language on cut grass lies frail

spondees

aubade@cutgrassliesfrail.com — Mon, 05 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

English is chock-full of spondees, arriving out of mere happenstance or as set phrases. Some pleasing examples:

make work
makeshift
dry run
slow roll
smoke test
trash heap
breadcrumb
crockpot
clean cut
time crunch
stick shift
drive train
clean break
off book
dipshit
freak show
try hard
bookworm
blood bath
dead drop
dead end
smash cut
hell bent
meltdown
crosshatch
mismatch
mishmash
crisscross
grid lock
pit stop

comprise

aubade@cutgrassliesfrail.com — Sun, 04 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Comprise has been thoroughly skunked, to use Garner’s evocative term. Even professional writers and academics seem not to understand its proper usage. Yet the proper usage is simple: a whole comprises its parts, while the parts compose the whole. The constant and consistent misuse baffles.

anagram

aubade@cutgrassliesfrail.com — Thu, 01 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Brevity is the soul of wit ;
To wish verbosity, futile.

german

aubade@cutgrassliesfrail.com — Mon, 28 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Capsule review: German

Is Schmetterling truly uglier than butterfly or papillon ? Among the finest poems in any language is in German:

Über allen Gipfeln
Ist Ruh,
In allen Wipfeln
Spürest du
Kaum einen Hauch;
Die Vögelein schweigen im Walde.
Warte nur, balde
Ruhest du auch.

Rating: ★★★★☆

french

aubade@cutgrassliesfrail.com — Sun, 27 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Capsule review: French

A mellifluous language whose focus on precision often leads to its sounding silly. Animal domestique ? You mean a pet ? Grow up.

Rating: ★★★☆☆