Highlighted and Greenlit
A reader encountered the question of what past ending to use with the verb to highlight as in “to mark […]
When S Says Z and F says V
Browsing the comments attached to a previous post, I came across this lament about two changes in pronunciation that seem […]
Dupe, Greenhorn, Sucker, and Easy Mark
A few posts ago, I wrote about the multitude of ways English provides for calling someone “stupid.” Now I’ll address […]
When Only Standard Usage Will Do
When I began writing about English usage, I would label sentences as “correct” and “incorrect.” I don’t do that anymore […]
When is a Word Just a Word?
One of my teaching dictums about parts of speech is that “a word is not a part of speech until […]
Slurry and Flurry
Almost right is not good enough. I read this in the Daily Mail during hurricane season: . . . the […]
The Half-life of Verbs
The term half-life existed before the term was applied to the breakdown of a radioactive substance. One earlier meaning was […]
Color Symbolism in Writing
Advertisers pay a great deal of attention to the colors that go into their marketing materials. There’s even a branch […]
Dropping the “of” After “couple”
This recent cry of despair from a reader has not fallen on deaf ears: You’re the only people I know […]
Endearing and Ravished
English has such a rich vocabulary, writers have little excuse to use a word that is almost right. As Twain […]
Fossil L-Words
An aspect of English spelling that fascinates me is the existence of what I call “fossil words”— words in which […]
Demise of the -er Comparative
Perhaps, like me, you were taught in elementary school that most one-syllable adjectives, plus two-syllable adjectives that end in y, […]