words

Though we often use them together, an explanation is not an excuse.An explanation can be used when we give evidence for an excuse, but an excuse is about…

A former colleague of mine, Rita Peters, pointed out the frequency with which teens and tweens utter the dreaded phrase,“Mom, I’m bored!”Boredom, it…

There’s a big difference between responsibility and blame, even though we often use them interchangeably.When GM CEO Mary Barra stood up before congress…

The U.S. goes through periodic bouts of doubt regarding what education means.In the latest round, we have the Common Core and No Child Left Behind pushing…

A co-worker of mine recently registered her displeasure with the term “the 30,000-foot view.”The 30,000-foot view is meant to invoke a sense of the big…

The word binge is a paradox connoting both shame and pride.The very same binge-drinking that is such a concern for parents and college administrators is,…

When Princeton student Tal Fortgang recently complained on Time magazine's blog that, as a white male, he had been repeatedly “reprimanded” to “check his…

One language trait I've noticed recently is a peculiar use of the word “around.”Someone might be describing a new organizational initiative and say,…

“Excellence” ranks right up there with terms like “professionalism” and “family values” as power terms, the vagueness of which is used to subject people…

Creativity is another one of those words that we throw around as if we know what we're talking about.But we're fundamentally conflicted about creativity--…