Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Also apophthegm. A terse, pithy saying, akin to a proverb, maxim, or aphorism. aposiopesis A rhetorical device in which speech is broken off abruptly and the sentence is left unfinished. apostrophe A figure of speech in which a speaker breaks off from addressing the audience (e.g., in a play) and directs speech to a third party such as an opposing litigant or some other individual, sometimes ...
Bryson's Dictionary of Troublesome Words (ISBN 0-7679-1043-5) is a book by Bill Bryson, published under several titles since 1984, that catalogues some of the English language's most commonly misused words and phrases in order to demonstrate preferable usage. It helps writers and editors to think about how to make written communication clearer.
Flak is adverse criticism or anti-aircraft fire (the latter being the original definition). A flack is a publicity agent or press relations person. [49] Standard: He took a lot of flak for his unpopular position. Standard: The B-17 was shot down by German flak. Non-standard: But he took no flack from her people.
A student sitting on a veranda at University of Dhaka, Bangladesh, 2015. Off the verandah (alt. spelling off the veranda; longer, come down off the verandah) is a phrase often attributed to anthropologist Bronisław Malinowski, who stressed the need for fieldwork enabling the researcher to experience the everyday life of his subjects along with them.
Criticism is the construction of a judgement about the negative or positive qualities of someone or something. Criticism can range from impromptu comments to a written detailed response. [1] Criticism falls into several overlapping types including "theoretical, practical, impressionistic, affective, prescriptive, or descriptive". [2]
A aggravate – Some have argued that this word should not be used in the sense of "to annoy" or "to oppress", but only to mean "to make worse". According to AHDI, the use of "aggravate" as "annoy" occurs in English as far back as the 17th century. In Latin, from which the word was borrowed, both meanings were used. Sixty-eight percent of AHD4's usage panel approves of its use in "It's the ...
Former President Donald Trump made an offensive remark about Vice President Kamala Harris while attempting to convince top GOP donors to pour more money in his campaign, The New York Times ...
Armchair revolutionary (or armchair activist and armchair socialist) is a description, often pejorative, of a speaker or writer who professes radical aims without taking any action to realize them, as if pontificating "from the comfort of the armchair".