I have the good fortune to live within a thirty-minute drive of Crystal Bridges, one of the world’s few major art museums to specialize in American art. Or should I say, “Usonian art”? Usonian is a new word to me. It does not appear in either the OED or M-W. I read it for the … Read more
Vocabulary borrowings from other languages take many forms, one of which is the loan translation or calque. The English word calque derives from French calquer “to trace.” It refers to a word or a phrase that has been translated word-for-word from its foreign origin. Because English is a Germanic language, it’s not surprising that we … Read more
The first time I read the following passage, I thought the use of the word queue must be arcane computer science jargon, but when I read it a second time, I realized the spelling queue in this context was just a mistake: This happens to be one of our common gripes: that once the battery … Read more
Irony and its adjective ironic have joined the class of carelessly used words–like literally and awesome–that drive many language lovers wild. As early as 1926 H.W. Fowler decried the use of irony and ironic to refer to happenings that are merely coincidental or odd. For example, if I run into you in Walmart and an … Read more
Old English had five cases: nominative, accusative, genitive, dative, and instrumental. Modern English has three cases: 1. Nominative (also called subjective) 2. Accusative (also called objective) 3. Genitive (also called possessive) The objective case subsumes the old dative and instrumental cases. Case refers to the relation that one word has to another in a sentence, … Read more
A reader asks to know the difference between “What can I do for you?” and “What can I do you for?” “What can I do for you?” is the usual expression, a polite inquiry meaning, “How may I help you?” The reversal, “What can I do you for,” is a joke. Common meanings of the … Read more
I’ve read that the spelling mnemonic “I before E except after C” is a useless rule “best forgotten.” I beg to differ. English vocabulary abounds with words borrowed from other languages, along with foreign spelling conventions. Any spelling rule we can come up with is certain to have exceptions. Nevertheless, spelling rules are worth learning … Read more
A reader sent me this example of the incorrect use of dying for dyeing: This term [technicolor] was coined by the company of the same name, and the trademarked term described the company’s process of dying film to create a color print from black-and-white originals, replacing the time-consuming hand-coloring method. Mixing up the verbs dye … Read more
When a reader asked me to write about “the terms parataxis and hypotaxis and how they relate to Beowulf,” I had to laugh. Don’t get me wrong. I’m quite a fan of Beowulf. Wearing my academic hat, I’ve written more than one essay about this treasure of English literature, but somehow it doesn’t strike me … Read more
A series of insurance ads personifies insurable disaster as a man who causes various kinds of property damage. The ads always end with the character saying, “be protected from mayhem like me,” spreading the idea that mayhem means, “damage.” Mayhem shares its origin with the verb maim, which originally meant “to wound or cause bodily … Read more
Nominalization is the process of producing a noun from another part of speech. This post is about nouns formed from verbs. Gerunds The least-disguised nominalized verb is the gerund: the present participle form of the verb used as a noun: Hiking can be arduous. Writing is not for sissies. Loitering is not permitted. Agent Nouns … Read more
The word elephant is one of my favorites. I love the magnificent creature to which it refers, and it’s fun to say. English has several metaphorical expressions that refer to elephants. pink elephants: hallucinations supposedly experienced by those who have drunk to excess white elephant: a possession of little use that is costly to maintain; … Read more