Jan Freeman, language columnist for the Boston Globe, has published a fascinating new book: an expanded edition of Write It Right, Ambrose Bierce's 1909 volume on English usage, "deciphered, appraised, and annotated for 21st-century readers." We caught up with Jan to ask how Bierce's century-old language peeves have held up, and what his work tells us about current usage struggles.  Continue reading...

Wendalyn Nichols, editor of the Copyediting newsletter, offers useful tips to copy editors and anyone else who prizes clear and orderly writing. Here she looks at why a seemingly simple rule of English, whether to use a or an as an indefinite article, can cause confusion.  Continue reading...

Jack Lynch, author of The Lexicographer's Dilemma, has a new blog on the Psychology Today website entitled "Proper Words in Proper Places." His latest post explores how the rules of language, like the rules of dress, do not follow any official guidelines. Read it here.

Veteran copy editor John E. McIntyre holds forth entertainingly on all manner of issues related to language and editing on his blog, "You Don't Say." Here McIntyre wonders why we're stuck with the term foodie when there are so many serviceable gastronomic alternatives.  Continue reading...

Wendalyn Nichols, editor of the Copyediting newsletter, offers useful tips to copy editors and anyone else who prizes clear and orderly writing. Here she looks at the all-too-common confusion of principal and principle.  Continue reading...

Britain's Plain English Campaign has given out its annual Golden Bull Awards for "the worst examples of written tripe." The winners this year include American Airlines and Coca Cola. You can read the exquisite examples of official gobbledygook here.