Blue is not only a favorite color for a lot of people, it is a word that occurs in many English expressions, some of them oddly contradictory. Obscene language is said to be “blue,” yet blue laws are those that forbid activities considered irreligious to take place on Sunday. A common blue law in the … Read more
Off-color humor is certainly not new: some of the earliest recorded jokes, told thousands of years ago, deal with things that people do in the bathroom or the bedroom. What makes these jokes funny? What makes any joke funny? Experts say that humor is based on incongruity. That is, jokes are based on surprise, on … Read more
According to Forbes Magazine, Ken Follet is one of the world’s ten most highly-paid novelists, with an annual income of $20 million. Follett wrote several not-so-great novels before Eye of the Needle made him rich and famous in 1978. Since then, every novel he publishes becomes a best seller. Many have been made into movies. … Read more
Until very recently, the only context I knew for the word “epicene” was a T. S. Eliot poem: Along the garden-wall the bees
 With hairy bellies pass between
 The staminate and pistilate,
 Blest office of the epicene. —T.S. Eliot’s Mr. Eliot’s Sunday Morning Service I thought the word was just one of Eliot’s intriguing but … Read more
From a reader: I have a question. I work for a large Canadian law firm and I’ve noticed that many of the people here do not use Mr. or Ms., but rather address letters to “John Smith.”  Have I missed something? Is this proper now? It may not be “proper,” but sometimes it’s safer. Addressing a … Read more
A reader commenting on Don’t Be Too Eager to Publish says: While I may agree that lengthy detail is unnecessary, I believe you are far too critical of the opening passage. Reading with interest is a very personal matter. Why put a writer in a box where he must conform to the way in which a daydream is … Read more
The most looked-up words in the online Merriam-Webster dictionary in 2008 reflect the nation’s preoccupation with discussions surrounding the Presidential campaign. Seven of the ten–bailout, vet, socialism, maverick, rogue, misogyny, and bipartisan–have political associations. The other three–turmoil, trepidation, and precipice–have appreared frequently this year in discussions of the stock market and the economy. Some of … Read more
About a year ago, I wrote an article about the misuse of five irregular verbs:Go, Come, Write, Give, and Eat. After the fact, I wondered if perhaps I had singled out grammatical errors too obvious to trouble my readers with. The other day I heard a television news announcer say “have went” while delivering a … Read more
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You’ll hear some of these in conversation and see them on blog sites, but when it comes to formal writing, beware of these “all” words and expressions. all of – I ate all of the cookies. The “of” is unnecessary. Better: I ate all the cookies. alright – As my English teachers pounded into my … Read more
All right folks, it is time to run another Short Story Competition. The first one was highly successful with 86 entries and voting rounds that went for almost 2 months. This time, however, instead of 500 words you will be able to use 1,000. The rest of the rules are the same as you can … Read more
One of the most unforgettable characters in literature is Uriah Heep in the novel David Copperfield by Charles Dickens. Heep works as clerk to Miss Trotwood’s lawyer, Mr. Wickfield. Because Wickfield is often incapacitated by alcoholism, Heep is able to cheat him out of his wealth. Heep’s most memorable and repellent characteristic is his frequently … Read more