Tag Archives: language

“In this world in which we live in” (Beatles)

Posted on August 31, 2018 by JMN

He added, “Look to whom the government is reportedly giving immunity to.” (NYTimes) [Copyright (c) 2018 James Mansfield Nichols. All rights reserved.]

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“Swimming in Words”

Posted on August 31, 2018 by JMN

“The most we can do is to write — intelligently, creatively, critically, evocatively — about what it is like living in the world at this time.” (Oliver Sacks, quoted by Bill Hayes, “Swimming in Words With Oliver Sacks,” NYTimes, 8-30-18) … Continue reading →

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Monkey THIS Up

Posted on August 31, 2018 by JMN

A Florida white man running for office against a black man has said voters shouldn’t “monkey this up.” I’ve been listening nonstop to Wayne Shorter for three days. Mr. Shorter doesn’t monkey up the music scene. He towers among his … Continue reading →

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Classroom Follies

Posted on August 28, 2018 by JMN

In my high school Spanish classes I tried to prepare my students to be aware of stressed syllables. They knew about haiku — more than I did — from their English teachers. They knew of its 5-7-5 syllable count. I … Continue reading →

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Adverbs Beware

Posted on August 23, 2018 by JMN

I read somewhere today that someone said that something “almost ought to be illegal.” A statement like that always reminds me of how terrified I am, as a stylist, of adverbs. I estimate that at least half the time I … Continue reading →

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Proportion

Posted on August 16, 2018 by JMN

The most important word in art is “proportion.” How much? How long is this joke going to be? How many words? How many minutes? And getting that right is what makes it art or what makes it mediocre. (Jerry Seinfeld, … Continue reading →

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A Curtsy to the Cognoscenti

Posted on August 15, 2018 by JMN

The poetry editors of The Atlantic apologized recently for a poem they had accepted and printed. They say the poem “caused harm to members of several communities.” The author, a young white man named Anders Carlson-Wee, adopts the vernacular of … Continue reading →

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From the Jargon Log: “strategically inconsequential”

Posted on August 11, 2018 by JMN

ABC News, 8-10-18 — “Another failed attempt by Taliban to seize terrain, while creating strategically inconsequential headlines,” U.S. Forces-Afghanistan tweeted. [Footnote: More than 2,200 Americans have died in Afghanistan since 2001.] [Copyright (c) 2018 James Mansfield Nichols. All rights reserved.]

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Wikipediaphilia

Posted on August 9, 2018 by JMN

It’s a boon to have fingertip access to all knowledge. I can quote from the Critique of Pure Reason hands down. But many times another person pivots continually to smart phone in order to referee a fact fight during just … Continue reading →

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From the Jargon Log: “negative treatment”

Posted on August 8, 2018 by JMN

NYTimes, 8-6-18 — Under Israeli law, the prime minister alone is authorized to approve an assassination operation, euphemistically known as “negative treatment” within the Mossad. [Copyright (c) 2018 James Mansfield Nichols. All rights reserved.]

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