On Demand
Word Maven Patricia T. O’Conner
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Word maven Patricia T. O’Conner answers your questions about the English language...including some of the more interesting new words of 2007.
Patricia T. O’Conner’s Woe is I Jr.: The Younger Grammarphobe's Guide to Better English in Plain English is available for purchase at amazon.com
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Comments
not sure if this is technically a grammar question, but what is the origin of using (sic) in written text to indicate a misspelling or misuse of a word?
Where does " out in left field" come from? why not right field? LOL
Re; that statement came right out of left field "
What does the phrase 'Read the riot Act' mean?
What is the riot act?
Does it have to do anything with filibustering in the senate?
Love your time with Leonard!
Merry Christmas & Happy New Year.
John
Not a grammar question either:
How do you pronounce pecan? Pea-can or Pa-cahn?
My pet peeve is when people use the phrase "rate of speed" when referring to an object is moving quickly. I would think this is a misuse; do you agree?
Curious about BRANDISHING a weapon.
Gracias!
My Mother used to say, "Boy that will lay you out in Lavender"...Did they mean, lavender satin lining for a coffin or did they use lavender in funerals to diffuse the odors?
I get irritated when people use "rate of speed"; for example when they are referring to a car moving quickly. This seems redundant as speed is a rate (distance/time).
isn't "ola" the Spanish suffix for big, as opposed to "ita" for small?
Word of the year: lopated
To be interrupted so frequently that you forget your original point.
Re: Yule
Jul (pronounced the same) is the word for Christmas in Norwegian, Swedish and Danish even today.
Woot may just stick around. It is the name of a website woot.com for one deal each day.
" SIC " is latin for "thus"
meaning, the word it follows is shown as it was or did appear. So, if an error was made in printing the word, the person who writes "sic" after it means, "thus"---"the word appeared that way"
Say you saw someone write,
"I met with Vice President Dick Chainey"
if, quoting that comment, you want the reader to know that it wasn't _you_ who misspelled "Chainey" you'd write
"Chainey (sic)"
Could someone please kill the word "famously".
Thank you.
"On the Stump" is getting a lot of mention lately, does it originate from literally standing on a stump to give a political speech?
"Yule" is derived from a Viking term for "Wheel". The celebration honored Winter Solstice as the passing of another year, which was likened to the metaphorical "turning of the wheel", the year, like a wheel, made another turn.
John Hahn:
The Riot Act, an actual British law, circa late 18th century, provided that, when this Act--which was enacted to break up assemblies, mobs, protests, etc. which were common during the period known as the "Enclosures" of former public common lands, etc.--was read aloud by a sherrif, or deputy or other authority, it made everyone present subject to arrest and the death penalty
One word a friend and I use this time of year is "Christeonormative"... to sum up how our culture sees Christianity and Christmas as the unquestioned norm, and everything else is seen in relation to that norm.
Hi,
Should I give up on trying to maintain the difference between "eager" and "anxious." I'm a prof at an online University and I make this correction all the time. It seems that the difference is disappearing.
Chris
The phrase "spit and image" is often referred to as "spitting image". Isn't the former correct? Thanks!!
In Scotland, which is where my husband is from, "Brawlicht" means "Brightly Lit", as in the poem, "It's Braw Licht, moonlicht nicht t'nicht"
Which means "its a brightly lit moonlit night tonight"
ATM machine and PIN number drive me crazy...they're saying Automatic Teller Machine machine, Personal Identification Number number...
I know I should give up on this, but for some reason I can't...
Again from the German?: "change out" (the bulb, for instance), I guess, comes from the perfectly correct "auswechseln" ("aus" is "out," "wechseln" is "change").
Why do radio hosts, when finishing a show, say "We'll see you tomorrow," when it's physically impossible. A better one: "Until tomorrow (or next time), goodbye."
"More unique" just means more attributes are unique.
sanction - are there other words with two, oppostie meanings?
ravel and unravel - which is preferred?
my pet peeve of the year: pronouncing "versus" "verse"
I live in Queens and take the 59th street bridge to go home. As you know, this bridge has 2 levels. Upper level and lower level.
Why do we say "upper" and "lower" when the opposite of up is down and the opposite of low is high....?
Hey, thanks Graham! re: "sic"
Please please please let's call for a moratorium on the NON word "oftentimes"
Sometimes is a word.
Oftentimes is NOT (though it has ended up in many dictionaries)
"often" does just fine.
Regarding the word "extraordinary"
Doesn't putting "extra" in front of "ordinary" make it seem like something is more dull, or ordinary, rather than special or unique?
To Matt:
I think "extra" in extraordinary comes from latim. Extra, I think, means "out" or "outside". So if something is extraordinary it stands out of the realm of "ordinary" things/normal course of events.
Hi,
Just wanted to let WNYC know that the "on demand" function for this segment cuts off at about 6 minutes 30 seconds. Thanks!
Re foreign speakers use of "thanks god" - I believe it is short version of "thanks be to god"
I have a candidate for Word of the Year.
The word 'anxious' can have two opposite meanings. On the one hand, an event we are anxious about can be one to which we very much look forward and happily anticipate. On the other hand, we can truly dread the outcome of the event. In the second case, I propose we use the word 'anxietous', incorporating the word anxiety which carries more of a negative connotation.
On the -ola:
In Mazola and Canola, the "ola" comes from "oleum", or "oil". Mazola is corn oil, and Canola is "Canadian oil". I believe Canola was invented to replace the less marketable original name, "rapeseed oil".
Wikipedia says that the "ola" comes from oil, low acidity", and that canola oil is a specific variety of rapeseed oil.
"Almost any name can become an adjective."
Indeed. Look at the adjective made from Patricia's name.
;)
This thread is closed.
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