Showing 1 - 10 of 74
Misplaced focus
Postbag, Published on 04/01/2026
» Re: 145 killed in first three 'dangerous days', (BP, Jan 2).
Not even the penguins were spared
Roger Crutchley, Published on 28/12/2025
» Well, we've just about slithered our way through the Year of the Snake. Suffice to say, 2025 wasn't much fun. At least the previous year we had the "Happy Hippo" which kept us vaguely amused in a daft sort of way.
The last word on weird book titles
Roger Crutchley, Published on 14/12/2025
» Being somewhat old-fashioned I still love browsing in bookshops. It provides a brief escape to a completely different world, both relaxing and therapeutic. Alas it is a pleasure future generations are unlikely to experience as these days bookshops are something of an endangered species.
Words of the year are bit of a worry
Roger Crutchley, Published on 07/12/2025
» More words or phrases of the year have been drifting in courtesy of the major dictionaries and I'm afraid most of them are not particularly encouraging. In fact some are a disturbing indication of the direction in which the English language and society are heading.
A word that has me at sixes and sevens
Roger Crutchley, Published on 09/11/2025
» I try to keep up with the ever-evolving English language but after seeing the buzzwords provided by Dictionary.com this week I fear I am being left way behind.
New words I probably won't be using
Roger Crutchley, Published on 31/08/2025
» The Cambridge Dictionary recently announced the inclusion of 6,000 new words mainly derived from their common usage in social media. I fear those words will simply be added to an already lengthy list of vocabulary I am totally unfamiliar with. As one observer noted "internet culture is changing the English language."
Why they fear Pita
Oped, Postbag, Published on 07/05/2025
» Re: "Pita vows a comeback in 9 years to be 'best prime minister'", (BP, May 5).
Trump-era elections in the Anglosphere
Oped, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 23/04/2025
» The dictionary defines a "horse whisperer" as "someone who is skilled at training horses using gentle, non-violent methods based on understanding horse behaviour and psychology". By that standard, the only "Trump-whisperer" in Europe is Vladimir Putin (although Hungary's Viktor Orbán and Italy's Giorgia Meloni might get bit parts in the movie).
Backing Trump on tariffs, not on tone
Oped, Chartchai Parasuk, Published on 17/04/2025
» I'm not a Donald Trump supporter. On the contrary, I dislike the US president for his abrasive behaviour. For Mr Trump, everything is nothing but numbers. Compassion has no meaning in his dictionary.
Tariff man doubles down on his passion
Oped, Anne O. Krueger, Published on 27/03/2025
» US President Donald Trump has long been a staunch advocate of import tariffs, proudly calling himself "Tariff Man" and asserting that tariff is "the most beautiful word in the dictionary."