The Terms of Christmas, Present
Christmas classics have injected many words and phrases into the language.
My wife and I were out Christmas shopping last week and came home with an armload of classic holiday DVDs that we somehow didn't already own. She'd gathered up every title you probably know, and we spent a couple of evenings watching our way through the pile. During this latter-day review of the holiday favorites of our childhood, it struck me that there were a surprising number of terms and phrases that had become familiar either directly from these Christmas classics or from their sources.
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Flash Card: The Elephant Effect
The difference between "affect" and "effect" stumps even experienced writers.
Oh, "effect" and "affect" -- why can't one of you be a noun and the other a verb? That would make life so much easier. But no, you are each a noun AND a verb and thus the inspiration for much head-scratching.
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Dennis Baron's Word of the Year for 2011: "Volatility"
When the world is in a bipolar mood, we need a volatile word to capture the zeitgeist.
Dennis Baron, English professor at the University of Illinois and author of the blog The Web of Language, writes:
The Web of Language Word of the Year for 2011 is "volatility." Volatility may not be trendy like occupy or Arab Spring, but it's the one word that characterizes the bipolar mood of 2011 in everything from politics to economics. Continue reading...The Language of Cyber-Malfeasance
For every bad thing you can do with computers, there's a word to describe it.
I have only a glancing relationship with the fascinating world of computer security. But I've realized recently that even we non-experts have a pretty rich vocabulary for the many flavors of ill intent in the world of computers and beyond.
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Recently I was writing a tweet and typed "on account of." Something about it seemed wrong to me, but I couldn't say what. I rewrote my tweet, determined to look into the troubling phrase when I had a moment.
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Grammar Bite: Making Media Agree
It can be tricky trying to decide whether "media" is singular or plural.
When media is used to refer to "means of mass communication," should it be considered a singular or plural noun? According to Erin Brenner, founder of Right Touch Editing, the answer depends on whom you ask.
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Though I became an editor partly because I enjoy finding fault in the work of others, I have on occasion tried to help my fellow man and woman right some of the more popular wrongs perpetrated against the language.
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