This headline in my community newspaper made me think twice: Growing area not in DOT plan. Nothing is wrong in… Read more »
Posts Categorized: Vocabulary
Check out the new Grammar Guide quiz
I’ve posted a new quiz (No. 75) that has six multiple-choice questions and four fill-in-the-blank questions with images. All have… Read more »
Keep an eye out for “double-take words”
A former colleague who writes for a newspaper recently posted on Facebook about a reader’s harsh voice mail message pointing out a typo in… Read more »
Try a new Grammar Guide quiz (No. 74 with images)
I have a new Grammar Guide quiz for you to try, No. 74. This one is fill-in-the-blank. You’ll see some… Read more »
Keep your resources close
Someone who is part of a LinkedIn group for “grammar geeks” posted this question (slightly edited): What do people think… Read more »
Let’s get ready to wrangle — er, wangle?
I am creating a grammar/usage game in a quiz show format to present at my workplace. It’s just for fun,… Read more »
Check out the new Grammar Guide quiz (inspired by good usage)
I often use published mistakes for my Grammar Guide quizzes, but today I was inspired by writers and editors who… Read more »
Know the idioms
Even native speakers have problems with English idioms. A colleague told me of crossed signals from a misused idiom. An… Read more »
We often accidentally let this one go
I have seen this nonstandard spelling more than once: But investigators say Furey had actually been showing the boy the… Read more »
If you see something, say something: The copy editor’s code
The first sentence in a recent news story in the Clayton News-Star, the community newspaper that is delivered to my… Read more »
Sometimes it’s just a spelling error — Quiz No. 68
John McIntyre wrote recently in his You Don’t Say blog about whether an incorrect spelling could be considered a typo… Read more »
Irregular verbs: Splitting from or clinging to old forms
A verb in a newspaper report sent me to the dictionary and usage books. Presbyterian churches around Charlotte now face… Read more »
Word choice quiz: More tricky sentences
I’ve run across some interesting examples of confused words lately. Sometimes, even in context, these sentences can be quite challenging…. Read more »
Tricky word usage quiz: Distinctions you might know
My new job requires me to use The Economist Style Guide for some of the copy I edit. Today as… Read more »
Talking like my generation: apoplectic
Presidential adviser David Axelrod described President Obama as “apoplectic” about General Services Administration spending. I think Axelrod was showing his… Read more »
The questioning editor: Isn’t it ironic? No, it’s not
Copy editors can help writers by questioning the logic of a passage or the use of a word. Writers often… Read more »
Hey, use a dictionary, kids
The UNC-Chapel Hill School of Journalism and Mass Communication has decided to drop the spelling portion of a test of… Read more »
Good usage: Home in vs. hone in
This sentence from a piece by Frank Bruni in the New York Times illustrates the standard use of “home” in… Read more »
What will the Word of the Year be?
The American Dialect Society will choose its Word of the Year today. Here is the list of nominees. I like… Read more »