This past May 26, my celestial odometer flipped over, and I turned 80 years of youth. My column that day described my joy about that millstone — oops, milestone — in my life, and, in response, I received a billowing mailbag of congratulatory messages. I’m pleased to share a selection of your validating and […]
Why do so many weddings take place in June? Go back centuries, and you will find that the Romans traditionally married in June to honor Juno, the goddess of marriage, and ensure an auspicious union. I grew up reading in DC Comics about the valiant Amazonian warrior-princess-demigoddess-superheroine equipped with her Lasso of Truth and indestructible […]
A massive bronze sculpture of Rex the Lion now prowls the entrance of our world-famous zoo. As the story goes, our unsurpassed zoo started literally with a roar. On a warm September 16 in 1916, Dr. Harry Milton Wegeforth, a local physician, was driving back to his office with his brother, Paul, after performing […]
Today marks the sixth-year anniversary of “Lederer on Language” in the Union-Tribune. Thank you, fellow wordaholics, logolepts and verbivores, for your warm reception of my words about words. But when I look up the meaning of warm in the dictionary, I find the definition “not so hot.” I try hard to be a model […]
A couple whom I know tooled down to a local car emporium to look over the latest products. Attracted to the low sticker price on the basic model, they told the salesman that they were considering buying an unadorned automobile and had no inclination to purchase any of the long list of options affixed […]
Easter commemorates the resurrection of Jesus Christ on the third day after his crucifixion. Easter was the earliest feast day decreed by the ancient Christian Church. Many Christians consider Easter to be the most important holiday in their faith. Like its Jewish predecessor, Passover, Easter is a movable feast, based on the lunar calendar […]
John Dennis, an early 18th century playwright and critic, once sneered, “A pun is the lowest form of wit.” Three centuries later, Henry Erskine riposted, “If a pun is the lowest form of wit, it is, therefore, the foundation of all wit!” Oscar Levant added the tagline “A pun is the lowest form of […]
Legend has it that Saint Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, drove the snakes out of Ireland, although in fact snakes were never there. The story may be referring to Patrick’s expelling the Druidic religion and bringing Christianity to the Emerald Isle. Patrick died on March 17, A.D. 460, and the Catholic Church made […]
In our exuberant country we celebrate just about everything, so it may come as no surprise to you that tomorrow, March 4, pun-up girls and pun gents observe National Pun Day. According to a YouGov.com survey of 8,314 U.S, adults, most Americans appreciate and even adore puns. The study shows that 38 percent of […]
Recently I shared with you my favorite epitaphs, both eloquent and humorous. Then I invited my San Diego readers to wing me their original creations. My verbally dexterous and psychically mobile readers, responded with more than 60 epitaphs, the last words in deathly prose, marked by grave humor and deep plots. Unlike pallbearers, they […]