Joe McVeigh
LightNews LightNews
banner
eviljoemcveigh.com
Joe McVeigh
@eviljoemcveigh.com
510 followers 410 following 520 posts
I'm a linguist & sr lecturer at Metropolia Uni. PhD in linguistics and marketing. I like #language & #linguistics, hockey, baseball and comic books - but maybe not in that order :)

https://eviljoemcveigh.com
Posts Replies Media Videos
eviljoemcveigh.com
Top 10 songs about "defenestration":

1. "Out the window" by the Violent Femmes
2. ...

Uh, that's all I got. I'll have to get back to you on this.
October 3, 2026 at 8:40 AM
Reposted by Joe McVeigh
petersokolowski.bsky.social
September 29, 2026 at 1:42 PM
eviljoemcveigh.com
Friends, I have just come across this insane chart in a book on research methods for students. The authors are calling Feminism a "fad".
Image shows a chart which appears to show that feminist articles over time have decreased, which apparently means that Feminism is a fad. The text in the chart says "Feminism as a way of seeing the world (like social constructivism) has been described as simply "wrong-headed to start with". The empirical evidence to support it has always been highly selective. It was a great "home" for the chattering middle classes in the rich countries who had more time on their hands than sense - working class women were just too busy working and they have always been excluded from any real "feminist" concern."
September 23, 2026 at 1:47 PM
Reposted by Joe McVeigh
emilymbender.bsky.social
From @timnitgebru.blacksky.app and me on what we should take from the 2026 summer of AI hype:

www.technologyreview.com/2026/09/22/1...
Don’t be fooled by this summer of AI hype
Breathless claims about AGI and new capabilities fall apart pretty quickly under scrutiny.
www.technologyreview.com
September 22, 2026 at 1:00 PM
eviljoemcveigh.com
Here's a flat adverb appearing in the @avcx.bsky.social crossword. What a great clue.
Picture shows a crossword grid. Clue: Fast, perhaps (but not rapid) Answer: Adverb
September 21, 2026 at 7:55 PM
Reposted by Joe McVeigh
jessesword.com
The NYT tells you why people shouldn't use a #dictionary to find out what words mean.

www.nytimes.com/2026/09/17/m...
Sorry, Webster. Most People Don’t Want Internet Slang in the Dictionary.
Static definitions of “rizz,” “goblin mode” and “beige flag” don’t easily explain the words’ meanings. But we could use reference formats that do.
www.nytimes.com
September 18, 2026 at 2:53 PM
eviljoemcveigh.com
I can't remember where I found this image (LinkedIn probably), but it's some AI slop about linguistics and it is hot garbage. Check out where German words come from (Turkey lol). Check out the Old Norse coming from... Ireland.
Image is AI slop showing an incorrect map of Europe, North Africa and the Middle East. The map purports to show where words come from, but misplaces them on the map. German is in Turkey, Swedish is in Ukraine. It's tough to tell because the map is wrong.
September 18, 2026 at 9:49 AM
Reposted by Joe McVeigh
comicsxf.com
Dr. Anna Peppard pays tribute to the late Gloria Steinem with a look at how the feminist icon viewed another feminist icon: Wonder Woman.
An imperfect hero’s imperfect hero: On Gloria Steinem and Wonder Woman
Dr. Anna Peppard pays tribute to the late Gloria Steinem with a look at how the feminist icon viewed another feminist icon: Wonder Woman.
comicsxf.com
September 14, 2026 at 4:00 PM
eviljoemcveigh.com
I'm teaching paragraph structure to my students this week and I can't wait to show them this mess. Topic sentence? Fuck you.
jack-bailey.co.uk Jack Bailey @jack-bailey.co.uk · 25d
As a result, it's hard to know what "hyperpolitics" really means. You have to chase it down. Of course, that makes it hard to argue against because the author can just say "you haven't understood it". E.g. here's the thesis statement, which does not define hyperpolitics at all.
This essay ventures a tentative definition, through the lens of what I term "hyperpolitics." The concept is meant to make sense of what comes after the mass politics of the short twentieth century (1914-1989), the postpolitics of the "very long" 1990s (1989-2008), and the antipolitics of the 2010s. Attention will also be given to a range of adjacent political forms, from populism to technocracy to millennial socialism. None of these morphologies is exhaustive of the period in which it arose-periodization is rarely so neat-while a vast corpus of empirical studies could be marshaled to evaluate each. Only a small selection will be discussed here. Hyperpolitics denotes a tendency rather than a totalizing style. Nevertheless, this book argues that it constitutes a gravitational pole in the force field of twenty-first century poli-tics. As such, it is indispensable for understanding the dynamics of mobilization and contestation that determine the contemporary scene. But these can only be grasped when situated in a longer history, linking past and present in an effort of patient distantiation.
September 14, 2026 at 7:57 PM
eviljoemcveigh.com
[Santa's little helper wheels by with a collar blocker]
Grandpa Simpson: Hey, the lamp's running away!

