by Sue Horner | Jun 6, 2019 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
Wayne State University in Detroit aims to bring back words “worthy of retrieval from the linguistic closet.” (What a great line!) Thus its Word Warriors produce a list each year of some of the English language’s “most expressive — yet regrettably neglected — words.”...
by Sue Horner | Feb 7, 2019 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
Why say “the earthy scent released when rain hits dry earth” when you could go with “petrichor”? That’s what Merriam-Webster tweeted recently. I love words almost as much as Merriam-Webster, but I would pick the full description. One, it’s wonderfully evocative. You...
by Sue Horner | Jan 9, 2019 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
Happy New Year, and Happy Word Nerd Day! You know you are a word nerd when… You receive a word-a-day calendar for Christmas (featured today is Occam’s razor, “a scientific or philosophical rule that favors the simplest explanation”). Your Christmas gifts also...
by Sue Horner | Jan 3, 2019 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
Toxic. Misinformation. Justice. Weaponize. Do these words capture the mood of your 2018? They do for many people, according to the various dictionaries and online sources that track the topics we search for online. Here are the Words of the Year for 2018 that caught...
by Sue Horner | Dec 13, 2018 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
The word nerd in me loves the idea of trending words. I love that people want to know the meaning of a word, and take the time to look it up. News events, celebrities, politics and sports often drive a sudden spike in people looking up a specific word. Trends this...
by Sue Horner | Dec 6, 2018 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
Jargon has welcomed some new members to the fold this year. Or maybe it’s been happening longer, but I’ve been running into fresh examples over the past few months. Either way, I’m hopping on my Grouch Train. You know I’ve had issues with the phrase “like a boss”...
by Sue Horner | Nov 22, 2018 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
A post about looking for a gender-neutral option for man-hours is one of the most-read on this blog, according to the analytics. (Long story short, person-hours is an acceptable substitute; also try work-hours or staff-hours.) Increasingly, people are looking for...
by Sue Horner | Nov 8, 2018 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
Hot on the heels of this month’s midterm elections in the United States (no, I’m not going there) is voting of a different sort. I’m talking about choosing the Word of the Year. The big names like the Oxford English Dictionary and Merriam-Webster wait until late...
by Sue Horner | May 31, 2018 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
Stumbling over a few misused words recently brought to mind the 1987 movie, The Princess Bride. Vezzini (Wallace Shawn), the “mastermind” hired to kidnap the princess, constantly describes unfolding events as “inconceivable.” Inigo Montoya (Mandy Patinkin) says, “You...
by Sue Horner | May 2, 2018 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
Wayne State University is again trying to draw attention to some of the English language’s “most expressive — yet regrettably neglected — words.” Its annual list shares words it says “deserve to be used more often in conversation and prose.” I love the spirit of...
