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Writers Talk About Writing
Seven Sentences You Should Stop Writing
November 23, 2020
Seven common mistakes all writers should look for when editing.
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November 23, 2020
Seven common mistakes all writers should look for when editing.
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From nostalgia to fauxstalgia, from golden oldie to Before Time, here are some of the ways we talk about days gone by.
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Article Topics:
Evasive Maneuvers
Euphemisms old and new
Full-Contact Experiences with Malarkey
November 12, 2020
Here are some euphemisms to help you get through the rest of this year's "human hibernation."
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Article Topics:
Many phrasal verb particles, after long use, begin to take on a life of their own that departs significantly from what common sense suggests they should mean.
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Automatically create lists of vocabulary from any text
using the Visual Thesaurus VocabGrabber.
January 18th is celebrated as Thesaurus Day to honor the birthday of the author of the first thesaurus, Peter Mark Roget. Get into the spirit by reading our two-part interview with Roget biographer Joshua Kendall here and here. Also check out an ode to the thesaurus penned by Franklin P. Adams here and Johnny Carson's hilarious "Funeral for a Thesaurus Editor" sketch here.
On the first Monday in September, the United States observes Labor Day, while Canadians celebrate Labour Day. If you want to know why labour is the accepted spelling in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth countries like Canada, while Americans prefer labor (and color, favor, honor, humor, and neighbor), check out this classic Word Routes column by Ben Zimmer.
Article Topics:
French Hugging Citizen Scientists in Unscripted Times
August 7, 2020
- 4 Comments
What's Up? The Gig or the Jig? (And Other Conundrums)
July 31, 2020
- 7 Comments
How to Let Go of the 'Sorry' Cycle and Begin Again
July 23, 2020
- 3 Comments
Dreaming of Warm Lines and Patriot Pay
Click here to browse all the articles in our archive by date.
July 9, 2020
- 3 Comments
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Seven Sentences You Should Stop Writing
David C. said,
"After reading your post, Daphne, the fact that you are grammar helpful was proved beyond doubt by the things you shared. They proved to be or not to..."
- Thursday November 26th, 9:50 AM
Jeff S. said,
"Thank you for a refreshing reminder about the traps that lay in every sentence. I confront the roaches in my writing all the time, mostly trying to..."
- Wednesday November 25th, 11:26 AM
Nelson B. said,
"Excellent tips!"
- Tuesday November 24th, 5:34 PM
Full-Contact Experiences with Malarkey
Phil H. said,
"You broke my Hilarity Meter this time, Mark."
- Saturday November 14th, 4:41 PM
Robert E M. said,
"I recomed Mark Peters as the one guy that can garuntee my outloud laugh. Keep puncturing the bloated egos of today."
- Friday November 13th, 10:00 AM
Which Way Is Up?
Van M. said,
"Like Randy, I wonder about regional variations for some of these - I seem to recall my Southern (US) relatives saying "slow up," while my Northern..."
- Tuesday November 10th, 12:34 PM
Master of the Malarkey Arts
Jack B said,
"Mark I just came across a great one that I need to share. The "Fact Check" site has an article on the President's allegations of vote fraud. In PA his..."
- Monday November 9th, 12:30 PM
Which Way Is Up?
Orin Hargraves said,
"Elaine: interesting observation, and it would be useful to look at the distribution of phrasal particles in verbs typically used imperatively: "slow..."
- Sunday November 8th, 8:46 AM
Randy Cantu said,
"I've often wondered why some things "burn up" while other things "burn down". I always assumed that it had to do with size or permanence; for example,..."
- Friday November 6th, 6:07 PM
Elaine W. said,
"I would use slow down as a warning, and a command when my driver is speeding. But, I would use slow up for practical reasons, such as when searching..."
- Friday November 6th, 12:36 PM
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Put the VT to work in your classroom
Stage Directions: the Vocabulary of Theatrical Delivery
November 1, 2013
How can interpreting the language of stage directions enhance students' comprehension of drama?
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