A savory Sicilian sausage roll is always a hit for the holidays. This dish goes by a long list of names that are equally delicious to say. Plus, why are those promotional quotes you see on the back of a book called blurbs? The guy who coined the...
Alicia from Prairieville, New York, has a dispute with her new husband over the word over. She said, I’m going over to visit my dad, and he argued that because her father lives southeast of them, she should say going down to visit her dad. Is word...
In 2018, author Ellen Jovin started setting up her folding “Grammar Table” on the streets of New York City, and dispensing helpful advice about grammar and usage to anyone who asked. She enjoyed those interactions so much that she’s now done the...
A remark that’s critical of oneself might be described as self-deprecating. Surprisingly, though, before the 1940s, such a remark was properly said to be self-depreciating. In Garner’s Modern English Usage (Bookshop|Amazon), grammarian Bryan Garner...
The splendid new Dictionary of Southern Appalachian English (Bookshop|Amazon), edited by Michael Montgomery and Jennifer Heinmiller, is a greatly expanded version of the Dictionary of Smoky Mountain English (Amazon), edited by Montgomery and Joseph...
Quiz Guy John Chaneski has created an audio escape room. You’re trapped in a hotel and must figure out a series of clues from objects in the room to find your way out. See that Gideon Bible over there? It’s said that the Bible is this four-letter...