Tag Archives: word

Ode to OED (and Friends)

Posted on July 1, 2016 by Boz

When I was a girl in the dusty mining town of Globe, Arizona, with the sulfur odor in the air when the wind blew from the west, our house had a living room, a kitchen, two bedrooms, and a bathroom … Continue reading →

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The Mering Chronicles (cont. from 6/11)

Posted on June 15, 2016 by Boz

Hang-ups, hanging out, and hanging on I visited Dr. Mering’s office often to receive assistance with my writing, to ask for suggestions for outside reading, or simply to satisfy his curiosity about how “this girl from a little mining town in the West” … Continue reading →

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The Issue Issue

Posted on May 28, 2016 by Boz

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 →

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Bathroom Words

Posted on May 21, 2016 by Boz

Since March 23, North Carolina has been embroiled in a war of words about the so-called “bathroom bill,” House Bill 2, whose most controversial—and, notably, most innocuous—provision states, “Local boards of education [and public agencies] shall require every multiple occupancy bathroom … Continue reading →

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Gonnegtions

Posted on May 14, 2016 by Boz

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 →

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