language Tag

by Freddy Tran Nager, Founder of Atomic Tango + Avid Reader; photo by Micaela Parente on Unsplash… In this hive of scum and villainy we call the Internet, you’ve likely met all shades of dubious characters: trolls, stalkers, spies, Republicans. Here’s one group that’s not nearly as harmful but just as annoying…Read More

by Freddy Tran Nager, Founder of Atomic Tango + Amateur Neologist; word and illustration by Claire Barry… As a writer, I love learning new words and phrases. I recently came across “vegetarian inclined,” which describes omnivores who are eating less meat for health reasons. (Count me among them — and wow, do I miss bacon.) Then, the other night, I had a dream where an attractive woman tells me she likes men with “gypsy necks”: perfectly smooth flawless necks that look like “wisps of smoke that have been cut off.”Read More

By Freddy Tran Nager, Founder of Atomic Tango + Teacher of World Classes; photo by Greta Schölderle Møller on Unsplash… As yet another public service, I’ve identified a few words and phrases that have been so overused, misused, and abused that they no longer have any meaning. (Kind of like the joke in an average Saturday Night Live sketch.) These terms sound important without saying anything, which makes them ideal for press releases and political speeches…Read More

by Freddy Tran Nager, Founder of Atomic Tango + Part-Time Shark Jumper… Although Americans don’t manufacture much anymore, we still excel at making media, including entertainment and news. We give good hype, and the Internet brings it to the rest of the world 24/7. One problem: all this unfiltered Yankee content poses a linguistic challenge for people in other countries, even those fluent in English. That’s because Americans also excel at screwing with the language — and I’m not just talking about Miss South Carolina (warning: excruciating cringe-inducing video ahead)…Read More