This is a guest post by Shelley DuPont. If you want to write for Daily Writing Tips check the guidelines here. Did you ever think you knew the lyrics to a song, only to find out later they were nothing like you thought? I know I have. Editor’s note: There’s a word for this … Read more
Welcome to the first semi-final of our poetry competition. If you like poetry, you’ll certainly have your share of it today, as the poems below won the qualifying rounds. The two poems with the highest number of votes today will go to the final (along with two poems from the second semi-final). The poll will … Read more
Not too many generations ago, any child privileged enough to attend school beyond the age of seven or so studied Latin. A vestige of what was once a universal educational practice can be found in the use of these three Latin terms used by English speakers: mea culpa in memoriam R.I.P. I’ve seen mea culpa … Read more
Getting your work published onto Amazon’s Kindle eReader is really very easy. Perhaps you’re a writer interested in self-publishing some of your work. Or you might simply want to learn more about the ePublishing revolution and how to get involved. In either case, doing so is actually very straightforward. Since January this year, Amazon’s Digital … Read more
Reader Richard Walker wonders if the -lion endings in words like dandelion and medallion have anything to do with lions. Yes, where dandelion is concerned; no, for medallion. The English word dandelion comes from French dent-de-lion, “lion’s tooth.” This name derives from the toothed leaves of the plant. Modern French speakers call the dandelion pissenlit, … Read more
Brad K brings up some interesting questions about three words used in a variety of ways: So, what is the choice, between “Excuse me” and “Pardon me”? I am looking for an alternative to a phrase I keep misusing, “I’m sorry, but . . .”. The part that bothers me is that I use this … Read more
Welcome to the last one of the qualifying rounds. Next week we’ll already have the two semi-finals: one on Tuesday and one on Thursday. If by any chance you submitted a poem and it has not been featured yet please contact me ([email protected]) and I’ll look here to see if I can find it. Finally, … Read more
I became aware of what is happening to the lovely word icicle when I read a poem in which it was spelled “ice sickle.” There was nothing in the context to suggest that the poet intended a pun. A web search showed me that there’s a comic book character called Ice Sickle. Numerous clever photographers … Read more
This is a guest post by Julie Link. If you want to write for Daily Writing Tips check the guidelines here. The Indianapolis Star recently reported that Bristol Palin “is bringing her experience as a teen mom to bear on the small screen” (February 24, page A11, no author cited). The phrase caused me to … Read more
Reader Paul wonders about the legitimacy of the word ‘learnings’? I find myself wanting to use this word on occasion however feel it is not an actual word. wondering about “the legitimacy of the word ‘learnings’.” My instinctive response was, “Of course it’s not a word! Who, other than Borat, would abuse the language in … Read more
We are almost there! After this round there will be just one left, and then we’ll proceed to the semi-finals. One would think that the quality of the poems would go down occasionally, but so far all the qualifying rounds were pretty strong. Make sure to cast a vote for you favorite one as usual. … Read more
Someone once said that every generation has its favorite Shakespeare play. Hamlet was a favorite with the Victorians. Macbeth enjoyed a great popularity in the first half of the 20th century; Othello in the second half. It seems to me that King Lear may be the play that will come to be associated with the … Read more