SCHADENFREUDE—ETYMOLOGICAL AND ETHICAL VIEWS
“DEAR DR. WORDSMITH, current political goings-on have me experiencing Schadenfreude. Is this okay?” It depends, of course, on how concerned you are about the state of these United States. If, … Continue reading
FOUR ADJECTIVES IN SEARCH OF A TYPOGRAPHER
AS DESCRIBED IN yesterday’s adjectival tidbit, ironic, sardonic, sarcastic, and satirical commentaries are frequently encountered these days. Thus, shouldn’t we have typography to identify their presence? Sort of like “?” … Continue reading
IRONIC, SARDONIC, SARCASTIC, SATIRIC—ADJECTIVES FOR OUR TIMES
WE LIVE IN times that are ripe for ironic, sardonic, sarcastic, and satiric commentary. It’s fun to savor such wit, all the better when we observe the nuances among these … Continue reading
THE ATLAS OBSCURA EXPLORER’S GUIDE
THIS BOOK IS subtitled “For the World’s Most Adventurous Kid,” and it is a fine addition to my collection of guidebooks, Baedeker’s and all. “For ages 9 and up,” it … Continue reading
IS HE AN INSTIGATOR OR AN INCITER? AN ETYMOLOGICAL DISCUSSION
RECENT VIOLENCE in the U.S. and around the world raises the question of whether Donald Trump’s rabble-rousing rally pronouncements have a deleterious effect. Is he an instigator, an inciter, or … Continue reading
NEPOTISM—ITS ETYMOLOGY
YOU NEVER KNOW where researching the word “nepotism” will lead. Its practice has a rich heritage in Holy Mother the Church. It turns out that the word is directly related … Continue reading
HAMLET, REVISITED
HITHERTO, HAMLET’S principal appearance here at SimanaitisSays was in the Classics Illustrated comic book version. And a fine example of the graphic genre it is. I also have a rather … Continue reading
BELLICOSE—ITS ETYMOLOGY
FOR ONE REASON or another, the word “bellicose” sprang to mind as deserving addition into my Etymology for our Times series. Why do you suppose? It might have been something … Continue reading
AS HARD-BOILED AS A SHAMUS’S SIMILE PART 2
YESTERDAY AT SimanaitisSays, we talked about the difference between similes and metaphors, defined the word “shamus,” and extolled mystery author Raymond Chandler as a master of all three. Today, I … Continue reading
AS HARD-BOILED AS A SHAMUS’S SIMILE PART 1
RAYMOND CHANDLER said hard-boiled literature of the 1920s and 1930s “made most of the fiction of the time taste like a cup of luke-warm consommé at a spinsterish tea room.” … Continue reading
Simanaitis Says 