This Week: More non-errors on the podcast + Canadian geese/Canada geese

Canadian geese/Canada geese
“Canadian geese” would be any old geese that happen to be in Canada. What people usually mean to refer to when they use this phrase is the specific species properly called “Canada geese.”



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This week on the podcast we discuss more non-errors.

This Week: Non-Errors on the podcast + octopi/octopuses + A new blog post

octopi/octopuses
“Octopi” is a slangy plural form of “octopus,” but it’s not the form used by marine biologists. Although some prefer “octopodes,” this form is rare. The standard plural form is “octopuses.”




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Last week on the podcast we discussed antiheroes; this week you could say we discuss anti-errors.
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Paul Brians’ latest blog post talks about another non-error.

This Week: "We Could Be Antiheroes" on the podcast + agnostic/atheist + Bonus cartoon!

agnostic/atheist
Both agnostics and atheists are regularly criticized as illogical by people who don’t understand the meaning of these terms. An agnostic is a person who believes that the existence of a god or gods cannot be proven or known. Agnosticism is a statement about the limits of human knowledge. It is an error to suppose that agnostics perpetually hesitate between faith and doubt: they are confident they cannot know the ultimate truth. Similarly, atheists believe there are no gods. Atheists need not be able to disprove the existence of gods to be consistent just as believers do not need to be able to prove that gods do exist in order to be regarded as religious. Both attitudes have to do with beliefs, not knowledge.

“Agnostic” is often used metaphorically of any refusal to make a judgment, usually on the basis of a lack of evidence; people can be agnostic about acupuncture, for instance, if they believe there is not enough evidence one way or another to decide its effectiveness.



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This week on the podcast we discuss some literary terms: “We Could Be Antiheroes.”

Bonus cartoon this week:

This Week: chai tea/chai + The podcast discussion of food-related terms concludes

chai tea/chai
Chai is simply the word for “tea” in Hindi and several other Asian languages. Indians often brew their tea with lots of milk and spices (called masala—they call this drink masala chai); and that’s what most people in the West know as “chai.” Since everyone likely to be attracted by the word “chai” already knows it’s a tea-based drink, it’s both redundant and pointless to call the product “chai tea.”



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This week on the podcast we conclude our discussion of food-related terms: “What’s on the Menu? (Part 3).” Bon appétit!

This Week: bon a petite/bon appétit + more food-related terms on the podcast

bon a petite/bon appétit 
The traditional French phrase to utter when you serve the food is bon appétit: “good appetite” (and pronounced “bone ah-puh-TEE”). It implies “may you enjoy your food with a good appetite.” (For some reason I think this is fine but get irritated when a waiter tells me “enjoy!”)

You see all sorts of misspellings of this phrase: “bon a petite,” “bon à petite,” “bon á petite,” “bona petite,” “bonapetite,” “bon a petit,” etc. All of these are bon à rien—good for nothing.


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This week on the podcast we pick up from last week and discuss more food-related terms: “What’s on the Menu? (Part 2).” Bon appétit!

This Week: bologna/baloney + other food-related terms on the podcast

bologna/baloney 
“Bologna” is the name of a city in Italy, pronounced “boh-LOAN-ya.” But although in English the sausage named after the city is spelled the same, it is pronounced “buh-LOAN-ee” and is often spelled “baloney.” Either spelling is acceptable for the sliced meat product.

Then there is the expression “a bunch of baloney.” “Baloney” in this case probably originated as a euphemism for “BS.” When it means “nonsense,” the standard spelling is “baloney.” People who write “bunch of bologna” are making a pun or are just being pretentious.


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This week on the podcast we discuss this entry and several other food-related terms: “What’s on the Menu? (Part 1).” It’s not a bunch of baloney.

This Week: Canadian geese/Canada geese + "Star Wars" on the podcast

Canadian geese/Canada geese
“Canadian geese” would be any old geese that happen to be in Canada. What people usually mean to refer to when they use this phrase is the specific species properly called “Canada geese.”


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This week on the podcast it’s more sci-fi movie talk with “Star Wars.”