Today’s Which Word Wednesday is a special Thanksgiving edition, taking on turkey’s carb-alicious sidekick. Some people call it dressing. Some people call it stuffing. Most people think the term they use is the right one. Let’s dig in to this food dilemma with the definitions from The Oxford American Dictionary:…
Years ago, I was with my friends in Florida on our beach retreat, and we stopped for dessert at a local ice cream parlor. (Yes, I do believe retreats should be at the beach, with ice cream.) There was a handwritten sign posted on the restroom door with a message…
Happy National Punctuation Day! You may be wondering why such a day even exist. Well, aside from punctuation being crucial to clear communications, punctuation marks are just downright fun. In my brain, these characters have distinct personalities. Not sure where I get that idea—maybe I saw that in some children’s…
Today’s Which Word Wednesday showdown is between two words, constrain and restrain, that in essence speak of control. As usual, each one comes at the idea from a slightly different nuance. And it’s always the nuance that’s tricky! Let’s kick it off in with the definitions from The Oxford American…
The main point of words is communication. With others. So in a sense, as long as we are making sense to the people we are talking to, all’s good. Our language has lots of interesting words though, some of which get muddied in meaning. That’s why I do Which Word…
testing . . . testing . . . any word nerds still with me? It’s been months since we’ve had a good word discussion here. How I’ve missed our Which Word Wednesdays! Let’s get back in the swing of things with a word pair that is easily confused: shudder and…
Have you ever repeated a word so many times that it becomes almost foreign sounding? I have. Just last week the word pleased threw me for a loop. I stared it down, trying to determine if it was spelled wrong or if I was actually using the wrong word. After…
It has been said that the pen is mightier than the sword. That’s because the pen writes words that convey thoughts and meaning. Words have power to build up and to tear down—and to send language lovers like me into fits of laughter (or anger). That’s why it helps to…
If anything, 2013 has brought us some fabulous holiday match-ups. Earlier this year, we had Thanksgivukkah—when the first day of Hanukkah fell on Thanksgiving Day. And today, we have Christmaswhichwowedday (Christmas-which-wow-edday), when Christmas and Which Word Wednesday align. You’ve not heard of Christmaswhichwowedday? hmm. Well, I’m sure it’s very popular…
The worst part about my interest in language is that I know just enough to make myself crazy when I talk. I know what I want to say, but I need to choose between two words that confuse me, and then I get stuck in the recesses of my brain,…
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