Word for the Wise : Xmas
Today we look at a much scorned and little understood word: Xmas. Usually (but not always) pronounced Christmas, the word Xmas is sometimes viewed as the incarnation of a modern commercialized Christmas spirit. But before you say “bah, humbug” to that four-letter word, consider this: Xmas is neither a linguistic Johnny-come-lately nor is it wholly [...]
Word for the Wise : Boxing Day and Hogmanay
Folks around the world (especially places influenced by Britain) celebrate Boxing Day today; and tomorrow folks in Edinburgh, Scotland begin their four-day Hominy Festival. As the revelry gets underway, we look at the stories behind the names of those special days.
Word for the Wise : Common words
Even though most folks have finished checking their lists of whose naughty and nice, some people are still making lists. Whether it’s ordering provisions for Y2K or ranking the top inventions of the last thousand years, lists seem to be on everyone’s mind this final week of 1999. That makes this a fine time for [...]
Word for the Wise : Black walnut
We heard from a listener whose efforts to investigate the story behind the black walnut branched off into an area a bit … well, unlikely. Let us explain. Our correspondent was interested in how the black walnut came by its Latin name, Juggling Ingra. It’s easy enough to see the Ingra-black connection, and our correspondent [...]
Word for the Wise :Alignment and gauge
Sharpen your wits, because it’s time for another spelling bee. Today we invite you to test yourself with some words whose correct spellings may surprise the most careful of spellers.
Word for the Wise : The zeros and the zips
Here’s a question for word lovers to ponder as the clock strikes twelve tonight: what do you call our new decade? In other words, what name replaces that of the nineties?
Word for the Wise : On writers & writing
The Greek philosopher Epithets offers this common sense advice to would-be writers: “If you would be a reader, read; if a writer, write.” What exactly is a writer? Julian Barnes felt that “The writer must be universal in sympathy and an outcast by nature; only then can he see clearly.” Henry James added, “It takes [...]
Word for the Wise : Normalcy
Warren G. Harding, our nation’s 29th president, was born on November 2 in 1865. When Harding died during the third year of his presidency more than half a century later, he left behind an impressively corrupt administration.
Word for the Wise : Shill, shillaber
How did someone who acts as a decoy or a steered come to be known as a shill? We’re not trying to give you a bum steer, but etymologists know very little about its origin. They suspect shill may be related to the longer and older sillier, a less-common word with the same meaning. No [...]
Word for the Wise : Words from the birds
Today, we won’t hesitate. We’ll launch –or should we say fly– right into an examination of some words that are for the birds (or at least related to them). To jaywalk is to cross a street carelessly or at an unusual or inappropriate place or in a dangerous or illegal direction so as to be [...]
