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Time marches on
It’s easy to see that the way we use language changes over time. Dictionaries are one way to measure this, particularly over the long term. Compare a dictionary from a century ago to a modern version and you can see changes in meanings of words as well as changes in the words that are used… Continue reading
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Unfashionably fashionable
Calling someone a “popinjay” is slightly archaic, but still in use; the guy who was White House Communications Director for about a week a few years back, Anthony Scaramucci, was called a “popinjay” by several commentators. It appears to have been Felix Salmon’s idea, who started it all the way back in 2011, when he… Continue reading
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Well isn’t that interesting
If you find yourself “musing” about something, are you in thrall of the “Muses” of ancient Greece? Is that where “music” comes from, which we can use for “amusement” and which, in some forms, we might find “bemusing”? Well…no. It’s more complicated than that. Although some of those words are related, others aren’t. The key… Continue reading
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Items, we need items
How come feeling “listless” means you’re lethargic, unwilling to move, or indifferent to just about everything, but on thing it doesn’t mean is “I lost my list”? “Listless” has been in use since at least the 1400s, when it was included in something called the Promptorium Parvulorum Sive Clericorum. It’s had the same meaning for… Continue reading
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Public Domain 2025
From Duke University law school, a list of the best works that as of 2025 are in the public domain. Continue reading
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More or less
If you’re fond of both language and math, you surely already know that in the phrase “5 minus 3” the number 5 is the minuend and the number 3 is the subtrahend. Since that’s not news, it’s a good thing that 5 less 3 is not really the subject of this bit of trivia. No,… Continue reading
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The Fur-Nanny
When my littles are sadI cheer them upBy being their waggy,licky pup. They’re really cute;it’s worth my whileto fix them upand make them smile. If one is aboutto bump their noseI bring that behaviorto a close. I check each one,because, you see,My family smallsdepend on me. -Chocolate Continue reading
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A question of responsibility
“When one individual inflicts bodily injury upon another such that death results, we call the deed manslaughter; when the assailant knew in advance that the injury would be fatal, we call his deed murder. But when society places hundreds of proletarians in such a position that they inevitably meet a too early and an unnatural… Continue reading
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Blogfog
A thoughtful analysis of why Merrick Garland is not the best investigative target. A good infographic can summarize an area of information better than almost anything else. Wait, erase that “almost;” I can’t think of any candidates for something better. Anyway, here’s a compilation of the best infographics (charts) of 2024. The most interesting insights,… Continue reading
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Brevity good
Sometimes words get shorter because people who use them start to leave out sounds or syllables. Take, for example, “pacifist.” Around the turn of the 20th century the word was “pacificist,” as used in the March 4, 1907 edition of the London Times: “Sir H. Campbell-Bannerman’s article…on the limitation of armaments…cannot be said to have… Continue reading
About Me
I’m Pete Harbeson, a writer located near Boston, Massachusetts. In addition to writing my own content, I’ve learned to translate for my loquacious and opinionated pup Chocolate. I shouldn’t be surprised, but she mostly speaks in doggerel. You can find her contributions tagged with Chocolatiana.
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