Home » tone

Tagtone

How We Roll

If you’re serious about writing a memoir, what topics should you include, and what can you leave out? And how honest can you really be about the other people in your life? Some of America’s leading memoirists wrote things they lived to...

Boaty McBoatface

Britain’s new polar research ship is named RSS Sir David Attenborough, even though an online vote overwhelmingly chose the name Boaty McBoatface. Versions of this playful construction go back at least as far as a 1987 episode of the television...

Formal Movie Language

Is the excessively formal language in “True Grit” (2010) historically accurate? The hosts discuss why the Coen brothers would do away with contractions to set a tone for the movie. This is part of a complete episode.

acoustic ranching

acoustic ranching  n.— «Researchers at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole hope to prove fish can be trained to associate certain sounds with feeding, by putting thousands of black sea bass in a dome-shaped structure at the...

stall ball

stall ball  n.— «He also should tone down rhetoric on gambling, labor initiatives and social issues so as not to offend. With a big lead, it’s best to be somewhat bland, the experts said. In essence, he needs to concentrate on not making...

blessing way

blessing way n. a spiritual ceremony or gathering celebrating a woman’s pregnancy. Also blessingway. Editorial Note: The tone, content, and intent of a blessing way can vary greatly, but generally, the event involves songs, food, and the giving of...