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How to read Beowulf (and actually enjoy it)
It’s not really about the monsters
May 27
•
Colin Gorrie
154
13
25
The ancient logic of “snuck”
Bad grammar or living fossil of Proto-Germanic?
May 13
•
Colin Gorrie
166
45
29
The Canterbury Commute
Verses composed in Middle English while waiting for the 7:42 train
Apr 29
•
Colin Gorrie
183
30
10
Why you should read Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
This spring’s book club pick
Apr 15
•
Colin Gorrie
216
20
13
Why the verb “to be” is so irregular
The answer is six thousand years old
Apr 1
•
Colin Gorrie
348
67
45
No, Shakespeare didn’t invent those words
Bias, evidence, and the Oxford English Dictionary
Mar 18
•
Colin Gorrie
248
19
26
Leave the em-dash alone
This writing panic has a 500-year precedent
Mar 4
•
Colin Gorrie
357
85
84
How far back in time can you understand English?
An experiment in language change
Feb 18
•
Colin Gorrie
4,312
409
682
Etymology is a growth industry
One year of the Dead Language Society
Feb 4
•
Colin Gorrie
140
56
11
Scots, English, and the linguistic uncanny valley
English’s fascination with its closest cousin
Jan 21
•
Colin Gorrie
170
32
12
The dead language tier list
What I learned studying 7 historical languages
Jan 7
•
Colin Gorrie
332
67
40
“Christmas” is a weird word
Merry Sending of the Smeared One!
Dec 24, 2025
•
Colin Gorrie
158
25
18
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