Are fairy tales too scary for children? A survey of parents in Britain found that more than half wouldn’t read them to their children before age five. Martha and Grant discuss the grisly imagery in fairy tales, and whether they’re too...
Barack Obama wants to put people to work building roads and bridges. But how about a federal jobs program for out-of-work writers? Also: why do we call it a flight of wine? How did the haircut called a mullet get its name?
Like mushrooms in fallen leaves, new words keep popping up overnight. Also, is there an English word that means “the in-laws of your son or daughter“? And what does it mean when someone says, “Well, that was odder than Dick’s...
Stabby describes an urge to stab something, or more often, a comic, benign way to say you’re intensely irritated, as when the internet goes out or traffic tests your patience. The adjective has had a recent vogue in informal writing, but it isn’t...
clande adj.—Gloss: An abbreviation of “clandestine.” «The word clande is a common slang term used to describe the guy or chick on the side. Clande comes from the word clandestine meaning the two might both be in other...
In this week’s installment of “Slang This!,” Grant and Martha are joined by June Casagrande, author of Mortal Syntax: 101 Language Choices That Will Get you Clobbered by the Grammar Snobs — Even If You’re Right. June...