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Mass-Market Artisans
Everything's going artisanal these days, from pizza to dog treats.
In September, Domino's Pizza -- the second-largest pizza chain in the United States, with annual revenue approaching $1.5 billion -- introduced "Artisan Pizzas" to its 5,000 stores nationwide. Are you picturing skilled workers up to their elbows in whole-grain flour and locally sourced tomatoes, lovingly patting each pie into a charmingly irregular shape? Well, forget about it.
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Word RoutesExploring the pathways of our lexicon
Occupying Word Street
The Occupy Wall Street movement has developed its own lexicon, starting with "occupy" itself.
The public protest over economic inequalities known as "Occupy Wall Street" has been going on nearly a month now, with the original demonstration in Manhattan's Financial District spreading to cities around the world. Thanks to the success of the movement, the lingo of the protesters has spread quickly, with the verb occupy in particular becoming a kind of rallying cry.
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Word CountWriters Talk About Writing
Ice Water, Ice Cream, but No Ice Tea!
Sometimes we lose the "-d" in compounds like "ice(d) cream," and sometimes we don't.
Ever wonder why we say "ice" water and "ice" cream but "iced" tea? And should there be a "d" in "didn't use(d) to"? Merrill Perlman explains when the "d " is necessary.
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Word RoutesExploring the pathways of our lexicon
"And One More Thing": The Insanely Great Language of Steve Jobs
Remembering the linguistic legacy of the charismatic Apple co-founder.
After the passing of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs on Wednesday, the outpouring of sympathy on Twitter was overwhelming, with an estimated 10,000 tweets per second. Several of the top "trending topics" over the following day were Jobs-related, marked by the hashtags #ThankYouSteve, #iSad, #ThinkDifferent, and #StayHungry. Even in death, Jobs's unique and spirited way with words was palpable.
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Word CountWriters Talk About Writing
Acronym Amplification
Techie types love to make acronyms, but some editorial rules are needed for them.
A warm welcome to our newest regular contributor, Mike Pope. As a longtime technical writer and editor at Microsoft, Mike has developed some special know-how in that favorite techie shorthand, the acronym. Here Mike explains the ins and outs of acronyms and initialisms.
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Word CountWriters Talk About Writing
Unequal Rights: All Synonyms are Not the Same
Some cautionary advice to journalists and other writers about using near-synonyms.
Merrill Perlman explains why journalists should appreciate the special connotations of seemingly synonymous words.
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Blog Excerpts
The Rise (and Fall) of "Awesome"
Have you noticed how the word awesome once meant "awe-inspiring" or "extraordinarily good," but now just means, well, "good"? It's a case of semantic inflation, according to The Economist's Robert Lane Greene. Read his fascinating exploration of the word's plunge into mediocrity in Intelligent Life magazine here.
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