Words to Retire: “Antediluvian”
The odds are pretty good that if you know what the word “antediluvian” means, you had to look it up. And if you don’t know what it means, you would not likely be aided by the hint that it means the...
View ArticleA Plague on Words: Decimate, Disinterested, and Uninterested
A couple weeks ago, Ben Yagoda at Slate offered several examples of words and phrases whose original meanings seem to be fighting a losing battle against their incorrect contemporary meanings. Some...
View ArticleThere’s “Fair,” and then there’s “Fair”
Professor Mondo has a recent post on a topic of particular interest to me: our disparate underlying conceptions of the meaning of “fairness.” (The Professor and I also share an appreciation of...
View ArticleFeeling “badly”
Jay Nordlinger points out our Education Secretary don’t speak English real good: Arne Duncan, our illustrious education secretary, is all weepy over the young’uns in Texas. They don’t get no...
View ArticleUncivil Tongues: The Bad Manners of the Babykillers
Calling abortion rights advocates “babykillers” is pretty much a no-no in our civil society, and for good reason. Such talk only serves to inflame: nobody likes being demonized so they get pissed and...
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