grin and bare it
A blog by Matthew Dicks
My way is the right way.
Sometimes the correct pronunciation is still the wrong pronunciation. Two words in particular: Macabre, which can be pronounced muh-kah-bruh or muh-kahb, should never be pronounced muh-kab-bruh. It sounds clunky and stupid. Neanderthal, which scientists now…
Read MoreHow do you answer “What do you do for a living?” when you have three jobs?
Whenever I play golf, I find myself meeting new people and having to answer the question, “What do you do for a living?” This is tricky for me. I often think of myself as having…
Read MorePerverse political pleasure
I take a perverse pleasure in seeing the political signs for candidates who I despised well after the election is over. It’s a pleasant reminder of how well things worked out for my team. And…
Read MoreRhetorical blunder
I said it a week ago when I saw this ad for the first time (and foolishly failed to record my prescience here): In the age of the mash-up, there is no room for rhetorical…
Read MoreThis is insane
I’m not sure which one of these is more impressive:
Read MoreHow did you decide upon your occupation?
I am, among other things, a teacher and an author. As a child, I wanted to be a teacher and an author, so things worked out well. My childhood dreams were fulfilled. It was not…
Read MoreFor the sake of brevity…
Fans of the NPR radio show Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me (and grammar nerds), please explain this: When Carl Castle is asked how many points a contestant needs to win, he says, “She needs five…
Read MorePouty Sanchez
Tim Graham of ESPN writes: The Jets want Mark Sanchez to stop pouting. To force Sanchez into acting as regal as a franchise quarterback should, offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer and backup quarterback Mark Brunell have…
Read MoreDefeated by the elderly
In a follow-up to the post about my lack of cultural awareness comes this evening’s revelation that my wife’s 88-year-old grandmother is more culturally aware than either one of us. On our way home from…
Read MoreCan’t imagine why I am not universally adored
I am a direct person, and I have always considered this quality to be an asset. Furthermore, I have always had difficulty understanding why anyone in my life would not also appreciate the quality in…
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