Five of the most common mistakes in the English language
Five of the most common language mistakes get a simple explanation. Each sentence explains the difference to better illustrate the usage.
Loss is life-changing
I offer my singular condolence: Grammar
English demands that its users know more than just the meaning of a word. They also must know how it’s used. It’s not okay to slap just any words together.…
My top 10 in how to use capital letters
There’s nothing worse than being tripped up by capital letters. This means having to wade through a long piece of text crippled by incorrectly used capital letters, and not knowing…
Content is king
See the scissors of the sub-editor
Where cash was once king, no-one wants to transact with hard currency, banks charge a fortune for handling the dirty lucre and it’s certainly not safe to be walking around…
Time will get you there
Debug your grammar gremlin
In my job, as sub-editor at a community newspaper, I had to reprimand a reporter for shoddy work. His report was submitted for subbing with several repeated paragraphs. When I…
Imagine money on the laundry line
A new take on money laundering
Last week while editing an academic text, my hawkish eyes fell upon the phrase money laundry. The esteemed professor had made a typographical error. I smiled quietly to myself as…
Smoking gun as only evidence of crime
Is there a smoking gun in the Zondo Commission? idiom origin
While the Zondo Commission takes a deep dive into state capture, many South Africans may hope it finds the "smoking gun". And if you are South African you will know…
Black swan as a metaphor for unprecedented events
Black swan, a label for COVID-19
In much of my research for clients in the past couple of months I have often seen the term black swan. As I know swans to be white in most…
Veracity and voracity: use these words correctly
In the spell of untruths around COVID-19, today, we are going to have some fun exploring the difference between veracity and voracity. These words if not heard correctly can be…
Sub-editor multi-tasking
Say it simply with said. Correct attribution in writing
In my work as a sub-editor, the only word allowed for an attribution is 'said'. No, 'revealed', no 'pointed out', no 'suggested', no 'argued' - just plain 'said'. As I…