Nothing brightens up an email like an emoticon. But is it appropriate to include a smiley face in an email to your boss? Also, what do time management experts mean when they say you should start each day by “eating the frog”? Plus, the story behind...
How do you manage your time? Perhaps by eating the frog, which means “to do the most distasteful task first.” This is also known as “carrying guts to a bear.” This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Eating the Frog” Grant, have you heard...
Hi, language lovers! Happy March 4, and Happy National Grammar Day! (Get it? “March forth” and syntactically sin no more?) Join the revelry here: Just don’t say we didn’t warn you about the earworm from that grammar song, okay? We would have let you...
wrench time n.— «But the mechanics do not simply need better instruction, Mr. Joyce said. The typical mechanic, he estimates, puts in just four and a half hours of “wrench time” during an eight-hour shift. Much time is wasted traveling between...
meez n.— «Literally “put in place,” mise en place is the kitchen term for your set up, the gathering and preparation of all the tools and food you need to complete the task at hand; mise en place can refer to a cook’s organization on the line...
Discover the joys (and temptations!) of two new books of collected wisdom: “The Yale Book of Quotations” edited by Fred Shapiro, and James Geary’s “Guide to the World’s Great Aphorists.” Grant explains why leafing through such books can be...

