Trick or Treat!
In case any of you are wondering where the phrase originated today . . .
In case any of you are wondering where the phrase originated today . . .
Learn a little something about language humor at Much Reading. Wow. over at The American Scholar. Jessica Love explains the linguistic humor of the doge memes. Like the ones shown here. Happy Friday!
“Passive voice is bad,” cry self-proclaimed (but undereducated) writing experts. I’ve known lots of these folks who can’t accurately identify a passive. And very few folks who can accurately define it. And even fewer who can provide amateur writers with more useful advice than this platitude. (In fact, I can’t accurately call it a platitude since…
My colleague, Burcu, sent me the link to this recent Forbes piece by Liz Ryan on why people writing things like as per my message and it has come to my attention. It’s a good read so I tweeted about it. If you missed it, here's a good explanation from @forbes for why people write zombie…
I am NOT going to talk politics here. But check out Lucy Ferriss’ Of periods, serifs, and politics in the Chronicle of Higher Education today for an interesting interpretation of Obama’s campaign slogan. the dot at the end of the word is less a full stop than a bit of bling, like that light at the end of…
Found at Linguistics Girl . . .
Check out today’s US Navy ends dependence on capitalised communications from BBC News. Michael Clarke, director of the Royal United Services Institute think tank in London, told the BBC, The US Navy has made up its mind that not everything is a crisis and some messages are just normal. The change appears to mean the organization has…
The earliest attestation has now moved to 1927, in an Edmonton newspaper, I learned here. This story quotes the original article:
Halloween provided an opportunity for real strenuous fun. No real damage was done except to the temper of some who had to hunt for wagon wheels, gates, wagons, barrels, etc., much of which decorated the front street. The youthful tormentors were at back door and front, demanding edible plunder by the word “trick or treat”, to which the inmates gladly responded and sent the robbers away rejoicing.” From ‘Trick or Treat’ is Demand,” Herald (Lethbridge, Alberta), Nov. 4, 1927
Thanks for the update, Neal!