Ralph Keyes
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Articles by Ralph Keyes
On Brunswick foam spill, key voices are missing | Opinion
Ralph Keyes is a Brunswick resident who lives near Brunswick Landing. In his Nov. 30 op-ed “Setting the record straight on Brunswick foam spill,” Steve Levesque, the former executive director of the Midcoast Regional Redevelopment Authority (MRRA), expresses that he is “saddened and disappointed” by the response of some local officials to the August 2024 AFFF firefighting foam spill at the former Brunswick Naval Air Station (now called Brunswick Landing).
On Brunswick foam spill, key voices are missing | Opinion
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Citizen concern over Brunswick Landing PFAS spill
I am a longtime Brunswick resident. Our home is to the southwest of Brunswick Landing, the former Brunswick Naval Air Station (BNAS). My parents lived in Topsham, just across the river from BNAS and directly under the flight path of the P3 Orions. The low hum of the engines was background noise. It was less so at my home in Brunswick because we are off to the side of the flight path, and the P3’s did not bank hard enough to pass over us at low altitude.
Is London Getting Ruder? - Evening Standard
Over the last month, when your Tube carriage doors have opened, how many times have passengers barged into you before you’ve had a chance to get off? On how many bus journeys have you been forced to listen to at least one passenger playing TikToks from their phone? How many times have you asked someone to move to the right on an escalator, or held your tongue in the cinema as someone talked through a film? No, you are not a curmudgeon. is getting ruder — but then, so is everywhere.
The Eyes of Andy Warhol
The Eyes of Andy Warhol Photos by the artist, from his new picture book, Exposures. November 1 1979 Andy Warhol Andy Warhol
Do you know how these words were coined? [Quiz]
The Hidden History of Coined Words What makes a new phrase stick, really stick, in general parlance? Author Ralph Keyes explores that question in his book The Hidden History of Coined Words while also providing entertaining explanations of some of English’s most nonplussing words and phrases. By Ralph Keyes May 13th 2021 What makes a new phrase stick, really stick, in general parlance?
Do you know the hidden histories of these words? [Quiz]
The Hidden History of Coined Words By Ralph Keyes March 28th 2021 Successful word-coinages—those that stay in lingual currency for a good, long time—tend to conceal their beginnings. In The Hidden History of Coined Words, author and word sleuth Ralph Keyes explores the etymological underworld of terms and expressions and uncovers plenty of hidden gems; knickers, for example, resulted from a hoax; big bang from an insult. Casual wisecracking produced software, crowdsource, and blog. Surprised yet?
Contrabands of War
The day after Virginia seceded from the Union in 1861, three enslaved men – Frank Baker, James Townsend and Shepard Mallory – commandeered a boat and rowed across the James River from Hampton to Fortress Monroe. There they asked Federal troops manning the fort to grant them asylum. What seemed like a straightforward request was anything but. Should these refugees be treated as freemen who had emancipated themselves?
Literary lingo
While serving in World War II, Joseph Heller concluded that war was a farce in which only those crazy enough to fight were considered sane enough to do so. That became the theme of a novel he wrote several years later. Heller titled his novel Catch-18. Just as this book was about to be published in 1961 its editor discovered that an upcoming novel by Leon Uris was called Mila-18. “He had stolen our number,” the editor, Robert Gottlieb, later recalled.
From ‘Scientist’ to ‘Spam,’ the Surprisingly Playful Origins of English Words
© Getty Images: Nora Sahinun The history of words like 'blog' is humorous and comic During an 1833 meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, a spirited discussion took place about what to call those who toiled in different branches of their profession. In keeping with the evening’s lively spirit, William Whewell suggested scientist.
Biden's Start; Border Bound; Pet Peeve
Good morning, it’s Tuesday, March 23, 2021. Thirty-two years ago today, in a speech to the National Association of Manufacturers, President George H.W. Bush reprised an old political chestnut -- if only to undercut it.
Recoined and Recalcitrant - The American Scholar
Nenad Stojkovic (Flickr/nenadstojkovic) In 1548 England’s King Edward VI issued a “Proclamation Against Those That Doeth Innovate.” Theological innovators, this proclamation warned, “shall incur his highness’ indignation, and suffer imprisonment, and other grievous punishments.” The king was not alone in this concern. As historian Benoit Godin has determined, for long periods of Western history innovation was considered synonymous with heresy.
When in Need of the Right Word, Great Writers Simply Make Them Up
Ralph Keyes on the Rich Literary History of the Neologism Literary Lingo While serving in World War II, Joseph Heller concluded that war was a farce in which anyone crazy enough to shirk combat was considered sane enough to fight. That became the theme of a novel he wrote several years later. Heller titled his novel Catch-18. Just as this book was about to be published in 1961, its editor discovered that an upcoming novel by Leon Uris was called Mila-18.
