iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Joe McVeigh @eviljoemcveigh.com · 03/10/2026

I don't know... Pretty sure there has to be a window involved... Ah, heck it. I'll allow it!

Merriam-Webster definition of "defenestration"

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Joe McVeigh @eviljoemcveigh.com · 23/09/2026

The authors also hate post-modernism if that makes you feel any better. Because of Marxists. And Nazi ideas.

Image shows a chart that purports to show that Post-Modernism is a fad. The text box says "Post-modernism, just like social constructivism, is a group of ideas that argue that Positivism (the world is the way we find it) is unsustainable. Therefore, the "postmodernists" argue it needs to be changed (this is also the Marxist approach). But changed to what? In fact the roots of this fad can be found in the literature that gave Adolf Hitler many of his Nazi ideas in the 1920s! This "methodology" has no redeeming features in logicm evidence or anything else."

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Joe McVeigh @eviljoemcveigh.com · 23/09/2026

Friends, I have just come across this insane chart in a book on research methods for students. The authors are calling Feminism a "fad".

Image shows a chart which appears to show that feminist articles over time have decreased, which apparently means that Feminism is a fad. The text in the chart says "Feminism as a way of seeing the world (like social constructivism) has been described as simply "wrong-headed to start with". The empirical evidence to support it has always been highly selective. It was a great "home" for the chattering middle classes in the rich countries who had more time on their hands than sense - working class women were just too busy working and they have always been excluded from any real "feminist" concern."

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Joe McVeigh @eviljoemcveigh.com · 21/09/2026

Here's a flat adverb appearing in the @avcx.bsky.social crossword. What a great clue.

Picture shows a crossword grid.
Clue: Fast, perhaps (but not rapid)
Answer: Adverb

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Joe McVeigh @eviljoemcveigh.com · 18/09/2026

I can't remember where I found this image (LinkedIn probably), but it's some AI slop about linguistics and it is hot garbage. Check out where German words come from (Turkey lol). Check out the Old Norse coming from... Ireland.

Image is AI slop showing an incorrect map of Europe, North Africa and the Middle East. The map purports to show where words come from, but misplaces them on the map. German is in Turkey, Swedish is in Ukraine. It's tough to tell because the map is wrong.

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Joe McVeigh @eviljoemcveigh.com · 28/08/2026

Fair enough, @puzzmo.com. The word I was looking for was "meeces"

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Joe McVeigh @eviljoemcveigh.com · 20/06/2026

Yes, Louis is a fluent speaker, but people who say “like” and “um” and “er” are not fluent speakers. [I skeeted foreshadowingly]

Screenshot of the op-ed which reads "'Like' may be the most annoying of the grammatical fillers (it’s even more common than 'um' and 'er') but it’s hardly the only one. I would kind of like (like) to sort of (like) strike speechless all those who (sort of like) think it’s cool to kind of sort of waste everybody’s time with their (like) contentless blether. And stuff. And shit."

You'll never guess what's coming up.

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Joe McVeigh @eviljoemcveigh.com · 20/06/2026

But don’t forget the other overplayed note: blame the media! Radio 4 doesn’t even care about the old-white-guys-with-moronic-complaints demographic anymore. Too bad, so sad.

Screenshot from the op-ed in which the author also blames the media for his hatred of language (again because of course he does). It reads "Nowadays, I can’t even listen to Radio 4. It doesn’t care about my demographic any more; it’s been rejigged for younger people who say “like”, so that for fluent speakers such as myself it feels like being hit repeatedly on the head with a foam rubber mallet by a stoned Barbary ape. I sometimes wonder whether this junk speech has any connection with the consumption of junk food. And rural littering."

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Joe McVeigh @eviljoemcveigh.com · 20/06/2026

There it is. Blaming young women! Louis isn’t just hyperbolic. He’s also hackneyed! (Which he would know if he knew anything about language). It always comes down to blaming women or minorities for the Fall of the English Language™. And it is as scientifically wrong as it is incredibly dumb.

Screenshot from the op-ed in which the author blames a young women for speaking because of course he does. It reads "I once went to speak to a sixth-form group where one perfectly intelligent young woman said “like” so much that it took her five minutes to say something that should have taken five seconds. The effect was embarrassing and bewildering. Afterwards, in private, I begged her to stop doing it."

