Modals are helping verbs that affect a verb’s grammatical mood and express possibility, capability, likelihood, permission, or obligation. The use in the Southern United States of multiple modals, such as might could and might should reflect...
Grant responds to a voicemail from Doug in Louisville, Kentucky, who asks whether our phone’s autocomplete function will affect the way we talk and write. The answer is yes, partly because of Markov chains, or models describing a sequence of...
What makes a word beautiful? Is it merely how it sounds? Or does a word’s meaning affect its aesthetic effect? Max Beerbohm had some helpful thoughts about gondola, scrofula, and other words in his essay “The Naming of Streets.”...
spit and acquit n.— «Defendants charged with low-level drug offenses under existing statutes can have their charges dismissed if they participate in drug treatment programs or undergo court supervision. But under the district attorney’s...
self-embedding n.— «Health officials in Chicago are warning about a growing trend among teenagers who inflict pain on themselves by inserting foreign objects under their skin. The practice, called “self embedding,” is similar...
digital cliff n.— «Whitsett goes on to explain the unique challenges that affect many rural residents. “According to the FCC, the strength of a digital signal depends on terrain, distance from the transmitters and the reception...