When you have something that holds your entire argument (or carriage) together, spelling it wrong certainly doesn’t help your cause. How do you spell “lynchpin”/”linchpin”?
This one’s tricky. Just because you’ve seen it written one way doesn’t mean that all uses are standard, and much like “acknowledgements” and “acknowledgments,” both “lynchpin” and “linchpin” can be commonly found online. But the correct answer is…
Wait for it…
A few stolen minutes out of your day to talk words and communication, because our daily lives are surrounded by the evolution and influence of words. Forget the grammar police. There is so much more to this conversation.
Let’s talk journalism, where precision and accuracy with language is essential. As is truth. As is integrity … Oh, wait, I’m getting distracted. (If anyone wants to help me with that revolution, let me know.)
Let’s bring this conversation down to one specific question: Is it “quote unquote” or “quote end quote”? Readers everywhere want to know, right?
Logic might argue one direction, but when has logic ever consistently given you answers to English language questions?
Do you have your answer? How confident are you?
A few stolen minutes out of your day to talk words and communication, because our daily lives are surrounded by the evolution and influence of words. Forget the grammar police. There is so much more to this conversation.
For anyone who’s heard the term “new normal” one too many times and had their mind wander, this writing tip is for you. For me, it wandered to the difference between “normalcy” vs. “normality” and the question of whether one of these words is the hands-down, correct term we should all be using.
What do you think? Which rolls off your tongue?
A few stolen minutes out of your day to talk words and communication, because Ben Franklin and Kurt Cobain both influenced our modern English language, spelling memes deserve to be debunked, and our daily lives are surrounded by the evolution of and the influence of words.
Forget the grammar police. There is so much more to this conversation.
Oh, it feels so good to be back. The Words You Should Know podcast is back!
In our graphically designed worlds, we’re used to seeing lots of polished layouts. In print. On the web. Well done graphic design surrounds us. Yet, when one does this work, when one actively does the designing, how does “layout” become a verb?
Art directors, designers, and publishers, this one is for you.
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Hi there. It’s Kris. How’s everyone doing? I hope you and your words are well, and I do say that to every single one of you, no matter whether you consider yourself a “writer” quote, unquote, or not. We all connect with each other with our words every single day. They matter. But this year has been… well… I don’t know the words to finish that sentence, and that says something considering the focus of this podcast and what I do with every single day of my life.
So much has had our attention this year that we didn’t see coming, but you know what? Our words are in the spotlight too. They always have been, but… wow…
I know, it’s hard to record a podcast about language and communications when I’m a bit speechless, but here we go.
Here’s an instance of when multiple instants combine for a lot of confusion. For instance, there might be instants when spellcheck and autocorrect betray you. It happens. And it’s in an instant like that when we have to make sure we have things right. We have powerful tools and instances of the future on our fingertips, but this power isn’t perfected. So, everyone’s cool with my usages of “instance” vs. “instant” vs. “instances” vs. “instants,” right? No problems here at all?
Well, just in case, let’s talk about these words because I’ve seen them muddled just enough that it’s worth a conversation.
If you meet someone with a certain vibrance, is that different from having a certain vibrancy? Or is one of those usages just simply not correct? One little letter sometimes makes all the difference, doesn’t it?
Do you have a gut instinct here? “Vibrance” vs. “vibrancy” feels like a complicated decision.