Sentences (and clauses) that begin with with are doomed to be weak. The following sentences suffer from this affliction; discussions describe how to improve the sentence, and revisions demonstrate the solutions. 1. With a quarter-billion-dollar industry possible, there is a real possibility of supporting the community with something other than an economy based on a … Read more
Words that include the element nym, and some that include nom, pertain to names and naming. Such terms as anonymous (literally, “without a name”) and pseudonym (“false name”) are ubiquitous, but most others in this class are more or less obscure. This post lists and defines such terms that pertain to individuals and groups of … Read more
In each sentence, choose the correct word from the pair of similar terms. (If both words possibly can be correct, choose the more plausible one.) 1. Sallie’s parents criticized her constantly as a child; as a result, she has difficulty accepting a ______ . a) compliment b) complement 2. Many citizens feel that the government … Read more
Using italics and quotation marks to emphasize words and phrases is a useful technique, but for the sake of clarity, such formatting should be used only in the manner described in this post. Italics help readers understand that a word is being presented as the label for a concept and not as a concept itself, … Read more
In each of the sentences below, the sentence has been constructed so that the noun or pronoun that a modifying phrase should refer to is missing, which may or may not cause reader confusion but definitely will distract, often because an inanimate object is mistakenly ascribed human agency, sometimes resulting in an unintentionally humorous reading. … Read more
In each of the following sentences, a point and a counterpoint are posited, but the phrasing that supports them is poorly constructed; explanations and revisions that follow each example describe the problem and provide a solution. 1. The cynic in me believes it’s rarely done for aesthetic reasons but for strictly commercial ones. This sentence … Read more
This post lists thirty words to employ as alternatives for assortment, mixture, and variety, accompanied by brief definitions. 1–2. An agglomerate or agglomeration is a jumbled collection or mass, and the first variant also serves as a noun and an adjective (and can also refer to a volcanic rock consisting of various combined fragments). Agglomeration … Read more