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Category Archives: language
Political Theater
Maybe I’ve been following the news too closely lately, but I am tired of hearing every event in Washington, D.C., being described as political theater. When President Obama tries to get a bill passed and republicans fight him, it’s called … Continue reading
Posted in language, politics, writing
Tagged language, political theater, politics, President Obama, trite words, Washington D.C., writing
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Voila!
Yo no hable frances (and my Spanish is kind of rusty, too), but if I did, I would be even more annoyed with how many times I’ve heard the word voila butchered by Americans. It’s not Wa La or Walla … Continue reading
Posted in grammar, language, writing
Tagged grammar, language, misused words, voila, writing
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Bringin’ ’em back from the dead: hitherto and henceforth
I thought I’d take a break from pontificating about grammar rules and share with you some of my favorite words that have gone the way of the whole two tin cans and a string thing—-except whenever I can work them … Continue reading
Back and Better than Ever
You’re all probly as surprised as I am that I haven’t written a monthly review of errors in months (I followed some not-so-super advice). I can’t help but think about how many complements about the smarter blog that might have … Continue reading
Posted in language
Tagged English, language, monthly review, writing
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Nip it WHERE????
No matter how many times you’ve said it—and you know who you are—nip it in the butt is NOT the correct phrase. Nip it in the butt? Ouch! If you must use this cliche, then use it properly: Nip it … Continue reading
Posted in grammar, language, writing
Tagged cliche, English, grammar error, Henry Chettle, nip it in the bud, nip it in the butt, writing
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Scratch and Dent Sale
Language and marketing are inseparable since the key to effective marketing is effective communication, and with that in mind, I’d like to mention that I’m troubled by the frequency of scratch and dent sales that take place at a local … Continue reading
Posted in grammar, humor, language
Tagged appliances, grammar, humor, language, scratch and dent sale, writing
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Symbols of Patriotism, Obama Address to Congress
With all due respect to EF Hutton, when President Obama speaks, people listen–well, most people. I didn’t listen to the entire Obama address to Congress; however, I heard an important part of the speech–one that made a fascinating statement about … Continue reading
Posted in grammar, language, politics
Tagged grammar, language, Obama address to Congress, politics, President Obama, writing
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THAT’S Incredible; I’M Incredulous.
I’ve heard the word incredulous attributed to situations, as in That’s an incredulous story. The problem is that incredulous means skeptical or disbelieving, which is a human trait, not something that can be attributed to an inanimate object, a theory, … Continue reading
Posted in grammar, language, writing
Tagged English, grammar error, incredible vs incredulous, language, Miller Lite controversy, Shakespeare, writing
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Look Mom, Hands Free
One of the terms that I wrote about in Literally, the Best Language Book Ever was our use of -friendly. We use the same construction, pairing a word with -friendly, in ways that are inconsistent, which leads to understandable confusion. … Continue reading
Posted in grammar, language, writing
Tagged grammar, hands free, hands free phone, language, trendy language, trendy words, writing
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Political Pundits
Being a political pundit must be a great job. That has to be the case with being able to provide opinion, mainly critical, without having the responsibility to do any better—especially when it’s done on national television or in a … Continue reading
Everything Language and Grammar 