Category: Language Matters
-
Word of the Day: ‘Pot-Valiant’
If you think I have a large vocabulary, you are right. But despite my voracious reading I have never stumbled upon 'pot-valiant' until just now, in a piece by Mona Charen wherein I found the sentence, "And it's true that some Republicans, like Americans for Tax Reform's Grover Norquist, have fetishized their opposition to taxes…
-
Hypostatization and Plural Reference
In Plural Reference, Franklin Mason writes that "Vallicella is often a delight, but upon occasion he annoys me to no end." Apparently I remind him of a "philosophical pugilist," a former colleague perhaps, who is obnoxious in the manner of all-too-many analytic philosophers. (One such told me once that if one is not willing to become…
-
‘X is the New Y’
We could call 'X is the new Y' a sentential template of laziness. Are you sick of it yet? (Snowclone has been introduced as a terminus technicus for the genus of which 'X is the new Y' is a species.) If not, try these on for size: 1. Casey Anthony is the new O. J.…
-
‘Islamophobia’
Abdur-Rahman Muhammad has it right: "This loathsome term is nothing more than a thought-terminating cliche conceived in the bowels of Muslim think tanks for the purpose of beating down critics."
-
On the Etymology of ‘Shyster’
I've often wondered about the etymology of 'shyster.' From German scheissen, to shit? That would fit well with the old joke, "What is the difference between a lawyer and a bucket of shit?' "The bucket." I am also put in mind of scheusslich: hideous, atrocious, abominable. Turning to the 'shyster' entry in my Webster's, I…
-
Of Plagiarism and Paraphrase
My man Hodges has some interesting and useful entries on these topics, especially for those of you who labor in the academic trenches. Start here.
-
If You Are a Conservative, Don’t Talk Like a Liberal
I've made this point before but it bears repeating. We conservatives should never acquiesce in the Left's acts of linguistic vandalism. Battles in the culture war are often lost and won on linguistic ground. So we ought to resolutely oppose the Left's attempts at linguistic corruption. Take 'homophobia.' A phobia is a fear, but not…
-
Socialist, Shmocialist
It is a tactical mistake for libertarians and conservatives to label Obama a socialist. For what will happen, has happened: liberals will revert to a strict definition and point out that Obama is not a socialist by this definition. Robert Heilbroner defines socialism in terms of "a centrally planned economy in which the government controls…
-
Hyphenation and Other Punctilios of Grammar
Dear Bill, Being someone who uses gerunds not only correctly but elegantly and bothers to hyphenate compound modifiers, you'll appreciate, I hope, my noting that '20 year old' should be '20 year-old' because it is a hyphenated noun. Were ;">we to make his age adjectival by the addition of an extra noun, though, an extra…
-
On The Ground With G. E. Moore
(This is an entry from the old Powerblogs site. It was written a few years ago. It is just a bit of pedantry in which I wax peevish over pleonasm.) ‘On the ground’ is getting a bit too much use for my taste. What the devil does it mean? "Coming up, a live report from Geraldo…
-
Waterboarding Led to Bin Laden Capture
One question about waterboarding is whether it is torture. Liberals, who are generally sloppy and inflationary in their use of language, say it is. These are the same people who think that ID checks at polling places 'disenfranchise' those without identification. (See this contemptibly idiotic NYT editorial.) But on any responsible use of terms, waterboarding…
-
Chutzpah
A kid murders his parents and then throws himself on the mercy of the court on the ground that he is an orphan. That's chutzpah! (via Dennis Prager)
-
Never Bullshit! Mitt Romney on Non Sequiturs and the Null Set
Thinking about the mendacity of Obama, Schumer, and Kyl, I was put in mind of a post of mine dated 6 June 2007 from the old Powerblogs site in which I expose some bullshitting by Mitt Romney. Here it is again. If you want to be taken seriously by intelligent people, you must never use words…
-
Should Fox Hunting Be Banned?
Watch those amphibolous constructions, muchachos. (HT: Seldom Seen Slim)
-
The Difference Between Me and You
I'm sensitive, you're touchy. I'm firm, you are pigheaded. Frugality in me is cheapness in you. I am open-minded, you are empty-headed. I am careful, you are obsessive. I am courageous while you are as reckless as a Kennedy. I am polite while you are obsequious. My speech is soothing, yours is unctuous. I am…