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Pam Nelson: The Grammar Guide

 

Archive for July 2010

Number of comments in parentheses

27: What it was like to compete on "Jeopardy!"

I was a contestant on "Jeopardy!" The show aired Monday (July 26), so now I can write about what it was like. If you have recorded the show but haven't watched yet, I warn you that this post is one big spoiler. First, I didn't win $20,000. That was my score at the end of the game, but because I came in second, I will receive $2,000. The show used to give prizes for second and third place, but, as contestant producer Maggie Speak told the contestant group that I was in, the producers decided to give cash to[.....]

21: Grammar Guide on "Jeopardy!"

I got the chance to be a "Jeopardy!" contestant. If you watch Monday, July 26, you can see how I did. The show airs at 7 p.m. on WTVD in the Triangle. Check here to see when it airs in your area. I'll write more later about the experience.  This article was originally posted by the Raleigh News & Observer, a subsidiary of The McClatchy Co.; is posted here to provide continuity; and is copyright © 2011 The News & Observer Publishing Company, which reserves the right to remove this post.

20: Sarah Palin, "refudiate" and new words

Commentators are having a field day with Sarah Palin's use of "refudiate" in television appearance and in a Twitter post that has been deleted. Plenty of people are taking her to task for using a word that doesn't appear in any English dictionary. Some of those people are more concerned about her overall message than about that one word. But I write about language use, and I am more interested in the word than in the politics. As Language Log points out, Palin should have been set straight by her friends or staff before she was ridiculed by blogs[.....]