Author Archives: languageandgrammar
Convoluted and Over-Inflated Language
In Literally, the Best Language Book Ever, I have a chapter called “You Thought You Were Clever, But..” in which I talk about words, phrases, and expressions that might have once been clever or cute but have lost all charm … Continue reading
24 Things You Might Be Saying Wrong…
By Paul Yeager, author of Literally, the Best Language Book Ever and Weather Whys: Facts, Myths, and Oddities A Reader’s Digest article from last year, 24 Things You Might Be Saying Wrong, includes quite a few examples of what I … Continue reading
Statement Enclosed
By Paul Yeager, author of Literally, the Best Language Book Ever and Weather Whys: Facts, Myths, and Oddities. Envelopes arrive at my house nearly every week with the phrase “Statement enclosed” stamped on the front, and the statement inside is … Continue reading
Super Ad Sunday–Greatest Advertising Scam in History
By Paul Yeager, author of Literally, the Best Language Book Ever The commercials during the Super Bowl have seemingly become so important that perhaps we should call the day Super Ad Sunday, but I don’t understand the one-day obsession with … Continue reading
Strange Interview Questions
By Paul Yeager, author of Literally, the Best Language Book Ever We typically think of job interview communication in terms of what the prospective employee might say, but the interview is a two-way communication. It’s fairly easy to find posts … Continue reading
Off Topic: How to Use Snow to Your Advantage
By Paul Yeager, author of Weather Whys: Facts, Myths, and Oddities This is completely off-topic, but since so many of us have had to deal with more snow than we may like, I’m here to help. Use snow as an … Continue reading
Come On, Newspaper!
We all make typos, but come on, New Orleans Times-Picayune! (For more, see the Yahoo Sports blog)
“Correlate” Retirement Age with Life Expectancy
By Paul Yeager, author of Literally, the Best Language Book Ever Republican lawmakers who want to extend the number of years that you need to work before getting your social security benefits are afraid to say that they’re raising your … Continue reading
Words Worthy of Being Trashed
While I may have written a book on the topic (Literally, the Best Language Book Ever), it’s good to know that I’m not the only one who thinks that some words, phrases, and expressions deserve to be tossed into the … Continue reading
Trite Trophy Winner 2010: At The End of The Day
Gene Collier, a sports columnist for the Pittsburgh Post Gazette, has awarded the “Trite Trophy” to a deserving sports cliche for the past 27 years. In the column, he mocks commonly used sports phrases and mixed cliches in what has … Continue reading


