People who have worked hard at perfecting their writing and language use sometimes cringe when they read or hear what… Read more »
Posts By: Pam Nelson
Can you feel what I feel? Empathy's adjective
A reader sent me an e-mail message about word usage in a caption that appeared on the Sports front This… Read more »
Arguing with idioms: Batten down the hatches
A quote in a New York Times story that The N&O used in print inspired my latest idiom research. Here… Read more »
Word choices we have to make: Grammar Guide quiz
Copy editors learn early in their training to distinguish commonly confused words. Stylebooks and writing manuals have entries and lists… Read more »
Sometimes grass is only sleeping: Chinglish in translation
The New York Times has an interesting article about a commission’s efforts in Shanghai to make public signs and menus… Read more »
Words you see only in headlines
I am a copy editor, and as part of that job, I write headlines. Last week, I wrote this headline,… Read more »
On my bookshelf: "Garner's Modern American Usage"
I have mentioned that I have a bad habit of buying and collecting books on grammar and usage. For me,… Read more »
A head that causes head-scratching
A headline in the Sunday (March 28, 2010) Parade stopped me this morning. At first, a reader might think that… Read more »
Subject-verb agreement: The clause counts
A reader found fault with this sentence from a front-page story Sunday: This article was originally posted by the Raleigh… Read more »
What does "soup to nuts" mean?
An editor asked about "soup to nuts," which appeared in this story. It means from beginning to end or the… Read more »