New Year’s resolutions

Monday was the first day of school in Graz. After a year of remote learning, it was wonderful to see groups of boisterous children with backpacks headed to the local elementary as I wrapped up my pre-breakfast run. I’ve always considered the start of a new school year to be more of a fresh beginning …

A dash of punctuation

As a writer, I am always trying to improve my writing. As a Virgo, I have been told that I am slightly anal retentive. Regarding the latter, I think people are just using the stars to insult me. – Wait! I’ll be right back. The pencils on my desk aren’t properly aligned. – In any …

New book by Ralph Keyes

I read a review in the paper yesterday that Ralph Keyes has published a new book The Hidden History of Coined Words. For those who don’t know Keyes, he is a popular American author of books that fall into the genre I refer to as brain erotica – popular non-fiction works that deal significantly with …

How many makes a plural?

This recent headline in the New York Times caught my eye. Trigger Warning: Fair citizens of Wilmington Delaware, before I continue, please allow the following clarification. The views of the New York Times regarding your city do not reflect my own. I have never been to Wilmington and have no opinion regarding your city’s degree …

Retromania – an unhealthy obsession?

I have an insatiable urge to learn new words and observe how language develops. It is an incurable condition but one I effectively self-medicate with extensive reading and the NYT crossword. What really excites me is word genesis, when a new word spreads in the mainstream media – for example retromania. As the Google Ngram …