Today marks the 110th anniversary of the first known appearance of "Ms." as a marriage-neutral title for women. Read Ben Zimmer's account of discovering the original 1901 use in his Word Routes column here, with some further thoughts on the title's history here.

Though I became an editor partly because I enjoy finding fault in the work of others, I have on occasion tried to help my fellow man and woman right some of the more popular wrongs perpetrated against the language.  Continue reading...

Words step outside of their borders all the time; and once they are in new territory, they rarely follow the rules that bound them in their original context. As time passes, they can become complete strangers to their original users, and may even be seen as betraying them.  Continue reading...

November is a great month to steep your students in historical "primary" documents. You could have students read President Wilson’s 14 points in anticipation of Armistice Day (November 11th, now called Veteran’s Day) and the Gettysburg Address to commemorate Lincoln’s famous speech which was delivered on November 19th, 1863.  Continue reading...

In September, Domino's Pizza -- the second-largest pizza chain in the United States, with annual revenue approaching $1.5 billion -- introduced "Artisan Pizzas" to its 5,000 stores nationwide. Are you picturing skilled workers up to their elbows in whole-grain flour and locally sourced tomatoes, lovingly patting each pie into a charmingly irregular shape? Well, forget about it.  Continue reading...

The public protest over economic inequalities known as "Occupy Wall Street" has been going on nearly a month now, with the original demonstration in Manhattan's Financial District spreading to cities around the world. Thanks to the success of the movement, the lingo of the protesters has spread quickly, with the verb occupy in particular becoming a kind of rallying cry.  Continue reading...