Lane Greene
@lanegreene.bsky.social
Editor and language guy at The Economist.
Author of Writing With Style: The Economist Guide (2023).
https://www.amazon.com/Writing-Style-Economist-Guide-Books/dp/1639364374
Author of Writing With Style: The Economist Guide (2023).
https://www.amazon.com/Writing-Style-Economist-Guide-Books/dp/1639364374
The former president of the Valencia region on whether he left lunch (yes, lunch) at 6:33pm or 7:07pm the day of the horrible floods last year.
There are big mistakes to point to, but the amazing part for us guiris is that leaving lunch at 6:30 or even 7:00 is not all that extraordinary.
There are big mistakes to point to, but the amazing part for us guiris is that leaving lunch at 6:30 or even 7:00 is not all that extraordinary.
📺TV EN DIRECTO | Mazón vuelve a dudar sobre la hora a la que salió de El Ventoro: "Es muy difícil para mí. Si me dice un notario que salí a las 18.33, pues podría ser. No, fue a las 19.07, pues también podría ser. No sabría decirle" tinyurl.com/mtadnete
November 17, 2025 at 10:44 AM
The former president of the Valencia region on whether he left lunch (yes, lunch) at 6:33pm or 7:07pm the day of the horrible floods last year.
There are big mistakes to point to, but the amazing part for us guiris is that leaving lunch at 6:30 or even 7:00 is not all that extraordinary.
There are big mistakes to point to, but the amazing part for us guiris is that leaving lunch at 6:30 or even 7:00 is not all that extraordinary.
A friend grading college papers is telling me that an essay in hand is so adorably incompetent in places it is making him like the author, who clearly didn't use AI.
I wonder if this is the future: flaws as proof of humanity? Hopefully flaws no AI could fake (as kids are already attempting...)
I wonder if this is the future: flaws as proof of humanity? Hopefully flaws no AI could fake (as kids are already attempting...)
November 14, 2025 at 11:00 AM
A friend grading college papers is telling me that an essay in hand is so adorably incompetent in places it is making him like the author, who clearly didn't use AI.
I wonder if this is the future: flaws as proof of humanity? Hopefully flaws no AI could fake (as kids are already attempting...)
I wonder if this is the future: flaws as proof of humanity? Hopefully flaws no AI could fake (as kids are already attempting...)
I am by inclination leery of animal-language claims, but I found this one elegant and cool enough to write this about it.
www.economist.com/science-and-...
www.economist.com/science-and-...
Sperm whales communicate with vowels
The clicks that the animals make share at least one property with human language
www.economist.com
November 13, 2025 at 4:25 PM
I am by inclination leery of animal-language claims, but I found this one elegant and cool enough to write this about it.
www.economist.com/science-and-...
www.economist.com/science-and-...
Doing Old English gives you a jillion stories like this, but I love that "churlish" comes from an innocent word, ceorl, meaning "free man". Its association with the lowest class of freemen led to a later taint of "boorish". But its base meaning of "free" links it to "Karl", & hence "Charles".
a man is standing in front of a chalkboard in a classroom with a skeleton in the background .
ALT: a man is standing in front of a chalkboard in a classroom with a skeleton in the background .
media.tenor.com
November 13, 2025 at 11:04 AM
Doing Old English gives you a jillion stories like this, but I love that "churlish" comes from an innocent word, ceorl, meaning "free man". Its association with the lowest class of freemen led to a later taint of "boorish". But its base meaning of "free" links it to "Karl", & hence "Charles".
