Watch out — there's a new candidate for Euphemism of the Year! And this one just might be one of the sneakiest snakes.  Continue reading...

Have you ever heard of the Dunning-Kruger Effect? Explore patterns on how effects are used throughout journalism.  Continue reading...

Linguistically, it seems, the second decade of the 21st century was all about our selves. At its annual meeting the American Dialect Society selected (my) pronouns as its word of the year for 2019 and singular or nonbinary they as the word of the decade.  Continue reading...

It's time to dive headfirst into that confoundingest of subjects: the formation of comparatives and superlatives.  Continue reading...

Because Internet: Understanding the New Rules of Language is a sparkling new book by the linguist Gretchen McCulloch whose title is both a description and an example of one of the "new rules."  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...