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Nancy Friedman

@fritinancy.bsky.social
3.2K followers 1.3K following 3.6K posts

Name developer, writer, lapsed journalist, bay swimmer. Born in Los Angeles, semi-rooted in Oakland, California. “Queen of retail rabbit holes.” fritinancy.substack.com

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Reposted by Nancy Friedman
kottke.org @kottke.org · 20h
The Ku Klux Klan is rebranding itself as The Knights Party, centered on “family and faith” along with proud & open white supremacy. 💩🖕 [aljazeera.com]
aljazeera.com
Can the KKK find a new foothold in the US?
The infamous hate group is trying to rebrand itself as the 'Knights Party' in an attempt to grow its base.
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Nancy Friedman @fritinancy.bsky.social · 20h
It does have the Hey Alma stamp of approval. Heimish Is the Greatest Word of All Time - Hey Alma share.google/uNNYyTQwz4om...
share.google
Heimish Is the Greatest Word of All Time - Hey Alma
The other day, I was sitting with friends trying to describe a date I had been on. He had a vibe, but I couldn’t put my finger on it. He was familiar. He kind of reminded me of an old man, but in a go...
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Nancy Friedman @fritinancy.bsky.social · 20h
Nu? HEIMISH is a *Korean* brand? share.google/JjPiDGvrZ2g5...
share.google
heimish US Official
heimish focuses on offering natural beauty powered by plant-based ingredients for your skin and the Earth.
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Nancy Friedman @fritinancy.bsky.social · 23h
There are AI startups in San Francisco called FLAI and FAL, and whenever I see their names I see FLAIL and FAIL.
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Nancy Friedman @fritinancy.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
You are correct, of course! I was too hasty.
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Nancy Friedman @fritinancy.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
From @ossoff.bsky.social to @cornelluniversity.bsky.social to that "influencer" who's never read a book: plenty of outrage to go around. fritinancy.substack.com/p/word-of-th...
fritinancy.substack.com
Word of the week: Outrage
Now with added obscenity.
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Nancy Friedman @fritinancy.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
Here's what I wrote in February after I saw the equally epic Part 1 of "My Undesirable Friends": fritinancy.substack.com/p/word-of-th...
fritinancy.substack.com
Word of the week: Dissident
An afternoon with "My Undesirable Friends."
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Nancy Friedman @fritinancy.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
I spent almost 8 hours yesterday at @bampfa.bsky.social in the company of director Julia Loktev's "Undesirable Friends" -- dissident Russian journalists forced to flee their country after the Ukraine invasion yet determined to keep reporting. An indelible experience. bampfa.org/event/my-und...
bampfa.org
My Undesirable Friends: Part 2—Exile
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Nancy Friedman @fritinancy.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
My theory: It's misspelled in their style book. It appears surprisingly frequently, and I have never seen it spelled correctly, either in print or online. (I'm from L.A. and tend to be alert to such errors.)
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Nancy Friedman @fritinancy.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
Dear @newyorker.com and other East Coast publications: You keep getting this place name wrong. It's Marina del REY. REY. Spanish for "king." ¡Gracias!
“The Swan” offered an extreme display—perhaps the most extreme display—of the era’s reigning ideology. Cameras followed contestants as they were locked in virtual isolation for ninety days, in a mirror-less apartment complex in Marina Del Ray;
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Nancy Friedman @fritinancy.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
New from me: A review of @eliburnstein.bsky.social's splendid little book "Phrased & Confused." fritinancy.substack.com/p/review-phr...
fritinancy.substack.com
Review: “Phrased & Confused”
A new book traces the origins and ambiguities of some famous quotations.
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Nancy Friedman @fritinancy.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Elsewhere I've seen "youth and women." www.npr.org/2023/10/11/1...
npr.org
California creates nation's first 'Ebony Alert' to find missing Black children
The alert system will use electronic highway signs and encourage the use of TV, radio, social media and other platforms to spread information about the missing person.
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Nancy Friedman @fritinancy.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Just got my first "Ebony Alert." Relatively new (January 2024), California only. share.google/NUiuZVhiAxn4...
share.google
​Ebony Alert
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Nancy Friedman @fritinancy.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Reprehensible.
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Reposted by Nancy Friedman
Jess Zafarris @jesszafarris.com · 29/09/2026
Someone hit me with the whole "fuck is an acronym" myth yesterday, so here's a reminder of why that claim makes absolutely no fucking sense. (And shit isn't an acronym either!) uselessetymology.com/2026/09/29/f...
uselessetymology.com
“Fuck” Isn’t an Acronym, and Other Etymological Fuckery
The following is a modified excerpt from my second book, Words from Hell. Many armchair etymologists like to claim that the infamous F-bomb is an acronym, standing for phrases such as “fornication …
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Nancy Friedman @fritinancy.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
From the @stronglang.bsky.social archive: What a shitsow! stronglang.wordpress.com/2017/05/15/w...
stronglang.wordpress.com
What a shitshow!
Here are some of the things I’ve seen characterized as a shitshow (or a shit show) during the last 115 days: A Q-and-A session involving the ride-hailing company Uber The British Labour Party The B…
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Reposted by Nancy Friedman
Quote Investigator @quoteinvestigator.com · 28/09/2026
QI helped the brilliant language maven Nancy Friedman @fritinancy.bsky.social find citations for vagmaxxing. Now, Nancy has posted a piece about the terms: pervert glasses, meat proxy, and vagmaxxing Before clicking, please note the content warning: ickiness
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Nancy Friedman @fritinancy.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Content warning: ickiness. Ht @quoteinvestigator.com fritinancy.substack.com/p/three-word...
fritinancy.substack.com
Three words of the week
Pervert glasses, meat proxy, vagmaxxing.
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Reposted by Nancy Friedman
Eric Lotze @ericlotze.com · 28/09/2026
I read @fritinancy.bsky.social religiously, but I’m going to need a second coffee to steel myself before I open this email
An email preview that says: “Nancy Friedman/
/Three words of the week/
Pervert glasses, meat proxy, vagmaxxing.”
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Nancy Friedman @fritinancy.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
I've probably watched "Roberta" (1935) five times but never noticed till yesterday that the given name of the Ginger Rogers character -- who has reinvented herself as a Polish emigree called Countess Schwarenka -- is "Lizzie Gatz." As in the likewise-reinvented Jay Gatz, the Great Gatsby.
