A headline from today's newspaper, "U.S. drops 'enemy combatant' label; detainees remain," made me curious about the suffixes in "combatant" and "detainee." The meanings of the suffixes play essential roles in the meanings of the words created.

Roy Blount Jr. has written the funniest usage book I've ever read.

A new book examines the words and terms that English has borrowed from other languages.