About Rob Kyff

Rob Kyff

Rob Kyff

Rob Kyff is the language columnist for the Hartford Courant, as well as a teacher, editor and writer. His column  appears regularly in several newspapers across the country.

A native of Armonk, N.Y., Kyff earned a BA at Amherst College and an MA in American Studies at the University of Minnesota. In Minneapolis, he served as director of public information for a social-service agency and edited the employee magazine for a national retail chain.

He has taught English and history at Kingswood-Oxford School in West Hartford since 1977 and also served as the school's director of public affairs, editor of its alumni magazine and advisor to the student newspaper.

His essays have appeared in many newspapers, including the Washington Post,

Chicago Tribune, Boston Globe and Baltimore Sun, and his articles have appeared in Reader's Digest,American History and Northeast. He contributed to

Speaking Freely -- A guided Tour of American English from Plymouth Rock to Silicon Valley, published by Oxford University Press in 1997.

He has published two books: Word Up! - A Lively Look at English (Writers Club Press, 2000) and Once Upon a Word - True Tales of Word Origins (Tapestry Press, 2003).

He lives in West Hartford, Conn., with his family.

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'Verban Legends' Clog Arteries of the Internet Mar 18, 2026

You've probably encountered a rather macabre treatise titled "Life in the 1500s," a ghastly goulash of completely false etymologies that's been sludging through the arteries of the Internet for decades. I suppose there's no harm in chuckling at this ... Read More

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Subjects and Verbs Agree to Disagree Mar 11, 2026

Politics are so polarized these days — or should that be politics IS so polarized? — that it's hard to reach an agreement on anything. Don't believe me? Try this quiz on subject-verb agreement: No. 1: Bad weather is one of the many proble... Read More

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Fear and Loathing in Las Verbiage Mar 04, 2026

A few years back, a newspaper story reported that Janet Jackson "was loathe to admit" her loss of a role in an upcoming movie. Jackson's infamous "wardrobe malfunction" is now a distant mammary, but this misuse of "loathe" cannot be covered up. "Loat... Read More

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Hi-Yo, 'Silver Bullet'! Feb 25, 2026

"AI Fires Silver Bullet for Creating New Life," read a recent newspaper headline. The story below it reported that molecular scientists are using AI to design new organisms that destroy lethal bacteria such as Escherichia coli. Let's send that... Read More