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Joe McVeigh @eviljoemcveigh.com · 20/06/2026

Now, here it comes. Are you ready for it? He’s gonna do the thing. He's gonna play the (shitty) hits.

Screenshot from the op-ed which reads "The imperialism of Essex doesn’t quite drive me bonkers, however. What gets my goat is the fashion for larding one’s speech with delays and interpolations that are designed to make one think that the speaker is cool, relaxed, on trend and modest."

Louis is gearing up to do exactly what you're expecting him to do.

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Joe McVeigh @eviljoemcveigh.com · 20/06/2026

Are you sure that you were taught how to link sentences into a coherent train of thought? Because the evidence in this op-ed suggests you might need to revisit that education and try to learn something this time. Pro-tip: take a GD linguistics course.

Screenshot from the article that reads "Like him, I had a classical humanist education in which I was carefully taught how to construct sentences, and how to link them into a coherent train of thought. Nowadays, of course, everyone is affecting a generic Thames corridor accent that is pure Essex. Glottal stops are thriving like Himalayan balsam on the banks of a beck. It is part of the continuing tragedy of our loss of regional dialect. Oi’m a proper vexed bout thaht, bor. Oi’d a rather be a hearin good ol Mardle, speakin pussnally*."

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Joe McVeigh @eviljoemcveigh.com · 20/06/2026

Ok, forget about the faux-Greek (which is somehow *not* redundant). Does this guy really think that “hey,” “wow man,” and “cool” are forgotten vocabulary? Louis, bud. “Cool” was cool looooong before you came around and it’ll be cool long after you’re gone.

Screenshot of the article that reads "What winds me up the most about our national life in general is the fashion for imprecise and redundant speech. I inherit this deep-seated misosaskopeslexis* from my father, who was disdainful of the transatlantic accent we all affected in the 1960s and 1970s, and the now forgotten vocabulary that went with it (hey, wow man, cool, far out, heavy, groovy etc)."

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Joe McVeigh @eviljoemcveigh.com · 20/06/2026

Yes, “junk speak” is one of the worst things about life in Britain. We’re off to a helluva start. What is “junk speak,” you ask? It’s... uh… basically when people say things that Louis doesn’t like. Or maybe certain types of people who dare to speak? (yeah, more on that later)

Image shows the headline of an op-ed. It says (apparently without irony) "I really don't like 'like' - or other imprecise and redundant speech. Junk speak, like junk food, encourages verbal littering. It has to be one of the worst things about life in Britain."

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Joe McVeigh @eviljoemcveigh.com · 05/06/2026

Latest book review from our puppy and it's a savage one

Picture shows a ripped up book and a puppy looking adorably guilty.

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Joe McVeigh @eviljoemcveigh.com · 16/05/2026

Oh wow You're gonna wanna make sure you put this patch on the right way. Which is up to you to decide. I ain't judging.

Same patch held upside down and it says "Mom ho". To each their own. No judgement here.

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Joe McVeigh @eviljoemcveigh.com · 15/05/2026

This is a bad look from Helsinki University. They are straight marketing AI use to doctoral students with some shady webinar. None of the "distinguished panelists" are named in the email. The presumption is that everyone is using the plagiarism machine. B/c this text is from marketers, not scholars.

Screenshot of a marketing email sent through the University of Helsinki's Doctoral School mailing list. The email markets a webinar on "Designing Your Research with Assistance from AI".

Blech.

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Joe McVeigh @eviljoemcveigh.com · 06/05/2026

Thinking today about when I first read these lines from Shakespeare and thought... "Hey, those are GWAR lyrics!"

Soliloquy from Shakespeare:
To sleep, perchance to dream—ay, there's the rub:
For in that sleep of death what dreams may come,

Soliloquy from GWAR
To die, perchance, to sin, hahahaha, there's the rub
For in that sleep of sin, what, what kingdom may come?

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Joe McVeigh @eviljoemcveigh.com · 22/04/2026

What's the most Philly sports comment you have? I'll start. Rescheduling a kidney stone removal to go to a game. #GoFlyers

A poster on r/flyers says that they are having a kidney stoned removal pushed back so that they can attend a Flyers playoff game.

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Joe McVeigh @eviljoemcveigh.com · 17/04/2026

Finally! I got a comment from a reviewer telling me that I should have my article proofread by a native speaker. Or someone specialized in academic English. And all for a typo in the word #linguistics!!! I feel like I won a prize.

