Junctural metanalysis: sounds like a Jungian term, eh? "Der patient iz prezently undergoing junctural metanalysiz in order zo zat ve might determine vhy he iz vetting bed." Actually it's the blurring of boundaries between two words wherein new ones are created. The best example I can provide is our word nickname. Once it was actually called an eke-name, or, an "extra" name. You might recognize the word eke from "eking out a living"—or stretching,... READ ON

I'd like to start this post by taking a breath so that we might all reflect on the last 6 months; just to note our blog's development and allow ourselves to take it in, to feel ever so slightly self-congratulatory, as a group "“ you, our loyal readers, and us, your loyal bloggers. Yes, we've come a long way since those incipient posts back in the early summer -- and it's high time someone said so. Ready, set, reflect: Okay. Having done that, let's get on with... READ ON

Before the holiday, if you recall, I spent a week's worth of posts dishing out proper word selection and usage tips as put forth by the grand dame of etiquette, Amy Vanderbilt. But sometimes we can learn more about what to say and how to say it more by negative example than anything else. The most obvious e.g. I could possibly serve up was unveiled earlier this week in the form of a condolence letter written by Lindsay Lohan after the passing of Robert Altman. I'll refrain from inserting... READ ON

In Jim Wegryn's book, A Barrel Full of Words: A Treasury of Wordplay in his chapter on homophones, he introduces a fun concept he calls dittograms. According to Jim, dittograms are words or phrases with repeated sounds. "The trick is to see how many dittograms you can get into one coherent sentence," he says. For example, here are a few I liked from the book: On breezy days Gale couldn't find stationary stationery for his novel novel. A noise annoys the principle principal. In... READ ON