Media mishaps: Grammar grinch gripes again
I heard it again this morning: NASA pronounced “nassau.” NASA is not pronounced “nassau.” Nassau (NASS-aw) is a city, the capital of the Bahamas. NASA (NASS-uh) is an acronym for […]
Finally, the banished words for 2020
Earlier this year I looked for the 2020 Banished Words list from Lake Superior State University and somehow managed to miss it until now. This is the 45th annual list […]
They is just sayin’
As most of my regular readers already know, I’m a retired editor. And as you might have guessed, I have followed — with considerable consternation — the discussions and explanations […]
Hating liars
Presidential candidate Joe Biden really got my attention last week … and not in a good way. First there was the “No malarkey” tour. Okay, that’s a nice, if dated, […]
Will issues verbal thrashing of Mike Pence
For a lesson in how to wield the English language, check out George Will’s column in the Washington Post. You needn’t agree that “Trump is no longer the worst person in […]
‘Be Best’?
I’m among those who don’t understand what Melania Trump means with her “Be Best” campaign. My first thought was that since English is her second language, maybe she just missed […]
I learned a new word today
(Yes, it’s a real word. I looked it up. And not surprisingly, it’s been discussed more than once in the last year. But I’d managed to remain ignorant until I […]
Another Word of the Year: ‘feminism’
Two weeks ago, Dictionary.com announced that its Word of the Year was complicit. Today another dictionary, Merriam-Webster, announced its Word of the Year: feminism. As with complicit, the selection of feminism […]
Dictionary.com announces Word of the Year
I’d like to think all my readers are already well aware of the meaning of complicit. And yet Dictionary.com declared it their Word of the Year because of the number […]
Snowboarder on fire at X-Games!
Frontside grab … truck driver … frontside rodeo … cab double underflip … quad cork 1800 … half cab quadruple backflip … backside triple cork 1620 … Snowboarding tricks, many […]
Words banished for 2017
Here it is, the list of words and phrases banished for 2017. No doubt you’ve looked forward to it for a year. Or maybe two, since I neglected to post […]
