Verbal Energy
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The double life of commas
The use of commas, unlike that of other marks of punctuation, is governed by both rules and conventions.
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How makers make their mark without meetings
A familiar old word picks up a distinctive new use to describe those who actually create new stuff in the economy.
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Is your vocabulary in shape for the Olympics?
It turns out that the biggest sport at this summer's Games is something called 'athletics.'
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Defining the perimeter of our parameters
The Monitor’s language columnist is forced to come to grips with two words related to measurement.
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A little column about something big
An appreciation of a hardworking word that does a lot of heavy lifting.
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On the rebound after a deeply moving experience.
A household move reminds the Monitor's language columnist how short words can be the most intense.
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The self-titled album and other creative wonders
Some concise idioms built on the notion of 'self' may be a bit too concise for the Monitor’s language columnist.
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'Expatriotism': the last refuge of a scoundrel?
Two senators going after Facebook cofounder Eduardo Saverin for taxes seem to need a little help with their spelling.
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How less is more – in more than one idiom
Architecture and language share some surprising similarities.
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The kudzu of global business languages
A call for companies to require English of all their employees seems insensitive – and unnecessary.
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Motorists are advised to seek alternatives
When deciding on alternate vs. alternative, what choice do you have?
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Words that work their way into our minds
Researchers at Cornell University try to figure out what makes for memorable quotes.
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Teasing out the truth about wool and data
A verb with ancient roots turns out to be surprisingly useful to refer to making sense of tangled masses of information.
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The American Society of Paperless News?
The shift away from newsprint has required new titles for journalism organizations.
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A really big story told in only 100 words
A linguist chooses the stories of 100 individual words to tell the larger story of English.
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Elbowing our way to better writing
A new book argues that people would write better if they connected better with their true 'mother tongue': spoken language.
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People, companies, elephants - it's all relative.
Our choice of pronouns gives clues about how we think about humans, animals, and corporations.
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Words whose job descriptions have narrowed
Is a woman in a 'fetching' outfit really like a puppy with a stick? How some words seem to travel in very small circles.
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The stickler's dilemma
How much do we let a word's origins limit our usage of that word, and do we pretend we can't see down to the roots of a word?
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Working out just what a 'piece of work' is
Two contradictory usages of the same idiom prompt the Monitor's language columnist to do a little research.
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