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The ubiquitous warfighter
The ubiquitous warfighter
To my ear, warfighter has something of the sound of a kenning. As spoken by our president, it sounds like a sanction for war crimes. A service member belongs to a community with norms and values; a warfighter is an independent agent. A warfighter: so anything goes.
#culture#words
·mleddy.blogspot.com·
The ubiquitous warfighter
“O.K.,” “K,” “kk”
“O.K.,” “K,” “kk”
In The New York Times, a Q & A column about workplaces covers “kk,” which some younger people apparently prefer to “OK” or “K” in e-mail and texts.
#e-mail#words
·mleddy.blogspot.com·
“O.K.,” “K,” “kk”
Another delegitimatize
Another delegitimatize
The thought of Trump and The New Yorker being on the same page usage-wise is, as a wishy-washy observer of politics might say, “troubling.”
#NewYorker#words
·mleddy.blogspot.com·
Another delegitimatize
“An important Rubicon”
“An important Rubicon”
A Rubicon is by definition important. Ask Julius Caesar. Or Austin Dickinson and Mabel Loomis Todd.
#usage#words
·mleddy.blogspot.com·
“An important Rubicon”
Not prolific
Not prolific
The word’s associations with new life and creativity make it a particularly grotesque choice for characterizing a killer.
#usage#words
·mleddy.blogspot.com·
Not prolific
“Tippy-top”
“Tippy-top”
Donald Trump just stated that "our nuclear" is in "tippy-top shape."
#words
·mleddy.blogspot.com·
“Tippy-top”
Merriam-Webster and they
Merriam-Webster and they
There’s no doubt that it is an established member of the English language, which means that it belongs in Merriam-Webster’s dictionaries.
#dictionary#words
·mleddy.blogspot.com·
Merriam-Webster and they
“Multiple shade options”
“Multiple shade options”
Our new toaster (Cuisinart) has “multiple shade options.” Or as plain-speaking people might say, it toasts light and dark.
#words
·mleddy.blogspot.com·
“Multiple shade options”
Word of the day: Nowheresville
Word of the day: Nowheresville
Excuse me: Peoria is the second largest city in central Illinois (after Springfield). Nowheresville my eye.
#words
·mleddy.blogspot.com·
Word of the day: Nowheresville
Needs studied
Needs studied
From Chicago magazine, “A Downstate Illinois Dictionary.” With fronted o, need + past participle, and positive anymore.
#Illinois#language#words
·mleddy.blogspot.com·
Needs studied
About retronyms
About retronyms
“An unexpected delight of summer”: Caren Lissner writes about retronyms.
#language#words
·mleddy.blogspot.com·
About retronyms
Not “home”
Not “home”
It’s startling to see a The New York Times article refer to Jeffrey Epstein’s 71st Street mansion as a “home.”
#NewYorkTimes#words
·mleddy.blogspot.com·
Not “home”
Word of the day: obbligato
Word of the day: obbligato
The word of the day, or of my day, because I just learned all about the word’s origins, is obbligato.
#music#words
·mleddy.blogspot.com·
Word of the day: obbligato
Puzzled about nepenthe
Puzzled about nepenthe
How did nepenthe make its way into today’s Sunday Puzzle? My guess is that Will Shortz has many lists of words, searchable in many ways, and thus found this word.
#Homer#Odyssey#words
·mleddy.blogspot.com·
Puzzled about nepenthe
An afterthought
An afterthought
To rebut is not to refute, and to say is not to argue.
#words
·mleddy.blogspot.com·
An afterthought
No argument
No argument
To argue is “to give reasons for or against something.” To demand or insist is not to argue.
#words
·mleddy.blogspot.com·
No argument
Concentration camps
Concentration camps
Masha Gessen: “It is the choice between thinking that whatever is happening in reality is, by definition, acceptable, and thinking that some actual events in our current reality are fundamentally incompatible with our concept of ourselves — not just as Americans but as human beings — and therefore unimaginable.”
#truth#words
·mleddy.blogspot.com·
Concentration camps
“Research has shown”
“Research has shown”
Diana Senechal: “‘Research has shown’ — the phrase struck me with its vagueness, its exaltation of research (regardless of quality), and its use as a mallet to quash discussion.”
#words
·mleddy.blogspot.com·
“Research has shown”
Phalanges and phalanxes
Phalanges and phalanxes
The question came into my head when we were walking: are the words phalanges and phalanx related? Because a phalanx is like a whole bunch of phalanges, isn’t it?
#words
·mleddy.blogspot.com·
Phalanges and phalanxes