Tag Archives: language

Look Mom, Hands Free

Posted on February 23, 2009 by languageandgrammar

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 →

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Political Pundits

Posted on February 17, 2009 by languageandgrammar

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 →

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More Than an Upgrade Needed

Posted on February 13, 2009 by languageandgrammar

Although not everyone will agree with us, we at languageandgrammar.com believe that language subtlety is important. Thoughts are precise, and a lack of subtlety in language usage is often a reflection of a lack of sharpness of thought. That brings … Continue reading →

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Road to Hoe

Posted on February 10, 2009 by languageandgrammar

If there is anything worse than using a cliche, it’s trying to use a cliche and getting it wrong. You would think we wouldn’t get something wrong that’s been repeated so often! I like to call these instances Close but … Continue reading →

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Smarter Planet; Dumber Advertising

Posted on February 5, 2009 by languageandgrammar

It must be something about companies with initials for names since both IBM and BMW are producing “smarter” products. In fact, IBM, which always has grand plans, wants to make the entire planet smarter. Smart, as an adjective, typically means … Continue reading →

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Waiting for You, Waiting on Table #3

Posted on January 30, 2009 by languageandgrammar

There’s a song whose lyrics include Must I always be waiting on you and I can’t always be waiting on you. When I hear must I always be waiting on you, I can’t help picturing him wearing a bowtie and … Continue reading →

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Like a Bull in a China Shop

Posted on January 29, 2009 by languageandgrammar

Most cliches have enough truth to them that, while the use of the phrase is monotonous and ineffective, there is at least some logic behind using it. That’s apparently not the case with the ever-popular like a bull in a … Continue reading →

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We versus Us: We the People

Posted on January 23, 2009 by languageandgrammar

I’ve already written about general pronoun choice, but the we/us dilemma is worth tackling separately. We is a nominative pronoun, which means that it is used as a subject, and us is an objective pronoun, which means that it is … Continue reading →

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It’s Not What It’s Cracked Up To Be

Posted on January 22, 2009 by languageandgrammar

I don’t know the origin of the phrase It’s not what it’s cracked up to be, and I’m not particularly interested in finding out. The phrase is overused and doesn’t make sense to most people who use it. It’s not … Continue reading →

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Can’t Help But Cringe at This Construction

Posted on January 20, 2009 by languageandgrammar

Try to avoid the can’t help but construction. While it has been around for a while, most grammarians agree that it’s not the most logical construction. It’s considered to be a confused mix of the expressions can but and can’t … Continue reading →

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