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Nancy Friedman @fritinancy.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Happy equinox! Linkstack credits: @dictionarycom.bsky.social @sfstandard.com @edroso.bsky.social @dieworkwear.bsky.social @nameberry.bsky.social @charlotteclymer.bsky.social and more. fritinancy.substack.com/p/september-...
fritinancy.substack.com
September linkstack
New dictionary words, the return of Spy magazine, pumpkin or not, moneyed baby names, and more.
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Reposted by Nancy Friedman
Benjamin Dreyer @bcdreyer.social · 24/09/2026
The past tense of to moonlight is moonlighted. The past tense of to gaslight is gaslighted. The past tense of to greenlight is I don't particularly care, but it seems that in the past two decades greenlit has taken the lead, so fine with me.
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Nancy Friedman @fritinancy.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
This very long thread is worth every second of your time.
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Nancy Friedman @fritinancy.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
The past tense of "to moonlight" is "moonlighted," not "moonlit," right? I just came across the latter -- a stand-up comic saying he "moonlit" for several years -- and it strikes me as odd.
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Nancy Friedman @fritinancy.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
On "vig," "vigorish," and, inevitably, Novig and that Sydney Sweeney ad. | ht @misterslang.bsky.social @monicahesse.bsky.social fritinancy.substack.com/p/word-of-th...
fritinancy.substack.com
Word of the week: Vig
And its flip side, Novig. Just sports? Sure. You bet.
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Reposted by Nancy Friedman
Dolphin Swimming and Boating Club @dolphinclubsf.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Yesterday we celebrated 50 years of women's membership in the Dolphin and South End clubs! Gift link: www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/s...
sfchronicle.com
Women mark 50 years of swimming against the tide at S.F. clubs that once banned them
The first women to join San Francisco’s swimming clubs in 1976 said they struggled against discrimination but found empowerment and community in the water.
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Nancy Friedman @fritinancy.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
Intrusive "of": the curse of a generation.
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Nancy Friedman @fritinancy.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
"Not really that bad of odds" -----> Not really such bad odds "About as nice of a room as one could expect" -----> About as nice a room as one could expect #alwaysediting #evenwhenimjustreading
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Nancy Friedman @fritinancy.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
I think Istanbul is in a hurry to find a public toilet.
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Nancy Friedman @fritinancy.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Love this.
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Nancy Friedman @fritinancy.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
"There are missing elements in Dr. Amodei’s essays. Politics as a means of controlling people’s lives, for one. Neither does a corporate world fixated on profits make an appearance. Healthcare companies, it’s implied, are benign. They will cure all ailments as a gift to humanity."
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Nancy Friedman @fritinancy.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
$6.29 at my Oakland (CA) neighborhood Chevron
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Nancy Friedman @fritinancy.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
(It never fails to amuse me that one way to translate "Amodei" is "For the love of God.")
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Nancy Friedman @fritinancy.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
"Forget about the risks of A.I. blowing up, [Dario Amodei] wrote. What will Utopia look like? For those who do not own shares in an A.I. company, the answer may be as unnerving as any disaster scenario." www.nytimes.com/2026/09/17/t...
nytimes.com
How Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei’s Writings Help Explain A.I. Fears (Gift Article)
The collected essays of Dario Amodei help explain why some people are so worried about artificial intelligence.
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Nancy Friedman @fritinancy.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
It's Dreamforce season again in San Francisco. I'm not paying $2,299 to attend, so I just walked around and took pictures of all the weird AI ads and banal brand names. fritinancy.substack.com/p/photo-brea...
fritinancy.substack.com
Photo break: Dreamforce 2026
AI ads galore!
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Reposted by Nancy Friedman
Governor Newsom Press Office @govpressoffice.gov.ca.gov · 14/09/2026
What about NO killer robots
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Reposted by Nancy Friedman
Ed Timberlake @trademarksaremagic.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
"Here’s a little thought exercise to try, no AI needed: Find new language to describe what’s going on when A.I. . . . spirals out of control." - @fritinancy.bsky.social
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Nancy Friedman @fritinancy.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
What do we mean when we say an AI agent “goes rogue”? fritinancy.substack.com/p/word-of-th...
fritinancy.substack.com
Word of the week: Rogue
.Not so lovable when it’s an out-of-control AI agent.
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Nancy Friedman @fritinancy.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
Nope.
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Nancy Friedman @fritinancy.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
“It was here that I learned the industry’s preferred term for a surrogate pregnancy: a journey.”
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Nancy Friedman @fritinancy.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
As long as you're amending, that link of mine is defunct (TypePad pulled the plug last year). Here's a viable link: fritinancyblog.wordpress.com/2016/10/28/n...
fritinancyblog.wordpress.com
New name beat: Citroën Cactus
John Kelly, an American writer now living in Ireland, tweeted this week about a car he’d spotted in Dublin: the Citroën Cactus. “Name meant to evoke feelings of Wild West off-roading?” he mused. Go…
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Nancy Friedman @fritinancy.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Sure.
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Nancy Friedman @fritinancy.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
My bad-car-name all-star is the Toyota Cressida, whose namers evidently never read Chaucer or Shakespeare and were unaware of the "faithless" epithet.
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Nancy Friedman @fritinancy.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
I have been so very patient. wordworking.medium.com/lets-get-one...
wordworking.medium.com
Let’s Get One Thing Straight About the Chevrolet Nova
The name has never meant “no go.”
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Nancy Friedman @fritinancy.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
For the zillionth time, “Nova” has never meant “no go.”
An explanation of Intercom's name change to Fin (acquired by Salesforce):

