A Modern-Day Mr. Malaprop
What Is A Malaprop? “E gag, man!” exclaims the man sitting across from me in our regular Sunday morning brunch booth. “What’s that?” I say, smiling. “E… gag?” “Yeah,” he says, “It’s…um, Latin. It means when you’re really aspirated with someone.” Of course he means e gad; perhaps even e gads. And I know he means exasperated instead of aspirated. I am, in fact, having brunch with a modern-day Mr. Malaprop. A malapropism is a word that means... Read More
Can I Quote You on That?
Doesn’t anyone know what quotation marks are for anymore? There’s a hint in the name: quotation marks. They are used for setting off words that were said or written by other people, or if you’re writing dialogue, they set off words said by characters. Quotation marks are NOT meant, however, to simply add emphasis. Of course, as with most things, it’s a little more complicated than that. Instead of quoting a specific speaker, you may be quoting a vague and undefined... Read More
Let’s Get Physical
Language. It’s a bit of a nebulous concept, but most of us seem to have the basics down. We think it’s a decidedly abstract process of translating thoughts into words. A magical, ephemeral means of communicating the soul’s innermost dreams. A way to satisfy our propensity for analysis and our desire to connect with others. Think William Shakespeare (“Love looks not with the eyes but with the mind”). Or consider the long chats you have with your girlfriends. Or even the... Read More
No Offense…
“No offense but…” Has anyone ever said this to you? Has anything good or uplifting ever followed? No! This phrase usually seems to be immediately followed by something incredibly insulting. Where does a phrase like this come from? Do we really think that by saying “no offense” the person we are insulting will not be offended? Simply by uttering this phrase, you are saying that what is to follow will probably not be very nice. Because, “No offense... Read More
Aren’t We All As Good As A Cup Of Tea?
The other day I joined a group of friends for a delicious breakfast that included croissants and muffins. We chatted and munched on our morning feast, while our lovely host brewed up some tea. The tray of steaming cups arrived and was passed around the table. As the tray stopped in front of one of my friends and she said “Oh, none for me thanks,” I instinctively replied ”Not your cup of tea, hey?” As soon as I had uttered these words, I began to... Read More
English Language R.I.P.
<3. What is that? Less than three? Some mathematical equation missing the Xs and the Ys? Now, tilt your head 90 degrees to the right. What do you see now? If you’re creative enough, try to imagine a heart. See it now? That, ladies and gentlemen, means “to heart” or to like. No, this isn’t a belated April Fool’s joke. <3 is a legitimate “word” as of last week, newly listed in the Oxford English Dictionary! What has become of the English... Read More
Is that a [Potato] Chip On Your Shoulder?
I was somewhere, the other day, listening to a few people talk about one of their favorite places to eat. They started describing one of the newest, chicest eateries in town and its owner-chef extraordinaire. Someone piped up and said that while the food was good, the chef himself was a real “piece of work.” Evidently quite rude, hard to work with and easily offended, this culinary fellow was known to be a guy with “a major chip on his shoulder.”... Read More
The Booing Office
Having lived in Asia for the past two years, I have often come across funny attempts at English-language translations. Usually I laugh for a while, share the joke with friends and move on. This one caught my attention, at first because it was kind of cute and then because it made me actually start to think: ” what if it were not a mistranslation?”. Let’s for a second assume that one wasn’t looking for a booking office to buy train tickets or to reserve... Read More
POTUS gives a SOTU?
One day I am sitting there texting furiously back and forth with my kid brother, basic stuff like: me: how r u him: good me: what u doin him: TV, Stewart, ROFL me: ??? him: WTF! NIMBY Republicans me: ??? ROFL him: LOL rolling on the floor me: NIMBY = Gumby? him: OMG, TTYL Now that I know the meaning of WTF, can I just say WTF?! WTF??!! WTF???!!! Okay, let me start by saying that I absolutely love the flexibility of the English language. We make verbs out of nouns (texting,... Read More
PC is just BS
I know this may be a politically incorrect thing to say, but I think PC is BS! Many linguists believe that the language we use influences the way we see the world. This maybe the strongest argument for advocating the use of political correctness as a standard for public discourse. As I understand it, the term PC refers to language, spoken or written, that is proper, neutral, non-discriminatory or non-biased and is used to ensure that speech that may demean a group of people... Read More
