Right off the bat, it’s easy to think of several everyday expressions that derive from America’s pastime–including “right off the bat.” The Dickson Baseball Dictionary catalogues not only those contributions but also...
Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. wrote, in a Supreme Court opinion no less, that “a word is not a crystal, transparent and unchanged; it is the skin of a living thought and may vary greatly in color and content according to the circumstances and time...
Martha shares a quotation from Joseph Addison, no fan of puns: “If we must lash one another, let it be with the manly strokes of wit and satire: for I am of the old philosopher’s opinion, that, if I must suffer from one or the other, I...
Should we use try and or try to? Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary of English Usage says it’s grammatically permissible to “try and go to the store,” or to ask someone to “try and speak up.” However, a fan of formality...
If someone has overegged the pudding, they’ve overstated the case. This may explain why a lawyer from Lawrence, Kansas, found the phrase in a judicial opinion. This is part of a complete episode.
Well, I'll be a monkey's uncle! It's another newsletter from "A Way with Words"! "Moded, corroded, your booty exploded"--that's what we talked about this past weekend on the program. "Moded" is a...