Funny. When we were kids, most of us heard and maybe said, “Sticks and stones will break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” You remember that, right? Then we grew up, and most of us learned that words…
Lie, Lay, Lain — These Words Are Such a Pain!
These verbs are the toughest words in the English language to master, probably because they are so much alike. And the forms sometimes show up in one of the other verbs . . . so how are we to know?…
Irregardless of What You May Think . . .
Well, this headline caught my eye, and I hope it catches yours, too! It’s the headline of a short article in The Atlantic concerning word usage. You might be surprised at the conversation the author had with the Editor at…
The Impotence of Proofreading
I keep reminding my readers to read what you’ve written! Spellcheck does only one thing well: it spells. It cannot and will not tell you that you’ve used a perfectly spelled word that is not the one you meant. I…
Money Down the Drain
OK, I know I’m a crank, but my crankiness has a purpose. Right now I’m banging my head against a wall — figuratively, although it may get literal — because I just read the first three paragraphs of a post…
Dr. Seuss Did What?
NERD (n. Slang) 1. A foolish, inept, or unattractive person. 2. A person who is single-minded or accomplished in scientific or technical pursuits but is felt to be socially inept. I stumbled across a posting on Twitter from the Dictionary.com…
The “Meaning” of Words
Have you ever noticed how much humor is rooted in culture and understanding of the local language? A word that means one thing to person A might mean something completely different to person B. An expression that might horrify one…
English is a “Confuzzling” Language!
I am always amazed that anyone can learn English — with all its nuances, regionalisms, and jargon — especially considering how many words have multiple meanings. In this wonderfully silly cartoon, the focus is on “make” and “go,” each of…
When is it “Then”?
Surprisingly, I am not the only one on the Internet trying to set things straight in terms of American grammar and usage. And as I have written before, it’s terribly easy to mistake one word for another in English!. In…
What’s Your Choice?
Ever since I went to work as a professional speaker / seminar leader with Fred Pryor Seminars in 1995, I have been delighted by the ability of each of us to forge our own path, to reshape our own life.…
Are you a Critic . . . or a Coach?
Did you see Bernard Marr’s latest blog on words we shouldn’t use in e-mail? Here’s the link. Awesome piece, by the way. I agree completely with his point of reframing even negative information and using positive words. I just want to…
Surprise! The English Language is Evolving!
A few days ago, I shared an article written by Oliver Kamm in The Wall Street Journal on “Proper English.” I had hoped it would spark a few comments, and boy, has it ever done that! Who knew so many…
Swear Words. Nasty Words. Hurtful Words. Labels.
Funny (?) how we so often don’t actually say a “bad” word, but we say or write something like “that ‘b’ word” or even worse. Do we all know which word is not being said? Of course we do. But…
Blog Bloopers: Headline Horrors
Every time I read a blog, I learn something. Most of the time, I’m knocked sideways by how smart the blogger is! I often ask myself, “How does he or she KNOW that? I don’t understand that topic at all.”…
April Fool!
Moribund Metaphors & Wretched Redundancies
The words and phrases below are all courtesy of The Dimwit’s Dictionary (free download), which I’ve had in the paperback edition since 1994, the year it was written. There have been a couple of updates, but you know what? This…
Wednesday’s Words & Woes
There are enough weird things going on the world that no one needs to make anything up. All we need to do is snap a picture of what we see. For instance . . . And then there’s this .…
Kick This Phrase to the Curb!
I know I’m a crank, but some words and phrases just rub me the wrong way. I also realize most people do not intend to sound as negative as I hear them sounding; they’re using phrases that are all around…
Errors You Didn’t Make!
Here’s a small collection of errors that anyone can make, which are funny when they’re not ours. Proofreading is an essential skill; without it, we cause our readers to wonder what’s wrong with us! It’s our reputation on the line,…
Some Crosswords Words Make Me Cross!
I thoroughly enjoy the Sunday Boston Globe magazine section, and especially the crossword puzzles. I keep them handy for something fun to do when I need a break. Sometimes, however, they’re not fun. I am amazed at some of the…
How Badly Can Someone Write?
Friends all over the world send me great examples of poor writing, whether it’s using the wrong word altogether, using a homophone because it sounds like the word the writer meant, or just plain writing badly. You saw this one…
The Impotence of Proofreading, #2
Before we get to today’s newspaper goofs, it’s “fess up” time. In the last few days, two very alert readers found goofs in my posts . . . TWICE! Thanks go to Shenoy U.K. and David Burrowes, both of whom…
More Crossword Puzzle Words
As many of you know, I enjoy crossword puzzles; they keep my vocabulary sharp and up to date. But sometimes, even after I’ve filled in all the letters, I don’t recognize the word! I’ve been reading since I was about…
Unnecessary Redundancies
As a corporate trainer who teaches communication skills including American grammar and business writing, I am always encouraging my students to cut words from their writing. I use my KISS Principle in many different ways, always striving for conciseness, which…
Idioms — Weird and Wonderful
Even for those using their native language, there can be confusion and amusement over idioms — funny ways of saying one thing but meaning another. Small areas in a country can have their own way of saying something that another…
A Punny View of the American States
OK, talk about either having waaaaaay too much time on your hands or having a devious and truly clever way of seeing things . . . A friend posted an article on Facebook recently, and I laughed and laughed when…
Vowels and Homographs / Heterographs
Are you familiar with the American TV program Wheel of Fortune? It’s a show that depends on a contestant’s ability to guess words with a very general definition but without any letters at all. Usually contestants start trying to find…
Weird Old Words from the OED
Well, it’s the first day of fall, leaves are starting to change their colors, and the temperatures (especially at night) are decidedly cooler. Time moves on, with or without our permission. So do many other things. Look around you. Is…
Are You “Shoulding” All Over Everyone?
