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Tag Archives: meaning
Among: Advent Word 14
Among all the Advent words for this year, only today’s is a preposition. The remainder of the list comprises seven nouns and fourteen verbs (including, of course, some crossovers). These are the draft horses of the language–the persons, places and … Continue reading
Posted in Advent, grammar, language, religion
Tagged Advent, grammar, language, meaning, preposition, relationship, religion, syntax
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Let Me Count the Ways
I am not certain I ever heard the name Harvey Weinstein before October 5, when The New York Times published its initial exposé of sexual-misconduct allegations and hush-money payoffs. Nor have I followed the increasing media firestorm with any interest though the … Continue reading
Posted in language, movies, politics, sexuality
Tagged definition, First Amendment, Harvey Weinstein, language, meaning, media, Orwell, politics, rape, semantics, sexual violence, word
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Naming Evil
I write today in the bloody wake of the most recent in an increasingly frequent series of mass killings–this time, the deaths of 58 country music fans at the hands of a gunman poised 32 floors above the concert venue … Continue reading
Posted in current events
Tagged definition, etymology, good and evil, history, language, meaning, politics, religion, semantics, word
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Biology, Destiny, and the Politics of Dys-
I am aware that when Freud pronounced his now-vilified dictum of biological determinism, “anatomy is destiny,” he was referring specifically to sexuality, which is not my subject here–at least not my only subject. However, because I like to be well … Continue reading
Posted in language, politics, sexuality
Tagged definition, disability, discrimination, identity, issue, language, meaning, politics, race, sex
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The Issue Issue
I can’t pinpoint when issue reared its euphemistic head and took the place of problem or difficulty in the general parlance, but the usage is now of epidemic proportion. The media are replete with sidebars about anger issues and relationship issues and weight issues. Students’ excuses for late homework … Continue reading
Gonnegtions
In the early 1980s, I was watching an episode of Charles Kuralt’s Sunday Morning in which he chronicled the demise of an important family-owned newspaper. I’ll have to call it the Tribune because I have long since forgotten the newspaper and the family and the … Continue reading