WOTD “outlaws and renegades” edition. Maverick. A long, long time ago, I worked at the bar next door to the apartment building that all the members of the Mavericks lived in when they first moved to town with dreams of stardom. They were frequent patrons and performers. 1/2

Got a letter from a former employer’s retirement account plan manager letting me know that I’m eligible for benefits now. Um? BRB, gotta go buy a walker and some new cardigans.

WOTD “deck the halls with extra Kleenex” edition. Pestilence. Very many people seem to have been sidelined by one of the bugs going around. If you have succumbed to the Christmas Crud, the Kwanzaa Cold or the Hanukkah Hacking Cough, we wish you quick healing and a plague-free holiday season.

These year-end roundups are becoming a plague. *Resy* just foisted one upon me.

WOTD “not yet” edition. Currently vs. Presently. “Presently” does not mean the same thing as “at present.” This confuses a lot of people, and rightly so. Nonetheless, if it’s happening right now, the word you want is “currently.”

WOTD “decisions, decisions” edition. Options vs. Choices. If you are picking among several items, you do not have multiple choices. You have multiple options, from which you will make one choice. (“Multiple choice test” is correct because each discrete question requires making a choice.)

“Have Yourself A Merriam Little Christmas” Merriam, a career-oriented lexicographer from the city, returns to her small town for the holidays and meets Webster, a ruggedly handsome librarian, who shows her the true DEFINITION of Christmas.

Not a bad Bonnaroo lineup. Well done, kids. (I recognize 43 names on the poster this time.)

'Restaurant' comes from the same French word that gave us 'restore.' This is the reason why there is no 'n' in 'restaurateur.'

WOTD “Tennessee Tuesday” edition. Plebiscite. It’s a different kind of “Tennessee Tuesday,” as eyes nationwide are on our congressional special election. If you live in TN-07, today’s the day! Vote, vote, vote!

Time for airport roulette. Plane is already 4+ hours delayed and getting worse every time I refresh the app. Will it go? Will it be even later? Will I spend the night at the DC airport? Who knows!

The Grand Ole Opry is turning 100. As the country music institution celebrates a century of its radio broadcast, listen to how the show defined the culture — and was reshaped by it — decade by decade.

WOTD “get in sync” edition. Gibe vs. Jibe vs. Jive. These are tricky, so bear with me. The first is a dig at somebody. The second may also be a taunt, but more generally means to be in agreement. The last is a manner of speech. If you have a mnemonic for any of them, help a pedant out and share!

It’s an East Nashville deep cut, but I so hope that on opening night of the 5 Points Party Fowl somebody posts “Sex Chair 4 Sex” signs in all the bathroom stalls.

WOTD - Tennessee Tuesday. “Give Me Some Sugar.” Next week is Thanksgiving, so this phrase is gonna get a workout. It doesn’t mean you prepared poorly and need an ingredient for your pumpkin pie. It means “Kiss me!” In a grandma way, not a Hallmark holiday movie way. Safe travels and happy holidays!

This one is just for @kmaustinyoung.bsky.social. Bridal looks inspired by biblically accurate angels. www.instagram.com/reel/DRKkt-D...

WOTD “do they have railroads in heaven?” edition. Locomotive. I didn’t know Todd Snider. Not the way many of my friends did, anyway. So, no stories from me. Just, go listen to a train song today, and maybe sip on a whiskey while you’re doing it.

WOTD “last call” edition. Restaurateur. We were gutted to learn that Margot McCormack will be closing her iconic East Nashville restaurant next year. There would be no independent restaurant scene in Nashville without Margot, and that’s not hyperbole. (Also, there is no N in “restaurateur.”)

This one hurts. Once upon a time, Five Points was Slow Bar and Margot and that was it. And it was delightful. www.nashvillescene.com/food_drink/f...

Y'all. Just when I thought I couldn't love them any more, they go and do this. Y'all'll've. Marry me, @merriam-webster.com.

WOTD “oorah” edition. Semper Fidelis. Happy 250th anniversary to the U.S. Marine Corps! (I tried to draw Chesty the Bulldog, the Marines mascot, but he is far beyond my whiteboarding skills.)

WOTD “Christmas Creep” edition. Festoon. The coffee chain unveiled its holiday menu today, and the festive holiday to-go cups are coming next week. So, I’m giving in. Forget about Thanksgiving, we’re going straight to holly jolly. Happy holidays, you filthy animals.

Looked at Waylon just now and said, “You’re a good boy. Even though you yell at me all the time at the top of your lungs, I know you’re really a good good boy.” So, um. Am I in an emotionally abusive relationship with my cat?

WOTD “what ails you” edition. Feel Bad vs. Feel Badly. Too frequently, I see well-meaning people wrongly use “badly” in place of “bad,” thinking it’s the correct thing to do. You wouldn’t say a pie smells “deliciously.” Nor would you say “I feel sadly” if you’re distraught. 1/2

WOTD - Tennessee Tuesday. If It Was A Snake….. A favorite phrase among frustrated parents and spouses who think their loved ones maybe aren’t so very good at looking for things.

