English Language
The ‘Hard Yakka’ of Defining Australian English’s Many Quirks
CANBERRA, Australia — Amanda Laugesen scrolled through the spreadsheet of 7,000 words and idioms being considered for the next edition of the Australian National Dictionary, but no matter how hard she looked, she just couldn’t find the phrase. “Few bricks short of a pallet” was there. So was “face like a bucket of smashed crabs.” […]
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The ‘E-Pimps’ of OnlyFans
Chatters aren’t necessarily better at extracting money from subscribers than a creator who handles her own inbox; in fact, they can be worse. “You should do your homework very well about who you hire,” a 29-year-old OnlyFans creator, who goes by Sonia LeBeau, told me. She has worked with agencies in the past and had […]
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Your Guide to the New Language of the Office
Bookcase credibility Some have a copy of Robert Caro’s “The Power Broker” on display for video calls. Others opt for something subtler — maybe “Jude the Obscure,” which the actor Paul Rudd chose, or Thomas Piketty’s “Capital,” featured behind Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. “Seeing into every person’s home, no matter how well you knew them, […]
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How do you say ‘Omicron’?
Among the many unknowns surrounding the new coronavirus variant called Omicron, named after the 15th letter of the Greek alphabet, one has stood out to many English speakers: How is it pronounced? There is no single, agreed-on English pronunciation, experts say. One pronunciation, according to Merriam Webster, is “OH-muh-kraan,” with a stress on the first […]
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