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Word Nerd Wednesday: Honor
“Word Nerd Wednesday” is a weekly series that uses language to help us think differently and solve old problems in new ways. It’s Veterans Day. To truly honor them we have to go beyond ceremonies and words a few times a year. They are our coworkers and neighbors all year long, and they’re watching what … Read more
Word Nerd Wednesday: Measure
“Word Nerd Wednesday” is a weekly series that uses language to help us think differently and solve old problems in new ways. Measurement is a hot topic in every area of business, but few people think about what it means to measure something or why doing so is useful. Except me. I’ve been talking about … Read more
Word Nerd Wednesday: October
“Word Nerd Wednesday” is a weekly series that uses language to help us think differently and solve old problems in new ways. This morning I woke up and wondered…why is the 10th month of the year called October when “octo” means 8? Apparently it’s a holdover from the early Roman calendar which only had 10 … Read more
Word Nerd Wednesday: Emollient
“Word Nerd Wednesday” is a weekly series that uses language to help us think differently and solve old problems in new ways. While checking the definition of emotion in the dictionary I came across the word “emollient”*. It struck me as the perfect word for today. As fall and winter arrive we’ll look for ways … Read more
Word Nerd Wednesday: Kidsplain
I made this word up, but the phenomenon exists. I felt it last night while letting my 9-year-old neice take me on a tour of her favorite computer games. I know nothing about video games and told her that, but she assumed I know nothing about any technology and went on to lecutre me on … Read more
Word Nerd Wednesday: Jargon
When the word “jargon” first appeared in the 14th century it referred to the jumbled chirping of birds. Over time it took on a general meaning – confused unintelligible language. These days we think of jargon as the words that members of a group use to describe specialized concepts. Jargon serves a social purpose, too. … Read more
Word Nerd Wednesday: Vacation
“Word Nerd Wednesday” is a weekly series that uses language to help us think differently and solve old problems in new ways. I’ve always been a fan of staycations, likely because I travel so much for work (well, I did, pre-pandemic). The word staycation is technically redundant, though. The original meaning of “vacation” is simply … Read more
Word Nerd Wednesday: Slideument
“Word Nerd Wednesday” is a weekly series that uses language to help us think differently and solve old problems in new ways. Today’s word is one I made up…slideument. We need this new word to distinguish between presentations and written documents that just happen to be in Powerpoint or similar format. There is nothing wrong … Read more
Word Nerd Wednesday: Journey
“Word Nerd Wednesday” is a weekly series that uses language to help us think differently and solve old problems in new ways. While designing a survey on customer journeys, I started debating with colleagues what counts as a “journey”. My first thought was, of course, to check the dictionary. #wordnerd) The formal definition of … Read more
