About Rob Kyff

Rob Kyff

Rob Kyff

Rob Kyff is the language columnist for the Hartford Courant, as well as a teacher, editor and writer. His column  appears regularly in several newspapers across the country.

A native of Armonk, N.Y., Kyff earned a BA at Amherst College and an MA in American Studies at the University of Minnesota. In Minneapolis, he served as director of public information for a social-service agency and edited the employee magazine for a national retail chain.

He has taught English and history at Kingswood-Oxford School in West Hartford since 1977 and also served as the school's director of public affairs, editor of its alumni magazine and advisor to the student newspaper.

His essays have appeared in many newspapers, including the Washington Post,

Chicago Tribune, Boston Globe and Baltimore Sun, and his articles have appeared in Reader's Digest,American History and Northeast. He contributed to

Speaking Freely -- A guided Tour of American English from Plymouth Rock to Silicon Valley, published by Oxford University Press in 1997.

He has published two books: Word Up! - A Lively Look at English (Writers Club Press, 2000) and Once Upon a Word - True Tales of Word Origins (Tapestry Press, 2003).

He lives in West Hartford, Conn., with his family.

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Chancellors of the Lex Checker Jan 28, 2026

The late Supreme Court Justices Harry Blackmun and Antonin Scalia often clashed on matters of law. But they shared a loathing for jargon and overused terms. Blackmun's letters and papers reveal that the two jurists kept an "Enemies List" of detested ... Read More

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Doing a 180 on the Linguistic Highway Jan 21, 2026

If you're a rate adjuster at my auto insurance company, please skip the following paragraph. One winter night when I was 22 years old, I was driving on an icy Massachusetts road when my car spun around 180 degrees. This came as a surprise to me, not ... Read More

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The Bird Is the Word? Jan 14, 2026

The bird feeder in my backyard has been aflutter this winter with birds and words. First to arrive each morning are the chickadees. In "Walden," Henry David Thoreau tells us how these perky, personable pals enjoyed alighting on the arm of his friend,... Read More

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Shrewdly, These Words Have Improved Their Meanings Jan 07, 2026

Five hundred years ago, if I had called one of my students "a shrewd lad with dogged ambition," he might have left the classroom in tears. Back in 1526, "shrewd" meant hurtful, a "lad" was a lowly servant, "dogged" meant malicious, and "ambition" den... Read More