Reposted by Lane Greene
The McRib is back, so I am required to link my (now-ancient) McRib story:
The McRib: Enjoy Your Symptom
How McDonald’s strange, seasonal sandwich explains the rest of its menu
www.theatlantic.com
November 11, 2025 at 5:54 PM
The McRib is back, so I am required to link my (now-ancient) McRib story:
Reposted by Lane Greene
The Economist’s Britain section is looking for a new political correspondent. We prize independent thought, a spirit of inquiry and initiative, and for this role in particular: gutsiness. Apply by November 17th
The Economist is hiring a Britain political correspondent
Join The Economist’s Britain team
econ.st
November 11, 2025 at 11:00 AM
The Economist’s Britain section is looking for a new political correspondent. We prize independent thought, a spirit of inquiry and initiative, and for this role in particular: gutsiness. Apply by November 17th
Reposted by Lane Greene
Yes! Oxford commas can often avoid ambiguity, but applying them across the board can create as many problems as it solves, usually by setting up a false parenthesis. They are certainly not always a good idea:
Also at the event were Cher, the president of Kazakhstan, and three sumo wrestlers.
Also at the event were Cher, the president of Kazakhstan, and three sumo wrestlers.
November 10, 2025 at 10:29 AM
Yes! Oxford commas can often avoid ambiguity, but applying them across the board can create as many problems as it solves, usually by setting up a false parenthesis. They are certainly not always a good idea:
Also at the event were Cher, the president of Kazakhstan, and three sumo wrestlers.
Also at the event were Cher, the president of Kazakhstan, and three sumo wrestlers.
Among many small things you learn in colloquial Spanish: a "colega" is a friend and "compañero" is a colleague, despite looking like they should be the other way around.
November 10, 2025 at 8:50 AM
Among many small things you learn in colloquial Spanish: a "colega" is a friend and "compañero" is a colleague, despite looking like they should be the other way around.
Amusing but misguided! An Oxford comma here would still leave open the interpretation that “Frankenstein” is a lavish legal drama starring Kim Kardashian.
November 9, 2025 at 3:56 PM
Amusing but misguided! An Oxford comma here would still leave open the interpretation that “Frankenstein” is a lavish legal drama starring Kim Kardashian.
I was delighted to review @dannybate.bsky.social's excellent "Why Q Needs U" in this week's Economist.
www.economist.com/culture/2025...
www.economist.com/culture/2025...
November 7, 2025 at 5:43 PM
I was delighted to review @dannybate.bsky.social's excellent "Why Q Needs U" in this week's Economist.
www.economist.com/culture/2025...
www.economist.com/culture/2025...
In case anyone was wondering “how nasty is Chega in Portugal?” the answer is below. The original poster is a member of parliament.
Este post da deputada Rita Maria é ilegal violando várias disposições legais portuguesas:
A imagem propaga mensagens xenófobas e islamofóbicas, associando uma religião específica a violência extrema e retratando mulheres muçulmanas de forma profundamente desumanizante.
Queixa feita ao X e ao MP.
A imagem propaga mensagens xenófobas e islamofóbicas, associando uma religião específica a violência extrema e retratando mulheres muçulmanas de forma profundamente desumanizante.
Queixa feita ao X e ao MP.
November 7, 2025 at 9:47 AM
In case anyone was wondering “how nasty is Chega in Portugal?” the answer is below. The original poster is a member of parliament.
Glad to see that "it's an invasion" is not the only available take.
The Guardian has a more measured take on this. (I will note that the first time I heard the word "ginger" used for a redhead was when The Spice Girls became famous, but now my kids use it all the time.)
Trash talk: why are UK kids using so many Americanisms?
British teachers report hearing more and more schoolchildren using US terms such as ‘candy’ and ‘diaper’ – and even speaking in an American accent. What’s going on?
www.theguardian.com
November 4, 2025 at 8:07 AM
Glad to see that "it's an invasion" is not the only available take.
It's moral panic time! I'm glad The Times had the sense to contact and quote @lynneguist.bsky.social but this (paywalled, sorry) piece nonetheless lets parents fret that Americanisms are "creeping in" and need to be "corrected" etc.
www.thetimes.com/uk/education...
www.thetimes.com/uk/education...
Trash-talking children are sounding like Americans, say teachers
Garbage, candy and apartment are Americanisms that are growing more popular among younger pupils
www.thetimes.com
November 3, 2025 at 5:42 PM
It's moral panic time! I'm glad The Times had the sense to contact and quote @lynneguist.bsky.social but this (paywalled, sorry) piece nonetheless lets parents fret that Americanisms are "creeping in" and need to be "corrected" etc.
www.thetimes.com/uk/education...
www.thetimes.com/uk/education...
