Monica in Burlington, Vermont, understood right away when a friend said her day got kerfunkulated. Words such as thingamajiggy, doohickey, whatchamacallit, and dumaflache work as placeholders, filling a gap when speakers do not need, or do not want...
OMG, text messaging! It’s destroying the English language, corrupting young minds, turning us into illiterates. It’s probably shrinking the ozone layer, too. Or is it? In his new book, Txting: The Gr8 Db8, David Crystal offers a different...
triple n.— «There is so much hugging at Pascack Hills High School in Montvale, N.J., that students have broken down the hugs by type: […] There’s the shake and lean; the hug from behind; and, the newest addition, the triple — any combination of...
The real problem with texting isn’t how it affects language, but what it does to social interaction. Is there anything more annoying when you’re trying to have a conversation than watching your companion’s eyes flitting to his phone when he sees...
whimperative n.— «The clearest example is ordinary politeness. When you are at a dinner party and want the salt, you don’t blurt out, “Gimme the salt.” Rather, you use what linguists call a whimperative, as in “Do you think you could pass the salt...
