Tag Archives: idioms

Color and language

Posted on January 5, 2012 by

For the past week I have been fighting the flu. I’ve been, if you will, green around the gills, which is another way to say “I’ve been feeling yucky.” This got me thinking about all the other idioms and nouns … Continue reading →

Posted in copy editing, semantics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Like turkeys voting for an early Christmas

Posted on December 14, 2011 by

If you’re like me, you’ve been spending the last two weeks in a feverish race to finish end-of-the-year work projects, purchase Christmas presents, and get everything sorted so you can enjoy the most Martha Stewart-worthy holiday. The result: not enough … Continue reading →

Posted in in the news, semantics | Tagged , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Office idioms

Posted on December 5, 2011 by

A couple of years ago, back when I tried to live a corporate life, a coworker and I were discussing how works slows down to a trickle in December. Basically, people are only thinking about the holidays, and it seems … Continue reading →

Posted in story time | Tagged , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

The King James Bible gave English some awesome phrases

Posted on December 2, 2011 by

Regardless of your faith, or lack thereof, it is simply astonishing to learn the number of common English phrases that come from the King James Bible. “A drop in the bucket,” “the root of the matter,” “fight the good fight,” … Continue reading →

Posted in etymology, literature | Tagged , , , , , | 6 Comments

Bloody idioms

Posted on October 31, 2011 by

  It’s a special Halloween edition of Grammar Party. In the spirit of all things bloody and gory, we’re going to take a look at some of the most popular English idioms involving blood. I hope it doesn’t make your … Continue reading →

Posted in in the news, semantics | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments