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Category Archives: language
I Was So Dis-focused—–I Mean Distracted….
I heard a commentator on one of the 24-hour news channels use the non-word dis-focus last week. At first, I thought that it was a grammatical hiccup, but then he used it thrice more. He was talking about one of … Continue reading
Close But No Cigarette
We’ve all done it–either misstated something or slightly mangled a common statement or cliche, and the result was a humorous sentence that didn’t make sense. I call this “close but no cigarette.” One of our blogger friends, Pamela Villars, recently … Continue reading
Posted in grammar, humor, language, writing
Tagged cliches, grammar, humor, humorous language mistakes, language, mangled cliches, writing
2 Comments
Don’t Torture Me: Tortuous, Torturous
Sometimes, learning grammar rules can be torturous. Or is it tortuous? Be careful with these two words; the second -r makes all the difference. Torturous has torture as its root, and it means that something is very painful, that is, … Continue reading
Going Nucular
Richard Nixon once said, “…when the President does it, that means that it is not illegal.” Well, that might be true of wire-tapping without court-approved warrants, but I’m almost certain that it does not hold true for grammar, punctuation, and … Continue reading
Posted in grammar, language, writing
Tagged English, George Bush, grammar errors, nuclear, nucular, pronunciation errors
1 Comment
Why Language Changes
We at languageandgrammar.com don’t throw around the term “great” loosely, but Forbes.com has a great article on the evolution of words. Actually, we’re just having a little bit of fun. It wouldn’t be fair for us to comment on the … Continue reading
Posted in grammar, language, writing
Tagged forbes.com, grammar, language, neogolisms, paul yeager, sherry coven, why language changes, writing
5 Comments
We’re Not the Only Ones with Pet Peeves!
This is another installment of your pet peeves, taken straight from the comment section of the Your Pet Peeves page. We’re doing this because we ran out of topics–I mean because we want to highlight your pet peeves. Seriously, one … Continue reading
Spring Greening?
Spring is that special time of year. Flowers bloom, little woodland creatures awaken from their long winter’s nap, and the grass and trees start to green up. Wait a minute. Everything starts to green up? What does that mean? Maybe … Continue reading
Only 70 Curses Today–Below Average
I was shocked by a recent article that claims that teenagers use curse words 80 to 90 times per day on average (Curse words trendy language among teenagers). I was shocked because I thought it would be more like a … Continue reading
Posted in grammar, language, writing
Tagged grammar, language, swearing, teenage trends, teenager swearing, writing
5 Comments
Pre-Prepare to Not Like This Word
I recently heard the word pre-prepared, and not being a word historian, I don’t know whether this is an old word that’s being used again or a new word needed to meet the demands of our fast-paced society. (Please note … Continue reading
Posted in grammar, language, writing
Tagged grammar, language, pre-prepare, trendy words, writing
1 Comment
What Annoys You…
It’s time for more of your pet peeves, taken straight from comments left on the Your Pet Peeves Page. We’re grateful for all of the comments that we’ve gotten so far, so wanted to highlight them. I’m listing them in … Continue reading
Posted in grammar, language, writing
Tagged grammar, grammar errors, language, language pet peeves, writing
5 Comments
Everything Language and Grammar 