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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Why Do We Call Food 'Grub'? Apr 29, 2026

THE WORD GUY BY ROB KYFF FOR RELEASE: APRIL 29, 2026 Why Do We Call Food 'Grub'? (Author's warning No. 1: If you're reading this column while eating breakfast, you might want to move on to the comics page.) Watching contestants on reality TV swallo... Read More

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Grill, Baby, Grill! Apr 22, 2026

Q: My husband and I disagree about the terms "grilling" and "drilling." If I'm "grilling/drilling" someone over a specific topic or, in other words, questioning him or her heavily on a subject, which is the correct word? — Puzzled A: Why do I f... Read More

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Reader 'Emotes' Over 'Burgling' of Nouns to Make Verbs Apr 15, 2026

A subhead for a recent New York Times story about the audit of a federal department read, "Auditors declined to opine on the agency's financial numbers." "O the Times! O the Customs!" emailed one of my readers, slyly alluding to Cicero's lament, "O T... Read More

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Anagrammatic Word Pairs Display 'Latent Talent' Apr 08, 2026

"I just commented to my husband," writes Bobbie Lehigh of Edwards, N.Y., "that it seems quite quiet here on the Oswegatchie River this afternoon. Hmmm ... 'quite quiet.' There must be other words that have the same letters and like to sit side by sid... Read More