about growing up in State College, Pennsylvania recently appeared in the Centre Daily Times. When I was eight and my brother Gene was eleven, we walked to the Centre Daily Times‘s office every day after school. On the way we’d pass through town, the Corner Restaurant, Murphy’s five and dime, and Rae & Derrick’s Drug …
New Yorker
Ralph was interviewed about political misquotations by Lauren Collins of The New Yorker. OOOPS Dept. NAMES IN VAIN The New Yorker, February 27, 2012 Last month, François Hollande, the Socialist candidate for the French Presidency, launched his campaign in the Paris suburb of Le Bourget, vowing before fifteen thousand supporters that he would “change the …
New Book Review
Book for Writers, Linguists, Anthropolgists and Lovers of Language by Carolyn Howard-Johnson • Jan. 30, 2012 (originally reviewed for MyShelf.com) If you don’t love language, it’s a good bet you aren’t a writer. But if you’re a writer, reading more about language (linguistics (?)) may not be high on your list of priorities. It’s so …
The Moscow News
Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a…what? by Mark H. Teeter at 17/10/2011 At the end of the movie Gone with the Wind, Rhett Butler leaves his mercurial wife Scarlett with perhaps the most memorable line in the history of cinema. To the entreaties “Where shall I go? What shall I do?”, the dashing Captain …
Hardwired to Prevaricate?
By Suzi Steffen · September 22, 2011 Euphemania: Our Love Affair With Euphemisms by Ralph Keyes “I prefer not to say we are killing other people,” an American artillery captain said during the Gulf War. ‘I prefer to say we are ‘servicing the target.’” Ah yes, servicing the target. Once you’ve read Ralph Keyes’—at first …
The Register-Guard
Some words designed to delude The shady art of the euphemism has been used to veil body parts and deceive investors By Diane Dietz The Register-Guard Published: Monday, Sep 26, 201 When the stock market takes a tumble, as it does on a regular basis these days, the experts on Wall Street call it a …