PIED TYPE
language
Spell checkers and pullet surprises
I have a love/hate relationship with spell checkers. They’ve saved me some embarrassment on more than one occasion, but as often as not, they simply frustrate me. They flag words that are perfectly correct, miss misspellings they should catch, and suggest alternate words that are totally irrelevant. The English language, of course, seems specifically designed … Continue reading
Got apophenia?
Today is 11/11/11 or 11.11.11 or 11-11-11. It’s lovely to look at. A palindrome even. But there’s nothing special about the date other than its interesting appearance. The apocalypse is not scheduled for today. Thinking otherwise, tempting as it is, means you’ve got apophenia. Apophenia is the experience of seeing meaningful patterns or connections in … Continue reading
Wordplay: newfangled
Newfangled. We all know what it means. But I started wondering if there was simply a fangle (there is), or such a thing as oldfangled (didn’t see it). The surprise to me was that it’s a single word, not two and not hyphenated, and that it dates back to the 15th Century: “Origin of NEWFANGLED … Continue reading
Pop vs. soda vs. whatever
It’s hard to imagine anyone spending much time browsing the Internet without coming across the colorful coke-pop-soda map, the one showing the preferred term for a carbonated drink in each U.S. county. I did a post on it myself about two years ago and then as now wondered what some of the “other” answers were. … Continue reading
You’ll really sound precocious
Still scowling into my coffee this morning, I flipped open the laptop to read my email. And there was that word, leaping from the screen: supercalifragilisticexpiali-fuck-it Big. Bright blue. A live link. I almost spewed coffee all over the keyboard. So damn funny! At that moment I didn’t know or care what the post was … Continue reading
Nothing new under the sun
When I logged on this morning, the first thing that caught my eye was the Sallust quotation in the sidebar: “Harmony makes small things grow, lack of it makes great things decay.” How appropriate to the bitter partisan divide in Washington and the nation these days. Sallust, by the way, was a Roman historian writing … Continue reading
Spade cats and gas turbans
When my son mentioned eggcorns and I didn’t know what he was talking about, I had to go find the website. I couldn’t let him be the sole possessor of such knowledge, not when I’m the parent and the former editor. An eggcorn, it turns out, is a word or phrase misheard and then perpetuated, … Continue reading
Today’s oxymoron
Christian militia: As in, “Nine members of a Michigan-based Christian militia group [the Hutaree] have been indicted on sedition and weapons charges in connection with an alleged plot to murder law enforcement officers in hopes of setting off an anti-government uprising.” — New York Times
How do you say 2010?
So what’s it going to be, America? Is 2010 going to be Two Thousand Ten or Twenty Ten? Or maybe even 2K10? CNN’s poll gave a significant majority to Two Thousand Ten. Sorry, I prefer Twenty Ten.
Keeping up with … the kids and kidlets
I used to take great pride in knowing my son’s friends thought I was the “coolest” mom. I don’t know what made them think that, but I loved it. Maybe it was because I actually enjoyed my son’s favorite music and encouraged playing it — loudly — on my big stereo. Sorry, but I don’t … Continue reading
‘Teabagger’ is here to stay
Ouch. I’ve been wincing for months every time someone used the word teabagger on the air. Sometimes it was the Tea Party people themselves, seemingly ignorant of the word’s other, crude meaning. At other times it was liberals who seemed to take great delight in the double entendres they were able to play with on … Continue reading
Media might does not make right
Almost four years ago I wrote a little diatribe about the frequent misuse of the word troop. This grating of media fingernails on my chalkboard continues. Naturally the media are the primary offenders as they spend so much time talking about the US military and its various activities in the Middle East. A troop is … Continue reading
Getting snarky on Shuster
Some of you may recall my howls several months ago when MSNBC’s David Shuster demonstrated the shortcomings of his education by mispronouncing the word sword, repeatedly. Today he made me cringe again. Maybe I’m just hypersensitive about these things. Okay, I seriously am hypersensitive. But quick, how do you pronounce “civet cat”? Well, he pronounced … Continue reading
PC silliness
Just a little addendum to my sunflower post a few days ago … Trying to identify the smaller thistle-like plant growing beneath the sunflowers, I looked up niger seed, a fine, black bird seed I’d always thought was from a thistle. As it turns out, the seed is not from a thistle. It’s not even … Continue reading
Maybe I should change my ways
Based on some chatter on CNN just now, I should consider changing my ways. According to their little report from Nature or wherever they get their science news, my chances of developing dementia will be about 40% less if I have a drink or two every day. Not just red wine, but beer, liquor, or … Continue reading
They still learn grammar, don’t they?
It isn’t difficult for me to find something cringe-worthy on cable news. All I have to do is turn on the TV and wait five minutes. This afternoon it was MSNBC’s David Shuster pronouncing sword with an audible w. And not just once but three or four times in rapid succession, so I know I … Continue reading
OMG, Palinese is contagious!
My grandfather was the first concessionaire here in the park. He had the park service contract to bring people here so they could experience Rocky Mountain National Park. In my veins runs the blood which is the result of my mother drinking the water of the streams and the rivers that eventually joined the streams … Continue reading
Shredding Strunk and White
Marian the Grammarian I am not, although for a number of years I was allowed to impose my ideas of correctness on the writing of others — and got paid for doing it. (How cool is that!?) I’d be the first to admit that no sooner did I walk out of the classroom than I … Continue reading
It’s tea time in Washington
My thanks to Writer Chick for bringing this video to my attention:
The continuing flap over bilingual education
When English is a student’s second language, what should a school do? It’s a big issue here in Colorado, where we have a large Hispanic (or is it Latino?) population. A local grade school landed in the headlines a few weeks ago when its principal, who favored a bilingual, transitional approach, was suspended. The parents, … Continue reading
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