If you use the internet often, particularly at work and home, you probably have to remember more passwords than you want to.You can quickly amass passwords for internet banking accounts, Facebook, YouTube, Web forums, subscription sites, music sites, web-based email accounts, FTP uploads, and so on. You may need a password to open your computer at ...
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In 1980, academics at Lake Superior State University in Michigan banished the phrase "ballpark figure". In 1990 they exterminated "From the desk of ..." and "live audience". This year they have banished "icon", "iconic", and "it’s that time of year again."If there is a word or phrase that really annoys you, there is a strong chance it’s on Lake ...
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Have you noticed how many people are saying, "In saying that …"?I know this expression is not new, but in recent years it seems to have reached epidemic proportions. Maybe it’s only in certain circles, but if so I seem to be in them all.Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying there is anything wrong with saying "In saying that." But I do find it hard to ...
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What do you do when you suddenly can’t remember a word, phrase, or name? Most of us have developed strategies to bumble through the sentence while trying not to appear stupid.I remember an uncle who always substituted "whatsaname" for any word he couldn’t recall. "Have you got any whatsanames?" he would ask. "Did you see the whatsaname on ...
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While browsing through a dusty old book, I came across the word boanthropy. It’s not a word you see every day. In fact, it’s a word you never see at all. Yet it’s a wonderful way to describe someone who has a form of insanity that makes them think they are an ox.Boanthropy is one of those words that have just faded away. Whether this is because ...
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English spelling seems designed to confuse people. Should I write licence or license? Dependant or dependent? Pharoah or pharaoh? And could you get to Cincinnati if you had only one chance to spell it correctly?There are many rules for spelling in English, but so many exceptions that we almost have to learn the words individually.Even good spellers ...
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