omglog

Polari, the secret language of British gay men

[via:Give Me Something To Read]

Paramedic Method: A Lesson in Writing Concisely

[via:Maija Haavisto]

BACON or BEER CAN

[via:Nelg]

The fucking word of the day

“[You're] probably already familiar with the concept of The Word of the Day. [...] Here’s the idea: things are easier to learn when it involves sex, drugs, and fucking swearing. Because we’re interested in that shit.”

[via:Nelg]

Wikipedia: Irony mark

Also: Sarcasm mark

A Brief History of Fail

NYT on how “Fail” went from verb to interjection.

[via:humble.fool]

How to Rapidly Improve Speaking Skills (may cause a British accent)

[via:Give Me Something To Read]

Bow, the grammatically correct chimpanzee

“Bow’s development shatters what everyone has believed so far about the cognitive abilities of chimpanzees.”

See also: Primate-Jobs Positions Available

[via:Dragu]

“Politics And The English Language”, 1947 essay by George Orwell

I fully admit to being exposed to the English language largely through sloppy news reporting and other political nonsense, technical documentation and hastily written blogs as well as other fast-paced online conversations. I’m painfully aware that I often swamp my writing with contemporary “news-speak”.

In this essay, George Orwell offers advice I’d consider invaluable especially for non-native English speakers like myself who try to write relaxed texts that make sense.

[via:Merlin Mann]

gurgitator

Wiktionary defines gurgitator as “a competitive eater”.

Something I wish I’d found earlier on: a free, web based guide to Finnish grammar. Available in English, Finnish and German.