They, or their ‘bland green vegetable’ counterparts were out in force over the past 12 months Try your hand at our interactive quiz here Henry Porter got me thinking. The acclaimed author and journalist’s recent paean to the lost art of creativity bemoaned the apparent slump in inspirational behaviour among the UK workforce. Citing ONS […]

Complete the fiendish question-based test Jamie Fahey Media: Mind your language | theguardian.com http://www.theguardian.com/media/mind-your-language/quiz/2014/jan/06/pov-quiz-of-the-year

A seasonal selection of new (and not so new) books about language that are anything but dull Books about English fall into various categories, mostly offputting ones: the academic, rarely of much interest, and often incomprehensible, to the general reader; the lament for a (mythical) golden age “when everyone knew how to use grammar”; the […]

Our policy on referring to lords and ladies is impossible to apply consistently and credibly. So, should we drop titles altogether? Which of these (hypothetical, I emphasise) sentences do you think works better? Baron Hall of Birkenhead has invited The Lord Lloyd-Webber, Baroness Lane-Fox of Soho and Baron Foster of Thames Bank to star in […]

Complex, confusing and impenetrable: no wonder ‘abolition of the spare room subsidy’ has not caught on If it is true that “whoever controls the language, controls the debate”, then the bedroom tax is doomed. Why? Because it is called the “bedroom tax” and not the “abolition of the spare room subsidy”. This week the expression […]

Let’s trust each other with depth and detail, not try to reduce conversation to basics When it comes to the word “basically” – banned by an academy in south London – I don’t have old ears. I’m not just grumpy about its usage among the young. And I’m certainly not missing any interpersonal nuance or […]