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We use many punctuation marks intuitively. Periods, for example, land at the end of sentences without any problem. But semicolons? Not so easy.
The semicolon can inspire strong emotions. Kurt Vonnegut said 鈥淎ll they do is show you鈥檝e been to college,鈥� and George Orwell detested them.
Many Scandinavians frown on tipping, and they鈥檙e not too keen on please or thanks (as English-speakers think of them) either.
What 鈥測ou鈥檙e welcome鈥� means is less important than what it does. Even small favors can create a feeling of obligation on the part of the recipient.
The 2016 and 2018 elections were the headiest of times for dog whistles, but we might be about to say goodbye to them.
The debate surrounding the serial comma is about more than just clarity and style. Now, an Oxford buried in your writing is a social statement.
Fake news was not coined by President Donald Trump, though he suggested something of the sort in a 2017 interview.
This week we have one final set of examples of words that are surprisingly old: computer, hipster, dude, and 鈥淣o pain, no gain.鈥�
It鈥檚 common to hear 鈥淲hat鈥檚 up?鈥� as a greeting today, but you may be surprised that Sherlock Holmes, the Victorian detective character, said it too.
My London-born mother-in-law has been known to jokingly say 鈥渟hut your gobs!鈥� to my children. Getting smacked in the gob will make you stop gabbing.
Octopus came into English only in the 18th century. Before then, these creatures had been referred to as poulps or prekes with a nice, easy 鈥渟.鈥�
English speakers often run into trouble when grappling with plural nouns because of their Latin roots.
Having such unbridled enthusiasm hasn鈥檛 always been considered a good thing. But baseball brought fan back.
Humans were more than happy with sugar for 1,000 years or so, until a Baltimore chemist accidentally invented another artificial sweetener in 1878.
Much diplomacy these days seems to consist of 鈥渟aber-rattling.鈥� Why is this old-fashioned-sounding term still part of the political lexicon?
What is a wheelhouse, and why are businesspeople so concerned with establishing what鈥檚 in it?
Whom is now mostly relegated to written language, appearing in literature, academic papers, and the Mueller report.
Attorney General William Barr's redactions to the Mueller report were intended to leave out information, but there's still plenty there to learn.
Since the Mueller report was released, all sorts of words for "not guilty" are cropping up in the media.
There are many words to describe an angry discourse. What's the best term for the words published by the Christchurch, New Zealand shooter?
