Although the idiom to be cowed has nothing to do with Elsie the Cow, the use of corralled in a review of The…
04 February
11 January
Ze/hir pronouns: “Ze is a writer and wrote that book hirself. Those ideas are hirs. I like both hir and…
27 December
2020
What’s with “round yon virgins” and “merry gentlemen,” anyway? When you go out to “troll the ancient yuletide…
15 December
2020
Can the noun “desert” mean more than just a hot place? The phrase “just deserts” means getting what…
19 November
2020
It used to be a good thing to call someone a crony, but it’s usually not anymore. The…
23 October
2020
Journalists “bury the lede,” not the “lead.” But why do they spell it that way? And what do…
08 October
2020
You can usually use “while” to mean “although,” but you can’t always use “although” to mean “though.” Today’s…
01 October
2020
“Smarmy” is related to oiliness. It’s rare to know the exact origin or a word, but “smarmy” was…
21 September
2020
Of the two parts of “doomscrolling,” the “doom” part is more interesting. Whether you call it “doomscrolling” or…
19 September
2020
People have been asking about the “unavailable” meaning of “out of pocket” for decades, but there’s also an…