04 February IIn English “To Cow” and “To Kow-tow” byNadia A4 viewsNo comments3 minute read Although the idiom to be cowed has nothing to do with Elsie the Cow, the use of corralled in a review of The…
11 January IIn English “Ze” Pronouns byNadia A2 viewsNo comments3 minute read Ze/hir pronouns: “Ze is a writer and wrote that book hirself. Those ideas are hirs. I like both hir and…
27 December 2020 IIn English 6 Grammar Lessons Hidden in Christmas Songs byNadia A4 viewsNo comments6 minute read What’s with “round yon virgins” and “merry gentlemen,” anyway? When you go out to “troll the ancient yuletide…
15 December 2020 IIn English The Meaning of ‘Just Desserts’ byNadia A2 viewsNo comments4 minute read Can the noun “desert” mean more than just a hot place? The phrase “just deserts” means getting what…
19 November 2020 IIn English What Is a ‘Crony’? byNadia A4 viewsNo comments5 minute read It used to be a good thing to call someone a crony, but it’s usually not anymore. The…
23 October 2020 IIn English Why Journalists Spell ‘Lead’ like ‘Lede’ byNadia A7 viewsNo comments9 minute read Journalists “bury the lede,” not the “lead.” But why do they spell it that way? And what do…
08 October 2020 IIn English “Although” Versus “While” byNadia A6 viewsNo comments4 minute read You can usually use “while” to mean “although,” but you can’t always use “although” to mean “though.” Today’s…
01 October 2020 IIn English What Does ‘Smarmy’ Mean? byNadia A3 viewsNo comments4 minute read “Smarmy” is related to oiliness. It’s rare to know the exact origin or a word, but “smarmy” was…
21 September 2020 IIn English What Does ‘Doomscrolling’ Mean? byNadia A3 viewsNo comments4 minute read Of the two parts of “doomscrolling,” the “doom” part is more interesting. Whether you call it “doomscrolling” or…
19 September 2020 IIn English 3 Meanings of ‘Out of Pocket’ byNadia A7 viewsNo comments10 minute read People have been asking about the “unavailable” meaning of “out of pocket” for decades, but there’s also an…