O.K. BY ME
THE Atlas Obscura website celebrated the 177th birthday yesterday of the word “okay.” The musings of Cara Giaimo, its author, encouraged me to dig into my own shelves. Briefly, as … Continue reading
“AND,” MISBEHAVING
I HAVE a grammatical gripe with the misbehaving word “and.” I’m not referring to the subtlety of the serial or series comma, aka the Oxford or Harvard comma. Me? I’m … Continue reading
ON THINKING (TO ONE’S SELF)
THE BEAUTY of English is its clarity. Some languages can be ambiguous, encouraging interpretation, nuances, not to say differences of understanding, between speaker and listener. But not English, when properly spoken. … Continue reading
CROSSWORDS SANS FOREIGN WORDS
I AM a crossword puzzle fan. In moderation, mind; I don’t do them every day, nor in ink. But I enjoy working through the Sunday crosswords (and alternating acrostics) in … Continue reading
SIX ON THE ROOF
THEY WERE known as “Les Six,” a sextet of French composers who enlivened Paris in the 1920s with their antics and their avant garde music. Georges Auric, Louis Durey, Arthur … Continue reading
COWBOY TALK—”TAKE ’ER EASY THERE, PILGRIM”
I WAS LISTENING to Gunsmoke on SiriusXM’s Radio Classics, and it struck me that Marshall Dillon, Chester, Doc and Kitty all talk more or less like we do. On the … Continue reading
REMEMBERING HENRY N. MANNEY III
A KIND READER recalling early R&T reminds me that I’ve not written much here about Henry N. Manney III. I too have memories of Yr. fthfl svrt, favorites lines he composed and, … Continue reading
CENTURY-OLD SLANG
LADY MARY CRAWLEY of Downton Abbey uttered “Golly!” and that got me thinking. What were the slang terms of a hundred years ago? I dug into this with A Dictionary … Continue reading
BERKS AND CLERKS
“BERK! BERK!” says the Old English Sheepdog, about which I am delighted to share an insight from Kristine B. Loland’s analysis of the breed: “If they think you are unclear, … Continue reading
SOME OF THE THINGS I KNEW FOR SURE WERE NOT
LIFE IS full of continuing ed. Or at least it can be. Among the many facts I’ve accumulated over the years, more than a few of them are downright incorrect. … Continue reading
