A well-known politician stated several years into our recovery from the Great Recessions that the US economy was “flatlining.” This was not a statement of fact about the US economy, but rather a metaphor that referred to the loss of … Continue reading
Tag Archives: rhetoric
I want to state at the outset that this article is not about political points of view. It’s about the way we communicate or fail to communicate ideas. I have been without political affiliation my entire adult life, but am … Continue reading
Most people know what a ’meme’ is. The dictionary definition ’meme’ is: “an element of a culture or system of behavior that may be considered to be passed from one individual to another by nongenetic means, especially imitation.” The dictionary … Continue reading
As regular readers of my articles know, I have a bit of an issue with the way that people—especially highly public and influential people—use and abuse language. Some do this intentionally to manipulate their audience; others do it unintentionally out … Continue reading
In my last article on word-smithery, I made the observation that “There are two parties to [the author-reader relationship], of course, the writer has to know how to use the words, but the reader has to know how to read … Continue reading
Like all writers, I have a special relationship with words. In my case, I love them. I am fascinated by the way they work (or fail to work), the myriad ways in which they can be misunderstood, misused, even abused … Continue reading