Language
At first glance ‘deafening silence’ looks like an oxymoron – a noun linked to a contradictory adjective. We know all…
Language
I suggest the right word for Hamas is ‘barbarians’. It was the Greeks who coined this word when savage, uncivilised…
Language
They say that in war truth is the first casualty – and the language of truth is certainly being butchered…
Language
The weather bureau tells us that we are now officially in an ‘El Niño event’ and, as a result we…
Language
The word ‘special’ means: ‘Exceptional in quality or degree; unusual; out of the ordinary; excelling in some way’ (Oxford English…
Language
Noel Pearson and others have insisted the Voice referendum ‘is not about race’. Does that make sense linguistically? The word…
Language
A reader has asked me about the common expression ‘virtue-signalling’. The meaning, I think, is fairly clear. It is a…
Australian notes
The Managerial Class Recently I spoke at the Sydney Institute on the subject of George Orwell’s justly famous essay ‘Politics…
Language
Every so often I like to share with you new words being added to dictionaries. Dictionary.com has just added 566…
Language
One of the powers of language is that it can give us the words (the tools) to think about our…
Language
I need to loudly lament (once again) the deceptive misuse of the word ‘mistake’ by people who have a black…
Language
Here’s a brand new Australian political expression I’ve just coined: ‘cane toad politics’. I expect it to take its place…
Language
A national survey has found 64 per cent of Jewish students say they’ve experienced anti-Semitism at university. At Sydney University…
Language
The power (and the usefulness) of language is that it gives us names for ideas. And a name is like…
Language
We all know J.R.R. Tolkien from his epic The Lord of the Rings, voted best novel of the 20th century.…
Language
The Albanese government has established a ‘Makarrata Commission’ with a budget of $5.8 million dollars. So, what is this word…
Language
‘They’ is not a singular pronoun. It’s a fairly simple concept, but some people are struggling to grasp it. The…
Language
The compound noun ‘rage apply’ is (I am told) the name being given to a new trend in workplaces around…
Language
Some trendy new expressions will probably have the lifespan of a fruit fly (for the scientifically minded, that’s between 30…
Language
Is the word ‘bonzer’ no longer part of the living Australian language? Bernard Salt thinks not, writing in the Weekend…
Would Jesus vote ‘Yes’?
And what would the Good Samaritan do?
Language
We all know what ‘dictation’ means – speaking words aloud for someone to write down. Once every office had its…
Language
I have written here in the past about the expression ‘weaponised words.’ There are many examples: ‘fascist’, ‘Nazi’ and ‘hard-right’…
Language
A Speccie reader has asked me for the origin of the expression ‘mumbo jumbo’ – and there turns out to…
Language
For a number of years British journalist Philip Howard wrote a weekly language column for the Times in London (he…
