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The SAT and Vocabulary (Part 1)
The Critical Reading sections of the SAT test your ability to grasp concepts presented in words, sentences, and paragraphs. One of the things that makes this difficult is the strategic placement of...
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The SAT and Vocabulary, Part 2
Look-Alike and Sound-Alike Words The English language is confusing, and no one knows that better than the clever people who write SAT questions. Hundreds of words look like other words, but their...
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The SAT and Vocabulary, Part 3
Check (verb): to block Words You Know, But Don’t Know You Know One effective tactic used on standardized tests is to haul out words you don’t know. Another is to take words you do know and dress them...
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On Being Neurotic (Part 1) (Will I Have Enough for Two Parts?) (Who Am I...
I’ve been neurotic for a long time, at least since I was four, when my mother had to cut the feet off my pajamas because they were worn down to bits of thin, rubbery fabric hanging on by threads. I...
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Inexplicably Irritated
We all have them. Those insignificant things that drive us so crazy, they make us want to yank out our own hair by the fistful. But we don’t do it, because we know how painful a little paper cut is,...
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The Well-Dressed Post
At a recent Thanksgiving dinner, someone asked if I would pass the dressing. Growing up where I did, I was more used to the term stuffing. To me, dressing is that gloppy mixture you pour over salad....
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It Goes Without Saying
Sometimes I’ll be seated at my desk, pretending to be working or lost in thought, and someone will walk by and say, “Is it okay if I steal your pen?” As they ask me this, they’re grabbing one of the...
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