People also don't understand what an economic catastrophe *deflation* is.
A lot of voters seem to have thought that Trump wouldn’t merely slow the rate of inflation, but that he would bring prices down, maybe back to where they were before the COVID spike.
www.nbcnews.com/politics/ele...
www.nbcnews.com/politics/ele...
November 3, 2025 at 8:43 AM
People also don't understand what an economic catastrophe *deflation* is.
This was a great column, but I want to add a footnote: the description of “hygge” was as *other people* adopted it—“turning every day into Christmas”—and not as Danes understand it. I wrote about Danes and real hygge here:
Hygge, but not as we know it
economist.com/1843/2016/12...
Hygge, but not as we know it
economist.com/1843/2016/12...
October 31, 2025 at 1:40 PM
This was a great column, but I want to add a footnote: the description of “hygge” was as *other people* adopted it—“turning every day into Christmas”—and not as Danes understand it. I wrote about Danes and real hygge here:
Hygge, but not as we know it
economist.com/1843/2016/12...
Hygge, but not as we know it
economist.com/1843/2016/12...
Was trying to find some music in the Portuguese town I'm in, and one of the top results was the purest AI slop. Fake pic, generic text, & recommendations—a music venue, a nightclub & a beach bar—that don't exist.
Feels like a real threat to Google.
adventurebackpack.com/vila-nova-de...
Feels like a real threat to Google.
adventurebackpack.com/vila-nova-de...
Vila Nova De Milfontes Nightlife: Top 8 Experiences
Experience Vila Nova De Milfontes nightlife with our top 8 recommendations for unforgettable evenings in this stunning coastal town.
adventurebackpack.com
October 29, 2025 at 4:21 PM
Was trying to find some music in the Portuguese town I'm in, and one of the top results was the purest AI slop. Fake pic, generic text, & recommendations—a music venue, a nightclub & a beach bar—that don't exist.
Feels like a real threat to Google.
adventurebackpack.com/vila-nova-de...
Feels like a real threat to Google.
adventurebackpack.com/vila-nova-de...
I don’t mind that they think tariffs are great as much I mind the gaslighting.
Just declare Reagan an amnesty-loving, abortion-tolerating, tax-raising
free-trading traitor to true conservatism and move along please.
Just declare Reagan an amnesty-loving, abortion-tolerating, tax-raising
free-trading traitor to true conservatism and move along please.
Re Smoot-Hawley tariffs: "The actual result was the Great Depression, the worst economic catastrophe in our history… Two years later, when I cast my first ballot for President, I voted for Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who opposed protectionism and called for the repeal of that disastrous tariff." /1
Ok, you don't want Ontario to quote that 1987 Reagan radio address? Fine. How about this 1988 one?
www.reaganlibrary.gov/archives/spe...
www.reaganlibrary.gov/archives/spe...
October 25, 2025 at 5:49 PM
I don’t mind that they think tariffs are great as much I mind the gaslighting.
Just declare Reagan an amnesty-loving, abortion-tolerating, tax-raising
free-trading traitor to true conservatism and move along please.
Just declare Reagan an amnesty-loving, abortion-tolerating, tax-raising
free-trading traitor to true conservatism and move along please.
Reposted by Lane Greene
Reposted by Lane Greene
President Trump has pardoned Binance founder Changpeng Zhao, whose crypto exchange has been boosting the Trump family's own crypto venture.
Exclusive | Trump Pardons Convicted Binance Founder
The pardon follows months of efforts by Changpeng Zhao to boost Trump crypto company
on.wsj.com
October 23, 2025 at 3:10 PM
President Trump has pardoned Binance founder Changpeng Zhao, whose crypto exchange has been boosting the Trump family's own crypto venture.
