Tag Archives: language

A Buck Ten Left in the Game

Oy. I don’t know if any trendy announcer-speak is more annoying than the tendency for announcers to start referring to the time left in a game in terms of money, such as There’s a buck ten left in the game. … Continue reading

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Does This Happen Everyday or Every Day?

Everyday is an adjective; it describes a noun and answers the question what kind of, as in the old song I Am Everyday People (what kind of people are you?), so it normally comes right before the noun. Temper tantrums … Continue reading

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Exact Opposite

An oxymoron is a word or phrase that is contradictory. My favorite is jumbo shrimp–although I’m not sure that this is actually contradictory. You have your small shrimp. You have your medium shrimp. You have your large shrimp. Finally, you … Continue reading

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Manage the Game

I’ve been a professional sports fan for a very long time, but it’s only been during the last couple of years that quarterbacks have started to manage the game. I’m not sure why this trend of talking about a quarterback … Continue reading

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Up to More than the Limit

Many a late-night infomercial and women’s magazine hawk products that promise we can lose up to 50 pounds or more, save up to 100 dollars or more, and cut housework by up to 2 hours or more. I don’t buy … Continue reading

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One of Your Problems Is…

While we, especially Sherry, focus on common grammar errors, my book (Literally, the Best Language Book Ever) discusses words or phrases that should be avoided for other reasons. That brings me to any sentence that begins with the phrase One … Continue reading

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See, Saw, Seen: See the Difference?

I seen (or he seen, she seen, you seen, they seen, or we seen) is substandard grammar. Do not use seen as the past tense of the verb to see. The past tense is saw, as in the old movie … Continue reading

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Pardon the Interruption

A recent Internet headline read Bear Interupts Live TV Broadcast. I had planned to read the article, but I got interrupted—and sidetracked—by that headline. If it had been possible, I would have interrupted the site editor before he or she … Continue reading

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Sporting Errors

If you think that the monthly review of topics that we’ve covered is a thing of the past, then you’ve got another thing coming. In fact, that’s what I’m presently writing. While politics separates us at times, sports often unites … Continue reading

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It’s Friday!

I might be incorrect since I don’t know him, but sports talkshow host Jim Rome strikes me as a person who isn’t obsessed with grammar rules. He’s articulate and communicates well; otherwise, he’d never have been successful in his field, … Continue reading

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