Read “Lederer on Language” every other Saturday in the San Diego Union Tribune and on this site
The true scuttlebutt about our nautical English language
Let’s go sailing, sailing over the bounding main. A mainstay is a strong rope that helps stabilize a ship’s main mast, but for most of
Our seaworthy English language is in ship shape
In the previous edition of this column, I shared with you a number of pirate riddles and jokes, such as “Where does a pirate go
Let’s unlock a plunderful treasure trove of pirate humor
Arrrrr, me swabbies! Avast, me hearties! Ahoy, me seadogs! Blimey, me scallywags! Schooner or later, it’s Davy Jones’ locker in the briny deep for ye
For Union-Tribune readers, grammar and books matter
DEAR RICHARD: I am curious about an advertisement on TV that proclaims, “Only pay for what you need” Is that correct, or should it say,
Are you a true book lover? Here’s how you can tell
The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go. -Dr. Seuss For book
We English speakers often garble our body language
An old American folk rhyme chuckles: Where can a man find a cap for his knee, Or a key for a lock of his hair?
How cartoons and comic strips shape our language
Next week, Comic-Con returns to San Diego, where, back in August 1970, it began life as the Golden State Comic Book Convention in the basement
Here’s a chance for us to make beautiful music together
William Shakespeare began his comedy “Twelfth Night” with the line “If music be the food of love, play on!” About a century later, playwright William
Celebrating the 250 th anniversary of our U.S. Army
I am a freelance writer of magazine and newspaper columns and articles. That means that I write these pieces on a fee-paid assignment basis rather