It’s simple, stop using these ugly words and phrases — Utilized It’s the ugliest of words. Ugly. Ugly. Ugly. What words start with U? Ugly words, that’s what. And that Z. In there doing nothing but making your teeth grrr… What does it mean? Utilize: (Transitive verb) to make use of. Oh, it means USE. So you could use “USE” instead…

They aren’t a blank slate — I have three kids. Sorry, kids, I mean adults. They have grown up, flown the nest, forged their own way in the world, and no longer rely on their parents — unless they need a freebie. When we get together, it’s up to the Bank of Dad to open up…

I don’t think I am alone in this — How NOT to die The month kicked off well. Eat Sensibly. Exercise Regularly. Die Anyway. Resonated and picked up loads of comments. A BIG thank you to Crow’s Feet for publishing it — Crow’s Feet “The longer I live, the more beautiful life becomes.” (Frank Lloyd Wright) Non-fiction pieces, personal essays and…medium.com It’s a great publication and writers there receive a lot of engagement.

It’s not just an excuse to fire up the grill — On November 11th in the UK, our Royal Family dress up in nice suits, stick a plastic poppy on their lapels, and stand outside for two minutes, heads bowed in silence. We call it Remembrance Day (Americans call it Veteran’s Day — which commemorates the service of all U.S. veterans). …

A letter to a depressed friend — My Dear Friend, Some people are at odds with life. They go from accident to adversity. Their story is one of hard luck and affliction. Magnets for misfortune. They can’t help it. It’s not their fault. We should feel sorry for them and give them a leg up if we…

The art of understatement and the irony of writing with litotes — Litotes — — the gift of turning a sinking ship into a minor inconvenience. — the art of making a volcanic eruption sound like a burp. — the humble whisperer, making a shark attack sound like a playful nibble. Litotes is a dextrous literary device that uses understatement to emphasise a point…

Sam and Sylvester were opposites — an unscientific case study — Sam was number one in his class. A bright student who cruised through school, university, work and life. He was smart, eloquent, and funny, and he had a friend-etic memory (etic being from Greek and meaning ‘pertaining to’). A friend-etic memory (yes, I made it up) is like a photographic…

Science proclaims beer more effective for rehydrating after exercise — this was my experience — Sylvester pulled up and dismounted, letting his bike drop. He sank to the cold ground and rubbed his knees. His face scrunched and he let out a long moan. I tried phoning Wee Bob again. Still no signal. The clouds weighed heavy, the colour of a battleship. I could sense…

Say hello to eloquent mornings, articulate afternoons and cultured evenings — Hypallage is a rhetorical device that interchanges two elements in a phrase or sentence where the adjective is deliberately applied to the wrong thing. It’s also known as transferred epithets. Do not fret, they are as common as the common cold and as customary as birthday cake. …