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Category Archives: language
A Napple, a Norange–and a Numpire
In the third grade, we guffawed about Little Johnny, who left out the P when reciting the alphabet because it was running down his leg. Those of us with more highbrow tastes in humor also found amusing his further adventures: … Continue reading
Our Whole Heart: Language and the Book of Common Prayer
Along with the King James Bible and the collected works of Shakespeare, the Book of Common Prayer has permeated the English language and given Anglophones worldwide some of our most beautiful and evocative phrases. Even the most secular among us get … Continue reading
Ode to OED (and Friends)
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
Codifying Honor
I first saw the topic discussed on Facebook by the gay son of a dear Mormon friend. It then flooded the mainstream press, including ABC, CNN, Time, and the New York Times. I am referring to the noisy and–to me, at least–disturbing public controversy about the honor … Continue reading
The Prison of “I Am”
For a number of years in my late twenties and early thirties, if I didn’t have a long, skinny, brown More cigarette between my lips or fingers, I was nonetheless enveloped in a malodorous, smoky haze that I am sure … Continue reading
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
Bathroom Words
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