Andy Hollandbeck @logophilius.bsky.social · 02/10/2026I got both the flu and COVID vaccines this morning in the same shoulder and it's hitting me hard. At this point my greatest concern is that I will die BEFORE my arm falls off. (Losing an arm is on my bucket list.) 150
Andy Hollandbeck @logophilius.bsky.social · 01/10/2026Today in etymology: Originally, rosemary wasn't a reference to a rose, and wasn't particularly Mary-like either: www.saturdayeveningpost.com/2026/10/in-a...saturdayeveningpost.comIn a Word: ‘There’s Rosemary, That’s for Remembrance’ | The Saturday Evening PostThat which we call rosemary by any other name would smell as sweet. 000
Andy Hollandbeck @logophilius.bsky.social · 01/10/2026Let me get this straight: A person who makes a living by writing is just fine with using AI to replace other people who make a living writing. I assume she believes this only as long as AI doesn't encroach on the type of writing SHE makes a living doing. 120
Andy Hollandbeck @logophilius.bsky.social · 01/10/2026The silver lining of having Pete Hegseth around is that it makes explaining "toxic masculinity" fairly easy. It's whatever he would do. 021
Andy Hollandbeck @logophilius.bsky.social · 30/09/2026This is a book I learned about from the @becauselanguage.com podcast. If "How to Kill a Language" is your kind of thing, this podcast probably will be too. 041
Andy Hollandbeck @logophilius.bsky.social · 28/09/2026I had almost forgotten how quickly the "photo of a shark swimming up the street" meme can come out whenever there's flooding somewhere. 000
Andy Hollandbeck @logophilius.bsky.social · 28/09/2026Editors: That last comma creates two independent clauses! Meaning he's telling MAGA, "Allow crime to again flourish"! What do I do with this information?! 000
Andy Hollandbeck @logophilius.bsky.social · 28/09/2026When "quintessential" is the right word but it's too long for the space you're filling. #amediting 010
Andy Hollandbeck @logophilius.bsky.social · 28/09/2026Are there any other writers or editors out there who differentiate analog = the opposite of digital and analogue = something comparable or analogous? And what do you think of the idea? 100
Andy Hollandbeck @logophilius.bsky.social · 27/09/2026Friday: Buy the new @merriam-webster.com dictionary. Saturday: Buy some readers so I can read the new dictionary. Sunday: Where did I put those readers? 010
Andy Hollandbeck @logophilius.bsky.social · 24/09/2026Happy Punctuation Day! Is it happens, I've got TWO pertinent articles of my own to share. The first is about rarer punctuation (with perhaps a broader definition of "punctuation" than is usual). www.saturdayeveningpost.com/2021/09/in-a...saturdayeveningpost.comIn a Word: 4 Unusual Punctuation Marks | The Saturday Evening PostThe are more punctuation marks in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are included on your keyboard. 110
Andy Hollandbeck @logophilius.bsky.social · 23/09/2026The word is bestiality, not beastiality. Yes, it's a little unexpected (like the N-lessness of restaurateur), but who expected this word to show up in so many news stories? 231
Andy Hollandbeck @logophilius.bsky.social · 22/09/2026The worst thing about being Gen X is how old we all are now. 210
Andy Hollandbeck @logophilius.bsky.social · 21/09/2026Any time you hear an AI or surveillance company make a statement about what their product does NOT do, you should add "now" to the end of it before you evaluate it. "Images of individual faces are not stored [now]." "We don't store any names or personal identifiers [now]." 000
Andy Hollandbeck @logophilius.bsky.social · 21/09/2026I think I might have uncovered the subconscious reason I decided to rewatch Legends of Tomorrow. 000
Andy Hollandbeck @logophilius.bsky.social · 18/09/2026Today in unsolicited texts: "Hi, I'm Jennifer. What are your thoughts on the US-Israeli partnership? Can we chat?"static.klipy.comHugh Grant's Frustrated Christmas in Love ActuallyALT: Hugh Grant's Frustrated Christmas in Love Actually 120
Andy Hollandbeck @logophilius.bsky.social · 17/09/2026My latest #etymology column is about the ones we get wrong. www.saturdayeveningpost.com/2026/09/in-a...saturdayeveningpost.comIn a Word: Bad Etymology | The Saturday Evening PostThe stories of how English words have evolved are fun and interesting and surprising, even if they aren’t true. 051
Andy Hollandbeck @logophilius.bsky.social · 11/09/2026Do we (or the Germans) have a good name for that slight relief I feel when I learn that the annoying problem I've been dealing with isn't just affecting me? Anyway, if you can't copy/paste or Autofill by dragging in Excel, you're not alone: windowsreport.com/microsoft-ex...windowsreport.comMicrosoft Excel copy and paste isn't working after KB5002914 update, the company confirmsMicrosoft has confirmed a copy-and-paste issue affecting Excel 2024, 2021, 2019, and 2016 after the KB5002914 security update. 120
Andy Hollandbeck @logophilius.bsky.social · 11/09/2026On top of everything else, I just got rear ended. 121
Reposted by Andy HollandbeckKatharine O'Moore-Klopf, ELS @kokedit.bsky.social · 10/09/2026#Editors, here is info about a guide (in PDF form) to things #designers wish #authors and editors knew before sending a #manuscript for #layout: lnkd.in/p/gGewHwgJ 042
