Jan Freeman

SURPRISED: by the lightweight verb in this morning’s Boston Globe headline: BC professor frets over AI bubble NOT SURPRISED: to discover that the law professor in question is a woman.

A message from NYT Wirecutter offered "Ideas for a screen-free summer" and I seriously thought it was about alternative ways to repel bugs. Oh. You mean this kind of screen.

Folks who won't be fooled by politicized official economic statistics: - The Fed - The bond market - The stock market - Foreign investors Folks who will be flying blind in the absence of reliable econ data: - All of the above - Small biz - Big biz - Voters

Watching "Outrageous," about the Mitfords and Mosley, and the characters have uttered (versions of) "Want to come with?" 4 times in 3 episodes. Seriously doubt the Mitfords and their set ever used that locution, but willing to hear otherwise from Brits & linguists. (Does BrE do it even today?)

I hope we are all enjoying Justin Wolfers, one of my favorite economists (I know a few), who for some reason is allowed to say true things on TV. Watch him use the word "lying" three times about government debt claims.

The OED's subscription notice tells me: "If you'd not want to renew it you can untick the 'Auto renew' option." Would love comment from BrE speakers — the cites I've found use "you'd not" to mean "you hadn't" or "you didn't," neither of which fits here. @lynneguist.bsky.social

Trump is channeling King Cnut without the slightest grasp of the point the Danish monarch was trying to make.

Last night's sunset illuminating the trees (and still-stormy skies) to the east. Wow.

In 2025, I might launch a consulting service wherein people tell me their grammar peeves and I remind them that the world is on fire and Trump is about to be sworn in as president again so no one cares that they hate hearing “irregardless” once or twice a year.

A month ago, this foggy morning view would have been depressing. But now I can see the pink of the maple buds getting ready to pop, which changes everything. (OK, not everything. But it helps.)

Witch hazel isn't the most adorable spring bloom, but it's so enthusiastic! And most important, I can enjoy ours through the window, without braving wind or mud.

Google AI elbowing aside actual sources to contradict the info that's in its own calendar (and everyone else's):

This should have run yesterday, National Grammar Day, but better (a little) late than never.

Just learned that LifeStance, private equity owner of my therapist's group, wants a $70 penalty because I called to reschedule an appt. only 47 hours and 47 minutes in advance, not a full 48 hours. Mass. health care is already in crisis thanks to owners who bled Steward dry. When will we learn?

This is what I need to see first thing every day, just to keep my spirits up.

Wow, an actual earthquake here in Boston! Takes me (way) back to my Southern California years…

A rare sight: Once upon a time, there was skating every winter on this little bit of the Charles River (and on longer sections of the river, too, according to local lore). But in the 20 years we've lived in the neighborhood, the number of skateable days has steadily dwindled.

Aiming this at @fritinancy.bsky.social because her word mavenry includes fashion mavenry, but would welcome all answers: What is the point of drop(ped) shoulders, i.e. sleeves with the shoulder seam placed several inches down the arm? Does it save money, and if so how (vs., say, raglan sleeves)?

Out shopping the other day, I was greeted for the first time (and second, and third) with "Welcome in!" I asked a saleswoman how long she'd been using it, and she said maybe 10 years. Apparently it's in pockets all over the US, & sometimes employer mandated. A blend of "welcome" and "come in"?

"Covering about two-thirds of the ring makes an asymmetrical wreath look modern, not unfinished." 🤨

A letter to today's Globe Magazine refers to a woman who "betray[ed] those who friended her" — that is, her friends. Is anyone hearing this usage in spoken English? Are people now using the verb "friend" to mean "befriend" even when the relationship is IRL, not online?

I was on a chat about a return and the rep said it the item wasn't really eligible but he could do it as a GWG. I said "what's a GWG?" and he said, Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to abbreviate that, etc. But (as many of you know), it just means "goodwill gesture," so I wonder, why the repeat apologies?

Each man's death diminishes me, For I am involved in mankind. Therefore, send not to know For whom the bell tolls, The bell is out of network, And you did not get prior authorization. But your call is very important to us, So please hold for an automated survey.

I glanced back at the prison that I’d finally escaped from. What thrilled me most was knowing that I’d ended my sentence with a preposition.

3/But when Mew's poem was published, in 1916, the old rule said you express simple futurity with the forms "I shall/you will/he will." (For the mandatory sense, it's "I will/ you shall/he shall.") Mew was using the standard language of her time — as the LRB promptly learned from its readers.

2/In the London Review of Books, a critic quoted a poem by Charlotte Mew with the line, “You will have smiled, I shall have tossed your hair.” Why the shift from "will" to "shall," he wondered: "I think it’s Mew’s way of not having too much style. ‘Shall’ is somehow less lyrical than ‘will.'"

Benjamin Dreyer is correct (of course!) to say that most of us needn't worry about the archaic distinctions between "shall" and "will." But as my fellow editors know, any scrap of info may come in handy. Here's a case where knowing the shall/will thing would have been useful to an editor or writer:

It was the only closeup the hippos would allow.

Here's a Boston Globe story I definitely won't be reading:

One commenter on this Alexandra Petri column has an excellent idea: "We are a group of ten friends. We drew straws and one kept his subscription so he can gift YOU to the rest of us."

Some other nice distractions this week: The Morandi show in NYC, and afterward, lunch at Piccola Cucina Uptown, where they make (very tasty) individual servings of tiramisu at tableside.

Such a beautiful fall we're having in the Northeast. I hope I'll look back at my photos when the background vibe is no longer this pervasive anxiety about the election (and has returned to the normal pervasive anxiety about war and climate change).