A simile is a rhetorical device that describes by comparing two different things or ideas using the word like or as. But what makes a good simile? The 1910 book Fifteen Thousand Useful Phrases, by Yale public-speaking instructor Grenville Kleiser...
Sneaky contract lingo, advice for writing well, and preserving a dying language. Say you’re scrolling through an online transaction where you’re asked to read the “Terms and Conditions.” Do you actually read them or just check the...
A high school teacher in Indianapolis reports her students use the verb finesse to mean “to steal.” This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Thief Finesse” Hello, you have A Way with Words. Hi, this is Sarah from...
Gifts for book lovers: Martha recommends one for lovers of libraries and another for students of Spanish. Grant suggests some enchanting novels for young readers. When it comes to books, though, you can’t always judge them by their original...
A sixth-grade teacher from San Antonio, Texas, says he and his students are reading The Lord of the Rings. They’re curious about the words attercop, which means “spider” (and a relative of the word cobweb) and Tomnoddy, which means...
The standard spelling is dilemma, but memories keep arriving from people taught to write dilemna, with an n before the final a. Hazel in Kildare, North Dakota, says spellcheck finally shook loose the version she had used all her life. Maxine in...