Tag Archives: language

“Martin Bashir’s on the air, and he made his comment on the air! I dispute half the comment I made If I called him ‘cocksucking maggot’ or a ‘cocksucking motherfucker’… ‘faggot’ is not the word that came out of my mouth. That I know. But you’ve got the fundamentalist wing of gay advocacy— Rich Ferraro and Andrew Sullivan—they’re out there, …

Above is the spin from the right-wing New York Post. A spokesman for Baldwin confirms the story but “quibbles” with the word “fired.” (Tipped by JMG reader Todd)

“I’ve loved men in my life. There are some men I’ve loved in my life as much, if not more, than the women in my life. I don’t have a sexual preference for men … but I’ve loved men.  I’ve been in love with about three or four men, as much, if not more, than any woman I’ve loved. I …

Business Insider notes the rise of a new preposition. Let’s start with the dull stuff, because pragmatism. The word “because,” in standard English usage, is a subordinating conjunction, which means that it connects two parts of a sentence in which one (the subordinate) explains the other. In that capacity, “because” has two distinct forms. It can be followed either by …

Mediaite‘s Josh Feldman recaps the show: They first tackled the n-word, with Don Lemon saying “you shouldn’t use that word like a pronoun” and Charles Blow admitting his conflicting feelings on the use of that particular word, even when used among young black youths. Lemon pointed out that it’s not just black youths, but also young white people who feel …

“We would now like to know what disciplinary measures you are taking about Martin Bashir’s appalling statement on his MSNBC show last Friday that someone should defecate and/or urinate in Governor Palin’s mouth because she used the word ‘slavery’ to describe the burden the federal debt will have on future generations of Americans. You fired Don Imus for offensive language …

She got some blowback (ahem) from her followers, but she made it clear that she was kidding.

“They shouldn’t have suspended him. In defense of Alec Baldwin, the photographer, he’s not actually gay. This was just a curse word. It was like using the f-word and, frankly, a lot of these paparazzi photographers deserve it. It’s not something Alec Baldwin said in a calm moment on television. He has been harassed horribly by photographers and now this …

Last week the Survey of Global English declared the word of 2013 to be a number: 404.  This week the Oxford Dictionary selected “selfie.” Selfie can actually be traced back to 2002 when it was used in an Australian online forum. The word gained momentum throughout the English-speaking world in 2013 as it evolved from a social media buzzword to …

“I think it is important to note, in light of recent events, a couple of clarifications. One is that I never used the word faggot in the tape recording being offered as evidence against me. What word is said right after the other choice word I use is unclear. But I can assure you, with complete confidence, that a direct …

MSNBC tonight announced that Alec Baldwin has been suspended for two weeks in the wake of his latest anti-gay outburst. Via the Hollywood Reporter: The announcement Friday followed the controversial actions of the 30 Rock star over the past several days. Up Late With Alec Baldwin had premiered only a month ago, on October 11. “I did not intend to …

TMZ, which is owned by a gay man, really has it out for Baldwin this time. (Tipped by JMG reader Alison)

“Just as Mel Gibson revealed his true feelings about Jews in his drunken rant, so Baldwin keeps revealing his own anti-gay bigotry. These outbursts reveal who he actually is. I should add that this is a free country and he has an inviolable right to use these words. But he has no right to pretend in any way to be …

One of our flying monkeys has created a new entry over on Urban Dictionary. Go give him a thumbs-up and add your own definition if you’d like.

GLAAD’s Ross Murray reacts: “I don’t know what he’s thinking when he says what he says. I know he’s someone who has worked with us in the past. That’s why it gets hard when he comes back and does the same thing over and over again. We will have to take some time and think about how to respond.” TMZ …

According to the 14th annual Survey Of Global English, the top word for 2013 is a number.  The Global Language Monitor has announced that ‘404’ is the Top Word, ‘Toxic Politics’ the Top Phrase and Pope Francis the Top Name of 2013 in its 14th annual global survey of the English language. 404 was followed by fail, hashtag, @pontifex, and …

A Massachusetts student has launched a campaign for Apple to remove one of the definitions for “gay” that comes up when using their devices. Becca Gorman, 15, said she first found the pejorative definition for the word while doing a research project for school last week. According to a screen capture she took of the dictionary application on her MacBook …

“Who could blame Hallmark for changing the Christmas carol from ‘Don we now our gay apparel’ to ‘Don we now our fun apparel’ because homosexual activists stole the word ‘gay.’ It used to mean ‘happy’ and ‘joyful’ – and now it means, basically, identifying a sexual perversion: homosexuality. So I don’t blame Hallmark for making this change. Homosexual activists stole …

Last week the Baylor University student government voted to replace “homosexual acts” with “deviate sexual acts” in its list of banned behaviors. Because that, somehow, was supposed to make gay students “feel more loved.” Yesterday the student body president vetoed the change. (Tipped by JMG reader Rob)

Hallmark doesn’t want anybody to accidentally have a gay Christmas. Via Huffington Post: One of Hallmark’s 2013 Keepsake ornaments is intended as a colorful homage to “Deck the Halls,” but the featured line contains a notable change in the traditional carol’s lyrics. A spokeswoman for Hallmark said the line was intentionally changed to prevent misinterpretation by holiday shoppers. “When the …