- October 22, 2014Usage Determines Meaning, and I'm going to illustrate it by putting myself down a little bit. A close friend of…
- May 31, 2013When my three-year-old son asks while we sit in a large crowd, "Why are the people clapping?" he's essentially asking,…
- December 27, 2012I just read a fascinating book recommended to me by Alan Jacobs, an English prof at Wheaton who recently completed…
- June 2, 2009Usage, ah, Usage... What a fickle goddess! No hobgoblin of little minds are you! At the end of blog posts…
- May 8, 2009Sidney Landau, lexicographer, has a firm handle on one of my favorite near-inspired dictums, "Usage determines meaning." He devotes some…
- December 11, 2008I really enjoyed this essay on that poor, abused English word "literally." If you'll read it carefully you'll get a…