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Why Gender?

David Kelley of the Bucknell Electrical Engineering Department just dropped a note that I thought worth sharing with the world. Here is what he asked and how I answered. “I enjoyed reading Sam Alcorn’s...

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To -ly or not to -ly

Joan Gambill noticed a rather odd use of an adjective in my characterization of pruinose the other day. Here is how she put it: “In yesterday’s word email about pruinose, under Notes at the end of the...

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Silly Words in English

This is just a note to alert blog readers that over the week of November 13-18 I will be featuring silly English words, most of which were just too silly to be included in The 100 Funniest Words in...

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The Tale of Two Thans

Mary Jane Stoneburg, one of our Good Word editors (along with Paul Ogden and Luciano Eduardo de Oliveira), has complained about the use of the objective case with than in several of our recent Good...

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Alumnus, Alumni, Alumna, Alumnae

Probably half the words in English were borrowed from Latin or its descendants, French, Italian, and Spanish. Today English is hardly recognizable for the Germanic language it is, cousin to German,...

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How Many Meanings of “UP”?

Lou Ann Freeman finally sent me a really funny essay about the many meanings of the word “up”, so I’ll take the opportunity to write up my thoughts on this subject. It was on my agenda the year I...

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Tmesis

I received a question from Jerrel de Kok today which I thought might interest those following this blog. First, let me apologize from my long silence. Lexiteria, the parent company of alphaDictionary,...

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Attending to the Problem of ‘Attendee’

Aubrey Waddy dropped me a line right after the Good Word mentor appeared. Here is the gist of our conversation: “Thanks for the daily exploration and today’s word, mentor: good fun as usual. I read the...

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Of Desnorolators and Other Things

My wife and I returned the favor to our 7-year-old granddaughter, Abigail, and did a “sleepover” with her and her sister. Their parents wanted to attend a concert which would run late and, from their...

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Romnesia in the Lamestream Media

President Obama has introduced a new word into the political debate: romnesia. Romnesia is a good word, politically loaded in just the right way. It is better than the Repuslican near synonym,...

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Laying the Lie-Lay Confusion to Rest

Ted Whittier is at it again: “Thanks, again, for your interesting and informative daily word pieces. I enjoy them immensely.” “I do have a question however. Has the use of the words lay and lie changed...

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The Fate of English Plurals

Jan Miele sent me the following note today: I’ve just this MOMENT received an email with this subject line: “Hurry, there’s only a few hours left to pick your offer.” Shouldn’t this read instead as:...

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