From Wikimedia Commons
This post can be summarized in three simple words: “DON’T USE THEM!”
NYC’s The Deli magazine goes so far as to put a warning at the top of its comments section: “Note: Comments written in all caps will not be posted.”
But why is the use of ALL CAPS (also known as CAPS LOCK) so undesirable?
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According to the Oxford English Dictionary, “leap year” means “a year, occurring once every four years, that has 366 days including February 29 as an intercalary* day.” Where did the “leap” come from? Continue reading
That Gerund Is Funky. This month’s grammar and language usage in the news has a strong political theme — well, people in politics who need editing. Plus what Siri is doing to regional accents, and a big onesie oopsy daisy. Continue reading
Brits: “As ever the pernickety details of modern coppering are minutely observed: Mercurio knows precisely how the police fill out forms to take possession of a lethal weapon.” — The Telegraph in its review of TV’s police drama Line of Duty.
Yanks: “Instead, Carson has turned into an entitled, persnickety bore, grumbling about the corners on his bed and refusing to drink wine because “somehow it feels disloyal” to Lord Grantham.” — Los Angeles Times in its latest Downton Abbey recap.
Oxford English Dictionary‘s definition of pernickety: “Placing too much emphasis on trivial or minor details; fussy”
Merriam-Webster‘s definition of persnickety: “Giving a lot of attention to details that are minor or not important”
Online Etymology Dictionary‘s explanation of both:
Pernickety: “1808 (pernicktie, in Jamieson), “precise, fastidious,” extended form of Scottish pernicky, of uncertain origin, perhaps somehow from particular.”
Persnickety: “1889, alteration of pernickety.”
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Sarah Palin gets in a ‘squirmish’ with coherence/HuffPostUK Politics
That Gerund Is Funky — Feb issue. Recently in grammar and language news: a Palin portmanteau that NPR’s Ari Shapiro can’t let go of; Oxford Dictionaries faces an accusation of sexism; a grammar quiz from The Independent; how to pronounce the name of a Dutch musician with a Swedish-sounding surname; the new legitimacy of the singular ‘they’; and the end of the road for a punctuation mark? Continue reading
Seen on the B train in NYC, 1 February 2016.
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The first United Farmers of Alberta legislative caucus; from Wikimedia Commons
Unless you’re an American or a New Zealander, you might wonder what on earth caucus means. BBC News recently went out onto the streets of London and the Big Apple and asked Brits what they thought caucus meant, and then New Yorkers to explain its meaning to their friends across the pond. The results, shown in the video here, were less than impressive …
Is it a plant or an animal? A poll or a vote? And even if you are American and you know what the noun means, you might find yourself wondering what “to caucus” means and whether it’s legit — since we’re hearing it a lot these days. The verb seems to be a new thing: is it actually a 21st-century phenomenon? Continue reading
Leif Ove Andsnes play-directing; photo from PragueCulture blog
Over here in the world of classical music terminology, we need a new verb. Or at least a verbal expression: something to describe that very common practice of conducting an orchestra or ensemble while playing one’s own instrument. Many pianists do it, violinists too: it’s not at all unusual to see a soloist either nodding his head or gesticulating with her body to direct the accompanying ensemble while their fingers are busy making music on a keyboard or fingerboard. These flexi-omni-musicians will snatch opportunities during a performance to go into full-blown conductor mode whenever they know they have a lot of rests coming up on their sheet music, as Leif Ove Andsnes is doing in the photo above. But there’s no good single verb to capture this very skillful practice (at least not in English.) “Conducting from the keyboard” is one way of describing it, but as well as being a mouthful, it’s only appropriate for pianists — and technically it suggests that they’re simply conducting while sitting or standing next to a piano: there’s nothing in that phrase to suggest that the musician is actually playing at the same time (although we understand that’s what is meant.) Continue reading
Snow in Pittsburgh 2010; from Wikimedia Commons
The poor folks of Washington DC — and many of us East Coast-dwellers — are preparing for Snowmageddon again. We’re buying bread, milk and D batteries (even though we’re all now gluten-free, lactose-free and we’re not quite sure what those batteries are for, but we think we know we need them): the Snowpocalypse is upon us …
Just when did we start adding –geddon and –pocalypse to identify and anticipate our most epic disasters? Whether real or imagined, extreme or banal, terrifying or funny (or all of the above — which many of them turn out to be), they’re invariably something to be feared and laughed about in equal measure, so mega and unreal and threatening are their proportions. Continue reading
Mild spoilers ahead: proceed with caution if you haven’t seen the movie and you’ve been living under a rock (or a bear) over the last few weeks …
Most of us know by now that Leonardo DiCaprio does a very good job of being one (he’s already won a Golden Globe and might well take home an Oscar for it), but how many people still aren’t quite sure — or haven’t yet got around to Googling it — what exactly revenant means? Even Microsoft Word puts a squiggly red line under it, not quite recognizing the noun as part of our standard English usage. Let’s do a quick pop quiz: do you think it means a) someone waking up from a dream? b) someone coming back after a long absence? c) someone returning from the dead?, or d) someone seeking revenge?