Language is meant to help us humans communicate, but sometimes even with our best efforts, we end up with a result we never intended. Years ago, I took my car in to a local service station. My oil light was…
Oh! Oh! Oh!
Many readers know I love doing crossword puzzles, and I’m usually pretty good at them. I read extensively (always have), and I can guess a lot of words, especially with a few letters filled in. BUT. Sometimes I have to…
Are You Using These 5 “Words” That Don’t Exist?
Funny how things go around, isn’t it? If we see or hear something enough times — particularly if we see it on any of the social media sites — we believe it. We think it’s true. The right way to…
A Four-Letter Word I Want You to Use!
I was at 4th Monday Networking yesterday, and a man used a four-letter word I wasn’t expecting. I was surprised – shocked, actually – and I told him so. We were discussing how his firm helps companies with customer satisfaction…
The Last Cross Words for 2015
As I’ve finally been getting my Boston Sunday Globe newspaper regularly (you’d think I live on Pluto for the troubles the Globe deliverers had in finding me once I moved to Buzzards Bay!), I’ve been enjoying the Sunday crossword puzzles…
Quiz on Lie and Lay
OK, folks – are you ready for a truly tough quiz? The verbs to lie and to lay are probably the most confusing verbs in English, primarily because they borrow from each other. And too many speakers and writers do not know…
A Lot, Allot, Alot
As you’re reading this — before you see the picture below with the answers — look at the headline again. Do you know which of the three in the headline is not a real word? Hmmm? How did another Wednesday…
Breath, Breathe, Breadth
Good Wednesday morning! It’s the middle of the week, Hump Day, and also time for another edition of Words & Woes. I was reading another blog a few days ago — an excellent one — and the author used breath…
Coarse & Course
Of course we’re going to learn two more words today: It’s Wednesday! And these two are featured today because I saw one of them misused in a post recently and realized that again — someone depended on SPELLCHECK to do…
Forward & Foreword
I’m amazed at how much I always learn when I write posts about the English language and its various words that are so easy to misuse. These two words were going to be in yesterday’s grouping, but there is too…
Lead and Led
English is really tough language. I realize many others may be as well, but I only know this one (and good for all of you who manage more than one!). A while ago I published a post on the most…
Contranyms, Contronyms, Autoantonyms
Just when you thought it was safe to use the English language . . . I show you an entire classification of words with two meanings that are opposite to each other! While each word may have other meanings, especially…
Everyday and Every Day
Who is NOT familiar with this brand? Raise your hand . . . Hmmm. I don’t see many hands up, probably because for a long time, the Martha Stewart Everyday brand was ubiquitous. You couldn’t open a magazine or a…
Compose and Comprise
OK, folks — fasten your seat belts! It’s gonna be a bumpy ride here. I’m about to take away a favorite phrase you may be writing or saying, one you probably have never given any real thought to. You may…
Pried and Pride
Yes, these words sound alike; they’re homophones, after all! But they mean two different things, and since I recently saw one of them in a post when the other one was meant, I figured we might as well take a…
To, Too, Two
Sometimes I get lucky and a bunch of readers ask for help on the same homophones — you know, those pesky words that sound the same (or nearly so) but are spelled differently and have different meanings. Quite a few…
Assure, Ensure, Insure
******************* It’s funny how words can get confused in our minds, isn’t it? These three — almost homophones with similar meanings — are often misused. Let’s see if we can finally get a grip on them, OK? First, the words…
Passed & Past
Today’s edition of Wednesday Words & Woes comes thanks to Paul Croubalian, who suggested the words, two of the tougher ones to learn because they’re true homophones. And as we all know, spellcheck will not help us here. The…
More Words I Never Knew Existed!
Living in eastern Massachusetts, I (along with thousands of others) read The Boston Globe newspaper and its magazine section every Sunday. There is always at least one interesting–sometimes really tough–crossword puzzle to solve, and sometimes I don’t even know the…
Wednesday Words & Woes: Words That DO Exist
It is way too hot to think heavy thoughts here in the northeast part of the U.S. We are sweltering under extremely high temps and humidity. So for today’s post, I pulled a page out of my American Grammar long…
More “Cross” Words
Longtime readers of my posts know that I love words, and I love crossword puzzles. But I have to say, sometimes I wonder how or why a certain word got used in one of the puzzles. Sometimes I’ve never seen…
Fun With Jeopardy!
I love this show. I really, really LOVE this show! I don’t know if it’s shown anywhere except the U.S., but I hope it is. The premise of the show is that the contestants (and everyone watching) are given the…