Latest articles by James Harbeck
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9 famous quotes that are (technically) grammatically incorrect
The Explainer From a Yogi Berra-ism to the Second Amendment, America's best-known sayings aren't exactly paragons of linguistic perfection
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In defense of the semicolon
The Explainer Kurt Vonnegut called the semicolon a "transvestite hermaphrodite representing absolutely nothing." He was wrong.
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Peculiar figure skating terms: Explained
The Explainer Let's be honest: You have no idea what the difference between a Lutz and an Axel is
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English spelling is terrible. Other languages are worse.
The Explainer Many languages use an alphabet borrowed from a different language. It's like building a dining room set using an IKEA kit for a dresser.
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What's the point of baby talk?
The Explainer The science is divided over the efficacy of motherese
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6 quests to fix English's messed-up spelling
The Explainer Some succeeded. Some failed. Some made things worse.
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4 very old words for very new things
The Explainer Camera? Internet? Those words are 6,000 years old.
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You're using that dash wrong
The Explainer A comprehensive guide to our language's horizontal lines — from the humble hyphen to the three-em dash
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Kill the apostrophe!
The Explainer We would all be better off without it
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How did 'expletive,' 'explicit,' and 'exploit' become such sleazy words?
The Explainer The original, often innocent meanings of words that begin with expl are being overshadowed by naughtier ones
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Don't buy into nonsensical etymologies of the F-word
The Explainer Or any other imagineered claims that common words were derived from winking acronyms
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How to read your shampoo bottle
The Explainer Don't be stumped by the ingredients in your beauty products
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How and when to use 'whom' instead of 'who'
The Explainer 'Whom' is just like 'who' with a bowtie on it
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The fascinating linguistic legacy of the Crimean War
The Explainer You can thank a 160-year-old battle for a famous poem, distinctive headwear, and cozy sweaters
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Prepositions: The super-handy and horribly confusing widgets of language
The Explainer To, from, of, by: The little linguistic bits that we use to fit in gaps and hold things together or keep them apart. But it's all rather arbitrary.
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A linguistic dissection of 7 annoying teenage sounds
The Explainer Voiced alveolar stop and breathy-voiced low back unrounded vowel — better known as duhhh
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Why is the 'mor' in 'Voldemort' so evil-sounding?
The Explainer Voldemort, Mordor, Moriarty — exploring literature's most sinister syllable
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Everything you wanted to know about danglers but were too afraid to ask
The Explainer Is it ever ok to dangle your participle in public?
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A herstory (or mansplanation) of portpersonteau words
The Explainer From broceries to guybrarian to Galentine's Day, we often employ wordplay to poke at differences between the sexes
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9 confusing ways to pluralize words
The Explainer Why must we make everything so complicated?
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What language is your baby speaking?
The Explainer Your linguistic guide to baby babbling
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A brief history of royal baby names
The Explainer Will and Kate's wee one will be the seventh British king to be called George
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9 compellingly strange letters you don't know about
The Explainer Meet eng, thorn, hwair, and more
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14 exotic city names that sound boring when translated
The Explainer Kuala Lumpur just doesn't sound as magical when you translate it to Muddy Confluence
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