Month: June 2016
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Two Words: Dependent / Dependant
Is it dependent or dependant? Perhaps either one? And what does this have to do with smoking hippopotamuses? First, the grammar gremlin: To be dependent (with an “e”) is to rely on, or be supported by, something or someone. Maybe I’m dependent, for example, on coffee to get me going in the morning. In British…
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The Healing Power of Anagrams
Cheri and I benefit from the work of two exceptionally gifted healers: Dr. Rocio Huet, our primary-care physician; and Dr. Craig Hennie, our chiropractor. I’m therefore pleased to note that the letters in “Rocio Huet, healer” rearrange to spell “Hoorah! Elite cure”. And that those in “Doctor Craig Hennie” also spell out “condition recharge”. In…
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The First Firefly of Summer
Cheri spotted it (I didn’t): the first firefly of summer. She saw it on the evening of June 1. Yes, we know it technically isn’t summer yet. That doesn’t arrive this year till June 20. But it sure feels like summer, with temperatures suddenly spiking into the 90s. Seasons are all higgledy-piggledy nowadays anyway, what…
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Two Words: Flaunt / Flout
The words “flaunt” and “flout” are sufficiently similar to cause endless confusion. We flaunt our assets when we show them off, especially with the goal of drawing attention and exciting envy. We flout laws or rules when we disregard them, brazenly and blatantly. If we’ve won a huge lottery jackpot, we might flaunt our new…