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's latest book is Christian Business Almanac: The Ultimate Daily Guide for Kingdom-Driven Entrepreneurs and Leaders.
She is the author of the nonfiction books Simple Facts About Self-Publishing (Second Edition), Words to Work By: 31 devotions for the workplace based on the Book of Proverbs and Finding Joy in the Morning: You can make it through the night as well as the novel Choices (A Joyful Cup Story). With her husband, she is the co-creator of several coloring books for adults and the novelty My Book About series.
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