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Books were rare treasures in the Middle Ages, painstakingly copied out by hand. So how to protect them from theft? Scribes sometimes added a curse to the first page of those books that was supposed to keep thieves away — and some were as vicious as...
Teaching our children, and some advice for writers. Suppose your child is eager to tackle a difficult subject–ancient Greek, for example–but you know his reach exceeds his grasp? The challenge is to support the child’s curiosity...
If you’re still hung up on the lay vs. lie rule, here’s a poem for you. This is part of a complete episode.
The death of Martha’s favorite cat Typo prompts her to reminisce about him, and about one of her favorite ailurophilic words, chatoyant.
spello n.— «I was around for a few momentous typos and spellos (a term my friend uses for words that are misspelled not by accident, but because you really didn’t know the right spelling and didn’t check.) I got to witness e-mail pouring...
fooding n.— «Go “fooding.” No, it’s not a typo, but a new Parisian word to describe the concept of food as a fashion lifestyle choice. Le fooding is as much about the ambience and style of the restaurant as the food on your...