Author Archive
Articles by Merrill Perlman | Email the Author
Able Action
When the audience isn’t in on the definition
By Merrill Perlman Jan 19, 2009 at 05:00 PM
English has no grammar police to prevent someone from taking a word and putting it to work with another meaning,... More
Not So Impeachy
“Impeachment”: a clarification
By Merrill Perlman Jan 13, 2009 at 10:59 AM
When the Illinois House of Representatives voted to “impeach” Governor Rod Blagojevich, a number of blogs carried public comments like... More
Our Tense Past
Sneaking a dive into a swim
By Merrill Perlman Jan 5, 2009 at 05:15 PM
When you tell your friends that you took a swim yesterday, did you say you “swam” yesterday or that you... More
Kicking the Can
Congress describes its take on an auto bailout
By Merrill Perlman Dec 22, 2008 at 03:53 PM
In late November, Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.) told the Big Three automakers that they needed to devise a better financial... More
Missed Step
Using “set foot in” is a step in the right direction
By Merrill Perlman Dec 15, 2008 at 04:51 PM
Everyone has language pet peeves: those little things people say that aren’t quite right, and that we can’t help but... More
The Britishisms Are Coming!
Gobsmacked by the recent British slang invasion
By Merrill Perlman Dec 8, 2008 at 04:35 PM
“I am gobsmacked by these appointments, most of which could easily have come from a President McCain,” Max Boot, a... More
Healthy Usage
Here’s hoping that your Thanksgiving was a healthful one
By Merrill Perlman Dec 1, 2008 at 01:48 PM
Here’s hoping everyone ate only “healthy” foods at Thanksgiving. Many people, including those watching calories or wanting to be “healthy,”... More
Poisonous Coinage
Tracing the evolution of the term “toxic loan”
By Merrill Perlman Nov 24, 2008 at 04:36 PM
As the country tries to escape its economic doldrums, there’s been a lot of talk about how banks made “toxic... More
When Opposites Detract
Is “sanction” a contradictanym?
By Merrill Perlman Nov 17, 2008 at 01:38 PM
A country ignores the wishes of the United Nations and continues its human rights abuses. Its behavior is “sanctioned.” Meanwhile,... More
Our Historical Past
The presidential election was both “historical” and “historic”
By Merrill Perlman Nov 11, 2008 at 02:03 PM
Last week’s election was “historical.” It was also “historic.” As my predecessor Evan Jenkins explained here in 2004, “By hoary... More
Damning With Excessive Praise
“Fulsome” doesn’t mean what you think it means
By Merrill Perlman Nov 3, 2008 at 03:04 PM
Language is communication, but it works only if the communicators understand one other. If you think a word means one... More
When A Plus Is A Minus
The real meaning of the word “nonplussed”
By Merrill Perlman Oct 27, 2008 at 03:13 PM
Last week, some people who read here that “bemused” doesn’t mean “wryly amused” may have been “nonplussed.” “Nonplussed” is another... More
Bemusement Park
It’s not amusing when writers misuse “bemused”
By Merrill Perlman Oct 20, 2008 at 03:59 PM
Here’s the lede on one article about the final presidential candidates’ debate: “Calmly swatting away John McCain’s aggression in their... More
Rescuing the Bailout
Which word best describes the government’s response to the financial crisis?
By Merrill Perlman Oct 13, 2008 at 03:13 PM
Politics, especially in the few weeks before an election, is full of semantics, but this year seems particularly fraught. Take... More
Mass Appeal
Or, rather, “hoi polloi” appeal
By Merrill Perlman Oct 6, 2008 at 03:41 PM
In most of her speeches, and in her debate last week with Joe Biden, Sarah Palin seems to be speaking... More
Getting To The Top
A proper use for “crescendo”
By Merrill Perlman Sep 30, 2008 at 08:04 AM
“Daring project reaches a crescendo,” read a headline in the Albany Times-Union the other day. It struck a chord. Anyone... More
Where Have All The Commas Gone?
The joys of the parenthetical comma
By Merrill Perlman Sep 23, 2008 at 04:44 PM
(Voice of police dispatcher): “Calling all cars! Calling all cars! Be on the lookout for escaped commas. Last seen after... More
Not Without Regard
Is “irregardless” a word?
By Merrill Perlman Sep 15, 2008 at 03:23 PM
One problem with having so many dictionaries available is that they often don’t agree—on definitions, spellings or even whether something... More
Judgment Day
Are the Gitmo trials more of a star chamber or a kangaroo court?
By Merrill Perlman Sep 8, 2008 at 02:39 PM
The military trials planned for prisoners at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, have been referred to as occurring in “a star chamber”... More
But It’s Alright
Alright may not be all wrong
By Merrill Perlman Sep 1, 2008 at 12:20 PM
It’s never all right to use “alright,” right? Let’s discuss, already. The Columbia Guide to Standard American English says it... More
#Realtalk: This isn’t another ‘golden age’ for print - But it is one for media
Social media in smaller markets - How three social media managers deal with smaller markets and more local coverage.
A rally for laid-off Sun-Times photogs - A protest Thursday morning drew about 150 picketers to the newspaper’s headquarters
Reporting, or illegal hacking - Scripps reporters are accused of violating the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act
Exchange Watch: California Dreaming - Low healthcare premiums on the West Coast were trumpeted as a big, good-news Obamacare story. But: “Compared to what?”
Rolling Stone remembers Michael Hastings, dead at 33
The bold journalist died in a car accident in Los Angeles
On the journalistic value of being “a dick”
Buzzfeed’s statement on the death of its reporter
The disappearance of ‘Sports of the Times’
CJR’s panel discussion on coverage of gay marriage
On the eve of two related SCOTUS decisions, how should journalists be covering the issue?
CJR's Guide to Online News Startups
Uptown Messenger – Hyperlocal news for a neighborhood in New Orleans
Who Owns What
The Business of Digital Journalism
A report from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism
Questions and exercises for journalism students.
