Q.172

This was a popular weekly column in the New York Times Magazine which discussed etymology, particularly of words in the news, the usage of words and grammar, and other related topics. It began in 1979 and was written by columnist William Safire. After his passing away in 2009, the mantle passed to the linguist Ben Zimmer.

The column breathed its last in Feb 2011, thanks to a change in editorship of the magazine. This has resulted in lots of protests by its loyal readers, and has resulted in the inevitable Facebook campaign to bring it back. The new editor has now indicated that there may be plans to revive the column in the future.

So what is the (simple) name of this column?

[+ Show Answer]

"On Language".