It Just Ant Right
From the amusing mistake file: “It ant nothing but a constant struggle, and I mean that literately.” Do I really need to comment? Probably not, but I will anyway. If you’re going to use “ain’t” literately, you absolutely must spell it correctly! And that reminds me of another amusing mistake: “He literarily ran out of [...]
A Matter of Style
Not long ago I edited what I thought was a paper to be submitted to the author’s church authorities. Several things about the formatting and style seemed, well, odd. The tabs were huge (even in the footnotes, which looked especially odd), and all the numbers were written in words (sixty-one thousand instead of 61,000). There [...]
One of Those Days
I am living proof that editors are human and have days we would rather forget. As evidence, I offer you my accomplishments for today. • I woke up an hour before I wanted to, then went back to sleep and overslept by half an hour. • I rolled out of bed, got dressed, and tried [...]
The Sara Selkirk Mysteries (by Morag Joss)
I stumbled upon Sara Selkirk in the library not that long ago. I was first drawn to the Roman-looking cover of the first book in the series, Funeral Music. Reading the back cover, I realized I was holding a British mystery in my hands. The plot sounded intriguing, but the author’s name was the clincher: [...]
An Eye-opening Experience
There are two dictionaries I frequently use. One is Random House Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary (not my favorite, but it’s on my computer and is very convenient). The second is Merriam-Webster Online (my favorite, but you have to go online to use it—not always convenient). These two dictionaries do not always agree on matters of spelling [...]
The Pleasures and Perils of Library Books
I love our local public library. Who could pass up free books and all their pleasures? Sure, you don’t often get to experience that “new book” smell from a library book, but I think there is something appealing about reading a book with a past. Sometimes I sit and wonder how many people have read [...]
@ Is Not “At”
The use of @ for “at” is a new phenomenon that makes me want to poke my eyes out. Well, I guess technically it is not a phenomenon; it is really just one of those annoying things people do. Perhaps it isn’t even all that new, but I’ve only recently noticed @ showing up in [...]
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