When I pick up a ringing phone and hear the caller ask to speak with Pam Nelson, I say, “This… Read more »
Posts Categorized: Uncategorized
None, not one, not any — nary a one
The word “none” gives us fits. Many people were taught that “none” is always singular. Indeed, if you think of… Read more »
Fit the bill?
I have come across “fit the bill” a few times lately. The expression, which means that something is just right,… Read more »
Sick about it
I ran across a quote that used the word “nauseous,” as in “Even the thought of broccoli makes me nauseous.”… Read more »
Are you eager or anxious?
Writers and speakers sometimes mix up “eager” and “anxious.” Here is a sentence from a wire service story about a… Read more »
Something phony
I saw part of a good old movie this morning, “Nothing Sacred.” The movie, made in 1937, is a caustic… Read more »
What “decimate” means
In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and other natural disasters, writers and broadcasters used the word “decimated” to describe the… Read more »
Lend an ear
A reader sent a note about this headline from the Sept. 16 City & State section : Grahams loan home… Read more »
The South — where modals are doubled
Most of us probably don’t remember precise moments when we learned something. I remember the feeling of my uncle guiding… Read more »
Baffling punctuation
I found this on a business card. The mistake leaves me baffled. Why did the folks get “his” correct and… Read more »
I’ll go first
In my last post, I solicited examples of faulty grammar and misspelled words in teachers’ and parents’ notes. It’s only… Read more »
It’s “its”
Sometimes you have to look at the glass as half full. On this Web page, a group is correctly referred… Read more »
A cohort is a group
I came across the word “cohorts” in a story the other day. Fans of “The Stephanie Miller Show,” heard weekdays… Read more »
That’s a big word
The word “floccinaucinihilipilification” shows up today in Matt Ehlers’ story about a rock ‘n’ roll camp for girls. One of… Read more »
Is it dove or dived?
The word “dove” as the past tense of “dive” always looks odd to me. I am more likely to use… Read more »
A matter of style: dos and don’ts
A headline in Saturday’s Home & Garden section prompts this note about style. The headline Chi do’s and don’ts falls… Read more »
Those pesky apostrophes
This sign is at the intersection of N.C. 42 and N.C. 96 South, north of Selma. (My husband spotted the… Read more »
Cotton is nigh
The verb in this sentence from a 1A story today delights me: But newer neighbors do not cotton to Williams’… Read more »
Jive talking
Oooh, now that my headline has infected your brain with a bad Bee Gees song (a redundancy?), let’s talk about… Read more »
Apostrophe in the wrong place
My son spotted this billboard along Interstate 95 between Smithfield and Fayetteville. He took this photo while I was driving… Read more »
Reticence is golden
The words “reticent” and “reticence” are sometimes misused. To be reticent is to be disinclined to speak. You may think… Read more »
Come again?
As a headline writer, I am sympathetic to those whose mistakes are printed in 42 point type for all the… Read more »
Temps are down
The N&O staff has done a good job of covering the oppressive heat this week. Public Editor Ted Vaden noted… Read more »
But is it ironic?
Irony is a hard concept to explain. I think people understand it when they see “Romeo and Juliet,” for instance…. Read more »
Contemplating a bust
I was struck today the use of “bust” as a noun and a verb in today’s (July 24) paper. The… Read more »