A tax on hope

I read a great phrase last year that lotteries were a tax on hope. So I tried to find out where that came from. However, it proved to be a v...

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Our acronyms are backronyms

We humans love a good conspiracy theory, so the idea that some words are formed from acronyms or initialisms is seductive. For example, the ...

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Swear Responsibly

I read a great post recently by Angela Melling, an unashamed curser. Not a cursor. She owned the fact that she swears - in her own w...

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Apostrophe Catastrophe

I am obviously on a language bent this week; first currying favour, and now the apostrophe. The OED published a blog post in May this ye...

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