Figure shows a comment from a reviewer on my article. The say I wrote "linguistics features" which I totally did and then say "I therefore encourage the authors to have their manuscript proofread by a native speaker or someone specialized in academic English." Guess this means I don't need to read any more student theses! Or teach academic English!

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Joe McVeigh @eviljoemcveigh.com · 14/04/2026

Not if you're trying to cite the same work multiple times 🧐

Screenshot of the same academic article. The references show that the author cites his articles multiple times.

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Joe McVeigh @eviljoemcveigh.com · 14/04/2026

Seriously, dude. You need to chill.

Another screenshot from the same article. The author cites himself 40+ times in one sentence AGAIN.

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Joe McVeigh @eviljoemcveigh.com · 05/03/2026

Embrace it, don't shame it

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Joe McVeigh @eviljoemcveigh.com · 05/03/2026

At least two of these programs have told people to kill themselves. The companies behind them support fascism. And you're *forcing* your students to use them?? I am definitely going to shame you. Because you should be ashamed.

Screenshot shows a blogpost from xKixiLabs called "Embrace it, don't shame it: Using AI to Enhance Student Learning and Problem Solving"

Embrace shit.

Excerpt from the blog saying "Now, in 2026, we’ve built an entire course around this philosophy. The course is called Practical AI for Behavioural Science, and it doesn’t just permit AI use — it requires it. Every student uses ChatGPT, Claude, GitHub Copilot, and Gemini throughout the semester."

This is embarrassing.

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Joe McVeigh @eviljoemcveigh.com · 10/01/2026

Apparently my Word program is Charlie from Always Sunny.

Image is from an Always Sunny episode in which Charlie drinks 71 beers on a flight from Philly to LA. He asks Mac "What do now?"

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Joe McVeigh @eviljoemcveigh.com · 10/01/2026

Another excellent suggestion from Microsoft Word's spellchecker. "What did well?" really does work better here. Well did, Word. Well did. (And not for nothing, these two verb phrases *~have the same tense~*. "was" and "did" are both past tense.)

Image shows a suggestion from Microsoft Word's spellchecker. The sentence is "What was done well?" and the spellchecker suggests that I change it to "What did well?" because apparently that verb tense may work better here (Microsoft's words, not mine)

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Joe McVeigh @eviljoemcveigh.com · 30/12/2025

I am once again asking Grammarly to please read a grammar book. 🙏

Image shows a paragraph from the blog on Grammarly. The paragraph says "the subject of a sentence is always a noun, noun phrase, or pronoun." There is more jazz in Utah than there is truth in this claim.

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Joe McVeigh @eviljoemcveigh.com · 21/11/2025

I did it! I graduated (again)! Thank you so much to my supervisor Dr. Minna Nevala and my opponent Dr. Erika Darics! It was a wonderful discussion.

Picture of me, Dr. Minna Nevala and Dr. Erika Darics in my doctoral dissertation defense

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Joe McVeigh @eviljoemcveigh.com · 21/11/2025

Merriam-Webster is heckling me lol

Merriam-Webster's word of the day - on the day that I'm defending my dissertation (!!!) - is "bloviate". 10 out of 10. Perfect. I love you, MW

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Joe McVeigh @eviljoemcveigh.com · 25/10/2025

Hot off the presses, it's my dissertation! I can't believe this is real. I'm defending in a month. Wish me luck! 🤞

Image shows the published copy of my doctoral dissertation, titled "The Best Things In Life Are Free! Linguistic Patterns in Successful Email Marketing"

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Joe McVeigh @eviljoemcveigh.com · 11/10/2025

Meet our dog, the Baroness of Woof-woof-adelphia, or Fia for short. She is the goodest dog there ever was.

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Joe McVeigh @eviljoemcveigh.com · 24/09/2025

You can't say "happiness" without "peen"?

Image shows an ad that reads "You can't say happiness without PINE"

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Joe McVeigh @eviljoemcveigh.com · 14/09/2025

But wait, there's more Bat-guistics in this issue, chum! The Dark Knight is in York and recognizes that the villain's Estuary English accent is from London. That's why he's the world's greatest detective, folks. Good job, Bats! #linguistics #comics

Image shows a panel from Detective Comics Annual #1 (2025) by Al Ewing, John McCrea, Stefano Raffaele and Fico Ossio. In the panel, a villain speaks to Batman and Batman's interior monologue says "An Estuary accent -- he's from London". The Estuary English variety is indeed found in London.

