Stock phrases are often really interesting from a linguistic point of view. In some ways, you can think of them as tide pools. When the overall ocean of old language rolls away, we’re left with small places where old, uncommon words remain in usage despite being otherwise forgotten. You might be asking yourself, “What’s with …
English
Which is a better choice, “more so” or “moreso”? Is the latter variant incorrect? For some reason, humans break the “rules” to achieve some sense of language convenience. This has been the case with “moreso,” the non-standard variant of “more so” which is used to either intensify or recall ideas in sentences. Now, without much …
Even though the election results were announced mid-November of 2020, the effects of this momentous event are still reverberating at the time of this writing, mid-January 2021. It was only a few days ago when the rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol, and there is currently talk of impeaching President Trump for a second time. With …
If you grew up in the 1980s, odds are you spent a healthy portion of your childhood watching the G.I. Joe cartoon on TV. If not, you were, at the very least, aware of the Hasbro G.I. Joe toys, trading cards, movies, video games, and even comic books. G.I. Joe was everywhere. Anyway, in an …
Some languages, like Welsh and French, have different feminine and masculine words for professions and other words describing people. English is inconsistent with this practice, sometimes making it difficult to tell what the right word is to use when referring to someone who does a specific profession or task. Sometimes, things are made even more …
According to yougov.com, the TV game show “Jeopardy!” is considered the most popular contemporary TV show, and it also has the enviable position of being the tenth most famous. Fans of the show will describe it as entertaining, engaging, educational, well-researched, and timeless. That last descriptor, timeless, carries all the more weight when you consider …
Propelled by the mutual and collaborative effort of human beings, the world has become more complex than ever. Collaboration is characterized by seeking and providing services for one another, which essentializes the use of polite communication strategies. Gratitude expressions are tools in reciprocating acts of kindness provided by another party for the benefit of another …
Some English words have a notorious history of being misused. For instance, people commonly confuse homophones like “accept and except,” “affect and effect,” and “ principal and principle.” On the other hand, a pair of words could be confusing because they have similar or related meanings, which is the case with “imply and infer,” “historic …
If you were new to English, and I used the expression “to bite the bullet” without further explanation, you probably would have no idea what I’m talking about. After all, “biting a bullet” makes no real sense when you think about it. However, if I gave you a little historical context and told you that …