Andy Hollandbeck @logophilius.bsky.social · 10/09/2026The servers at Olive Garden know how to get a bigger tip. 030
Andy Hollandbeck @logophilius.bsky.social · 09/09/2026Speaking of conferences for editors, you're running out of time to register for ACES VCON. Do it now! aceseditors.org/conferences/...aceseditors.orgACES VCON26Join ACES VCON26, the virtual conference for editors. Explore sessions, networking, and professional development from Sept. 16-18, 2026. 011
Andy Hollandbeck @logophilius.bsky.social · 09/09/2026Would love to be here, but it's just not financially in the cards for me. 000
Andy Hollandbeck @logophilius.bsky.social · 08/09/2026This will no doubt be used to justify violence against anyone who displays a pride flag. 010
Andy Hollandbeck @logophilius.bsky.social · 08/09/2026miniscule --> minuscule "minus" = Latin for "less" "mini-" was lopped off aholic-like from "miniature," which traces to minium "red lead," which was used to make red ink, which was used to illuminate manuscripts with tiny (you might even say miniaturized) pictures of larger things. 110
Andy Hollandbeck @logophilius.bsky.social · 08/09/2026Feeling pretty cynical today, if it isn't clear. 220
Andy Hollandbeck @logophilius.bsky.social · 08/09/2026One for the word nerds, in case it's not widely known: "Astroturf" = "fake grassroots." It's, like, a second-level metaphor. 111
Andy Hollandbeck @logophilius.bsky.social · 03/09/2026"Lowering your standards to prove that you have some is capitulation to a thieving technology that’s trying to replace human effort and artistic struggle with a soulless, algorithmic mediocrity." So says me: www.saturdayeveningpost.com/2026/09/cont...saturdayeveningpost.comContrariwise: To Err Is Human | The Saturday Evening PostPeople are now intentionally inserting “typos” into their work to prove that it was written by a real person and not genAI. 120
Andy Hollandbeck @logophilius.bsky.social · 03/09/2026I'm sure she'll land on her feet soon, probably at the White House. 010
Andy Hollandbeck @logophilius.bsky.social · 02/09/2026I bet Rand McNally is making a relative killing these days. (And I'm curious how many [presumably younger] people on Bluesky don't know the name Rand McNally.) 130
Andy Hollandbeck @logophilius.bsky.social · 02/09/2026So, this is out there now. And, yes, my job will be going away at the end of the year. www.nytimes.com/2026/09/02/b...nytimes.comSaturday Evening Post Will Stop Printing After 205 YearsThe magazine, famous for publishing Jack London stories and Norman Rockwell art, will continue online. 13157
Andy Hollandbeck @logophilius.bsky.social · 02/09/2026Peter Eats His Mother's Grits Quite Slowly, Causing Offense Papa Especially Hates My Grandma's Quite Small Corner Office 0134
Andy Hollandbeck @logophilius.bsky.social · 01/09/2026They're coming for our facts. www.npr.org/2026/08/31/n...npr.orgTrump officials cut political interference ban after unusual Census Bureau reportAfter the Census Bureau issued a report tied to a Trump-aligned think tank, the bureau's parent agency cut language banning political interference from its scientific integrity policy, NPR learned. 110
Andy Hollandbeck @logophilius.bsky.social · 31/08/2026I mean, Ms. Rachel is on there, and I've at least heard of her. I was hoping to see Elle Cordova appear in that list. I mean, I would support an intentional effort to get her on next year's list. Otherwise, yeah, I'm an out-of-touch old fart like you. 000
Andy Hollandbeck @logophilius.bsky.social · 31/08/2026I assumed it meant "laughing out loud [and] peeing." 000
Andy Hollandbeck @logophilius.bsky.social · 31/08/2026My compliments to the Connections editors. 1193
Andy Hollandbeck @logophilius.bsky.social · 28/08/2026I just got stung by a bee that wasn't very good at it. 000
Andy Hollandbeck @logophilius.bsky.social · 26/08/2026"Business-friendly states" is Republican for "states that won't raise taxes on multi-millionaires." "Family-friendly" is Republican for "conservative Christian." 120
Andy Hollandbeck @logophilius.bsky.social · 26/08/2026Surprised myself today. I found a Rarity-81 word worth 94 pts in OUTLIER. EAGLE EYES · 911 points · 10 rare words. Only 3 players have ever found it in all of Outlier. 10 finds no one else found today. OUTLIER: the daily word hunt where the rarest words win. Can you beat me? playoutlier.com/s/MRWFAPplayoutlier.comOUTLIER · Day 98logophilius scored 911 on Day 98 — can you beat them? 000
Andy Hollandbeck @logophilius.bsky.social · 26/08/2026Had a dream that I was attending my own weekend-long bachelor party, but I woke up right as I got to the sexy parts. It's just one disappointment after another this week. 010
Andy Hollandbeck @logophilius.bsky.social · 24/08/2026Make a band bigger: Bruce Summerstein and the F Street Band 010
Andy Hollandbeck @logophilius.bsky.social · 20/08/2026No, a quarter horse is not one-fourth the size of a regular horse. www.saturdayeveningpost.com/2026/08/in-a...saturdayeveningpost.comIn a Word: Four Quarters Make a Story | The Saturday Evening PostSome senses of “quarter” have nothing to do with dividing something into fourths. 000
Andy Hollandbeck @logophilius.bsky.social · 20/08/2026Yes, but it's a dog with the speaking voice of Kelsey Grammer. 110