The Swedish term hemmablind literally means “home blind,” and refers to that state when you’ve lived in your home so long you no longer notice its flaws or your own clutter. This handy Swedish term is one of several introduced in the reality TV series The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning, narrated by comedian Amy Poehler. The show is uplifting and heartfelt, and isn’t so much about death as it is about organizing your life now in order to enjoy the rest of it to the very fullest. This is part of a complete episode.
The so-called “lifestyle influencer accent” you hear in videos on TikTok and YouTube, where someone speaks with rising tones at the end of sentences and phrases, suggesting that they’re about to say something important, is a form of what linguists...
Meg in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, gets why the state highway department encourages drivers to use their blinkers when changing lanes, but placing a digital sign at the Sagamore Bridge that reads Use Ya Blinkah is, well, a lexical bridge too far. Meg’s...
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