It’s not Latin itself that trips people up, per se, but it’s the spelling of the dead language. When interwoven with our everyday speech, Latin usage sometimes allows us to say our ideas in a more sophisticated tone, but this sophistication crumbles if we spell it “per say.”
When you have a moment to chat with an incredibly talented writer with a number of ground-breaking books to his name, there are so many topics you could discuss, but as I’m one for digging in the weeds, seeing what I overturn, and getting my fingernails dirty (with largely digital ink), my direction was fairly clear.
I am honored to have Charles J. Shields join me to kick off my series of “Authors on Editing,” as we count-down to the release of my book, Get a Grip on Your Grammar: 250 Writing and Editing Reminders for the Curious or Confused in April of 2017.
Before you start any fires in your fireplace, make sure the flue is open. Fingers crossed, no bird flew into your chimney and made a nest there. That would sure as heck freak me out—not to mention perhaps bring up concerns of avian flu.
My bird phobias aside—they are fierce little dinosaurs, aren’t they?—please make sure you’re not confusing “flu” vs. “flue” vs. “flew.”
Every year at Christmas time, I find myself wanting to edit a few famous lyrics.
Because, come on, folks, if you know “Dasher and Dancer and Prancer and Vixen, Comet and Cupid and Donner and Blitzen,” and then you’re asked about this other reindeer you may or may not recall, that doesn’t scream famous for that other guy, does it?
When the conversation drifts from wild chickens in Kauai to the mongoose population across the Hawaiian islands, one question comes up every time. Actually, a lot of questions come up every time—ranging from reckless introductions of invasive species to the potential collection of wild chicken eggs—but most importantly for our discussion is the question of the word “mongoose.” When you have one, we have no doubt about the singular form, but…
Did you know that the phrase “knuckling down” derives from the game of marbles where players who focused on putting their knuckles down would be able to produce the best shots? You see, they had to choose their shooter marble, which was most likely a marble bigger than all the others, and then proceed to knock the other marbles out of the ring. That’s roughly the end of my knowledge of the game, but I suddenly want to find someone who can teach me. (There’s not an app for that, or if there is, I’m sure it doesn’t do the schoolyard practice justice.)
Every year around Thanksgiving, someone usually asks me, “What is the difference between ‘bird’ and ‘fowl’?” And it’s finally time to address it in writing.
“Fowl” comes from the from the Old English word fugel, which is related to the Latin word flēogan, which means to fly. A long time ago, “fowl” was used to represent birds of any kind, and this usage still sneaks out today; however, most sources seem to agree that there is a difference between these two words.
I’m not sure what it would mean if someone had a rye sense of humor. Maybe it’s as refreshing as a breeze through the stalks of rye fields.
Conversely, if we’re talking about “wry bread,” I’m a bit fascinated. This bread talks? And it sounds quite intelligent. Wherever did you find it?
Of course, neither of these are probably what you mean to be saying.
These days, there’s a lot of talk about politics, and if we meet over a drink I’ll have that conversation with you. But today, I want to take a step back to a political era of long ago.
Did you know that King Louis XII of France had a Royal Anagramist? Yes, an “anagramist.” Anagrams, or words created by rearranging the letters of a first word, were thought to be mystical in his time, not just word games. In fact an anagram of someone’s name was thought to have predictive properties about their character, their motives, and their destiny. Coolest job ever? Definitely in the running…
Are you suddenly working on anagrams of the names of your favorite or least favorite politicians? If you have some time on your hands, have fun with that. I will give you a starting point.