That’s why the process of naming things can be so long. And while there may be no correct choice, there are certainly some very bad ones – from Backrub (Google’s former name, if you can believe it) to Isis chocolate (self-explanatory) or Nova, the 1960s Chevrolet that was introduced to the Latin America market under a name that means “it doesn’t go.”
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Reposted by Nancy Friedman
Ed Timberlake @trademarksaremagic.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
"The noun spiral . . . has been part of the English language since the mid-1600s . . . The verb to spiral . . . entered English two centuries later . . . Figurative senses of spiraling began appearing in the 1920s . . . " - @fritinancy.bsky.social
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Nancy Friedman @fritinancy.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
New from me: Why is everyone "spiraling"? fritinancy.substack.com/p/word-of-th...
fritinancy.substack.com
Word of the week: Spiraling
Round and round we go.
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Nancy Friedman @fritinancy.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Sad news about @thefrisc.bsky.social, an independent news outlet that fought the good fight in San Francisco for almost 10 years. mailchi.mp/thefrisc/imp...
mailchi.mp
Important news about The Frisc
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Reposted by Nancy Friedman
Avi Zollman @avi.zollman.com · 08/09/2026
Good guidance from @apstylebook.com
Lake Ontario, Lake America
U.S. President Donald Trump has signed an executive order to rename Lake Ontario to Lake America. The border between the United States and Canada runs through Lake Ontario. Trump's order only affects how the United States government refers to the body of water. Canada, as well as other countries and international bodies, are not required to recognize the name change, and Canada has said it will not.

Lake Ontario has carried that name for more than 400 years. Refer to it by its original name. If it is relevant to the story, acknowledge and explain the name Trump has chosen.
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Reposted by Nancy Friedman
Le Monde @lemonde.fr · 08/09/2026
« South Park » rebaptisé « South America » : la série satirique se moque des changements de noms voulus par Donald Trump
lemonde.fr
« South Park » rebaptisé « South America » : la série satirique se moque des changements de noms voulus par Donald Trump
Habituée à égratigner le président, la série se moque cette fois aussi d’Apple et de Google, qui ont adopté sur leurs cartes destinées aux utilisateurs américains les nouvelles dénominations décidées par Donald Trump pour plusieurs étendues d’eau.
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