Your Dad Went Into a Comma? That’s a Great Trick!
Hey, folks, people cannot go into commas….they go into comas. A coma is a medical condition characterized by lack of responsiveness to external stimuli. People may be in comas for a few days or for years. Robin Cook has a book called Coma which is quite a good medical thriller. A comma has nothing at […]
I Did Not Allot a Lot of Time for This Post
So let me get straight to the point. There seems to be a great deal of confusion over this little issue. Allot is a verb. It means to parcel out, to assign, to apportion. Example: That doctor allots only five minutes to each patient. A lot is two words. It is a noun phrase and […]
Surprising Spelling Tip of the Week
Interesting word, “minuscule.” Means “tee-ninesy, itty-bitty, microscopically small, insignificant.” And it’s spelled funny. You’d think it was supposed to be spelled “miniscule” with the “mini-” like the one in “miniature” or “Mini-Me.” But it isn’t! It’s spelled “minuscule” with a “minus” as in “less than.” Who knew? A coworker called me on this one, and […]
A Dilettante Has Nothing to Do With Pickles!
Well, nothing, that is, unless your “dilettante” is a pickle-lover. “Dillettante.” A common misspelling, this, and sometimes humourous. But for those who have the affliction of needing to be right, there are certain words in the language that give us nightmares. “Chaffeur” …”amateur” … “connoisseur.” But the Big Kahuna of them all is “dilettante.” Everyone knows […]
Chile Is Neither Chili nor Chilly, and It Has Nothing to Do With Peppers
Ah, the confusion of reading “We ate some chile last night.” What, you like mud pies? Chile, pronounced /chee-LAY/ by those who know, is a subtropical country in South America. Interestingly enough, it’s long and skinny, having the rough outline of a nice serrano pepper. Chili, pronounced /CHI-lee/, is either a hot pepper, such as […]
Don’t Snigger at Me, You Oaf!
Once again, a controversy over spellings darkens the skies. Is it “snicker” or “snigger”? Let the Grammar Guru help, won’t you? Snicker means “to utter a half-stifled, possibly snide, laugh.” Snigger means “a disrespectful laugh, usually partly-stifled.” In essence, they are synonyms, although snigger carries more negative connotations of disrespect or furtiveness, usually giving the […]
Serial Killers Don’t Murder Cereals
A cereal killer would be someone who takes the life out of your bowl of porridge. A serial killer, on the other hand, is someone who makes a habit of taking the lives of others according to a pattern. Cereal, you see, is a noun meaning a type of grain product. In Europe, it can […]
When You Need Advice, Ask Someone to Advise You!
The Grammar Guru has been asked to explain the difference between advise and advice, two frequently misused words that should be easy to tell apart. Advise is a verb, meaning “to tell someone what they ought to do.” It is pronounced /ad-VIZE/. Someone advised him not to invest in widgets. Advice is a noun, meaning […]
There Was No Cavalry at Calvary
At least, not a cavalry as we know it. A cavalry, pronounced /kav ul ree/, is a group of mounted soldiers. Calvary, pronounced /kal vuh ree/, is the place where Jesus was crucified, on Mount Golgotha, just outside the gates of Jerusalem. While there were soldiers present at the Crucifixion, they were infantry — Roman […]
Focusing on Double or Nothing…And No Bussing, Please!
The word focus is, like so many words, “a puzzlement” when it comes to adding suffixes. According to Fowler, the proper inflections are focus, focused, focuses, focusing. Fowler notes, however, that many printers and publishers use the “-ss-” form instead. It is not, apparently, solely a British tendency. Fowler also points out an interesting exception […]