WOTD “movin’ to the country” edition. Superb vs. Suburb. I will charitably assume this was the result of an autocorrect error, but I did see them confused in the wild recently. “Suburb” is a place that you probably have to drive to. “Superb” is an adjective, and high praise. Is your suburb superb?

The Preds made SNL, you say? Oh! (Watches sketch) …….oh.

My much-loved @merriam-webster.com has a whole series today about names that are also verbs, and I am KICKING MYSELF for not thinking of it first. Josh. Carol. Ken. Sue. Chip. Mark. Peter.

WOTD “trick or treat” edition. Sweetmeat. Even vegetarian friends can partake of this “meat,” because a sweetmeat is a food rich in sugar - candy or confections. Happy Halloween!

WOTD “and what are YOU supposed to be?” edition. Vizard. An essential part of many Halloween costumes. Bonus points if you don the vizard of a wizard.

WOTD “the bones of the argument” edition. Flesh Out vs. Flush Out. If you’re trying to put some meat on the bones of an outline or explain something in greater depth, use the first. If you’re looking for someone or something that doesn’t want to be found, use the second.

My working theory, after watching the first three eps of Nashville 9-1-1: I think it's camp. I think Ryan Murphy intentionally made it as bad and cliche and over-the-top as he was possibly able to do, and he's trolling all of us.

The Power Fantasy of Superman is you still have a staff job on a newspaper.

WOTD “Vanderbilt - we’re a football school” edition. Flabbergasted. We who attended Vandy in the early 90s got to see a lot of good football get perpetrated against us. We are understandably befuddled at the current state of affairs. Sorry if we’re obnoxious about it for a while - this is new for us

Hi I am very smol and scrunched down and you can’t see me no really

German-speaking friends, if I'm writing a letter welcoming people to an event, is "Herzlich willkomen" the best way to say that? Or is there something more correct/gracious/etc.? (Viennese-inspired evening, so I'm looking to add a few German grace notes.)

Dear work: I love you guys, but I’m quitting to become a full-time Wright Middle School Mariachi Band groupie. 😍😍😍

WOTD “capital idea” edition. Capitol vs. Capital. (This is a rerun, by request!) It’s only an “o” capitol if it’s a building. And it’s only a “Capital C” capitol if it’s in Washington D.C. When in doubt, you probably want “a.”

Just managed to squirt a big ol’ dollop of makeup into my coffee. The day has to get better from here, yes?

WOTD “the cat’s OK” edition. Onto vs. On To. How to know which one you want: If you can replace it with another preposition, such as “upon,” you want “onto.” If you can leave out the “on” and still have a complete sentence, use “on to”: “Let’s go (on) to the next chapter.”

WOTD - Tennessee Tuesday, “safety first” edition. Nervous as a Cat in a Room Full of Rocking Chairs. These may be the worst cat and worst chairs I have ever drawn. Hold on to your tails and have a great Tuesday!

WOTD “technical difficulties” edition. Impediment. If your Monday morning routine has been disrupted by the nationwide AWS outage, we raise our coffee cup to you in sympathy and solidarity.

MSNBC Grandmas in Skechers seamlessly reclaiming the frog from 4chan Nazis in about six weeks has gotta be the political upset of the century.

WOTD “readin’ and writin’” edition. Bibliomania. If you suffer from this condition, come sit by me. And hold me accountable - this massive “to be read” pile of mine isn’t gonna read itself. *** Southern Festival of Books is this weekend!!! I hope to see some of you there!

WOTD “custom orders” edition. Tailor To vs. Cater To. Forget about sewing and cooking - we’re tackling a specific misusage today. I heard someone on the radio this morning talking about how a plan had been “catered to” a particular group. And, no. The plan was “tailored to” “cater to” those people.

WOTD “and another thing…..” edition. Expand vs. Expound. You can expand on a topic by broadening the conversation. You can expound on a topic by talking about it at length. If you’re adding to it or increasing its reach, you’re expanding, not expounding.

“I’m just gonna lie here for 5 more minutes,” our heroine thought to herself as she snuggled deeper under the covers. 90 minutes later…..

WOTD - Tennessee Tuesday. Fixin’ To. This Southernism has its roots in an older definition of “fix,” meaning “to prepare.” If you’re fixin’ to do something, it’s happening momentarily. Any second now. Here we go.

All of my numerical passwords and PINs are from land line phone numbers I have lived under that were held in other peoples' names. (This only gives something away if you are a former roommate of mine who remembers what our phone number was in 1990-whatever.)

White people who have spent decades thinking “Born in the USA” is patriotic and “Every Breath You Take” is a great wedding song are suddenly very concerned about not being able to understand lyrics to some songs at the Super Bowl halftime show.