All In a Word
Hearing isn鈥檛 always believing with 鈥榤ondegreens鈥�Millions heard Taylor Swift singing 鈥淎ll the lonely Starbucks lovers鈥� instead of her actual line, 鈥淕ot a long list of ex-lovers.鈥� What鈥檚 that called?
A lighter side of quid pro quoThis is a language column, so we won鈥檛 go into the politics of the impeachment. Instead, let鈥檚 talk about the complicated origins of 鈥渜uid pro quo.鈥�
The word columnist offers a mea culpaI have been writing 鈥淚n a Word鈥� for almost two years, and I have made mistakes. To the readers who have written in when I have erred: This is for you.
Not the same old folderol: 鈥楴onsense鈥� wordsEnglish has so many creative ways to proclaim that something is 鈥榥onsense.鈥� Part 2 of a series on the nuts and bolts of聽humorous words.
Foolish talk leads to a bunch of 鈥榤alarkey鈥�No one, or at least no member of Congress, says聽malarkey聽more than Joe Biden does. Its connotation is avuncular and proudly old-fashioned.
The most searched-for words of 2019The top words of the year in 2019 reflected shifting attitudes toward gender identity, along with an increase in anxiety about climate change.
What should we call the decade that just ended?If you have a dim view of the past 10 years, you could call it the 鈥淭en-sions鈥�; if you look on the bright side, you might use the 鈥淥ne-ders.鈥�
Christmas by any other nameThe word Christmas itself is a relatively recent introduction, dating 鈥渙nly鈥� from 1123. You might be surprised to hear what came before it.
When should you accept 鈥榝ulsome鈥� praise?The more research I did聽into the history of fulsome, the more confused I became. This slippery word has distinct, sometimes contradictory meanings.
鈥楢nd/or鈥� part 2: The fault lies not in conjunctions, but in ourselvesThe term 鈥渁nd/or鈥� rapidly became known for producing more problems than it solved, especially in the legal realm. Can sign language save us?- No good substitute for the clumsy 鈥榓nd/or鈥�And/or聽may not be beautiful, but it usually does the job. It seems we are stuck with it 鈥� but perhaps聽Boolean logical operators offer a solution.
Be Thankful, Stand Fast, and other Puritan namesPuritans frequently bestowed 鈥済race names鈥� as a way of encouraging children to strive for moral goodness.
A 鈥榤urder of crows鈥� and other collective nounsDid you know there鈥檚 a special word for a group of cats? Welcome to Part 2 in our series on the strange world of collective nouns.
Fun with words: Inventing cool collective nounsHas anyone in all seriousness ever said, 鈥淥h no, I鈥檓 right in the middle of a smack of jellyfish!鈥�? Welcome to the strange world of collective nouns.
鈥業mpeachment鈥� has nothing to do with fruitEtymologically speaking, an impeachment hinders or impedes an unlawful or suspicious statement or course of action.
鈥楰angaroo court鈥� has a peculiarly American pastWhat does U.S. Rep. Steve Scalise's hashtag #KangarooCourt 鈥� a nickname for聽impeachment proceedings against President Donald Trump 鈥� even mean?
Hyperbole creeps into the use of 鈥榰nprecedented鈥�There is little truly new under the sun;聽unprecedented should thus be an uncommon word. The fact that you often hear it means it鈥檚 being overused.
Words that ooze superiority and privilegeIt takes a pricey education to understand classical tongues. That鈥檚 why Latin-based聽pleb聽and聽hoi polloi聽are choice barbs used by the 鈥渦pper class.鈥�
It is the queen鈥檚 prerogative to grant a prorogationWhat does it mean when newspapers say Boris Johnson prorogued聽Parliament, and why did his actions set off a constitutional crisis?
Poking holes in pretentiousness with 鈥榟ighfalutin鈥�There are plenty of words that can be used to poke fun at pretentiousness. Let鈥檚 take a look at the wonderful聽highfalutin,聽hoity-toity, and聽la-di-da!