Words of the year
It’s that time of year again—the time when dictionaries and self-proclaimed vocabulary nuts across the Internet unveil their “word of the year.” Though I’m no lexicographer (one who writes, compiles,...
View Article2012 banished words list
This year, you might want to choose your words carefully—and be sure to steer clear of those terms recently “banished” by the folks at Lake Superior State University in Michigan. Every year since 1976,...
View ArticleNational Grammar Day
On March 4, let’s march forth and honor grammar! Established in 2008 by Martha Brockenbrough, writer and founder of the Society for the Promotion of Good Grammar (SPOGG), National Grammar Day is an...
View ArticlePut a poem in your pocket
On Thursday, April 26, don’t leave home without your favorite poem in your pocket! Part of National Poetry Month, Poem In Your Pocket (PIYP) Day is all about sharing and celebrating poetry. Started in...
View ArticleOn the double
… double contraction, that is. In the grammar world, double contractions are words that contain two clitics (unstressed words that can’t stand on their own so they attach to a stressed word), such as...
View ArticleHappy National Punctuation Day!
September 24 marks the ninth annual National Punctuation Day® (NPD), the holiday that, according to the NPD website, “reminds America that a semicolon is not a surgical procedure.” As grammar lovers...
View ArticleCongratulations!
Congratulations to Building Excellent Schools and the creative crew at Pagano Media on their recent Gold International Davey Award for Website Design (Education Category) from the International Academy...
View ArticleBanished!
Each year, Lake Superior State University in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., releases its “List of Words to Be Banished from the Queen’s English for Misuse, Overuse and General Uselessness.” Compiled from...
View ArticleCelebrate Grammar!
Grammarians, unite—and celebrate! March 4 is National Grammar Day, a day to “speak well, write well, and help others do the same.” It's a mission we writers and editors promote all year long. So, how...
View ArticleSay what?
When I first met my husband, we had a lot of fun comparing dialects. You see, he’s from the Midwest, and I’m from New England (or “out East,” as his family still calls it), and, when it comes to...
View ArticleWe’re “literally” changing the dictionary
In case you haven’t heard, Google recently updated its online dictionary to include a new definition of the word literally: Used to acknowledge that something is not literally true but is used for...
View ArticleIt’s National Punctuation Day!
Think an ellipsis is when the moon moves in front of the sun? Then today is for you. Take some time on this 10th annual National Punctuation Day® (NPD) to brush up on the proper use of...
View Article2013 Word-pocalypse
Every year, I look forward to New Year’s Eve, when the snarky word police at Lake Superior State University (Sault Ste. Marie, Mich.) release their annual List of Words to be Banished from the Queen’s...
View ArticleGood grammar
Happy National Grammar Day! March forth today (on March 4) to “speak well, write well, and help others do the same.” As a writer and editor, that’s actually my job every day of the year. But, today,...
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