Category Archives: language

Convoluted and Over-Inflated Language

Posted on February 25, 2011 by languageandgrammar

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 →

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24 Things You Might Be Saying Wrong…

Posted on February 17, 2011 by languageandgrammar

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 →

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Statement Enclosed

Posted on February 10, 2011 by languageandgrammar

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 →

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Super Ad Sunday–Greatest Advertising Scam in History

Posted on February 4, 2011 by languageandgrammar

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 →

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Strange Interview Questions

Posted on January 25, 2011 by languageandgrammar

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 →

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Come On, Newspaper!

Posted on January 18, 2011 by languageandgrammar

We all make typos, but come on, New Orleans Times-Picayune! (For more, see the Yahoo Sports blog)

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“Correlate” Retirement Age with Life Expectancy

Posted on January 14, 2011 by languageandgrammar

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 →

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Words Worthy of Being Trashed

Posted on January 4, 2011 by languageandgrammar

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 →

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Trite Trophy Winner 2010: At The End of The Day

Posted on December 26, 2010 by languageandgrammar

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 →

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Over-Inflated Language

Posted on December 15, 2010 by languageandgrammar

By Paul Yeager, author of Literally, the Best Language Book Ever The tendency to say simple things in complicated ways is so common that over-inflated language could be a blog on its own. You might say: There is a tendency … Continue reading →

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