing rendition of Auld Lang Syne at midnight, the other New Year's tradition is the New Year's resolution. Here's a look at the lexical mysteries surrounding some of the holiday's traditions.

  9. Word Count

     Bob Dylan: Joker and Thinker. Cynic and Believer. Lover and Loner.
    Wed Dec 21 00:00:00 EST 2016
    Bob Dylan has led and still leads generations of us ordinary men and women through the day-in, day-out, year-in, year-out battle to keep our feet on the ground, our eyes on the stars, and our souls battered but unbowed.

  10. Dog Eared

     An Insider's Look at the Creation (and Endless Recreation) of the Oxford English Dictionary
    Mon Dec 19 00:30:00 EST 2016
    Just as the OED will never be finished documenting the English language, there's always more to tell about the OED itself. So the latest addition to the historical record of our greatest historical dictionary—The Making of the Oxford English Dictionary by lexicographer Peter Gilliver—is most welcome.
26 27 28 29 30 Displaying 271-280 of 3488 Results