Column roundup

You can be a rock star in politics without being Bono. William Safire explains the phenomenon in his "On Language" column. Hillary Rodham Clinton, Barack Obama, Alan Greenspan -- they've all achieved rock star status.

In "The Word" column at the Boston Globe, Jan Freeman discusses figurative and literal uses of literally. When literal definitions shift, so can figurative ones. Are soldiers literally peppered with shrapnel? Can a piece of paper literally fly through the air?

And, despite the uninviting display type, this story on the evolution of hot had some interesting tidbits. Find out how "He was hot for Miss Kitty" became "Miss Kitty is hot."