Thanks to the evolution of language, technology, and lots of hyperbole, these words used to convey a lot more merit, emotion, or simply seriousness than they do nowadays. Ah, “genius.” Once reserved ...

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Word of the Day: Catapult - As a verb, it means to launch suddenly. It often refers to quick success. A viral post can catapult a brand. Use it to describe rapid, forceful movement. It is a powerful ...

Decades after I began writing about language, there are still words I avoid out of fear I’ll use them wrong. And worse: Some of these are terms I’ve learned, written about, then promptly forgotten.

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Words have no intrinsic meaning. That is to say that the words don’t have meaning in and of themselves. Words are symbols of thoughts. We attach thoughts to words. The degree to which those ...

Children learn language effortlessly and completely voluntarily. They learn new words miraculously fast. A teenager masters about 60,000 words of their mother tongue by the time they finish high ...

Article II, Section 1 of the U.S. Constitution states that “Before he enter on the Execution of his Office, he shall take the following Oath...” Here, and in more than a dozen other places in Article ...