Questions do not follow usual subject-verb order. In questions that contain only one verb, the verb precedes the subject: Are you my friend? Have you any wool? In questions that contain two verb forms, the subject is sandwiched between them: Can you help me? Is he going with us? The helping verb always goes first. … Read more
In my line of work, I’m used to comments that blame American speakers for usage that British speakers find annoying. For example: How is it possible for Americans to create acclimate from acclimatise? The effect on me is far worse than hearing “math” or “off of”. I share the commenter’s feelings regarding the redundant and … Read more
This headline on Buzzfeed caused me to do a double-take: The 4 Dopest Quotes From Ruth Bader Ginsburg On Marriage Equality Initially, I thought the article so headed would list quotations considered by the writer to be especially misguided or stupid (i.e., “dopey”). As I read further, I realized that the writer admired Associate Justice Ginsberg’s … Read more
A reader has asked for a discussion of the words standard, standardize and standardized: I ask because of a statement I made sometime ago, where I said, “we took a standard test”. But my friend thought it should have been “we took a standardized test”. I think I’m correct since standard in this context is … Read more
The choice of words in a recent Supreme Court dissent prompted this email from a reader: Justice Scalia recently used the terms “pure applesauce” and “jiggery-pokery.” I was able to find what “jiggery-pokery” means but not “pure applesauce”. Can you help? Jiggery-pokery, as the reader presumably discovered, is a colloquial expression meaning “deceitful or dishonest … Read more
A tricolon is a rhetorical device that employs a series of three parallel words, phrases, or clauses. The word derives from Greek tri (“three”) + colon (“section of a sentence”). The plural of tricolon is tricola. Julius Caesar’s famous “Veni, vidi, vici” is a tricolon consisting of three verbs. The tricolon is phrased in ascending … Read more
Having read the post about the expression chock-full, a reader asks, Could you also clarify and explain the origins of “chalk it up.” I’ve also seen “chock it up” which I assume is an error. I’ve also heard “chop it up” in the same context. The expression “chalk it up” is one of several English … Read more