Category: Language
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Two Words: Inept / Adept
Is āadeptā the opposite of āineptā? Yes ā and no. Both in sound and meaning, these words are near-perfect opposites. Their respective origins and histories, however, indicate they have nothing to do with one another. First, some history of my own: Back in the early Seventies, I was a reporter for the Tullahoma News in…
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How to Write a Book by Accident
My latest book came into being by accident. The story behind that is fun (for me, anyway). Maybe even useful (for you and me). What really happened is that I was writing one book, but it ended up being two. The second one is the accident. Hereās the scoop: Sometime last year, I started writing…
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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 āeā) is to rely on, or be supported by, something or someone. Maybe Iām 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. Iām therefore pleased to note that the letters in āRocio Huet, healerā rearrange to spell āHoorah! Elite cureā. And that those in āDoctor Craig Hennieā also spell out ācondition rechargeā. In…
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Two Words: Flaunt / Flout
The words āflauntā and āfloutā 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 weāve won a huge lottery jackpot, we might flaunt our new…
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One Word: Jocular
Are you ever jocular in your use of words? Well, you are, if you ever speak in a joking, humorous, playful manner. Till recently, I divided words and their usages into two categories: formal and colloquial. Formal speech follows the strictest rules and conventions. Itās conservative, prim, and proper. Colloquial speech is more relaxed. Itās…
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Two Words: Prescriptive & Descriptive
In choosing your words, are you prescriptive or descriptive? Thereās nothing necessarily wrong with either one. But youāll choose words more effectively if you know which approach youāre favoring. More precisely, you should know where you fall along the spectrum between these two extremes. Because these really are opposite ends of a continuum. Hereās the…
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Six Words: Rainbow!
How many colors in a rainbow? Six! What? Doesnāt āeverybody knowā there are seven? No, but seven is what most of us were taught: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet. Thatās how I learned them in school. We even were taught to remember them using the name ROY G BIV. Too bad it…
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What’s Your Favorite Color?
Whatās your favorite color? Why do you like it? Mine is blue. It soothes me. Not that blue is the only color I like. Red excites me ā especially those deep maroon shades. In winter, I crave the deep lush green of midsummer. There really arenāt many colors I donāt like. But always I come…
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Two Words: Were / Where
Has anyone else noticed a recent uptick in the frequency with which people misspell āwhereā as āwereā? That is, leaving out the āhā? Resulting in written sentences like āI wonder were I left my car keys?ā Iāve seen this a lot recently. In emails. In text messages. Even in supposedly well-edited articles in newspapers and…
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Contribute a Verse (Thanks, Dev!)
Contribute a verse! Thatās the message from my friend and fellow blogger, Dev Samaddar. So Iāll try. (Read on!) But first, some background: Devās irked by the hype heās hearing lately about ābeing uniqueā and ādeveloping your own styleā. He thinks thereās way too much emphasis on this notion. He challenges it on his website,…
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Tall Oaks From Tiny Eggcorns
Do you use eggcorns in your speech and writing? Donāt answer too quickly! Most of us do use eggcorns, at least occasionally. But by their nature, theyāre something we do without being aware of it. Although eggcorns are common, the word isnāt. Not yet, anyway. An eggcorn is an expression in which we unknowinglyreplace one…