All Verbal Energy
We set off to find the elusive pilcrowWhat do you call that little mark that indicates the start of a new paragraph, anyway?
Is the paragraph an endangered species?As humanity鈥檚 global attention span seems to shrink relentlessly, what does this mean for this essential unit of prose?
Getting to the point with pencilsWe don鈥檛 have hard data on this, but even in the Digital Age, the humble graphite pencil continues to make its mark.
Secrets of champion spellers revealedAs the excitement over this year鈥檚 National Spelling Bee builds, a look at what orthographic advice the best contestants have for the rest of us.
Has pristine lost its innocence?A look at how a word that started off meaning 鈥榓ncient鈥� or 鈥榦riginal鈥� has come to mean brand new.鈥�
Still more to know about 鈥榶eah, no鈥�Did you know that English used to have not just two but four words for 鈥榶es鈥� and 鈥榥o鈥�?
Hearing 鈥榊es, no, totally鈥� 鈥� in the wildThe Monitor鈥檚 language columnist is at first skeptical of the idea that people say 鈥榥o鈥� as a way to say 鈥榶es.鈥�
Judicious application of the comma shakerA look at a witty new memoir from a longtime copy editor at The New Yorker.
Right in our wheelhouse, wherever it isIdioms enrich our language with the word pictures they suggest, but they work best when we understand the concrete images behind them.
The (salty) secret life of salamiTerms for several very different food items share a common 'salty' origin, but one has moved on to provide a metaphor for incrementalism.
Semantic bleaching, in your own kitchenThe flowers in your vase are more closely related to the flour in your cupboard than you may realize.
Spring gets a hearty, not hardy, welcomeA look at two words of different backgrounds that cover some of the same ground.
Politics, policy, and the nuances betweenBenjamin Netanyahu鈥檚 speech before Congress was a reminder of just how politicized the word 鈥榩olitical鈥� has become.
Verbs with a past tense already built inWhile the roast(ed) potatoes are in the oven, the Monitor鈥檚 language columnist ponders some irregularities and oddities of verbs.
Like the Gal谩pagos, only for linguistsA look at the curious history of St. Barths, Caribbean glamour destination but also a living laboratory for linguists.
Boston鈥檚 solid deal on its snow farmAs Boston struggles to haul off its accumulation of white stuff, a new understanding of just what a 鈥榝arm鈥� is emerges.
In search of new words for new media?Is a 鈥榤ovie鈥� still a movie if you watch it on your phone?
A computational linguist reads the menuDan Jurafsky of Stanford explains how menu prose aligns with prices, and ensures that you鈥檒l never look at 鈥榗hef鈥檚 choice鈥� the same way again.
History of the world in a ketchup bottleStanford linguist Dan Jurafsky doesn鈥檛 just explain the origins of the word for the red sauce we slather on 鈥楩rench鈥� fries; he uses the global ketchup trade as evidence for a new understanding of global economic history.
A curmudgeon鈥檚 guide to new usagesA traditionalist offers a framing question: Does this new usage solve a new problem?
