curated news for friends & family ™ 
curated news for friends & family ™ 
While the exact derivation of the word is not definitively known, the OED posits that it's a combination of lam and baste, both of which bear the sense (now archaic for both words) to beat soundly. Other sources agree. And lam... read more
Fascism is not an ideology, it's a means to power -- Benito Mussolini
According to Merriam Webster online, it means: a political philosophy, movement, or regime... that exalts nation and often race above the individual...... read more
This first one, lexico.com, is a great site on this subject, though a LOT of the words they list are never used by anyone but dilettantes (from the French and, surprisingly, not listed there). 20-best-foreign-loanwords-in-englis... read more
Judging by foreign-language TV shows-movies I've watched, a few English and-or American-English words - mutterings - phrases that now seem universal, no matter which language you speak are: "Mm-hmm" or "uh-huh" - meaning "yes"; ... read more
Almost everyone uses the word "whom" incorrectly. "Whom" is ONLY correct when following a preposition as in "of whom," "to whom," "from whom," etc. That is the ONLY time you use "whom" instead of "who." And, yes, even your English ... read more
This might be useful: title-case-capitalization Title case is one of the conventions used for capitalizing the words in a title, subtitle, heading, or headline: capitalize the first word, the last word, and all major words in be... read more
In a word, no. See style.mla.org/capitalizing-names-of-dog-breeds Do not routinely capitalize the names of dog breeds. Many breed names are composed of proper nouns that you capitalize like Boston and generic terms (like retri... read more
This is pretty old, from the old newsletter in 1992, when the Soviet Union still existed, but it's still funnyHow English is Being Used in Different Parts of the WorldIN A TOKYO HOTEL: Is forbitten to steal hotel towels ple... read more
I used to be able to spot junk email by its bad grammar, spelling and punctuation. Now, even "legitimate" emails often fail the test. It makes the grammar Nazi in me very sad.... read more
OK, people, the word is "led" (when pronounced "led") not "lead" unless you're referring to the metal. I'm not surprised to see this in social media where it's ... read more
Wordnik. Cool website for those who like words. I love how they provide samples from articles on the internet. And they provide an explanation/definition to links (if you click it) like the one above. It claims to be the most co... read more
(DING-kuhm)Dinkum, also dinky-di, fair dinkum, adjectiveTrue; honest; genuine. Etymology: Probably derived, like many other Australian words, from English dialect. The counties of Lincolnshire and Derbyshire had a word or dincum... read more
Our word of the day is parsimonious (par-si-MO-nee-uhs)adjective: Excessively sparing or frugal. Etymology From Middle English parcimony, from Latin parsimonia, from parcere (to spare). First rec... read more
Every year, English teachers from across the USA can submit their collections of actual analogies and metaphors found in high school essays. These excerpts are published each year to the amusement of teachers across the country. He... read more
