by Sue Horner | Jan 14, 2008 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
There was some back and forth in the Toronto Star last week about outdated language in reference to people with disabilities. A column by Kathy English noted that former Ontario MPP Gary Malkowski, a long-time advocate for those who are deaf, took offence at a Star...
by Sue Horner | Jan 10, 2008 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
Some colleagues were recently discussing words and phrases and how they change, and how often the change involves opposites. For instance, you used to be “up for” something if you were eager to do it, or “up on” something about which you were...
by Sue Horner | Jan 9, 2008 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
Now THAT’s using your words. Isn’t this a great title for a book? Does this clutter make my butt look fat? by Peter Walsh. Although I expected to book to deal with clutter, the sub-title (“An easy plan for losing weight and living more”)...
by Sue Horner | Dec 28, 2007 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
In the post-Christmas calm, I’m catching up on some reading — some new books I received as gifts, and blogs, naturally! I loved Chris Brogan’s description of Twitter: “Twitter is the stupidest thing anyone could ever imagine inventing. If I...
by Sue Horner | Dec 24, 2007 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
As things wind down for a Christmas break, I thought I’d share with you an interesting quirk that seems to strike people good-hearted enough to post “found” ads. It’s the need almost so many of them have to name the foundling. And in this, the...
by Sue Horner | Dec 20, 2007 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
The gamer term of joy, “w00t,” tops the 30 words and phrases of 2007 listed by BuzzCanuck. Can I get a “w00t”? I was surprised by a few entries, though, that seem to have been around for an awfully long time. What are they doing being on a hot...
by Sue Horner | Dec 12, 2007 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
Reading a newsletter published by Communications Concepts, I noticed an item about new words being included in the Shorter Oxford English Dictionary. The writer included an example, biffy, adding, “People say, ‘You bet your biffy,’ but the word...
by Sue Horner | Dec 1, 2007 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
What is it with the need some people seem to have to add “season” onto perfectly acceptable solo words? “Tis not only the season to be jolly, but also to be throwing around wishes such as “Happy Holiday Season” (complete with...
by Sue Horner | Nov 23, 2007 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
I’ve often heard about “Black Friday,” the day after American Thanksgiving, when shoppers are out in full force heralding the official start of the traditional Christmas shopping marathon. I wasn’t sure where the name came from, imagining it...
by Sue Horner | Nov 19, 2007 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
I didn’t know until catching up on my Bloglines feeds and reading Dan Santow’s Word Wise that the 2007 word of the year (named by Webster New World College Dictionary) is grass station. A variation on gas station, it refers to where we may all be fuelling...
