MERRIAM-WEBSTER NEW ENTRIES
I ENJOY TWO EXTREMES IN DETERMINING WORD DEFINITIONS: the online Merriam-Webster and the microprinted Compact Edition of the Oxford English Dictionary, 1971. The M-W is only a click away; but … Continue reading
ETYMOLOGIES FOR OUR TIMES REDUX
IT’S FUN—AND ILLUMINATING—TO SEE WHERE WORDS ORIGINATE. Sometimes the answer is trivial. For example, “Pettiness” from the French petit, little; as in “Short-fingered vulgarian’s pettiness.” Other times, it’s rather more … Continue reading
WORTHY OF THOUGHT PART 2
YESTERDAY’S WORTHY THOUGHTS came from Miguel de Cervantes, Dan Rather, and Carl Sandburg (talk about variety!). Here in Part 2 we continue with another view on solitude. Paul Johannes Tillich, … Continue reading
WORTHY OF THOUGHT PART 1
WE LIVE ADJACENT TO AN INFORMATION HIGHWAY; alas, all too often as well, it’s an Information Sewer. Yet occasionally things arise that are worthy of thought. Here, in Parts 1 … Continue reading
OPERA—PARK AND BARK, VERISMO, BUT ALWAYS RIDING THE RAZOR EDGE OF ABSURDITY
IN HER A MAD LOVE: AN INTRODUCTION TO OPERA, Vivien Schweitzer describes “park and bark” singers as those “who mostly stand immobile, or limit themselves to stock gestures, as was … Continue reading
REPARTEE ON AND OFF STAGE AND SCREEN
ENOUGH WITH POLITICS; THERE HAS BEEN PLENTY of great dissing in other areas. Dr. Mardy Grothe has a fine collection in Viva La Repartee, tidbits from which are offered here … Continue reading
“JUST BECAUSE I’M A LIBRARIAN DOESN’T MEAN I HAVE TO DRESS AS ONE”—BELLE DA COSTA GREENE
THE LONDON REVIEW OF BOOKS, JUNE 26, 2025, BLURBS Francesca Wade’s “The Best-Paid Woman in NYC.” Wade is reviewing two books, Belle Da Costa Greene: A Librarian’s Legacy and Becoming … Continue reading
SAID CORRECTLY
THERE ARE SOME WORDS THAT I MISPRONOUNCE; others that I say correctly but misspell. Conveniently enough, Merriam-Webster discusses both sorts. Our Mongrel Language. “English is famously difficult to spell,” M-W … Continue reading
FATE AND AN F1 HERO
LET’S RETURN TO THE PIRELLI ALBUM OF MOTOR RACING HEROES, assembled by John Surtees, himself a Drivers’ World Champion. Pirelli Album of Motor Racing Heroes, by John Surtees, Motorbooks International, … Continue reading
FRANK MUIR ON EDUCATION AND LITERATURE PART 2
YESTERDAY WE STARTED SELECTING CHOICE QUOTES from Frank Muir’s An Irreverent and Thoroughly Incomplete Social History of Almost Everything. We continue today in Part 2 with the likes of George … Continue reading
