I’ve long been aware of the words oligarchy and monopoly, but I’ve only just discovered the word oligopoly. The word oligarchy describes a type of government: government by the few. from oligoi “few, small, little” plus arkhein “to rule.” The word monopoly describes a type of market paradigm: exclusive control of a commodity or trade, … Read more
This from laura Killian: I have found examples of two spellings of the expression : to give free rein / reign to sb / sth. I assume that ‘rein’ is the correct spelling, as in loosening the reins of a horse. But has there been enough contamination through the idea of reigning or ruling that … Read more
The recent post on when to double the L when adding an ending to words like cancel prompted this question from David: What about the “p” in worship. Is it “worshiping” or “worshipping”? Like cancel, the word worship gets different treatment in British and American usage: British usage: worship, worshipped, worshipping American usage: worship, worshiped, … Read more
Reader Cynthia Turney asks Do you know where the phrase “rule of thumb” came from? This is a figurative expression that means “a general guideline that has a broad application, but which is not strictly accurate in every case.” I hope that by now everyone knows that this expression does not come from “an ancient law” … Read more
I’ve seen too many examples of intact written as two words to go on assuming that they are typographical errors. Photo caption: A couch that was left in tact after the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center. Question on medical forum: Is chest muscle left in tact after MastX? Question on aviation site: Why … Read more
What can an agent tell from the first five pages of your manuscript? According to Noah Lukeman, plenty. The First Five Pages: A Writer’s Guide to Staying Out of the Rejection Pile analyzes the types of mistakes that appear in “99 percent” of the unsolicited manuscripts received by agents and editors. His experience as a … Read more
Next time you dress your heroine for a ball, you may want to describe her gown in terms of its lightness and delicacy. Here are some nouns and adjectives for the job. chiffon n. – a diaphanous plain-woven fabric of fine hard-twisted yarn diaphanous adj. – permitting the free passage of light and vision; perfectly … Read more
Last week we published a post about Darren Rowse’s new ebook, titled 31 Days to Build a Better a Blog. I asked Darren if he was willing to answer to a small interview giving more details about the book to our readers, and he agreed. There are some interesting points, so check it out. 1. … Read more
In this post I want to deal with some miscellaneous questions that have come to me via email. Subject Line Several readers have asked if I could put the day’s topic in the subject line of the subscription feed. I regret that the answer is: I can’t. The way that the subscriptions are handled (Feedburner) … Read more
Reader Michelle asks if the past tense of the verb to fly can ever be flied. Your column on wake etc. reminded me of a verb form that I haven’t been able to figure out – fly, flew and flied. I know that the past simple of fly is flew. But is it always? I … Read more
Reader Graham Broadley is apparently scratching his head over a word that’s recently been admitted to the pages of the venerable OED: I was watching the French Open tennis tournament the other day and heard the commentator say the word ‘bounce-back-ability’ had made it into the OED this year. Can you confirm this is true? … Read more