Nancy from New Haven, Connecticut, has noticed the word liminal turning up everywhere lately and wonders if she’s imagining it. She’s not. The word’s use has risen sharply since around 2021, particularly in long-form journalism and public...
The word peruse is such a confusing term that it’s best to avoid it entirely. Some English speakers were taught it means “to read casually,” while others were taught exactly the opposite. This is part of a complete episode...
A Connecticut cop says his dad, a retired professor of English and comparative literature at Yale, has been reading his son’s police reports. They disagree about whether complainant is a legitimate word, or whether it should be complainer...
graffer n.— «There’s been an explosion of graffiti in the downtown district in New Haven this summer. To the trained eye, it’s not just an part of the urban landscape. Police say, it is often a reflection of what’s going on in the streets...

