Michael Massing: Avoid These Cliches Like the Plague

This post is a recent piece by Michael Massing from the New York Times. Here's a link to the original. The piece consists entirely of a remarkably inclusive list of common cliche's used by writers in English.  An impressive display, I think you'll agree. As all writers know, it's hard to avoid using cliches.  A cliche …

George Packer: The Moral Case Against Equity Language

This post is an essay by George Packer from the April issue of Atlantic.  Here's a link to the original. I find a thoughtful rumination on the problems posed by shifting to equity language in an effort to reduce discrimination and disparagement.  The problem, he says, is that the effort tends to lead to euphemisms, which …

Walter Mimms — How “Please” Stopped Being Polite

This blog post is an essay from Atlantic by Walter Mimms about the peculiar evolution of the word "please" in English usage.  Somehow it evolved from the super-polite "if it please you" to the slightly less formal "if you please" to the polite but simple "please" to the peremptory "would you please move" to the …

David Bentley Hart — How to Write English Prose

This post is an essay by David Bentley Hart about How to Write English Prose, which was published online at The Lamp.  Here's a link to the original.  What I like most about it is that it's so thoroughly overwrought.  In many ways, it's a diatribe against Elements of Style and Orwell's essay on writing, both …

John McWhorter — The Secret Lives of Words

This post is a piece by John McWhorter about the peculiar way in which the meaning and usage of words changes over time, which was published in the Times. Here's a link to the original. The central point is this: The fit between words and meanings is much fuzzier and unstable than we are led to …

Sarah Brownsberger — Stop the Term-Creation Meaning-Kidnap!

This post is a fun piece by Sarah Brownsberger about the dysfunction of recent shifts in the American English.  Here's a link to the original, which was published in Hedgehog. She identifies nefarious trends in the transformation of the language.  One is the loss of agency, as stuff seems to happen without people making it …

Suzannah Lipscomb — The History of Curse Words in English

This post is a short essay about language by Suzannah Lipscomb, which was recently published in History Today. Here's a link to the original. In it she traces the history of curse words in English. In medieval English, the most offensive  expletives were profanities.  More recently they became obscenities. Don't miss the first documented use of …

Cartoons — Playing with Language

This post is a tribute to the flexibility and complexity of language, exploring the fun you can have playing with words.  It consists of seven cartoons, which should be an inspiration to writers everywhere. Enjoy.    

Arika Okrent — Words that Seem Related but Aren’t

This post is a reflection on the curious character of the English language, drawing on a lovely piece by Arika Okrent, which was published seven years ago in The Week.  Here's a link to the original. Her focus is on words that look alike but have entirely different origins etymologically.  English is full of such …

Anika Okrent — Pen and Pencil, Male and Female Come from Different Roots

My post today is a short piece by Anika Okrent about some of the many English word pairs that seem to be etymologically related but actually are not.  Here's a link to the original. Enjoy. 15 pairs of words that seem etymologically related but aren't There's no bomb in bombast ARIKA OKRENT MARCH 10, 2015 Share …