Language

Please stop sharing this fake, problematic ‘Screwtape’ political ‘quote’

[not just spurious, but beneath Lewis morally and literarily]

Oct 24 •

Shakespeare, the Bible, and Jesus’ death

[LONGREAD: “breathed his last” vs. “gave up the ghost” / “gave over his spirit”]

Oct 1 •

Prophecy, prophesy, and the one I can’t bear to headline

[lectors, gird your loins]

Aug 5 •

When is an acronym not an acronym?

[the long and the short of acronyms, backronyms, initialisms, and various addenda]

May 27 •

Misquoting the pope and everyone else: Why it matters

[on taking responsibility for what you share online]

May 16 •

“The English are not sweet”

[brief notes on culture, communication styles, and interpretation of tone]

Feb 13 •

Plant and animal sex, what Aquinas and Aristotle didn’t know—and how it still affects our language

[yes, flowers DO produce eggs…plus a Marian coda!]

Feb 5 •

English fun facts: Deciduous and supernumerary

[What links trees and Opus Dei? The answer has to do with teeth!]

Jan 25 •

What goes (or doesn’t) without saying

[the APOPHATIC and the CATAPHATIC!]

Jan 16 •

Gaslighting, strategic lying, and fabulism: A taxonomy of deception

[plus a word about bullshit]

Sep 19, 2024 •

“The day Western civilization ended”

Happy Star Trek Day! Also, English is not Latin

Sep 8, 2024 •

Harrison Butker, “the Jews,” and the New American Bible

[LONGREAD: who killed Jesus, and what it has to do with antisemitic perceptions among US Catholics—and the Bible translation used in English Masses in…

May 29, 2024 •

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