Monthly Archives: December 2019

Happy birthday, Dale

One of the treasures of 2019 was an acquaintance with the word paraprosdokian. None of my online dictionaries has it, but Wikipedia—bless their hearts—has this. A paraprosdokianis a figure of speech in which the latter part of a sentence, phrase, … Continue reading

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All seated on the ground

As I have been reading texts more carefully (the reasons for which need not detain us at the moment) I have found all kinds of little fragments of language that you can read right through or listen right through and … Continue reading

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On being “woke”

This is President Obama, at an Obama Foundation event this last October. The man makes so much sense. There is this sense [among some young people] that the way of me making change is to be as judgmental as possible … Continue reading

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The bird needed to be flipped

This very unusual expression was used—I am tempted to say “coined,” because I have never heard it before—by my friend, Bob Nightingale. He was describing a situation I didn’t see, myself, although I was there. But I knew what he … Continue reading

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The gospels as murder mysteries

The value of a metaphor is that it opens up a less known idea by comparing it to a better known idea. [1] I have never been to Greece, but I have been charmed for years by stories that Greek … Continue reading

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Paying attention to Christmas

In her New York Times editorial, Tish Warren cites an “old saying” I never heard before: “Hunger is the best condiment.”  I’d like to think about it a little, using the same context in which she uses it, which is … Continue reading

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