Word of the Week

Ennui, noun: ‘a feeling of listlessness and dissatisfaction arising from a lack of occupation or excitement’. /ɒnˈwiː/

Word of the Week

Flagellate, verb: ‘to flog (someone), either as a religious discipline or for sexual gratification’. /ˈfladʒ(ə)leɪt/

Word of the Week

Incandescent, adjective: ’emitting light as a result of being heated; full of strong emotion; passionate’. /ɪnkanˈdɛs(ə)nt/

Word of the Week

Philatelist, noun: ‘a specialist in philately; someone who collects or studies stamps’. /fəˈlatəlist/

Word of the Week

Kairos, noun: ‘the right time; an opportune moment’. /ˈkaɪros/

Word of the Week

Capricious, adjective: ‘given to sudden and unaccountable changes of mood or behaviour; unpredictable’. /kəˈprɪʃəs/

Word of the Week

Draconian, adjective: ‘(of laws or their application) excessively harsh and severe’. /drəˈkəʊnɪən/

Word of the Week

Hubris, noun: ‘excessive or foolish pride or dangerous self-confidence’. /ˈhjuːbrɪs/

Hear me out #10 (Sentence recap: stop kneecapping!)

To celebrate International Women’s Day, I decided to write this month’s language-related blog post about one of the many, many issues I’ve noticed when it comes to language and gender (shout out to all my other sociolinguists!). This issue is only one instance of gendered vernacular that contributes towards taking a measure of free will out of speech for a particular demographic– which sucks BIG TIME!

“Legs in Lace”, Jenni Granholm

Ever read over an email, text or, heck, an Instagram post for a “fluff check” before sending it on its merry way into the dangerous digital world?

This involves scanning your writing for any superfluous language that you’ve added out of habit to make your sentences sound more “peachy-keen” (read: more appropriate for insecure men, i.e., less demanding or assertive).

Such habits aren’t so easy to kick.

And studies show that this habit most often plagues women.

DUN, DUN, DUNNNNN… and that’s what we call a gender issue, people!

Topics include, but are not limited to: peachy-keenness, boss ladies, owning your emails, and the j-word.

Word of the Week

Agog, adjective: ‘very eager or curious to hear or see something’. /əˈɡɒɡ/