wakalix

What do you say…

to a young man in a grocery store wearing a black t-shirt that says “F**K off and die”? So, what do you wear when you’re in a bad mood? Is this your outfit for picking up women?

In football there’s something called the “prevent defense.” Had I not read The Language Instinct, by Steven Pinker, I probably would not have noticed that people place the accent on the first syllable of “prevent”, where as when the word is used as a verb, the second syllable is accented. “Permit” is similar. As a verb, the accent is on the second syllable, but as a noun, the accent is on the first. Hmm. What would Pinker say about this?

• The Language Instinct, Moneyball, and Janet & Justin
• Home runs and the c-word
• zeugma \ZOOG-muh\ noun, to vote is to pray (& to prey?)
• What Do You Care What Other People Think?
• Picking my battles (or not)