Dear Language Nerd, This Philosoraptor has perfectly phrased my question: Well? Yours, Laura *** Dear Laura, Whoa, that question has some “Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo” mind-games going on, but the answer is definitely the second option: first you have the fruit, and the color gets its name from there. This is true of many […]
Dear Language Nerd, I was watching a rerun of Buffy the Vampire Slayer the other day (because that show is great, I hope you do not think otherwise, if you do you are crazy) and I noticed something really interesting in the dialogue. Giles the librarian is discussing the terrible-danger-of-the-moment, the steroids that the swim […]
Dear Language Nerd, What exactly is onomatopoeia? From Anna *** Dear Anna, First off, onomatopoeia is one the very few words in English spelled with four vowels in a row (there are none with all five, sadly). Second and more usefully, onomatopoeia is words that represent real-world sounds. Does this blow your mind? Give it […]
Oh Nerdiest of Nerds! I’ve read a lot of interesting language articles, but is there only one nerd over there? I need some variety in my life! Your organization’s super-hero-esque name has reminded me of a question, and I hope there’s a science nerd available to answer it: are there any animals with super hero […]
Dear Language Nerd, Back when I was in school, we studied the interrobang, a question mark and exclamation point put together. But I haven’t seen it since, and so I ask you: whither the interrobang‽ Yours, Erwin Munz *** Dear Erwin, As far as I can tell, you were in the definite minority in studying […]