The real problem with swearing? No, it’s not what you might be thinking. Recently, I posted a fun meme that had a “swear” jar and a “talking about my dog” jar for coins, reflecting an old idea that when we…
Using the “Self” Pronouns Correctly
Using the “self” pronouns correctly can be tough! Those are the ones that end in “self” or “selves.” Many speakers and writers use them everywhere, but these pronouns have a very limited grammatical purpose: They’re meant to be mirror image…
Instinctive and Instinctual
While the words instinctive and instinctual share a common bond, they’re also subtly different when used accurately. That said, many writers do use them as they see fit, even if the word isn’t the right one, probably because so few…
Vocabularies and Tough Words
In this era of mankind, we have extensive vocabularies with some tough words, no matter our language. Obviously early humans didn’t have words for things, at least not words they uttered out loud to exchange an idea with another human.…
Ease Up on the Jargonese, Please!
Years ago, one of my daughters got a job in an industry she wasn’t familiar with. After a couple of weeks of learning the ropes, she showed me her paper notebook (this was in the late ’90s, I think, before…
Palter? Really? Yes, really.
Palter? Really? Yes, really. Lauren McDonald shared a post here on LI yesterday — the one seen below, which is very worth reading — and for a minute I thought the headline had a typo in it. The headline read…
Homophones Lea — Leaf
The homophones lea — leaf are among today’s tricky words. Yes, it’s Tuesday, and that means another edition of the Tuesday Tricksters, words called homophones that sound the same as another one (or nearly so, anyway) but mean something different…
Knead . . . Knob
Here we go again, dear readers! More Tuesday Tricksters (aka homophones) to delight and bedevil us (if we’re not carefully reading what we wrote, that is). These words have the power to make any one of us look bad, so…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
Using Hyphens
Good morning, dear readers! Here’s another installment of my Monday grammar checkup posts, this one on using hyphens in compound (multi-word) adjectives, those that come right in front of a noun and modify / describe it. I often see this…
Irregular Plurals Prove a Point
Have you ever heard someone say, “Why doesn’t she just learn to speak English!”? Every time I hear or read that, I’m tempted to ask that person how easy they think it would be to learn another language if they…
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…
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…
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…
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…
In New England, We Are Hunkering Down!
Anyone who has watched TV in the last week — especially yesterday or today — knows that there is a monster storm heading up the Atlantic coast, from D.C. to Maine. We are about to get slammed with as much…
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?…