Category Archives: Language

Amazing! It’s the 2012 Banished Words List

Posted on December 30, 2011 by

Hey, is that a ginormous baby bump occupying the amazing man cave? It’s not the new normal, it’s a multiple pileup of aurally offensive terms on Lake Superior State University’s annual banished words list. For the 2012 list of annoying … Continue reading →

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Associated Press gives the gift of correctness for the holidays

Posted on December 6, 2011 by

Just in time for the non-denominational gift giving season, the Associated Press has published a style guide for common holiday terms. For example, Santa Claus, St. Nicholas, and Kriss Kringle (yes, two s’s) are all ways to refer to the … Continue reading →

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Movember grumble

Posted on November 29, 2011 by

When you shave off the first syllable of moustache, it becomes stache, not stash, okay? If you ask me to look at your “stash” I’m going to expect to see coke and gold doubloons, not your hairy lip. PS Here’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Grammar, Language | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Usage cartoon No. 3: Do you peddle or pedal a bike?

Posted on November 21, 2011 by

When even bike magazines can’t get the difference between peddle and pedal right, you know it’s time for another super-useful and majestically executed MS Paint usage cartoon. The two words are commonly mixed up. To peddle (verb) means to sell … Continue reading →

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Misquoted Facebook status becomes misattributed quote in mere keystrokes

Posted on May 3, 2011 by

Anatomy of a Fake Quotation – Megan McArdle – National – The Atlantic. All it took was one misunderstanding and the deletion of a couple of quotation marks for one Facebook status update to become a quote widely misattributed to … Continue reading →

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Usage cartoon No. 2: Royally bad

Posted on April 26, 2011 by

The second edition of the usage cartoons has been inspired by the fascinatingly endless coverage of the upcoming Royal Wedding. (Which admittedly, I plan to watch.) In several news articles, both tabloid and mainstream, this huge event is described as … Continue reading →

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Usage cartoon no. 1: palette, palate and pallet

Posted on December 2, 2010 by

                                                Bad usage drives me crazy. I just can’t take it anymore. So hopefully, this will be … Continue reading →

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Call a proofreader next time

Posted on October 15, 2010 by

CBC News – British Columbia – Carr statue unveiling marred by bronzed typo. News of an unveiling of a statue dedicated to Emily Carr, a famous BC artist known for her paintings of West Coast forests and coastal villages, got … Continue reading →

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Hug a book, it’s International Literacy Day

Posted on September 8, 2009 by

As the kids get back to school (aaah, sweet nostalgia from this former school nerd), perhaps some of the adults in this country might want to think about joining them. A new Literacy Map of Canada, based on an extensive … Continue reading →

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Word of the day: awesome

Posted on April 21, 2009 by

My friend Rob sent me a link to the blog My First Dictionary. It’s gloriously dark and ironic. Rob is awesome.

Posted in Language, Off Topic | Tagged , | 1 Comment