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    <title>The Word Guy - ArcaMax Publishing</title>
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	<description><![CDATA[The Word Guy  Channel Feed]]></description>
	<language>en-us</language>
	<copyright>Copyright 2013 ArcaMax Publishing</copyright>
	
	
  <item>
 
		<title><![CDATA[Are Poisoned Cookies Just Desserts?]]></title>
		<description><![CDATA[
Q: I have always thought the phrase was "just desserts" to indicate
getting one's comeuppance. But I so frequently see it in print as "just
deserts." So which is it, and where did the phrase come from? --Jean
Bayer via email

A: The correct term ...<br /><br /><hr size="1" />]]></description>
		<link>http://www.arcamax.com/thewordguy/s-1343929</link>
 
    <pubDate>Jun/19/2013</pubDate>
  </item>

	
	
  <item>
 
		<title><![CDATA[Are Poisoned Cookies Just Desserts?]]></title>
		<description><![CDATA[
Q: I have always thought the phrase was "just desserts" to indicate
getting one's comeuppance. But I so frequently see it in print as "just
deserts." So which is it, and where did the phrase come from? --Jean
Bayer via email

A: The correct term ...<br /><br /><hr size="1" />]]></description>
		<link>http://www.arcamax.com/thewordguy/s-1343928</link>
 
    <pubDate>Jun/18/2013</pubDate>
  </item>

	
	
  <item>
 
		<title><![CDATA[Delving Further Into 'Farther']]></title>
		<description><![CDATA[Q: I keep seeing "farther" and "further" used interchangeably. Have the
rules changed? From a full page ad for "Jet Suite": "Flights further
West possible but subject to higher rates." But this is from a newspaper
story about an artist: "Farther ...<br /><br /><hr size="1" />]]></description>
		<link>http://www.arcamax.com/thewordguy/s-1340110</link>
 
    <pubDate>Jun/12/2013</pubDate>
  </item>

	
	
  <item>
 
		<title><![CDATA[How 'Cliche' Clicked Into English]]></title>
		<description><![CDATA[Asked to use "cliche" in a sentence, a student once responded, "My
father came home last night with a cliche on his face." When the puzzled
teacher asked the student to define "cliche," he replied, "a tired,
worn-out expression."

Before you're ...<br /><br /><hr size="1" />]]></description>
		<link>http://www.arcamax.com/thewordguy/s-1336182</link>
 
    <pubDate>Jun/05/2013</pubDate>
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  <item>
 
		<title><![CDATA[It's a Matter of 'Comma' Sense]]></title>
		<description><![CDATA[Q. In a series of nouns, e.g., " ... grounds, buildings, vehicles, and
bus shelters," I was taught to put a comma after all of them except the
last in the series; in this case, that would include a comma after the
next-to-last item, "vehicles." ...<br /><br /><hr size="1" />]]></description>
		<link>http://www.arcamax.com/thewordguy/s-1332447</link>
 
    <pubDate>May/29/2013</pubDate>
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  <item>
 
		<title><![CDATA[This Is Not Too Good 'of a' Usage]]></title>
		<description><![CDATA[Q: It drives me nuts to hear things like "It wasn't too good of a game."
Is this usage ever correct? --Cynthia Ashworth, Granby, Conn.

A: The unnecessary "of" occurs quite often in spoken English, but all
usage authorities condemn its use in ...<br /><br /><hr size="1" />]]></description>
		<link>http://www.arcamax.com/thewordguy/s-1328973</link>
 
    <pubDate>May/22/2013</pubDate>
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  <item>
 
		<title><![CDATA[Let's Play 'Vol'-ley Ball!]]></title>
		<description><![CDATA[The words "volunteer," "volley" and "volume" all share the same
syllable: "vol." But does that mean they share a common origin?

Nope. Each is derived from a different Latin root.

"Volunteer" comes from the Latin root "vol-," a stem of the Latin ...<br /><br /><hr size="1" />]]></description>
		<link>http://www.arcamax.com/thewordguy/s-1325331</link>
 
    <pubDate>May/15/2013</pubDate>
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  <item>
 
		<title><![CDATA[Blasted by a 'Trope'-ical Storm]]></title>
		<description><![CDATA[Q: I've been hearing a word more and more frequently, mostly during
movie or book reviews on NPR -- "trope." My dictionary defines "trope"
as the figurative use of a word or expression, a figure of speech. But
the meaning the speakers give it is ...<br /><br /><hr size="1" />]]></description>
		<link>http://www.arcamax.com/thewordguy/s-1321828</link>
 
    <pubDate>May/08/2013</pubDate>
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  <item>
 
		<title><![CDATA['Overstate' Creates State of Confusion]]></title>
		<description><![CDATA[Have you noticed that pundits and politicians sometimes use "understate"
when they mean "overstate"?

Derel Schrock of Colorado Springs, Colo., sent me this example from
comments by Congressman Allen West on Fox News: "I can't understate the
...<br /><br /><hr size="1" />]]></description>
		<link>http://www.arcamax.com/thewordguy/s-1318296</link>
 
    <pubDate>May/01/2013</pubDate>
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  <item>
 
		<title><![CDATA[Plurality Presents a 'Pair'adox]]></title>
		<description><![CDATA[Q: What is the plural of "pair"? I always thought it was "two pairs,"
but I often see "two pair of socks." --Geri Chmil via email

A: If you've seen two pair of socks, you're doing better than I am. I
have enough trouble finding one pair of socks ...<br /><br /><hr size="1" />]]></description>
		<link>http://www.arcamax.com/thewordguy/s-1314615</link>
 
    <pubDate>Apr/24/2013</pubDate>
  </item>

	
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	  <title>More from The Word Guy on ArcaMax »</title>
	  <link>http://www.arcamax.com/thewordguy</link>
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