The Birth, and Life, of a Word
Ralph Keyes is the author of several books, including The Post-Truth Era, cited by Oxford Dictionaries as a primary source for their 2016 "Word of the Year." His latest book, The Hidden History of Coined Words is published in March 2021 by Oxford University Press. He lives in Portland, Oregon with his wife Muriel. During the presidential campaign of 1864, a seventy-two-page booklet appeared on the streets of Manhattan.
Czas postprawdy. Nieszczerość i oszustwa w codziennym życiu
W 2016 roku, kiedy Wielką Brytanię przemierzał brexitowy czerwony autobus, a amerykańscy fact-checkerzy nie nadążali za sprostowywaniem wypowiedzi Donalda Trumpa, coś się zmieniło. Obserwatorzy po obydwu stronach oceanu jednoznacznie stwierdzili – prawda i fałsz nie mają już znaczenia. Nastały czasy postprawdy. Wydana w 2004 roku książka Keyesa jest jednocześnie przepowiednią i odpowiedzią na pytanie o stan dzisiejszej debaty publicznej.
Abortion Limits; School Choice; Quote of the Week
Good morning, it’s Friday, January 18, 2019. I hope you’re doing well. Me? “I’ve been rich, I’ve been poor, rich is better.” Not really.
Dr. Z's Rx To Revive The NFL
First of all, let me say that I think football is a great game. The best. But it can be better. With a bit of progressive thinking, the NFL can recapture those TV fans who have drifted off to The Burning Bed and Friday the 13th Part V, the dial spinners, the bored and blasé. We're not talking about the guys who have deserted televised sports in general.
The American Scholar: Conjoined Terms - Ralph Keyes
Sometimes your lingo needs a little mojo Some of our favorite expressions are what I call conjoined terms. These are phrases composed of two related words that rhyme or alliterate and are fun to say: hotsy-totsy, hoity-toity, topsy-turvy, dilly-dally, shilly-shally, flim-flam, flip-flop, fiddle-faddle, fuddy-duddy, hocus-pocus, hoochie-coochie, hanky-panky, herky-jerky, okey-dokey, roly-poly, mumbo jumbo, super-duper, willy-nilly, creepy-crawly, wishy-washy, and thousands more.
Why Leaders Lying Is Just Pandering To Their Followers
We have been told we now live in a post-truth era. The author and academic Ralph Keyes has described it as a time when we do not have just lies and truths, but also “statements that may not be true but we consider too benign to call false”. The idea has gained so much currency over the course of the US election and the Brexit referendum in the UK that the Oxford Dictionaries named it as its word of the year for 2016.
The American Scholar: Superlatalk
The history of the most awesome language ever The 20 words most commonly used by Donald Trump, as compiled by YourDictionary.com, include amazing, terrific, tremendous, and huge (or, as Garry Trudeau titled his recent collection of cartoons about the hotelier, Yuge!). Such Trumpian superlatives aren’t just campaign hyperbole.
Larry Brown showed signs that he'd found a home at Kansas
Six mornings a week, at 8:45, the silver bells jingle. The door to the Carol Lee doughnut shop is opening, and the 44-year-old grandson of the baker for the czar of Russia walks in. He knows as well as anyone in Lawrence, Kans. that the strawberry butterflies and the blueberry fritters at Muncher's Bakery are better than anything behind the glass counter at Carol Lee.
How to Beat Writer's Block & More
Author Ann Handley joined #Bufferchat to discuss ways to take your writing to the next level. Check out her latest book, “Everybody Writes” for great advice on writing and content marketing. Check out the full recap on Storify here! Is writing a habit or an art? From Ann: “Writing is habit before an art.
Writing Tips: How to Beat Writer's Block & More
Author Ann Handley joined #Bufferchat to discuss ways to take your writing to the next level. Check out her latest book, “Everybody Writes” for great advice on writing and content marketing. Check out the full recap on Storify here! Thank you to everyone who participated! Join us each Wednesday at 9 am Pacific/noon Eastern for #Bufferchat!
Is There a Word for That? - The American Scholar
Soon after they arrived in America, British settlers got busy with an important task: reinventing their language. This called for repurposing old words and coining new ones. Colonists called the plump, smelly rodents they encountered in swamps muske rats. Other forms of wildlife were named katydids, bobcats, catfish, and whippoorwills. To these settlers, sleigh improved on sledge, and the help reflected their values better than servants.
The Failure-Tolerant Leader
“The fastest way to succeed,” IBM’s Thomas Watson, Sr., once said, “is to double your failure rate.” In recent years, more and more executives have embraced this point of view, coming to understand what innovators have always known: that failure is a prerequisite to invention. A business can’t develop a breakthrough product or process if it’s not willing to encourage risk taking and learn from subsequent mistakes. The growing acceptance of failure is changing the way companies approach innovation.
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