Save the Semicolon

Due to some very silly conversations I’ve had recently, I looked up this post that I had written for another blog a few years ago. Since it relates tangentially to writing, I thought I’d post it here. If you’ve already read it, well, read it again! Chaucer with an American accent Some people seem to [...]

From all the language pet peeves that I hear about, the phrase “I could care less” seems to peeve people the most. Well, let’s say it’s tied with “irregardless”….

I’ve posted before about the stages that a word goes through on the road from being considered incorrect to being considered above reproach. You know, at first it’s totally wrong, then time goes by, etc. etc., and you really should read the other post. Words like transpire (now meaning “happen,” if you’re trying to look smart); oxymoron (now meaning “contradiction [...]

I’m suddenly responsible for a bi-monthly newsletter that shall go nameless in these pages (at least until I’m no longer responsible for it). I wasn’t responsible for it when it mentioned that 2010 was the beginning of a new decade, but I do have to suffer the slings and arrows of outraged pedants. They want [...]

…as words go from being considered unacceptable (like “irregardless”) to being completely acceptable (like “finalize”), there are at least two phases….
Tomorrow, my copy of the third edition of Garner’s Modern American Usage will arrive…

Not sex, really, but words that refer to sexual acts. This Slate article, by the editor-at-large of the Oxford English Dictionary, sheds light on the difficulty of defining sexual words that some people would rather not see in the dictionary. And not just the words, but phrases that use those words in proper context. Don’t [...]

Not the basketball player, but the amazing Dr. Johnson (who has appeared before in these magical pages). Creator of the first modern English dictionary. Today he would be 300 years old and still bitching. Bitching, that is, in the most witty and quotable way. Go read some of his dictionary. Today’s word is pickapack, which [...]

The English language has (arguably) hit its million-word mark. See for yourself. [Thanks to @foliosociety]

photo credit: bambibabe48 Me: Could I have a couple of those widgets, please? Undefined Other: Sure! How many do you want? Me (internally): A COUPLE. Me: Two, please. And why doesn’t “a pair” start to mean “a few”?

“A person shooting a moose should make sure that their gun has more than one round in it.” “A person” is singular, but “their” is plural. Honestly? I don’t mind. English speakers have been doing the “they” trick for a long time, and complaining about it is actually the more recent development. But it is [...]