I read an online comment in which the writer said that something wouldn’t “cut the muster.” I cruised the web a bit to see if this is a common alteration of the idiom to cut the mustard. It doesn’t seem to be too wide spread, but it’s out there. Apparently there’s a mix-up with the … Read more
Peripatetic, the noun, is a person who walks or travels about. It can be used as an adjective as well, with the same meaning. The word makes allusion to Aristotle, who used to teach his philosophy while walking in the Lyceum. The youngest son, by 13 years, of rentier parents, Wilson was born at Bexhill-on-Sea … Read more
Most writers will have typed their name, or the title of something they’ve written, into a search engine at some point. This can be a useful way of finding references to or reviews of your work that you didn’t know about. Google Alerts is an invaluable (and free) system for automating this process. Using it, … Read more
A Doonsbury strip in the Sunday paper introduced me to a new expression: curating a brand. Until then, the only meaning I knew for curator was “a person who looks after a museum collection.” I don’t know if Rohit Bhargava coined the term, but his article “Manifesto For The Content Curator: The Next Big Social … Read more
This innocent question from ladysheila has led me a merry chase down etymological byways: What is the definition of peep, or rather what exactly does it mean in regards to all social media, etc., well, everything? I have looked in the dictionary and have gotten the expected definitions, to look, and one definition for people. … Read more
Writing tools can affect your style. In the days of quill and dip pens, the length of sentences (or at least, phrases) was apparently determined by the amount of ink held by the pen, and prose rhythm was dictated by this simple physical constraint. Fountain pens extended the scope of the writer. No longer did … Read more
Browbeat means to intimidate or subjugate by the use of verbal harassment or force. A synonym to browbeat is to bully. If we follow the usual script, this means it’s time for upset listeners and viewers to rally to the cause, as they have in the past, and browbeat Congress into restoring the budget. (NY … Read more
Writers like to sprinkle their work with subordinate clauses because they add variety to sentence structure. A reading diet too heavy with simple sentences or even compound sentences becomes wearisome quickly. Subordinate clauses—also known as dependent clauses—used skillfully can add complexity and artfulness to writing. A subordinate clause can either precede or follow its main … Read more
Jean writes: Could you do a feature on “so be it” and “sobeit?” I thought for sure it was always written as three words until a discussion on a court reporters’ message board came up about a proofreader saying that it should be a one-word word. Sobeit is a word and so be it is … Read more
Reader Ron Harper, Jr. wonders about the use of the word impacted: I used a word today and immediately questioned my use and the history of word over the last decade or so. The word was “impacted.” As in “That incident really impacted me.” Is that a correct usage historically? It seems that it’s not … Read more
This is a guest post by Jeannine Sohayda. If you want to write for Daily Writing Tips check the guidelines here. I was disappointed yesterday when, while cruising Facebook, I noticed a national pharmacy company’s request for me to “fan” them. I simply cannot agree to become a fan of a company that thinks turning … Read more
If you have trouble choosing between imply and infer, you’re not alone. Many writers switch them even though they have distinct meanings. To imply is to suggest or express indirectly. To infer is to draw a conclusion. However, you’ll frequently see something like this: The news story inferred that the defendant was guilty. Even though … Read more