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Put a Sock in It!
Sometimes you put your foot(wear) in your mouth. Let's look at the origins of some "soxy" and "sole"ful terms.
— Blue stocking
Oddly enough, this derogatory term for an intellectual woman derives from an intellectual man. …Read more.
Cue up a Queue of Tricky Phrases
Verbs followed by prepositions can be tricky. Can you select the correct verb in each phrase?
1. At dawn, the band's fans started to (cue up, queue up) for tickets.
2. The danger of infection (militates against, mitigates against) extensive surgery.…
…Read more.
Let Us Now Pronounce Famous Men
Q: What's the proper way to pronounce "Carnegie"? I am from Pittsburgh, where the guy lived for many years and had a university named for him — Carnegie Mellon. We pronounce it "kahr-NEG-ee" in these parts of the woods. I …Read more.
Getting Our Kilter Back in Whack
Why do we say something is "out of kilter" or "out of whack"? Has something ever been "in kilter" or "in whack"?
I first heard the term "out of kilter" as a kid while watching my father build a …Read more.
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These Bugbears Are 'Grislies'Which linguistic potholes shake your chassis? Are you impacted by the use of "impact" to mean "affect"? Are you all, like, rattled when, like, teenagers use "like" as a verbal filler? Do you think the overuse of "best practices" isn't the best practice? You're not alone. (And it's a good thing you're not a loan because, these days, many of them aren't being paid.) Readers from Down Under to Up Over have sent me their pet peeves. Surely, you'll find one of your own bugbears here — and, Shirley, you will, too. The phrase "at this point in time" is redundant enough, but Anthony Youell of Brisbane, Australia, reports that politicians are now saying, "at this particular point in time." Errrggg. Kay Williams of Carthage, N.Y., is concerned about TV weather forecasters who omit "is concerned," as in, "As far as your Monday's temperature, it will be cold." Kay wants them to say, "As far as your Monday's temperature is concerned , it will be cold." (Actually, she wants them to say, "it will be warm.") As far as the compression of "all right" into "alright" is concerned, Hazel Martin of Kennett Square, Pa., isn't all right with it. And her feathers are ruffled by the misuse of "laying" for "lying," as in "she was laying in the street." Hazel writes, "What was she laying? An egg?" Bob Staneslow of Cheshire, Conn., says people lay an egg when they use plurals like "phenomena" and "criteria" as singulars ("this phenomena," "this criteria"). Tonya Parham of Memphis, Tenn., literally explodes when she hears people use "literally" to mean "figuratively." And for her, pronouncing the "l" in "salmon" is as welcome as salmonella. Gloria Sprouse of Bullhead City, Ariz., she detests the redundant pronoun used by local newscasters, e.g.
Gerald Hebert of Murrysville, Pa., says he's gonna go crazy if hears one more person say, "gonna." Marcia Peck of Minneapolis has found a bushel of sentences like this one: "All people don't speak correctly," which should be rendered "Not all people speak correctly." Judging from these examples, perhaps the first sentence is accurate after all. Rob Kyff, a teacher and writer in West Hartford, Conn., invites your language sightings. Send your reports of misuse and abuse, as well as examples of good writing, via e-mail to Wordguy@aol.com or by regular mail to Rob Kyff, Creators Syndicate, 5777 W. Century Blvd., Suite 700, Los Angeles, CA 90045. To find out more about Rob Kyff and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com. COPYRIGHT 2009 CREATORS SYNDICATE, INC.
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