What is off in these three sentences?
I received an email the other day from someone who sends a monthly financial newsletter. He opened his email with the following sentence:
This issue is packed with useful information and unique insights that will no doubt expand your understanding about economic issues that effect us all.
The writer should... (Read More)
A few weeks ago, when a hedge fund took a hit after some poor forecasts about the Greek political scene, the fund’s founders sent this message to their investors: “We are reticent to render decisive predictions at this time.”
They meant reluctant, which means unwilling or disinclined to do something.
... (Read More)When I came here, I was asked to lead the auction house to a new place, and we have successfully done that.
We elevated the collection of handbags to a place nobody had done before.
Your mission will be to develop a vision for how to take these already successful... (Read More)
The February issue of Vogue arrived, and I curled up to have a look at the super sexy dresses for spring. But first I read Anna Wintour’s account of Condé Nast’s relocation to 1 World Trade Center in downtown Manhattan. “News of our move may or may not have come... (Read More)
Thank you for your business and support, we look forward to years of continued success and partnership.
No, that’s not my 2014 holiday greeting to you.
It was the copy on a pretty card I wanted to buy for my clients but couldn’t because of the comma splice. My credibility... (Read More)
The other day I read an opinion piece in The New York Times called “The ‘Kind of, Sort of’ Era” about our habit of using terms like kind of and sort of to take a little something away from what we’re saying, for whatever reason.
The next day I... (Read More)
“That’s what I call being shot out of the cannon.” “To be shot out of the cannon like that is just so exciting.”
Michael Kors, the quick-witted fashion designer, was quoted as having said both, the first by The New York Times, and the second, a slight variation, by The... (Read More)
Here’s the first bit of an email I got last week from a well-known media company.
Happy Halloween Alumni!
Are you afraid to wander outside on the scariest night of the year? Then spend a night in with one of our upcoming online courses. One of our most popular... (Read More)
The Supreme Court justices are bickering, but not about same-sex marriage, Obamacare, or voter identification. No, according to a Wall Street Journal story, they’re disagreeing about adverbs. Justice Scalia uses them; Associate Justice Kennedy does not. Kennedy sides with novelist Stephen King who says, “The adverb is not your... (Read More)
