"Circumstances almost compel us to learn English, and this lucky accident has given us the opportunity of access into the richest of all poetical literatures of the world." It sounds like an idea that could be expressed today, but it was in fact written almost 75 years ago by a great artist who is our guest this month in the Poetry Corner. Continue reading...

This month in the Lounge we've been having a think about whether it's a hack to turn a verb into a noun. Here's our take on it. Continue reading...

Does Art imitate Life? When the written word is involved it's not always easy to tell. This month in the Lounge, we examine the curious phenomenon of English word patterns that seem to occur mainly in fiction writing. Continue reading...

If your Saturday night needs some excitement, join us here in the Lounge for our weekly linguistic adventure: it's a thrill ride that you can enjoy without leaving the comfort of your recliner! Continue reading...

We've been thinking about the data cloud in the Lounge these days. "What data cloud?" you may ask, and well that you should: it's a term relatively new to English and it hasn't yet settled down to a single fixed meaning. The data cloud we've been thinking about is the Big One: the nebulous dataset consisting of all the data that is, in principle, at your fingertips when they are poised above an Internet-connected keyboard. Continue reading...

Do you feel called upon to justify the activity of reading the dictionary? Seek no further! This month we visit a poet who whiled away many hours with her eyes glued to the fine print, and ended up having quite a lot to show for it. Continue reading...