For you writers toiling away at your day job, heed the advice of Zadie Smith: “Resign yourself to the lifelong sadness that comes from never being satisfied.” Wait, what? There has to be some satisfaction in this! Write to us about the...
Tony from Blacksburg, Virginia, asks why a meeting that gets pushed back is usually postponed to a later time, even though the phrase can sound as if it should mean moved earlier. The confusion depends on how speakers picture time moving along a...
Happy holidays to everyone! Your gift is another episode of A Way with Words. It's one-size-fits-all. This week we chewed over whether "cotton-picking" is racist, unintentionally funny headlines, a holiday-song quiz...
philfing n.— «The growing practice of so-called “philfing” describes online stores holding back the real cost of “extras” until the last minute. Brian Trevaskiss, operations manager at MoreComputers.com, said:...
June bug n.— «While townies pejoratively dub them “June Bugs,” landlords relish confiscating security deposits and enforcing strict “no party” rules beyond the point of reason and jealous neighbors ruin the fun by...
nanny n.— «I remember the first time I saw a Jamaican $100 bill. It was at home in St. Thomas and an “uncle’ was visiting from the United States.…I do not know when the $100 became a “bills,” as it is commonly...