Word of the day: omnibusA word, a television show.#television#words·mleddy.blogspot.com·Sep 25, 2011Word of the day: omnibus
Word of the day: iridescent“Iridescent” brings to my mind two bits of poetry.#MarianneMoore#poetry#Sappho#words·mleddy.blogspot.com·Sep 15, 2011Word of the day: iridescent
From Garner’s Usage Tip of the DayConcerning “qua.”#usage#words·mleddy.blogspot.com·Sep 11, 2011From Garner’s Usage Tip of the Day
The word of the day: quaquaversalA real word, from the OED.#OED#words·mleddy.blogspot.com·Aug 30, 2011The word of the day: quaquaversal
William Deresiewicz on heroes“Perhaps no word in public life of late has been more thoroughly debased by overuse.”#culture#words·mleddy.blogspot.com·Aug 23, 2011William Deresiewicz on heroes
David Marsh on the subjunctiveAt The Guardian, with a nod to Orange Crate Art.#usage#words·mleddy.blogspot.com·Aug 9, 2011David Marsh on the subjunctive
Word of the day: pupilLike any unexamined word suddenly examined, it looks a bit odd.#words·mleddy.blogspot.com·Aug 7, 2011Word of the day: pupil
Word of the day: skeuomorphHandy word in the digital world.#words·mleddy.blogspot.com·Jul 28, 2011Word of the day: skeuomorph
Word of the day: earthlingMuch older than I thought.#words·mleddy.blogspot.com·Jul 28, 2011Word of the day: earthling
“I changed the Will to Shall”Pete Seeger, on the development of “We Shall Overcome.”#grammar#music#PeteSeeger#words·mleddy.blogspot.com·Jul 19, 2011“I changed the Will to Shall”
Were and wasAn update to one of the most popular posts on Orange Crate Art.#grammar#language#usage#words·mleddy.blogspot.com·Jul 18, 2011Were and was
Murdoch’s issues“Murdoch’s phrasing places blame not on individual agents but on difficulties and problems that were somehow in the air. It’s like a driver blaming issues with alcohol for the damage to his car.”#media#newspapers#words#language·mleddy.blogspot.com·Jul 16, 2011Murdoch’s issues
Clothes, information, suds, pantsNouns, invariably plural, invariably singular.#BryanGarner#language#words·mleddy.blogspot.com·Jul 14, 2011Clothes, information, suds, pants
Garner’s Usage Tip of the DayRe: process : The phrase “in the process of” never adds anything to the sentence in which it appears. You can safely omit it and thereby tig...#BryanGarner#usage#words·mleddy.blogspot.com·Jul 13, 2011Garner’s Usage Tip of the Day
Kozol on jargonEducational jargon: “a peculiar tendency to use a polysyllabic synonym for almost any plain and ordinary word.”#education#words·mleddy.blogspot.com·Jun 28, 2011Kozol on jargon
The Banned ListFrom John Rentoul of The Independent, a list of one hundred words and phrases to avoid: The Banned List.#words·mleddy.blogspot.com·Jun 15, 2011The Banned List
Leonard Stern (1922–2011)Honeymooners writer and creator of Mad Libs#Honeymooners#words·mleddy.blogspot.com·Jun 13, 2011Leonard Stern (1922–2011)
Chicago Assyrian Dictionary, completeNinety years in the making, the 21-volume, 28,000-word Chicago Assyrian Dictionary is complete.#words#dictionary·mleddy.blogspot.com·Jun 5, 2011Chicago Assyrian Dictionary, complete
The OED’s first-place verbIt’s “run.”#OED#words·mleddy.blogspot.com·May 31, 2011The OED’s first-place verb
Blues idiom of the day: dust one’s broomFrom Stephen Calt’s Barrelhouse Words: A Blues Dialect Dictionary#blues#idioms#words·mleddy.blogspot.com·May 31, 2011Blues idiom of the day: dust one’s broom
Unusual idiom of the day“I don’t want to burden you out.”#idioms#words·mleddy.blogspot.com·May 31, 2011Unusual idiom of the day
First messy of 2011Michiko Kakutani, using the word “messy” in a book review (again).#words·mleddy.blogspot.com·May 31, 2011First messy of 2011
That saidA modest suggestion to improve early-twenty-first-century discourse: remove “that said” from the starts of sentences.#usage#words·mleddy.blogspot.com·May 18, 2011That said
Getting my ducks in a row“Lord love a duck”: it’s everywhere.#synchronicity#words·mleddy.blogspot.com·May 15, 2011Getting my ducks in a row
Word of the day: subitize“To perceive, without counting, the number of objects in a small group.”#words·mleddy.blogspot.com·May 13, 2011Word of the day: subitize
Word of the day: jalousieIt’s Merriam-Webster’s Word of the Day.#words·mleddy.blogspot.com·May 5, 2011Word of the day: jalousie
“Doris Day parking”Any parking spot that seems as though it was meant to be#words·mleddy.blogspot.com·May 5, 2011“Doris Day parking”
Phooey, a captionThe first recorded appearance of “phooey” as applied to the New Yorker Caption Contest#cartoons#words·mleddy.blogspot.com·May 5, 2011Phooey, a caption
The lunatic fringe again“Lunatic fringe” first referred to hair.#culture#politics#words·mleddy.blogspot.com·Apr 23, 2011The lunatic fringe again
