Joe Biden Joins a Long Line of 'Happy Warriors'

Reuters

Last night Obama called Joe Biden a "happy warrior." There have been others before him.

By Esther Zuckerman

Nov 2, 2012

How Staten Island Became the 'Forgotten Borough'

The origins of Staten Island's "forgotten" status.

Comments | 2,573 Views

By Eric Randall

Jun 13, 2012

Bush vs. Gore: The Election We're Doomed to Think About Repeating

In every election to follow 2000 the Bush-Gore cliffhanger, pundits have wondered, could the most dramatic presidential election in living memory happen again (and thus throw us into another month of rapt pundit-watching on cable TV)? Spoiler alert: Yes! But it probably won't!

Comments | 1,648 Views

By Eric Randall

May 15, 2012

'Dimon in the Rough' Is Not an Insult

JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon may be having a rough time after his bank lost $2 billion on a bad trading position, but it does not mean he is sparkly on the inside.

Comments | 297 Views

By Eric Randall

May 14, 2012

Barack Obama: Our First Gay-Female-Hispanic-Asian-Jewish President

Newsweek's cover has been called "controversial" and "pretty shocking," but looking at this run-down of presidential firsts that weren't, it begins to seem a bit inevitable. 

Comments | 174,902 Views

By Eric Randall

Apr 5, 2012

Why Political Reputations Must Not Be Tarnished

As Newt Gingrich continues to pledge he'll stay in the race, reporters and Republicans warn that he risks "tarnishing his legacy." But whence began this fear that a prolonged but futile fight for the nomination would destroy one's historical record for posterity?

Comments | 334 Views

By Eric Randall

Mar 30, 2012

Where 'Hoodie' Goes, 'Hoodlum' Follows

As American media comments on Trayvon Martin's death, the word "hoodlum" has spiked in usage.

Comments | 1,324 Views

By Eric Randall

Mar 9, 2012

New Jobs Numbers, Same White House Message

The White House greeted Friday's news that the economy added jobs in February with a sunny statement, one that ought to inspire a creeping sense of déjà vu.

Comments | 621 Views

By Eric Randall

Jan 26, 2012

Mitt Romney: The Picture Frame Candidate

Romney's joke on Letterman last year that "I'm the guy in the photo that comes in your picture frame," seems to be on everyone's mind this month.

Comments | 2,501 Views

By Eric Randall

Jan 5, 2012

How the GOP Found Some Capitalism It Doesn't Like

To criticize President Obama, Mitt Romney has taken up a seemingly odd application of one of the Democrats' favorite attacks on George W. Bush.

Comments | 3,138 Views

By Eric Randall

Dec 12, 2011

Romney's Mitts Might Always Be Off

"The Mitts come off" appears to be a simple infusion of two things journalists love: Mitt Romney puns and perennial political phrases.

Comments | 392 Views

By Eric Randall

Nov 11, 2011

Newtmentum Can Be a Good or Bad Thing

Newt Gingrich's supporters have ironically reclaimed an already ironic pun.

Comments | 496 Views

By Eric Randall

Nov 3, 2011

Jay Carney's Not The Only One Misquoting the Bible

Yesterday, White House fact checkers sought to disprove the falsehoods put forward by ... the White House.

Comments | 4,373 Views

By Eric Randall

Nov 2, 2011

The Greek Referendum Resembles a Sixth Grade History Class

Even 2,500 years after Ancient Athenians conceived of democracy, we can't stop talking about it, especially after the news broke that Greece decided to put Europe's rescue package up for a country-wide referendum.

Comments | 715 Views

By Eric Randall

Nov 1, 2011

Everyone on Wall Street Is Playing 'Heads I Win, Tails You Lose'

"Heads I win tails you lose," is an old game of rigged odds, but it's been getting a lot of play among this week's opinion writers, concerned as they are with the state of our financial industry.

Comments | 1,207 Views

By Eric Randall

Oct 31, 2011

The Great Debate: How 'Snowtober' Beat Out 'Snoctober'

Uniting news reports from across the east coast, Weather.com declared this weekend's storm, "a snowtober to remember." 

Comments | 345 Views

By Eric Randall

Oct 26, 2011

There's No End of 'Unsolicited Advice' for Occupy Wall Street

The cliche: Offering unsolicited advice is pretty much a pundit's job description, but when writing about Occupy Wall Street, they seem compelled to note that the protesters themselves do not actually seek their guidance.

Comments | 767 Views

By Eric Randall

Oct 25, 2011

America's Quest for a Postcard-Sized Tax Form

Rick Perry has become the latest candidate to embrace simplicity as a first principle, by proposing a flat-tax that is measured by its tax form rather than its policy merits.

Comments | 536 Views

By Eric Randall

Oct 24, 2011

The Ever Growing Herman Cain 'Boomlet'

"Boomlet," with its implicit sense of inevitable decline, has been a favorite word for Cain even when he polled in the single digits.

Comments | 471 Views

By Eric Randall

Oct 21, 2011

The 'Unflappable Romney' is Actually Somewhat Flappable

An unusually silly sounding word has become the preferred way to describe the GOP front-runner.

Comments | 733 Views

By Eric Randall

Oct 20, 2011

We All Get the Irony of Groupon Grouponing Itself

Yes, a site that specializes in daily deals has lowered the price of its own IPO, but is there a fresher joke to be made?

Comments | 852 Views

By Eric Randall

Oct 19, 2011

Let's Stop Declaring Obama the Winner of GOP Debates

Maybe it was once clever to declare Obama the winner of a debate he didn't participate in, but the joke is not wearing well with repetition.

