Tag: One word

One Word: The Preposition You End Your Sentence With

There’s this idea that it’s wrong to end a sentence with a preposition. It won’t die. But it’s mistaken – the idea, I mean, not the preposition. A preposition is a perfectly good thing to end a sentence with. The notion that one can’t do this is often put forward as a “rule” of English…

February 29, 2016
Can Two Positive Words Ever Be Negative?

How can two positive words produce a negative meaning? Or perhaps more accurately: Is this even possible? Alert reader Mahih Pouryaghma asks about this, prompted by my recent article on “I could/couldn’t care less.” People used to say (and some still say) “I couldn’t care less” to mean “I have no interest in this matter.”…

February 26, 2016
One Word: Could/Couldn’t

I couldn’t care less about the word “could”. Also, I could care less about “couldn’t”. Except when we use “could” and “couldn’t” – words that profess to be exact opposites – to mean exactly the same thing. How is that even possible? Spoiler alert: It’s possible! I didn’t think so, but I was wrong. Read…

February 24, 2016
One Word: Pert Near

A recent article of mine uses the compound word “pert near”. What’s the deal there? It was my article on whistling (I can’t whistle) in which I asked whether there’s “anything you can’t do … even though pert near everyone else you know can”. Of course, “pert near” is a slang expression meaning “pretty nearly”…

February 19, 2016
One Word: This Here

Always-inquisitive reader Mahin Pouryaghma asks about the compound construction “this here”. It’s one she sometimes encounters in her home stomping ground of rural Georgia. Thanks, Mahin, for affording me a chance to reflect on this and similar expressions. I’m treating this one as a single word for reasons I explained in the article on “compound”.…

February 16, 2016
One Word: Vex

I’m fond of the word “vex”. My recent report on pangrams reminded me of this fondness. You’ll recall that a pangram is any sentence (shorter the better) that contains every letter of the alphabet at least once. Since working “v” and “x” into the same sentence can be a vexing challenge, it’s no wonder pangram…

February 4, 2016
One Word: Connote

Every word denotes something, and connotes something more. Its “denotation” is what it denotes – that is, what it means in its most straightforward, minimal dictionary definition. Its “connotation” is what it connotes. That’s where things get interesting. The connotation of a word is its flavor, its feeling, its emotional texture. It’s what the word…

February 3, 2016
One Word: Pangram

You all know I love anagrams – those wonderful phrases created by rearranging the letters of one thing to spell something else. Like when I scramble the letters of “Gary Leland Matthews” to spell “sadly elegant warmth” (and lots of other things – most of them unflattering but hilarious). Until a few days ago, however,…

February 2, 2016
One Word: Beggar

Here’s a word I (sometimes) like and (sometimes) use: “beggar”. Depending on its meaning. Mostly the word strikes me unremarkable, even depressing. A beggar can be someone who survives by begging. That definition doesn’t inspire me. As a verb, something that “beggars” you reduces you to poverty. Don’t care for that one, either! Nowadays we…

February 1, 2016
One Word: Ourself

My recent article on the “singular they” prompted an insightful question from reader Mahin Pouryaghma. Just to provide context: Dr. Pouryaghma is a licensed professional counselor whose practice emphasizes self-honesty. You can read her background here on the Psychology Today website. She writes: “When I am talking to more than one person and am saying…

January 30, 2016
One Word: Brevity

“Brevity” is one of those words that exemplifies itself. Seven letters long, it’s the noun form of “brief”, which means short. “Brief” and “short” also are words constituting examples of themselves. Words that rhyme with brevity include “levity” and “longevity”. (This article is part of my series on words that are #worth1000pictures.)

January 27, 2016
One Word: Crumb

Some words fascinate me on account of unusual or specialized ways they can be used. “Crumb” is such a word. Singular, not plural. I’m not especially interested in crumbs (plural), the little shards of bread, cake, pie crust, and the like that break off and make a mess that needs to be cleaned up so…

January 19, 2016