Valerie from Los Angeles, California, is curious about the admonition don’t buy the hype. Don’t buy the hype about the word hyperbole, though, because that’s likely not the source of the word “hype.” This is part of a...
Trevor from Waxahachie, Texas, wonders: If you find a typo or other error in a book, should you let the publisher know? This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Who Do You Tell About Typos in Books?” Hi there, you have A Way...
Andrea in San Diego, California, noticed a new restaurant with a name spelled in a curious way. Is there a term for this kind of intentional misspelling used in advertising? Onomastics is the study of naming, and a good source for information about...
Emily in San Diego wonders whether the brand name Segway is nudging people toward spelling segue as segway. The older word’s spelling looks un-English because it came through Italian seguire, meaning “to follow,” with relatives in Latin and in non...
An ad campaign featuring the phrase the last straw to urge people not to use plastic straws has Allie in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, wondering about double meanings in advertising. Research shows that such punning can be effective. This is part of a...
Kevin, a longtime vegetarian in St. Louis, Missouri, queasily recounts how he accidentally ordered sweetbreads in a fancy restaurant, thinking they were some kind of deep-fried bread, only to discover that it’s a kind of meat — a thymus gland...