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Joe McVeigh @eviljoemcveigh.com · 14/09/2025

There ain't no way that Batman can *add* vocal fry to his voice, is there?! #linguistics #comics

Image shows a panel from Detective Comics Annual #1 (2025) by Al Ewing, John McCrea, Stefano Raffaele and Fico Ossio. In the panel, Batman's narrative says "I lighten and soften my natural growl, adding a little vocal fry and just a touch of Palo Alto." For the record, I don't know what adding "just a touch of Palo Alto" means.

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Joe McVeigh @eviljoemcveigh.com · 11/08/2025

George Will recently wrote a screed complaining about language (which is nothing new). But in it he equates language peeving with homophobia. This is dangerous. By linking these two things together, he is saying that it is fine to dislike words and to dislike queer people. This will harm people.

A section from George Will's recent language peeving column in which he approvingly equates language pet peeves with homophobia. He writes "Most Americans sailed through grade school without the benefit of what some pupils can enjoy in third grade these days: classroom discussions about gender fluidity. Now Americans who want to be journalistically literate must master the taxonomy of the various vibes."

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Joe McVeigh @eviljoemcveigh.com · 29/07/2025

Superman: Man of Tomorrow... Speaker of Yesterday! Here's Supes saying "yon". For what it's worth, this was published 50 years after the OED most recent citation. (Sunday strip #81 from 1941)

Image shows a panel of Superman throwing a criminal at a pool while saying "What say we launch your reformation with a dip in yon pool?" (Panel appears in Sunday strip #81 from 1941)

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Joe McVeigh @eviljoemcveigh.com · 18/07/2025

I've never seen a curse word censored like this before. Why not use actual asterisks? Maybe this happened in transferring the article from one format to another? Like it's some sort of autocorrect that turned * into "(asterisk)" .

Screenshot showing a clipping from a Philadelphia Inquirer article which has a strange form of censoring the word "fuck". The article says "Colbert’s late-night host counterpart on ABC, Jimmy Kimmel, shared Colbert’s announcement on Instagram along with the message: “Love you Stephen. F(asterisk)(asterisk)(asterisk) you and all your Sheldons CBS.”

Kimmel used the actual expletive."

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Joe McVeigh @eviljoemcveigh.com · 17/07/2025

Gotta add "dialect" in there 🤓

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Joe McVeigh @eviljoemcveigh.com · 17/07/2025

You did make it up, Kate Bishop. But I think most people would consider the true etymology of "family" troubling. I love when linguistics shows up in comics. From HAWKEYE #13 by Kelly Thompson and Leonardo Romero

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Joe McVeigh @eviljoemcveigh.com · 16/07/2025

What do you mean being a linguist doesn't make me a competent reviewer of research on (checks email...) affective disorders? I have been ~*SELECTED*~ Sheesh. You scholars and your regulations. The Journal of Affective Disorders is about to get a lot more interesting. #academic #spam

Image shows a spam email sent to me. The email says that I've been added as a peer reviewer for the Journal of Affective Disorders. I don't know what that is because it's not my field of specialty. It's not even close. This is a spam email that got through to my inbox.

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Joe McVeigh @eviljoemcveigh.com · 24/05/2025

This discussion about Wawa though? Yeah, I've had this one about a hundred times 😁

Image shows characters in Blackwood comic talking about Wawa. Some of them know what it is, some don't.

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Joe McVeigh @eviljoemcveigh.com · 24/05/2025

Comic books are just so unbelievable. A university administrator caring about the teachers being overwhelmed and understaffed? How am I supposed to relate? (From "Blackwood" by Dorkin, Fish and Fish, and McKenna)

Image shows a panel from the comic Blackwood, where the dean of the university says "I know, I know. And I share your concern. But we're overwhelmed and understaffed." Writer: Evan Dorkin. Artists: Veronica Fish and Andy Fish. Letters: Greg McKenna

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Joe McVeigh @eviljoemcveigh.com · 20/05/2025

This book was great! Bonus: the protagonist is a linguist 🐦🐦 ("The Ministry of Time" by Kaliane Bradley)

Image shows the cover of the book "The Ministry of Time" by Kaliane Bradley. It's a really good book and you should read it.

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