Comments | 691 Views

By Eric Randall

Oct 18, 2011

Take a Ride on the Republican Roller Coaster

The GOP primary race was all so flat and predictable, but then in August, it went on a wild ride.

Comments | 345 Views

By Eric Randall

Oct 7, 2011

Let's Kill All 'Cain Is Able' Puns

It's the current darling among a rash of puns on the Hermanator's name.

Comments | 1,518 Views

By Eric Randall

Oct 6, 2011

A Linguistic Consensus on Steve Jobs: Visionary

The most popular descriptor of Apple's CEO says a lot about him.

Comments | 2,234 Views

By Eric Randall

Oct 4, 2011

Press Goes Apple Picking in Zuccotti Park

Occupy Wall Street protesters face charges of hypocrisy for using pricey laptops

Comments | 1,010 Views

By Eric Randall

Sep 29, 2011

Techies All Agree: Jeff Bezos = Steve Jobs

The two CEOs have much in common, but tech reporters weren't always so sure.

Comments | 5,203 Views

By Eric Randall

Sep 28, 2011

Pundits Have a 'Messiah' Complex with the GOP

It's the favorite way to talk about the Republican fantasies of a perfect 2012 nominee

Comments | 345 Views

By Eric Randall

Sep 23, 2011

Debates Pull Rick Perry From Orbit

As a research satellite falls to Earth, so too, does Perry, pundits say.

Comments | 1,450 Views

By Eric Randall

Sep 21, 2011

'Stark Ideological Divides' Are Getting Starker

One phrase proves a perennial predictor of the nation's mood.

Comments | 506 Views

By Eric Randall

Sep 16, 2011

Why Science Keeps Rediscovering 'Star Wars'

Astronomers have a well-worn strategy for making headlines

Comments | 1,791 Views

By Eric Randall

Sep 15, 2011

Bleak, Bleak, Blech

A new economic indicator? There's a favorite word to describe the world today

Comments | 121 Views

By Eric Randall

Sep 14, 2011

Rick Perry Is 'The Conservative Id'

The media gets all Freudian on the Texas governor.

Comments | 1,360 Views

By Eric Randall

Sep 13, 2011

'Pass This Bill' Is the New 'Yes We Can'

In listening to Obama's newest refrain, a familiar note

Comments | 611 Views

By Eric Randall

Sep 9, 2011

The 'Death of Irony,' and Its Many Reincarnations

An investigation into just who declared irony dead in the wake of 9/11/2001.

Comments | 4,151 Views

By Eric Randall

Sep 8, 2011

America's Eyes Have Been on Rick Perry for Months Now

Remember, what's cliché before a debate remains cliché after the debate too.

Comments | 471 Views

By Eric Randall

Sep 7, 2011

Wall Street Women Added to the Endangered Species List

Overused metaphor puts the women of finance alongside pandas and bald eagles

Comments | 1,108 Views

By Eric Randall

Sep 6, 2011

The Familiar Terrain of 'Uncharted Territory'

The current market turmoil has found its favorite catchphrase

Comments | 426 Views

By Eric Randall

Sep 1, 2011

The Great Scheduling 'Kerfuffle' of 2011

Journalists settle on a rather silly word for a rather silly story

Comments | 536 Views

By Eric Randall

Aug 30, 2011

Everyone Agrees: Hurricane Irene Came on a 'Dark and Stormy Night'

Multiple uses of this well-used cliché in the wake of the storm are becoming, well, cliché

Comments | 92 Views

By Eric Randall

Aug 26, 2011

'Come On Irene'? Come On, Guys

People might be making a "Come on Eileen" pun, or they might be confused

Comments | 1,561 Views

By Eric Randall

Aug 25, 2011

Steve Jobs Is Thomas Edison

Most everyone compared the Apple CEO to Edison today. It wasn't always a compliment

Comments | 3,104 Views

By Eric Randall

Aug 23, 2011

Saif al-Islam Qaddafi's Fashionable Deception

The dictator's son apparently fooled us all with his blindingly well-tailored suits

Comments | 2,674 Views

By Eric Randall

Aug 22, 2011

Rick Perry Can't Stop Shooting From the Hip

Decidedly non-Texan journos love the language of the Western

Comments | 2,957 Views

By Eric Randall

Aug 18, 2011

When the President's Away, the Journalists Will... Talk About 'Optics'

Each time the Obamas go to the Vineyard, a clinical phrase gets an unusual amount of play

Comments | 599 Views

By Eric Randall

Aug 17, 2011

Obama's Bus Joins the Dark Side

Pundits love calling Obama's new ride the "Darth Vader bus"

Comments | 4,196 Views

By Eric Randall

Aug 16, 2011

Journalists Really Took to the Word 'Devastating'

A Parliamentary committee's characterization of Murdoch revelations took hold

Comments | 151 Views

By Eric Randall

Aug 15, 2011

The Origins of the 'Texas Miracle'

Chalk up another similarity between Rick Perry and George W. Bush

Comments | 1,517 Views

By Eric Randall

Aug 12, 2011

GOP Debate Draws Metaphors From Hockey, Not Boxing

"Gloves come off" versus "drop the gloves"

Comments | 247 Views

By Eric Randall

Aug 11, 2011

The Mitt Romney Puns Are Out of Control

Riffs on Romney's name are becoming an epide-mitt!

Comments | 1,724 Views

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