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…
A stonking good word
Every now and then, a word comes a long that makes me prick up my ears and say, 'that's a good one'. Stonking is such a word. There’s so much…
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…
Are these your monkeys?
Not my circus, not my monkeys. Idiom usage
Not my circus. Not my monkeys. I did a double take. I was having coffee with my Irish friend Paul and he was throwing this phrase around throughout our conversation.…
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…
On the shoulders of giants: idiom usage
Although English is widely spoken, it’s seldom spoken well. And nowhere is this more true than in the use of idioms. People who speak English as a first language are…
Kicking the can down the road: idiom usage and origin
When I take my evening walk after about six blocks I reach the park and I walk around it. I can’t help noticing that the streets are strewn with litter.…
Cat got your tongue?
Cat got your tongue? Origin of idioms
Sometimes when I wake up in the middle of the night, my mouth feels like a snake has slept in it and left its blanket behind. My mouth gets that…
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…
