Today's entry in the Common Errors in English Usage Blog.

bully pulpitWe occasionally still use the old positive meaning of the word “bully” when congratulating somebody (sincerely or sarcastically) by saying “Bully for you!” A century ago “bully” meant “good,” “great ( Read more... )

Yesterday's entry from Common Errors of English Usage:

till/untilSince it looks like an abbreviation for "until," some people argue that this word should always be spelled "'til" (though not all insist on the apostrophe). However, "till" has regularly occurred as a spelling of this word for over 800 years; it’s actually older than "until." It is ( Read more... )

Today's Entry from Common Errors in English Usage.

practice/practiseIn the United Kingdom, “practice” is the noun, “practise” the verb; but in the US the spelling “practice” is commonly used for both, though the distinction is sometimes observed. “Practise” as a noun is, however, always wrong in both places: a doctor always has a “practice,” never ( Read more... )

Today's Entry in Common Errors of English Usage:
stationary/stationery
When something is standing still, it’s stationary. That piece of paper you write a letter on is stationery. Let the E in "stationery" remind you of "envelope."

Apologies for all the occasions when I spelled stationery wrong.

fandom_grammar has a great post on important grammer rules.

In the linked article something called "bad parallelism" is discussed. Here's the incorrect example given:
Harry made salsa, guacamole, and brought chips.
Er. I am pretty sure I got this wrong before. :S

The author gives this as a correct rewrite:
Harry made salsa and guacamole and brought chips to go ( Read more... )

Last Weekend's Edition of Common Errors of English Usage:

shined/shoneThe transitive form of the verb "shine" is "shined." If the context describes something shining on something else, use "shined": "He shined his flashlight on the skunk eating from the dog dish." You can remember this because another sense of the word meaning "polished" obviously ( Read more... )

Today's Entry of Common Errors in English Usage:
nicety/niceness
"Nicety" is a noun meaning "fine detail" and is usually used in the plural. You may observe the niceties of etiquette or of English grammar. It is not a noun denoting the quality of being nice. That is "niceness."

See also the sub-title of Good Omens: "The Nice and Accurate ( Read more... )

Today's Entry of Common Errors in English Usage:
teenage/teenaged
Some people object that the word should be "teenaged"; but unlike the still nonstandard "ice tea" and "stain glass," "teenage" is almost universally accepted now.

I get "ice tea" and "teenage attitudes". But "stain glass"????

Today's entry at Common Errors in English Usage:

Old EnglishMany people refer to any older form of English as “Old English,” but this is properly a technical term for Anglo-Saxon, the original language in which Beowulf was written. Norman French combined with Old English to create Middle English, one form of which was used by Geoffrey Chaucer to ( Read more... )

The April 1 blog entry from Common Errors in English Usage is so important for fandom (any slash fandom ;)). And no joke, either.


( Read more... )