Can you hear it in your head? There must be …

“50 Ways to Leave Your Lover”

I wonder if Paul Simon had any idea when he wrote that song how many ways the title would be modified and reused. More than 20 years after the song’s 1975 release, a magazine gave me an assignment to write “50 Ways to Save Money in Your Business.”

Of course, not every “XX ways to [do whatever]” article is based on Simon’s bouncy melody and rhythmic lyrics. Using numbered lists has long been a popular format for both titles and articles.

I don’t know if Maeve Maddox was humming when she wrote “30 Ways to Say, ‘You’re Stupid’” for DailyWritingTips.com, but I was grinning when I read:

“In researching insults in general, I came to realize that English provides an astounding number of ways to show contempt for our fellow creatures.”

Maddox doesn’t just list the words, she explains them—and you might be surprised at how these insults evolved. For example, I didn’t know that ignoramus is Latin for “we do not know” and began as a legal term. Or that bozo as a slur didn’t come from Bozo the clown.

Bookmark “30 Ways to Say, ‘You’re Stupid’” by Maeve Maddox so you can sound even smarter the next time you want to tell someone they’re dumb.

Jacquelyn Lynn
Follow me
Latest posts by Jacquelyn Lynn (see all)