The Word Guy from Creators SyndicateCreators Syndicate is an international syndication company that represents cartoonists and columnists of the highest caliber.Red, Write and Blue for 06262008- June 26, 2008 Why are Democratic states called "blue states" and Republican states "red states" This mystery is worthy of another "National Treasure" movie. In fact, if you look closely at the face side of a $20 bill, the eagle on the left is blue and the number "20" in the lower right corner is red. A-ha! OK, enough "hue"y. In fact, all langua ... Updated: Thu Jun 26, 2008http://creators.com/lifestylefeatures/rob-kyff-word-guy/red-write-and-blue.html Don't Settle for 'Anything Less' for 06182008- June 18, 2008 Q. Back in the early 1970s, Toyota advertised its LandCruiser by saying, "Anything less is just a car." The latest along this line is a current Wendy's commercial for a sandwich saying anything less is "just a sub." Am I missing something Aren't these people telling us their product just meets minimum standards — Doug Johnson, Watson, La. A. Given the high cos ... Updated: Wed Jun 18, 2008http://creators.com/lifestylefeatures/rob-kyff-word-guy/don-t-settle-for-anything-less.htm... Sometimes Language Needs Retrofitting for 06112008- June 11, 2008 Linguists' version of a blonde joke: A natural blonde, a paleoconservative and George H. W. Bush walk into a bar. "Do you know what we all have in common" the blonde asks the barkeep. "You're all Republicans!" he replies. "Nope," replies the blonde. "We're all retronyms." Retro . . . what A "retronym" ... Updated: Wed Jun 11, 2008http://creators.com/lifestylefeatures/rob-kyff-word-guy/sometimes-language-needs-retrofitt... Betwixt and Be-teen for 06042008- June 4, 2008 Recently I've noticed that students making assembly announcements at the high school where I teach invariably preface their proclamations with "so," followed by a brief pause and then their statement. "So . . . We're having a bake sale."; "So . . . There's a yearbook meeting scheduled for today."; "So . . . the volleyball tournament is this weekend." ... Updated: Wed Jun 04, 2008http://creators.com/lifestylefeatures/rob-kyff-word-guy/betwixt-and-be-teen.html |