Monthly Archives: December 2008

12 Million Reasons

Posted on December 30, 2008 by languageandgrammar

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again:  While not all of us care about using proper grammar at all times, we all have at least one language pet peeve. As you’ll notice from the Pet Peeves page on … Continue reading →

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Coldest I’ve Ever Been

Posted on December 23, 2008 by languageandgrammar

It is with great shame that I must report that I have to write about one of my own language failings. When it was bitterly cold the other morning, I reported that I’ve never been that cold before. While I … Continue reading →

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Top Ten Top 10 Lists of 2008

Posted on December 22, 2008 by languageandgrammar

It’s late in December, and that means that it’s time for one of the most annoying traditions of the year (no, I don’t mean Christmas, but seriously, haven’t we had enough of Christmas already?). It means that it’s time for … Continue reading →

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Alls Is a Grammar Error

Posted on December 17, 2008 by languageandgrammar

I heard someone on television (one of my favorite resources for grammar errors) use the grammar error alls, as in Alls I know is…. It’s not an error that I hear often, but it has been around for a very … Continue reading →

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You Can Quote Me on That

Posted on December 16, 2008 by languageandgrammar

While British English allows for period placement outside quotation marks, in American English, the period goes inside the quotation marks. He referred to the people being wrestled to the ground and the shoes flying in mid-air as a “disagreement.” Paul … Continue reading →

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Happy Anniversary

Posted on December 15, 2008 by languageandgrammar

It’s our one-year anniversary (belated by a couple of days), and we wanted to briefly thank all of you for making our first year such a success. It’s been an exciting year, not only because it was our first year … Continue reading →

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It’s Supposedly, Not Supposably

Posted on December 12, 2008 by languageandgrammar

What does supposably mean? Is it supposed to mean in a supposed way? How about able to be supposed? No, I don’t suppose; those don’t make sense. In reality, supposably is a non-word that is mistakenly used for the correct … Continue reading →

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User Friendly Is Just Easy to Use

Posted on December 11, 2008 by languageandgrammar

While flipping around the dial (that’s what we used to say back in the good old days), I heard the host of a travel show tell a traveler that Italy is the most user-friendly country. A country is user friendly? … Continue reading →

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Logical Reason

Posted on December 10, 2008 by languageandgrammar

Whenever I hear someone give a logical reason, I wonder how many illogical reasons they’ve given. A reason is the basis or cause of a belief or action, and it’s assumed that that these beliefs or causes are based on … Continue reading →

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Credit Crunch

Posted on December 8, 2008 by languageandgrammar

The economy is a very serious problem now, but I’m going to talk about a much less serious problem—our obsessive use of the term credit crunch. Credit crunch is everywhere. During car commercials (local or national), I hear that you … Continue reading →

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