Language
A pregnant pause in the word wars
by David Benjamin “‘You’re not allowed to call them dinosaurs any more,’ said Yo-less. ‘It’s speciesist. You have to call them pre-petroleum persons.’” —Terry Pratchett MADISON, Wis.—Ever since I heard, in grade school, the passage in Matthew 25—“Truly, I say to you, as you did to one of the least of my brethren,…
Read MoreHermaphrodites in hypothesis
by David Benjamin “The very essence of romance is uncertainty.” — Oscar Wilde MADISON, Wis.—A lexicographer walks into a bar. More accurately, it’s a gay club. Glenn, the lexicographer, is uneasy—indeed, deeply troubled— not because he’s uncomfortable among the “men” milling, drinking, laughing, talking, flirting and attempting to dance what looks to him…
Read More“I’m hip”
by David Benjamin “I copped a gig at Minton’s and one night Alfred Lions came in to dig us. He said we gassed him, but we were too far out for the people …” — Babs Gonzalez MADISON, Wis. — Since “woke” horned its way into the vernacular a few years ago, I’ve struggled…
Read MoreThe machine-gun in the cloister
by David Benjamin “… Thus political language has to consist largely of euphemism, question-begging and sheer cloudy vagueness. Defenceless villages are bombarded from the air, the inhabitants are driven out into the countryside, the cattle machine-gunned, the huts set on fire with incendiary bullets: this is called pacification…” — George Orwell, Politics and the English…
Read MoreDing dong, “in which” is dead
by David Benjamin “… It is not surprising that military leaders would be reluctant to give up on a mission their organization had invested so much in…” — Jessica D. Blankshain & Max Z. Margulies, NY Times, 16 Sept. MADISON, Wis. — This week, sportswriter Chris Conte, an online columnist for Hardwood Houdini, wrote the…
Read MoreIt’s midnight (again) in America
by David Benjamin “A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.” — Matthew 5:14 (King James) MADISON, Wis. — America’s foremost gasbag once magnanimously declared that “I love the poorly educated.” In this belch, he more or less consigned the “highly educated” or just plain “educated” to his camp of enemies —…
Read MoreA Slave of Euphemism
by David Benjamin “Be not the slave of words.” — Thomas Carlyle MADISON, Wis. — In my Boston days I frequented a cozy and artful movie house on Massachusetts Avenue between Harvard Square and Central Square, called the Orson Welles Cinema. One of the best flicks I saw there was a Russian romance, A Slave…
Read MoreThe Idiosyncratic Words of the Year
by David Benjamin “As our Word of the Year process started and this data was opened up, it quickly became apparent that 2020 is not a year that could neatly be accommodated in one single ‘word of the year’…” — Oxford English Dictionary MADISON, Wis. — Really? The Oxford English Dictionary chickened out on Word…
Read MorePandemic notes 5.0: Mutant swarms and Nashian furfurs
by David Benjamin “In plague, fear acts as a solvent on human relationships; it makes everyone an enemy and everyone an isolate. In plague, every man becomes… a small, haunted island of suspicion, fear and despair.” — John Kelly, The Great Mortality MADISON, Wis. — The Covid-19 pandemic has swollen the English lexicon and turned…
Read MoreThe wealth of knowledge
by David Benjamin “On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart’s desire at last and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron.” — H.L. Mencken MADISON, Wis. — As best I can guess, I became an elitist during a spelling bee in fourth grade…
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