Brave New Words Worm Their Way Into Dictionary
September 1, 2012
Merriam-Webster Inc., has announced its latest lineup of brave new words. Each year the 114-year-old company chooses around a hundred new words that will be
Read “Lederer on Language” every other Saturday in the San Diego Union Tribune and on this site
Merriam-Webster Inc., has announced its latest lineup of brave new words. Each year the 114-year-old company chooses around a hundred new words that will be
Dear Mr. Lederer: I came to this country over 50 years ago from Europe, where I had a good education including English grammar. Why do
In a recent survey, Maxim magazine asked women what they find to be the most atrocious turnoffs in men’s emails and text messages. The results:
Tomorrow at the London Olympics, the world will find out if Usain Bolt, the jet-propelled Jamaican dash man, will retain his title as the fastest
Sometimes it seems that almost all Americans either play sports or watch them. Because competition occupies such a central place in American life and imagination,
Two wrongs don’t make a right, but two Wrights did make an airplane. Flying around the country on book tours and speaking series, I have
Dear Mr. Lederer: Surely a scholar of your standing knows the difference between “who” and “whom.” So, why did you disappoint me this morning with
A metaphor (the word originally meant “to carry across” in Greek) is a figure of speech that merges two seemingly different objects or ideas. We
Pronouns are those all-purpose little words, such as I, her and yourself, that spare us the drudgery of having to write the name of a