Over at Lingua Franca today, Ben Yagoda has presented an early candidate for the much deliberated, hotly contested Word of the Year, and his choice is smart. Why smart? He's not talking about smart ...

It’s not uncommon for people to assume the bigger the word, the smarter the person saying it is. Big words have a reputation for being used by only the most intelligent and professional individuals.

We all want to be perceived as smart, and there are some simple ways brilliant people show their intelligence without even ...