English language
That irritating use of ‘progressive’ is more than a century old
I was interested by the widespread annoyance at the use of progressive by the lefty parties before the election. Irritation…
James Runcie’s diary: A Willie’s shock at the SNP
I am writing a play about Dr Johnson and his Dictionary. It will be performed in Scotland later this year.…
Don’t want a Princess Charlotte? Try Violant, Fatima, Davina, Senna…
It could have been much worse. Someone had pointed out that among the new baby’s ancestors was Queen Violant of…
English cities don’t have quarters – whatever the executives say
‘No quarter given,’ yelled my husband as he stabbed at a cushion with his stick, spoiling the cavalier effect a…
Does the English language need a Norwegian lesson?
‘Ten Norwegian phrases that don’t exist in English but should,’ said the headline. So I had a little look, as…
Why do politicians go potty for ‘passion’?
‘I long for spontaneous passion but I will never get it with my husband because I think he has Asperger…
Nick Clegg’s public-school insult
Married to a public-school man (I almost said boy) for many a long year, I can’t bring myself to disqualify…
The new Fowler still won’t grasp the nettle on ‘they’
I’ve been having a lovely time splashing about in the new Fowler. It has been revised by Jeremy Butterfield, an…
Where ‘poop’ came from
Danny Alexander recounted in the Diary last week his daughter’s efforts in making unicorn poop. This is something of a…
The lost words of John Aubrey, from apricate to scobberlotcher
Hilary Spurling found a certain blunting of the irregularities of John Aubrey’s language in Ruth Scurr’s vicarious autobiography of the…
Are you negatively impacted by business-speak? It’s time to escalate
Maureen Finucane of Richmond, Surrey, wonders whether there is any branch of public service not infected by Orwellian Newspeak. In…
How long is it since anniversaries stopped being measured in years?
‘You must promise to be with us for our silver wedding D.V. which will be in four years,’ wrote Queen…
‘Robust’, busted
‘Heart of Oak are our ships, Jolly Tars are our men,’ shouted my husband unconvincingly. He has taken to doing…
Dodginess from Tacitus to Ed Miliband
‘I hate Jammie Dodgers,’ said my husband staring disdainfully at a biscuit kindly tucked into his coffee saucer at an…
That annoying ‘likely’ is more old-fashioned than American
What, asks Christian Major of Bromley, Kent, do I think of ‘this new, I assume American, fad for using the…
Ha! vs Hahaha: the surprisingly subtle world of Twitter style
I don’t know if you tweet — No! Don’t turn over, I’m not going to get all techie. I do…
What Benedict Cumberbatch didn’t understand about ‘coloured’
Benedict Cumberbatch apologised at length: ‘devastated’, ‘shaming’, ‘offended’, ‘inappropriate’. What had he done? Been caught in a compromising situation or…
How to stop being scared of full stops
Modern manners and the fear of the full stop
Existential threat: the birth of a cliché
In the endless game of word association that governs vocabulary, the current favourite as a partner of existential is threat.…
The changing meaning of 'prolific', from Orwell to the Premier League
I read somewhere recently of a Soho artist who was a ‘prolific drinker’. The meaning is clear, but hasn’t the…
What parenting meant in 1914
‘Not still War and Peace!’ exclaimed my husband on 1 January during the all-day Tolstoy splurge on Radio 4. In reality…
How ‘data’ became like ‘butter’
Someone on Radio 4 said she had heard about the sexism of Grand Theft Auto on ‘Women’s Hour’. It is…
The curious language of Christmas carols
I could never understand as a little girl why we sang: ‘Away in a manger, no crib for a bed.’…
Why ‘respect’ is the last thing we should want from politicians
‘Respect!’ cried my husband, drop-kicking a cushion with a picture of the Queen Mother holding a pint of beer on…
Does Joey Essex know what ‘reem’ actually means?
Joey Essex is a celebrity who appeared in the ‘scripted reality’ programme The Only Way is Essex, named not after…