This made me laugh so hard that I understood comedy.
gailsimone.bsky.social Gail Simone @gailsimone.bsky.social · 25d
Question of the day!

What is the funniest single line in Simpsons history?
The Simpsons Happy Dance Disco
Alt: The Simpsons Happy Dance Disco
static.klipy.com
September 14, 2026 at 7:44 PM
Reposted by Joe McVeigh
jrkasstan.bsky.social
Rosen does historical #linguistics this week!
michaelrosenyes.bsky.social Michael Rosen @michaelrosenyes.bsky.social · Sep 1
Find out about the Anglo-Norman roots of English with:
September 1, 2026 at 10:00 PM
eviljoemcveigh.com
Unions create barriers (several adult buffalo protecting the young) We prefer direct communication with our team members (Buffalo alone, getting eaten by lions)
August 29, 2026 at 8:43 AM
eviljoemcveigh.com
Fair enough, @puzzmo.com. The word I was looking for was "meeces"
August 28, 2026 at 1:43 PM
Reposted by Joe McVeigh
jmkorhonen.fi
What the most right wing government in Finnish history promised: 100 000 new jobs, reduced government debt

What the most right wing government in Finnish history delivered: 100 000 new poor, greatly increased government debt
anttihaataja.bsky.social Antti Haataja @anttihaataja.bsky.social · Aug 18
Ei tullut 100 000 työpaikkaa.
Tuli 100 000 köyhää.
August 18, 2026 at 7:47 AM
eviljoemcveigh.com
August 8, 2026 at 3:47 PM
eviljoemcveigh.com
I saw that new Spider-Man movie and he had a Mets poster on his wall, which is how they show the audience that he's an antihero. Maybe a villain.
August 8, 2026 at 10:17 AM
eviljoemcveigh.com
Just in time for this semester, I have updated my AI policy. The main idea remains the same (no AI in my classes). But now there are more sources (many more unfortunately).

Feel free to reuse, adapt and share!

docs.google.com/document/d/1...
AI policy and guidelines - Joe McVeigh.docx
You are strictly prohibited from using Generative AI (AI) or Large Language Models (LLMs) for research or writing assignments, including ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, Copilot, Grammarly and Grok. Any submi...
docs.google.com
August 7, 2026 at 10:13 AM
eviljoemcveigh.com
Did Bony Meloni write this?
July 22, 2026 at 4:06 PM
eviljoemcveigh.com
Ok, beers drank. Sauna heated. Sun... not set! Hyvää juhannusta, kaverit. Let's dunk on some bad linguistics.

You probably already know this op-ed is lazy and stupid. But why is it lazy and stupid? I’m glad you asked!
bsky.app/profile/theg...
June 20, 2026 at 8:42 PM
eviljoemcveigh.com
How many seconds into an interview with this guy until he uses "like" or any of the other words he's blaming everyone else for? 🙄 I'm guessing under 10. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
The hill I will die on: I really don’t like ‘like’ – or other imprecise and redundant speech | Louis de Bernières
Junk speak, like junk food, encourages verbal littering. It has to be one of the worst things about life in Britain, says author Louis de Bernières
www.theguardian.com
June 15, 2026 at 8:48 AM
Reposted by Joe McVeigh
jenniraikkonen.fi
Researchers using corpus-based approaches to the study of English:

Welcome to the ICAME48 conference in Helsinki in May 2027!

Follow our BlueSky account @icame48.bsky.social and our website (see the link in comments) for updates.

The CfP will soon be published. #ICAME48
June 10, 2026 at 9:56 AM
Reposted by Joe McVeigh
richardkadrey.bsky.social
The Punisher sticker we've needed all along
You're not The Punisher You're a white supremacist who didn't read the comics
June 9, 2026 at 8:34 PM
Reposted by Joe McVeigh
michaelerard.bsky.social
Readers of Bluesky, the cover of my next book. #langsky #booksky #language #journalism
at the top, in a serif font, The Language Beat, Michael Erard, and at the bottom the subtitle, Essays and Reporting on Language and Life, with a blurb from Onze Taal. In between is a sea of blue quotation marks atop which rides a small black and white boat
June 2, 2026 at 11:48 AM
Reposted by Joe McVeigh
matthewjkuiper.bsky.social
The whole “restoring trust in higher ed” discussion falters in precisely the same way as Dems’ “if we listen, do good governance, and take the high road, we’ll win them over.”

No you won’t. You can’t. You’ve misdiagnosed the nature of their “distrust.” 1/
April 29, 2026 at 12:11 PM
eviljoemcveigh.com
Latest book review from our puppy and it's a savage one
Picture shows a ripped up book and a puppy looking adorably guilty.
June 5, 2026 at 10:55 AM