An introvert in Baltimore, Maryland, is unhappy with an online definition of introvert, and is speaking up about wanting it changed. The definition describes an introvert as someone preoccupied with their own thoughts and feelings—such as a selfish...
We often hear that English is going to hell in a handbasket. Actually, though, linguistic handwringing about sinking standards and sloppy speech has been going on for centuries – at least as far back as the 1300’s! And: language also...
Quiz Guy John Chaneski has a game built on the lyrical pattern of Paul Simon’s “50 Ways to Leave Your Lover” with clues like, “Mr. Tyson, even a boxer like you shouldn’t have a problem finding a 3-wheeled ride out of...
When you pick up a book of poems, how many do you read in one sitting? Some people devour several in a row, while others savor them much more slowly. Plus, it’s a problem faced by politicians and public speakers: When you have to stand in...
Merkel-Raute, or Merkel rhombus, describes what German Chancellor Angela Merkel does with her hands in public. She holds her fingers together and pointing down, with thumbs touching, making a small parallelogram in front of her belly. Asked about...
Retcon, short for retroactive continuity, is the phenomenon commonly used in video games, comic books, and soap operas where something from a past plotline is changed in order for what’s happening in the present to make sense. Also along those lines...

