Author Topic: New column-type thingy (Read 112384 times)

Jonathon · « **Reply #675 on:** April 25, 2014, 10:19:02 AM »

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2VsIRdNSNdw

Jonathon · « **Reply #676 on:** May 12, 2014, 10:09:36 AM »

Mother's Day

Tante Shvester · « **Reply #677 on:** May 12, 2014, 11:44:22 AM »

So is it Martha's Vineyard or Marthas Vineyard? I always thought the former.

Jonathon · « **Reply #678 on:** May 12, 2014, 02:08:24 PM »

It is actually Martha's Vineyard. It's one of the few exceptions to the ban on apostrophes in place names.

Tante Shvester · « **Reply #679 on:** May 12, 2014, 02:22:51 PM »

I drove to Massachusetts the weekend before last, and remembered the apostrophe on signs. I suppose the reason the postal service wanted to get rid of apostrophes is that back before modern-day printing and letter sorting equipment, the apostrophes would sometimes fall off the envelopes and clog up the machinery. Martha's Vineyard, being an affluent area, was probably able to hire servants to manually clean out any apostrophic build-up daily.

Jonathon · « **Reply #680 on:** June 10, 2014, 02:56:05 PM »

Do usage debates make you nauseous?

BlackBlade · « **Reply #681 on:** June 10, 2014, 07:35:33 PM »

Could it be they are using "nausea" in the same way one might use "noxious"? They both cause a condition.

Tante Shvester · « **Reply #682 on:** June 10, 2014, 09:16:30 PM »

I always say "nauseated" rather than "nauseous" ever since a high school English teacher embarrassed me in front of the class. I'd asked to be excused because I was nauseous, and he answered, "Yeah, I guess you do kind of smell disgusting".

Annie Subjunctive · « **Reply #683 on:** June 10, 2014, 09:47:48 PM »

That column made me want to puke.

BlackBlade · « **Reply #684 on:** June 10, 2014, 10:52:38 PM »

Quote from: Tante Shvester on June 10, 2014, 09:16:30 PM

I always say "nauseated" rather than "nauseous" ever since a high school English teacher embarrassed me in front of the class. I'd asked to be excused because I was nauseous, and he answered, "Yeah, I guess you do kind of smell disgusting".

Tante Shvester · « **Reply #685 on:** June 11, 2014, 05:09:53 AM »

He meant it as a joke and a usage lesson; I was mortified nonetheless. He apologized later, but I still say "nauseated".

Jonathon · « **Reply #686 on:** June 11, 2014, 08:06:40 AM »

Quote from: BlackBlade on June 10, 2014, 07:35:33 PM

Could it be they are using "nausea" in the same way one might use "noxious"? They both cause a condition.

Who's "they"? I'm not sure I understand the question.

Quote from: Tante Shvester on June 10, 2014, 09:16:30 PM

I always say "nauseated" rather than "nauseous" ever since a high school English teacher embarrassed me in front of the class. I'd asked to be excused because I was nauseous, and he answered, "Yeah, I guess you do kind of smell disgusting".

What a jerk.

pooka · « **Reply #687 on:** August 30, 2014, 03:22:52 PM »

You should have vomited on him. Then you could be both!

Jonathon · « **Reply #688 on:** September 08, 2014, 03:32:42 PM »

Is the Oxford comma ungrammatical?

rivka · « **Reply #689 on:** September 08, 2014, 04:06:27 PM »

Quote

I don’t pretend that my preference is an ironclad grammatical law or proof of my superiority.

I do.

Everyone should use the Oxford comma because it makes me happy!

Annie Subjunctive · « **Reply #690 on:** September 09, 2014, 10:31:03 AM »

I'm exercising a ton of self-restraint and not quoting Vampire Weekend in the comments section.

rivka · « **Reply #691 on:** October 06, 2014, 09:44:57 AM »

http://drdoyleeditorial.com/2014/10/06/of-course-its-a-good-post-after-all-i-agree-with-it/

(I follow Debra Doyle on G+.)

Jonathon · « **Reply #692 on:** October 06, 2014, 10:08:20 AM »

It blows my mind how much traffic I still get on that post.

Jonathon · « **Reply #693 on:** October 06, 2014, 10:08:44 AM »

New post on Visual Thesaurus (not paywalled this time): Less Usage Problems.

rivka · « **Reply #694 on:** October 06, 2014, 10:19:05 AM »

Quote from: Jonathon on October 06, 2014, 10:08:20 AM

It blows my mind how much traffic I still get on that post.

It's because you included the word "listicle".

Quote from: Jonathon on October 06, 2014, 10:08:44 AM

New post on Visual Thesaurus (not paywalled this time): Less Usage Problems.

Hmm. Ok, I think I agree with that.

But it's still less coffee, fewer donuts.

Jonathon · « **Reply #695 on:** October 07, 2014, 12:10:19 PM »

Here's a teaser for my actual column in Copyediting. The full column is only available to subscribers.

Jonathon · « **Reply #696 on:** October 23, 2014, 10:32:41 AM »

I was interviewed for Grammarist, but it looks like their site is having trouble today.

Tante Shvester · « **Reply #697 on:** October 23, 2014, 10:44:55 AM »

Kudos. You come off as charming and humble.

Jonathon · « **Reply #698 on:** October 23, 2014, 10:47:22 AM »

Thanks! I was a little thrown by a few of the questions, especially "greatest contribution to the English language" one. I was like, I'm just this guy, you know.

Tante Shvester · « **Reply #699 on:** October 23, 2014, 10:56:59 AM »

You could have claimed to have coined a ridiculously common word. Or to have invented intransitive verbs.