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I wrote a limerick to define "ageing" on OEDILF, which makes a sideways reference to this phenomenon. Richard English |
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This article about Facebook being doomed is funny, I think. I especially liked this quote:
I joined awhile ago, and I found my daughters' sites and "friended" them. They thought it very weird that a "mom" would be on Facebook, so I've pulled out. Fortunately they didn't report me.  Interestingly, daughter #1 found out that daughter #2 had broken up with her boyfriend by reading a facebook entry, rather than talking in person. They are close, too, so it's not that they never talk. |
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Katha Pollitt, from The Nation magazine, wrote an excellent article on how poorly feminism has fared in the U.S. in the last few years.
I did learn a new word from her, coruscating, meaning scintillating, brilliant, or sparkling. What a lovely word. [The context was a coruscating piece in Slate by Dahlia Lithwick. I will look for it.] |
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See what the Word Detective has to say about coruscating. |
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Oh, but Tinman, do you agree? If one were to think that only the "common" words are the good ones, wouldn't the writing world be boring?
I loved the metaphors used in this Tribune article. Here's an excerpt:
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Even better, see what Wordcraft has to say about coruscating. |
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This isn't word-related, but I thought it was interesting:
Edwina Froehlich, 93, La Leche League Pioneer, Is Dead La leche is Spanish for "the milk." Now it's word-related! |
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Why is it that one so often sees it written as, "The La Leche League?" The double article is redundant, yet it's very often used. By now darned few of us in the US don't know that "la" is "the" in Spanish, so that's no longer an excuse.
Now, milk that comment for all it's worth! |
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"The La Leche League?"
It seems unremarkably normal to me. The the in the La Leche League goes with league and not La Leche. I can even imagine somebody saying that some other league is not a La Leche League. It's like arguing that a phrase like the Kennedy Compound in Hyannis is not correct, because in English we don't use definite articles with proper names. Interesting how Spanish uses a definite article with what in English is a non-count noun. —Ceci n'est pas un seing. |
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Others .....
The Los Angeles Times ... The Las Vegas mystique ..... Some of the Des Moines monks ........ The El Paso population ............. The La Brea Tar Pits |
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The La Brea Tar Pits
Pico and Sepulveda, Pico and Sepulveda, La Brea (Tar Pits)! —Ceci n'est pas un seing. |
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Why stop there? The al of algebra, algorithm, alcohol and (slightly hidden) aubergine and apricot is an article too. Arabic صَحراء (ṣaḥrā) means "desert" so Sahara Desert is redundant. Here are some more terms that are redundant because both of their elements are derived from the same source:
head chef head of cabbage chapter head fava bean golden yellow chai tea सुनिश्चितम् आश्चर्यवत् |
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Let's not forget such constructions as PIN number.
"No man but a blockhead ever wrote except for money." Samuel Johnson. Read all about my travels around the world here. Read even more of my travel writing and poems on my weblog. My new blog - which I hope to keep more up to date than my old one. And don't miss this - my unpublished book, coming a chapter a week |
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I hope they keep it the La Leche League, as it makes it more global than American or English (I assume they have them in England, too?). That someone has to look it up isn't all that bad, in my opinion.
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Which has a double redundancy, meaning The the tar tar pits . . . right? I've always just heard "La Leche League", and not "The La Leche League". Maybe here in Central Ohio we have more French gals? ******* "Show your true colors. Mine is Yellow." ~Big Bird |
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Yes, I do. Coruscating sounds pretentious to me. I have no use for the word. |
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Tinman, I wasn't only referring to coruscating. We can all disagree about individual words, as many do here about epicaricacy. However, his comment that coruscate is a fancy way to say sparkle rather irritated me. Isn't that the case with a variety of synonyms? Must we always stick to the "unfancy" way of writing? Isn't that the whole point of being a logophile?
This comment made me think that he has his own agenda:
I, for one, think the NY Times Book Review is one of the most cogent reviews around. I suppose I have my own agenda.  |
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Whose comment was that?
Richard English |
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Word Detective's.
I still think the crux of this question is whether we should always stick to "unfancy" ways of writing. I don't use coruscate, I confess, but were I to hear it, I would merely consider it another way to say "sparkle." We have lots of synonyms and other ways of saying things. That's the beauty of writing, isn't it? That's where I disagree with Word Detective. |
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I am inclined to agree. I don't think it's always right to use "difficult" words or constructions, especially when their use is simply to confuse - but I believe that there are times when it is quite appropriate to use a different word from the obvious one. This can add much to a piece of writing.
I always used to enjoy reading the "Reader's Digest" item "Towards more picturesque speech" (I hope I have the title right) since it had many metaphors and similes that were new to me. Richard English |
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I don't mind - in fact prefer - the more obscure 'fancy' words, provided they are used correctly. I do have a problem when people use a word incorrectly; such as writing coruscating when they mean scathing, or moot to mean not worth discussion rather than the exact opposite.
Come on you raver, you seer of visions, Come on you painter, you piper, you prisoner, and shine! |
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Oh, arnie...you and your "moot."
In the U.S., at least, you've lost that battle.For all you feminists, I loved this Katha Pollitt article about it always being about men. I couldn't find it online, so my link is from the Chicago Tribune. Therefore, you might have to subscribe online to read it, but it's free. Here's the crux of it: She is so right. |
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Toxic yes: Toxins? No
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I'm reminded of a joke, which if told with a good burr usually goes over well: A biology teacher in Edinburgh opened class one day with the following question. "What part of the human anatomy can grow to ten times its normal size, in certain conditions?" He called on Maureen, who, blushing furiously, responded, "Sir, I canna say." He replied, "Young Maureen, I have three things to say to you. 1) You dinna read your homework, or you'd have known that it is the pupil of the eye. 2) You have a dirrrrrty mind. 3) You are going to be verrrra disappointed." |
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