Newscasters are going overboard with the euphemisms for death, like passed away, or simply passed. If someone died, it’s fine to say exactly that. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Misplaced Euphemisms in...
A former copydesk chief points out the circular nature of dictionaries using citations from newspapers that in turn consult dictionaries and the AP Styleguide for questions of usage. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Style...
Does penultimate mean the very last? No! It means second to last, taking from the Latin word paene, meaning almost. It’s the same Latin root that gives us the word for that “almost island,” a peninsula. People misusing penultimate...
Why do newspaper reporters end articles with the number 30 or the three-pound-sign symbol ###? No one knows for sure, although that never stopped journalists from debating the origin of this way of ending a story. The practice arose in a bygone era...
If someone’s balloon has lost its string, it means “they’ve come unmoored”. Something unusual or odd has come about in their character. Patrice Evans used the illustration in his description of Tracy Morgan in an article for...
C-r-r-r-r-reeeeeeeeaaaaaak! Last weekend, we reached into the AWWW vault and pulled out an oldie but goodie, featuring “death eatin’ a cracker walkin’ backwards,” “graveyard shift,” “saved by the...