GIAMBATTISTA BODONI—”JUST THE TYPE”
MOLLY YOUNG WRITES ON X (formerly known as you-know-what), “Can’t help but think that ‘Bodoni’ sounds like Italian slang for ‘gorgeous big butt’— e.g. ‘Mamma mia, check out the bodoni … Continue reading
LET’S AIM FOR LAGOM
A RECENT WORD•GENIUS introduced me to the word “lagom” and also got me thinking about life in general. Originally a Swedish word, lagom (LAH-gawm) is “the principle of living a … Continue reading
SHAKESPEARE’S VOCABULARY
FOR SOME KID FROM THE STICKS (“… little Latin and still less Greek” according to fellow playwright Ben Jonson), William Shakespeare was sure ok with vocab. Elizabethan times were expansive, … Continue reading
WHAT DO “TROUSERS” TROUSE ANYWAY?
ETYMOLOGIES OF SWEATERS, SNEAKERS, AND PEDAL-PUSHERS are clear. Even skorts. But what of trousers? Here’s what I learned from Merriam-Webster, the O.E.D., the Internet, and other sources. The Merriam-Webster entry … Continue reading
LAUGH IT UP—ONLINE OR OFF
WHAT WITH ONE THING AND ANOTHER, there seems to be little to laugh about these days. But what is laughter? Why do we laugh? And how do we laugh in … Continue reading
YOOPER BANISHMENT, WORDWISE
BEING AS I AM SENTIMENTALLY CONNECTED with Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, I read with interest Lake Superior State University’s “2024 Banished Words List.“ Background. The university has been coming up with … Continue reading
AHOY YE MATIES!
TRUTH IS, I’VE HAD ONLY A FEW sea-faring adventures, but its lore seems to attract itself to me. Here are a couple more tidbits together with some St. Thomas recollections. … Continue reading
KISSOFF 2023
WRAPPING UP THIS YEAR, I will focus on the pleasurable rather than the problematic. Here’s a selection of SimanaitisSays 2023, the particular research, composition, and presentation of which gave me … Continue reading
ON FAITH, FANCY, POETRY, LOVE, AND ROMANCE
IN 1897 VIRGINIA O’HANLON WROTE a letter to The Sun, a New York City newspaper: “Dear Editor: I am 8 years old. Some of my little friends say there is … Continue reading
ETYMOLOGY: EIGENGRAU—AND OTHER STUFF HERE AND THERE
I LEARNED AN OPTICAL TERM from the WordDaily website that jogged my memory in other ways: The word “eigengrau” defines “the dark gray color seen by the eyes in perfect … Continue reading
Simanaitis Says 