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There are various origin stories for the phrase “I know, right?” In The Week magazine, James Harbeck attributes the popularization of this phrase to the…
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Though we often use them together, an explanation is not an excuse.An explanation can be used when we give evidence for an excuse, but an excuse is about…
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A former colleague of mine, Rita Peters, pointed out the frequency with which teens and tweens utter the dreaded phrase,“Mom, I’m bored!”Boredom, it…
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There’s a big difference between responsibility and blame, even though we often use them interchangeably.When GM CEO Mary Barra stood up before congress…
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The U.S. goes through periodic bouts of doubt regarding what education means.In the latest round, we have the Common Core and No Child Left Behind pushing…
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A co-worker of mine recently registered her displeasure with the term “the 30,000-foot view.”The 30,000-foot view is meant to invoke a sense of the big…
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The word binge is a paradox connoting both shame and pride.The very same binge-drinking that is such a concern for parents and college administrators is,…
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When Princeton student Tal Fortgang recently complained on Time magazine's blog that, as a white male, he had been repeatedly “reprimanded” to “check his…
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One language trait I've noticed recently is a peculiar use of the word “around.”Someone might be describing a new organizational initiative and say,…
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“Excellence” ranks right up there with terms like “professionalism” and “family values” as power terms, the vagueness of which is used to subject people…