Category: Language
-
One Word: Convey
The real challenge is to convey what we mean. Itās tough enough to say what we mean. But itās more difficult ā and far more important ā to convey it. Those two are not the same. To say something well, we put it into precise words that capture, and perfectly express, our meaning. But what…
-
One Word: Auto-antonym
An auto-antonym is any word that functions as its own opposite. The very idea seemed bonkers when I first heard about it. But English has quite a few such words. Normal antonyms are words with opposing meanings ā up and down, in and out, good and bad. Whatās different in the case of an āautoā…
-
One Word: The Elephant in the Room
Want to write and speak with lasting impact? Want to convey thoughts that touch, that move, that heal? Donāt worry too much about the right words. Focus first on finding the right topic. (The words come later.) Thereās one right topic, and itās always the same: Itās the elephant in the room. No, not the…
-
One Word: Next
Weāre hurtling down the freeway in my friendās car. Heās driving. Iām riding shotgun, giving directions. I tell him: āGet off at the next exit.ā He says: āOkay.ā A few minutes later, as we approach the exit, he puts pedal to the metal and roars past it. āHey!ā I exclaim. āYou were supposed to turn…
-
One Word: Beg
My white-haired physicist friend assured me he could prove there is no life after death. That certainly caught my attention. He knew it would. Thatās because I do believe in human immortality. I think, God willing, that being dead willĀ be a lot of fun. My friendās bold challenge left me no choice but to hear…
-
One Word: Mild!
Cheri and I were with a group of fellow Peace Corps volunteers in Grenada. The year was 1989. With us (because we were guests in his office) was an American career diplomat. This gathering happened (coincidentally) at a time when most of the volunteers were dismayed by news of a recent political appointment in Washington.…
-
One More Word: To Casually Split Your Infinitive With
I like to occasionally split an infinitive. Not always ā just now and then. Neither too often, nor too seldom. Thereās a fine line. Quick review: An infinitive is the basic form of a verb, usually preceded by ātoā. If I say āto sleep, perchance to dreamā, then āto sleepā and āto dreamā are infinitives.…
-
And Another Word: The Conjunction You Start Your Sentence With
Thereās this idea that itās wrong to open a sentence with a conjunction. Conjunctions are words like āandā, āorā, ānorā, ābutā, ābecauseā, āsoā, and so forth. They connect other words, phrases, or sentences. In other words, their function is to conjoin. Thatās why theyāre called conjunctions. The whole topic can get very complicated: There are…
-
One Word: The Preposition You End Your Sentence With
Thereās this idea that itās wrong to end a sentence with a preposition. It wonāt die. But itās mistaken ā the idea, I mean, not the preposition. A preposition is a perfectly good thing to end a sentence with. The notion that one canāt do this is often put forward as a āruleā of English…
-
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 āI could/couldnāt care less.ā People used to say (and some still say) āI couldnāt care lessā to mean āI have no interest in this matter.ā…
-
Vintage Words Back in Vogue
Vintage words are making a comeback. (Thanks to Richard Green for spotting an eye-opening article about this.) Words like āperuseā, āsmittenā, ābespokeā, and ādapperā are rising sharply in popularity since year 2000 ā the turn of the 21st century. The same is true of words like ātheeā, āthouā, āfortnightā, ābedchamberā, āamongstā, and others that are…
-
One Word: Could/Couldnāt
I couldnāt care less about the word ācouldā. Also, I could care less about ācouldnātā. Except when we use ācouldā and ācouldnātā ā words that profess to be exact opposites ā to mean exactly the same thing. How is that even possible? Spoiler alert: Itās possible! I didnāt think so, but I was wrong. Read…