This week, I was subbing a story about horses that had been rescued from dire circumstances. If not for the language educated among us, the situation could have given rise…
The English language is so rich and diverse that one lifetime is just not enough to master all of it. But I have discovered that as much as English owes…
I am reading a book in which the author has swamped the pages with an oversupply of adjectives. Of course, this is just my opinion, but I find the need…
Last month I received a self-sealing letter in the post. These are usually some or other form of traffic infringement notice. Indeed, it was. But it was red. This was…
Why is surgery an operation? When asking this question, it brings to mind a scenario in a sitcom. For example, in The Nanny, Fran could be devastated when she learns…
Have you ever paid attention to the ampersand? Did you know that it and similarly formed words are called mondegreens? Newspaper style prefers the use of a full “and” only…
Usually I write about grammar, but what about style? Grammar, if you know the rules, can with effort and dedication be learnt. Style, however, is unique to the individual. Writing…
I once punned in a headline “No comma sense”. This referred to a number quoted by a government department which did not know where to put the comma between noughts…
With so much exposure to people’s dirty legal laundry and equal amounts of televised fictional dramas – Law and Order my personal favourite – I often heard the charge of…
There’s not much to say about incidence and incident except that temptation (also read auto brain) to misuse the two words is quite common. It’s one of those cases in…
