Monthly Archives: January 2011

Today’s musing starts out with another one of those words that I see just frequently enough to think I should remember what it means, but not frequently enough to actually remember: solecism. My brain tries to make it mean something … Continue reading →

After 47 years, it has become apparent that I have malocclusion—irregular contact of opposing teeth in the upper and lower jaws when I close my mouth. Known colloquially as bad bite, the term malocclusion itself was invented around 1885-1890, when the … Continue reading →

Today’s entry comes via The Professor. Pearls is her favorite comic.

This is my second installment in the series of words that I can never seem to remember the meanings of, no matter how many times I encounter them. Repetition is supposed to be a major key to learning. Then why … Continue reading →

One of the volumes in my growing collection of books on words, grammar, and language is Dictionary of Word Origins: A History of the Words, Expressions, and Clichés We Use, by Jordan Almond. It’s a bit of an odd work. … Continue reading →