The New York accent seems to be on its way out. Not only is it less common than it used to be, but scads of New Yorkers are hiring speech therapists to rid themselves of theirs, which are seen as … Continue reading →
John Tyner has become a YouTube folk hero for declining a TSA patdown in no uncertain terms when he told the screener, “If you touch my junk, I’m going to have you arrested.” The usually astute Charles Krauthammer demonstrates that … Continue reading →
…but Sarah Palin’s “refudiate” wins the title “word of the year” from the New Oxford American Dictionary. And to top it all off, her new reality show about Alaska gets TLC’s highest ever ratings for a program’s premiere. [NOTE: This … Continue reading →
…what you think it means: Pelosi’s word, by the way, is “momentum.” I think she’s using it to mean, “nowhere to go but up.” The phrase occurs around 8:10 here:I listened to the whole thing, quite fascinated with Pelosi’s arguments … Continue reading →
I was talking to a friend the other day and the word “scurry” came up, as in “we’ve got to scurry out of here.” I joked that a better word would be “skedaddle,” and maybe even “scoot” or “scram.” And … Continue reading →
Is anyone else annoyed by the recurrent newish phrase “baby bump” to refer to a pregnancy, especially involving a celebrity starlet? Having been pregnant, I have to say it’s a lot more than a bump. And the phrase “baby bump” … Continue reading →
One of the most perverse things about Obama is that, when he’s trying to get tough with the opposition, what he says about them is often the best clue to what he’s actually doing, or planning to do. Case in … Continue reading →
It’s the most common error in English, and Spellcheck doesn’t catch it (although Spellcheck catches me when I attempt to spell Spellcheck “Spellcheck,” much preferring two words or a hyphenation to my single word). This prompts me to recycle this … Continue reading →
I didn’t say it—Kathleen Parker did. And she thinks it may not be a bad thing: It isn’t that [Obama] isn’t “cowboy” enough, as others have suggested. Aren’t we done with that? It is that his approach is feminine in … Continue reading →
Criticized even (or perhaps especially) by supporters for not showing enough passion and anger about the Gulf oil spill, President Obama has set about rectifying that situation. But, like many such efforts, it appears to be an over-correction. And like … Continue reading →
…didn’t tell the Israelis to “go back to Auschwitz,” like a passenger on the Mavi Marmara told an Israeli Navy radio operator initially contacting the Turkish ship. The speaker was one of those gentle “peace activists,” no doubt. And by … Continue reading →
One thing I will never quite understand is this business of a person confessing that he/she misspoke. You hear it all the time these days from public figures (actually, you increasingly hear it in private, too). Richard Blumenthal is only … Continue reading →