Ben Duke, of Philadelphia, has sent me a photograph of the front of a store in Brierly Hall, England. The sign reads: Goodwyns Furniture Ltd. SOFA’S CHAIR’S RECLINER’S BED’S Ben calls this signage “The Four Aprostrophe’s of the Apocalypse” and informs me that “the establishment is now permanently closed, so punctuation matters!” I call such […]
These days, we hear and read a lot about battalions of government workers getting fired. The meaning of “fired” (“to discharge someone from a job”) is an extension of applying fire to gunpowder or burning down someone’s house. “Fired” is such a mind-powdering and soul-searing word. What we need are softer, more clever verbs with […]
Ulysses S. Grant, our 18th president, entered the earthly stage as Hiram Ulysses Grant. When his name was mistakenly entered on the West Point register as Ulysses Simpson Grant, he eagerly embraced the error because he detested the initials H.U.G. and loved having the initials U.S., as in “United States,” “Uncle Sam,” and “Unconditional Surrender.” […]
One of the fringe benefits of being an English or History teacher is receiving the occasional jewel of a student blooper in an essay. The original classroom blunder probably dates back to the day that some unsuspecting pupil first touched quill to parchment.. All the fluffs and flubs, goofs and gaffes and boo-boos, blunders, and […]
Calendars were first made so that people could predict recurring events, such as planting and harvest times. In 45 BC, Julius Caesar ordered that the new year be celebrated on January first to honor Janus, the god of beginnings and gatekeeper of heaven and earth. Janus was a double-faced god who looked forward into the […]
The great English etymologist Owen Barfield once wrote, “Words may be made to disgorge the past that is bottled up inside of them, as coal and wine, when we kindle or drink them, yield up their bottled sunshine.” When we uncap the sunshine that is stored inside the many words that relate to the Christmas […]
Carnivores eat meat. Herbivores consume plants. Verbivores devour words. I am such a creature. My whole life I have feasted on words — ogled their appetizing shapes, colors, and textures; swished them around in my mouth; lingered over their many tastes; and felt their juices run down my chin. During my adventures as a fly-by-the-roof-of-the-mouth […]
Centuries ago, the Pilgrims found in America a wild fowl somewhat similar in appearance to a guinea fowl they had known back in England — a fowl that acquired its name because it was first imported by way of Turkey, a Middle Eastern nation that doesn’t celebrate Thanksgiving. Because we perceive this bird as ugly […]
DEAR RICHARD: The Oxford comma, also known as the serial comma, is the comma used before the conjunction in a list of three or more items. For example: “I like to eat apples, bananas, and oranges.” I was taught to not place a comma before the word and in the example above. A big issue […]
A Sesquicentennial Celebration of poet Robert Frost’s birth is coming to San Diego on Wednesday, March 20, through Sunday, March 24 at our San Diego Central Library, 330 Park Blvd, downtown and at UCSD Park and Market in East Village. Dozens of America’s most acclaimed poets will attend, and so can you, free of […]