Reposted by Lane Greene
I enjoyed chatting with Terry Gross on NPR’s “Fresh Air” podcast this week. We discussed how tariffs, immigration, the AI boom and the labour market are affecting America’s economy—and the unpredictability of Donald Trump’s policies. Listen now: n.pr/47BJ5g5
October 23, 2025 at 10:11 AM
I enjoyed chatting with Terry Gross on NPR’s “Fresh Air” podcast this week. We discussed how tariffs, immigration, the AI boom and the labour market are affecting America’s economy—and the unpredictability of Donald Trump’s policies. Listen now: n.pr/47BJ5g5
Roman Jakobson is someone I've quoted almost more than any linguist for his observation that languages differ not so much in what they *can* express (all languages can say pretty much anything) but what they *must*, the different choices different languages force on you, which vary a lot.
С днем рождения, dear Roman 🥳
"If we wanted to characterise briefly the kind of thinking currently governing science in its most varied manifestations, we could not find a more fitting expression than structuralism."
🎙️ hiphilangsci.net/2021/06/01/p...
#Histlx #LinguisticQuotes
"If we wanted to characterise briefly the kind of thinking currently governing science in its most varied manifestations, we could not find a more fitting expression than structuralism."
🎙️ hiphilangsci.net/2021/06/01/p...
#Histlx #LinguisticQuotes
October 23, 2025 at 8:12 AM
Roman Jakobson is someone I've quoted almost more than any linguist for his observation that languages differ not so much in what they *can* express (all languages can say pretty much anything) but what they *must*, the different choices different languages force on you, which vary a lot.
This column is a fabulous example of something I try to teach in writing: try developing a metaphor consciously through a whole piece. Make your word choices consonant with it throughout. Stick the landing.
You'll remember the argument of this in five years because the metaphor is so good.
You'll remember the argument of this in five years because the metaphor is so good.
Column on the government’s Buckaroo! strategy - keep piling obligations and charges on certain sectors and hope they don’t kick you in the head. Housing, energy, pharma, immigrants…
economist.com/britain/2025...
economist.com/britain/2025...
Buckaroo! The British government’s favourite game
Heaping burdens on business works. Until business begins to buck
economist.com
October 23, 2025 at 8:06 AM
This column is a fabulous example of something I try to teach in writing: try developing a metaphor consciously through a whole piece. Make your word choices consonant with it throughout. Stick the landing.
You'll remember the argument of this in five years because the metaphor is so good.
You'll remember the argument of this in five years because the metaphor is so good.
AI, soon to put mathematicians out of work. You just got ratioed.
October 22, 2025 at 5:50 PM
AI, soon to put mathematicians out of work. You just got ratioed.
How did I *just* find out that JRR Tolkien worked on the "walrus" entry of the OED?
How did I only just learn that "walrus" was in Old English written the other way around—horshwæl—because it means "horse-whale"?
October 22, 2025 at 11:21 AM
How did I *just* find out that JRR Tolkien worked on the "walrus" entry of the OED?
How many of these can we do?
Journalists: "Guys, the tech bros have changed their algorithm and about 60% of you are being let go."
Academics: "Guys, you won the job lottery at 33 and you are unsackable even for gross incompetence at 60."
Journalists: "Guys, the tech bros have changed their algorithm and about 60% of you are being let go."
Academics: "Guys, you won the job lottery at 33 and you are unsackable even for gross incompetence at 60."
Ha! But also:
Journalists: what's the fee?
Academics: let me have the privilege of sharing a lifetime's knowledge and insight for free
Journalists: what's the fee?
Academics: let me have the privilege of sharing a lifetime's knowledge and insight for free
Me, talking about deadlines
Journaists: Can I have until midnight tonight?
Academics: I require an additional 16 months
Journaists: Can I have until midnight tonight?
Academics: I require an additional 16 months
October 22, 2025 at 9:39 AM
How many of these can we do?
Journalists: "Guys, the tech bros have changed their algorithm and about 60% of you are being let go."
Academics: "Guys, you won the job lottery at 33 and you are unsackable even for gross incompetence at 60."
Journalists: "Guys, the tech bros have changed their algorithm and about 60% of you are being let go."
Academics: "Guys, you won the job lottery at 33 and you are unsackable even for gross incompetence at 60."