In 1963, the writer James Baldwin was the subject of a profile in LIFE magazine, in which he observed, “You think your pain and heartbreak are unprecedented in the history of the world, but then you read.” This is part of a complete...
What did you call the cliques in your high school? Were you a member of the nerds, the jocks, or maybe the grits or the heshers? Also, what’s the meaning of the phrase “rolling in the deep”? Why do we say something’s turned...
John from Richmond, Virginia, remembers a Yorktown high-school clique called grits: metal kids in jean jackets with Ronnie James Dio patches, leather boots, and a taste for the smoking area. Similar crowds have been called Hessians, heshes, heshers...
Is typing two spaces after a period “totally, completely, utterly, and inarguably wrong?” Also, is the language of the movie True Grit historically accurate? Also, shut your pie-hole, Southern grammar, oh my Lady Gaga, and a little town...
It’s another newsletter from “A Way with Words.” Woot! In last weekend’s episode: Is it wrong to type two spaces after a period? We arm-wrestle over that, and talk about the odd language in “True Grit.” Also...
Is the excessively formal language in “True Grit” (2010) historically accurate? The hosts discuss why the Coen brothers would do away with contractions to set a tone for the movie. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of...