It was probably a typo, or a spell checker correction gone wrong, but this caption under a photo in a newspaper movie section startled me into a post: Corsican crime boss Cesar (Niels Arestrup) is the de factor head of the prison in which Malik (Tahar Rahim) finds himself in Jacques Audiard’s A Prophet. The … Read more
Shakespeare (1564-1616) wrote during the Renaissance, a time when the English language was being inundated with new words. Based on a count from the OED, between 10,000 and 12,000 new words were added to English during the 16th century. About half have found a permanent place in the language. The majority of the new words … Read more
This is a guest post by Julie Link. If you want to write for Daily Writing Tips check the guidelines here. “I love France,” my friend sighed, and I nodded my agreement. “I miss not being there,” she added. Huh? My commiseration over lost croissants gave way to puzzlement over this odd expression. You love … Read more
Thanks to reader Nick Corcodilos for sharing a link to an especially mind-numbing bit of English prose. I won’t publish the link he sent me, but I will give you an excerpt: Leveraging the unique capabilities of Case Based Reasoning (CBR) to research, [this company] has created a comprehensive mirror pathway for personalized medicine incorporating … Read more
It is time to find out the winner of the first DWT Poetry Competition. Only four poems were supposed to make it to the final, but on the second semi-final we had a small glitch with the closing time of the poll, and three poems were almost tied, so we promoted all of the to … Read more
This comment on a site offering tips to writers brought me to a stop: Does your writing suffer from waaaay too many em-dashes? Incareful authors often use them in place of a comma… The standard negative form of careful is careless: “full of care,” and “without care.” If a writer had a reason to form … Read more
If something is “bimonthly”, does it occur twice a month or once every two months? In fact, just to demonstrate how slippery the English language can sometimes be, the correct answer would be “either”. The Oxford English Dictionary definition is very straightforward : appearing or taking place twice a month or every two months.” … Read more
A lot of people use the word whelp informally in the sense of “a raised place on the skin.” On the left side [of my face] … I had over 20 whelps (not bumps), and they were red and hot. Recently my 12 year old daughter has been breaking out in large whelps. I have … Read more
Today is April 23. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SHAKESPEARE! Here are the sources of the titles given in yesterday’s post. 1. The Moon Is Down, John Steinbeck BANQUO: How goes the night, boy? FLEANCE: The moon is down. I have not heard the clock. —Macbeth, II.i The remark adds to a sense of evil foreboding; Macbeth is … Read more
Welcome to the second semi-final of our poetry competition. The first is going pretty well, with over 350 votes already, and two poems fighting for the second spot on the final. The two poems with the highest number of votes from this semi-final will also be promoted to the final, which will take place next … Read more
When I was receiving my secondary education in a small Arkansas high school many years ago, every student was expected to study four Shakespeare plays before graduating: Grade 9: Julius Caesar Grade 10: As You Like It Grade 11: Romeo and Juliet Grade 12: Macbeth Our study included the memorization of at least one soliloquy … Read more
Prepositions and particles are tricky in any language. It’s not an easy matter to explain why some words are followed by to while others are followed by in or for. The native speaker just “knows.” Recently, I’ve noticed the use of “to” with the word replacement where I’d expect “for” or “of.” Homeopathy as replacement … Read more