In a recent interview, Olympic skier Lindsey Vonn was asked about her dream vacation. She said, “I would like to go to a warm, secluded island with my girlfriends, drink cocktails, and lay in the sun.”
In a press release about staff changes at a PR firm, a senior executive... (Read More)
The stakes just got higher.
On the heels of last week’s post about the missing comma that cost a dairy company $5 million in back pay comes more vindication for grammar geeks. Slate, in an article about the indictments against 13 Russian nationals for meddling in the 2016 election,... (Read More)
After my last post—the one about ruby chocolate and the hyperbole-laced, credibility-straining press release that announced its arrival—a reader questioned whether credibility should have been credulity. These two words often get confused, and I’m relieved to say I used the right one.
Credibility means believability; credulity means gullibility. If... (Read More)
In an effort to streamline its newsroom, The New York Times is eliminating a group of copy editors (also known as proofreaders) whose job is to ensure the newspaper’s facts are accurate and its copy mistake free. To protest the move, Times staff took to the streets, carrying signs filled... (Read More)
“Sorry folks, but if I would have relied on the Fake News of CNN, NBC, ABC, CBS, washpost or nytimes, I would have had ZERO chance winning WH,” President Trump tweeted last week, mangling the verb tense in the first part of his rant—among other offenses.
Bad!
Putting fake news... (Read More)
“All representatives are currently assisting other customers at this time.”
I heard these words over and over as I waited to talk to a customer service agent. You probably have heard them, too.
If the representatives are helping other customers, they are doing so currently and at this time. The... (Read More)
After news broke that Hunter Biden was dating Hallie Biden, the widow of his late brother Beau, Joe Biden, the former vice president and father to both men, wrote in a statement, They have mine and Jill’s full and complete support.
Intrigue aside—and there’s a lot of... (Read More)
I just read an interview with James Jagger, the 30-year-old son of Mick, in which he described his habit of taking up hobbies, only to drop them a short while later. “I’m very, very flippant,” he said. That’s odd, I thought; he doesn’t seem like a wiseass, which is what... (Read More)
A friend presented me with the following two sentences and asked, “Which is correct?”
• “I walked; talking nonstop about anything to distract myself from the pain.”
• “I walked, talking nonstop about anything to distract myself from the pain.”
The second sentence—the version with the comma,... (Read More)
January’s mail is full of messages pegged to the year ahead. In the event you’re about to send one yourself, take note of the correct way to refer to the new year. My apologies if this post is too late for you; if it is, you can file it away... (Read More)
