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The Whimsy Report Reveals Americans' Lex Lives Aug. 05, 2026
The year was 1948. All American adults were happily married and spoke perfectly proper English, neve... Read More
Don't Allow Militant Ideology to Conquer Reason Jul. 31, 2026
There's no place on earth like Israel: The history, the diversity, the tension of a culture divided ... Read More
The Strong, Silent Type Jul. 31, 2026
"How many people said the word 'cigarettes' today?" I asked my wife, Deborah. "Or 'book of matches,'... Read More
A Handy Guide to Language Pitfalls Jul. 29, 2026
On my desk I keep a list of tiny quirks of spelling, usage and meaning that often bedevil me. Perhap... Read More
Commonly Confused Jul. 22, 2026
Many errors in English are perpetrated and perpetuated by people misusing words beginning with "per,... Read More
More Dangerous than FOMO: The Fear of Not Being Missed Jul. 17, 2026
A man walking through a city park happens upon a little boy sobbing uncontrollably. "Are you hurt?" ... Read More
Illicit Verbal Couplings in a 'Murphy' Bed Jul. 15, 2026
Brian Garner, editor of Garner's Modern American Usage, has devised what he calls "Murphy's Law of L... Read More
Close Your Inner Eye to Activate Your Imagination Jul. 10, 2026
In his short story, "The Country of the Blind," H.G. Wells depicts a mountaineer in the Andes who ha... Read More
Latin Word for Cattle Became a Cash Cow Jul. 08, 2026
In ancient Rome, no one cared how many Teslas, McMansions or Rolexes you owned. Nope; wealth was mea... Read More
Increase Performance by Turning Into the Wind Jul. 03, 2026
Back in college, I captained my dorm's intramural volleyball team. Our haphazard collection of resid... Read More
Speaking Words of Wisdom, 'Let It Be' Jul. 01, 2026
Q: Is "leave him be" an acceptable substitute for "let him be"? — J. K. via email A: To some e... Read More
Balancing the Equation of Intentions vs. Outcomes Jun. 26, 2026
On Jan. 14, 2005, Harvard President Lawrence Summers ignited the firestorm that eventually cost him ... Read More
The French (and Italians) Have a Word for It Jun. 24, 2026
Even if you're an eminence grise who has fashioned a piece de resistance and mastered the lingua fra... Read More
'Soc' It to Me, World Cup! Jun. 17, 2026
As the World Cup tournament got underway last week, a reader asked me why this sport is called "socc... Read More
To be Human is to be Exceptional Jun. 12, 2026
"Do you have any heroes?" I'm guessing that Peter Singer would answer with a hard "no," considering ... Read More
Word Fiends Have an 'Ax' To Grind Jun. 10, 2026
I get by with a little help from my fiends — word fiends, that is. In a recent column about th... Read More
If You Get Where You're Going, You've Taken the Wrong Road Jun. 05, 2026
The story isn't new. But it continues to fascinate as it becomes more relevant every day. Three deca... Read More
Do You Have a Knack for Nicknames? Jun. 03, 2026
For 15th-century Florentine artist Paolo di Dono, the bird was the word. He loved feathered creature... Read More
Think Twice Before You Take Advice May. 29, 2026
Legend has it that Apelles of Kos, court painter of Alexander the Great, displayed his paintings in ... Read More
A Useful Conjunction, Albeit an Old One May. 27, 2026
Frank Resnick of New Britain, Conn., writes, "Can the antique-sounding conjunction 'albeit' still be... Read More
