Phrased & Confused by Eli Burnstein is out today. Thanks to Burnstein for joining us for Episode 96, and to everyone in the room. www.abramsbooks.com/product/phra... #ThatWordChat

Phrased & Confused has a UK edition, with a few vocabulary shifts. Tidbits became titbits. Persnickety became pernickety. And the median became the central reservation. #ThatWordChat

Burnstein also runs Spelling Bae, an adult but beginner-friendly spelling bee. For years it was a monthly bar event, first in Toronto, then a bit in London. #ThatWordChat

Guilt tends to be about what we did or didn't do. Shame tends to be about who we are or aren't. You might feel ashamed of your flabby muscles and guilty for not going to the gym. #ThatWordChat

A heavier, more abstract example: shame vs. guilt. The words can overlap, and words have multiple senses, so Burnstein looks only at the senses that could be confused or conflated. #ThatWordChat

Still, if you want to be extra crisp in your writing, you can use these "vestigial distinctions." We may still hear them, even if not consciously. "Crisp writing is a kind of whole body experience." #ThatWordChat

Case in point: convince vs. persuade. Time was, you'd persuade someone to do something but convince them to believe it. Persuade them to vote. Convince them of the importance of voting. #ThatWordChat

Burnstein says any book on language is a snapshot. You can't predict how things will shift, "nor do you want to be too kind of persnickety" about battles already lost. #ThatWordChat

Burnstein's other love is humor writing. The common denominator is a love of language and wordplay. Humor writers are always thinking about setups and punchlines, reading language in a very close-reader way. #ThatWordChat

He peeled back everything he could doubt, like sense perceptions, memories, beliefs, and even his own body. Eventually he reached the one thing he couldn't doubt, the very fact that he was doubting. Hence, "I think, therefore I am." #ThatWordChat

Our fallibility gave Descartes pause. Anything he looked at could be an illusion, and he could be dreaming right now. So, if it can be doubted, doubt it. #ThatWordChat

Most of us have heard it and could probably guess at much of its meaning. René Descartes, the 17th-century philosopher, reflected on how often he'd been mistaken. #ThatWordChat

We asked about "I think, therefore I am," which opens the book. Burnstein says its interest lies partly in what it means, "but I think more importantly why it matters." #ThatWordChat

It became "a victim of its own success." The line escaped its origins, and many people don't know where it comes from. That's why it's a registered trademark of Texas transportation officials, who want it understood as an anti-littering message. #ThatWordChat

Roadside littering was rampant, so an ad agency was brought in and came up with the line. There was some hesitation at first, perhaps because it seemed a little too edgy. It was an overwhelming success. #ThatWordChat

"Don't mess with Texas." It's commonly thought to be a bit of Texan swagger, but it began as an anti-littering campaign, with a play on the word "mess." #ThatWordChat

In context, it's closer to: stop worrying about tomorrow and enjoy today, "because that alone is ripe for the picking." Hence "pluck the day" or "harvest the day." #ThatWordChat

What Horace had in mind was far less heroic, with less bravado than "seize the day" suggests. We tend to read it as reject mediocrity, grab the bull by the horns. #ThatWordChat

“Carpe diem,” commonly translated as “seize the day.” According to Latin experts, “pluck the day” is more accurate. #ThatWordChat

But in Fitzgerald's day, plays typically had three acts, not two. He meant there are no middle acts. In the Roaring '20s, American life seemed so bounteous you could skip the hard part and "tap dance straight to success." #ThatWordChat