Perhaps with birds of prey, you might have a “fowl swoop.” Perhaps with gangly young basketball players, you might have a “foul swoop.” But when you’re looking for what to call a sudden, swift action, “fell swoop” is the correct form. How many of you are writing this one right?
Is “nite” ever right? Can you get away with it in Scrabble? Is this another example of text-speak and late-night fast food chains infringing on our ability to spell?
Your answers: In extremely casual cases, you can get away with “nite,” but note, I’m saying “extremely casual.” Personally, I’d recommend avoiding it at all costs (this spelling makes some people—like yours truly—cringe), but if you’re texting a friend, I suppose this spelling is okay.
However, “nite,” like “lite,” is not an acceptable Scrabble word.
Contrary to first instincts to blame our messy texting and social media posting culture, “nite” has been around for well over 100 years, at least as early as the 1870s. But even with this history, it has never been accepted as a standard form.
And please for the love of words, never say anything about a “nite in shining armor.” That’s just crazy talk. You know better than that.
“Anytime” is a relatively new word—yes, we’re calling early 20th century “recent” for the sake of this linguistic argument. And you know that any time there is a new word, there’s going to be a grammarian hullaballoo. Here’s just another example.
“Anytime” (one word) is considered a casual form, not one for your résumé or emails to advance you up the corporate ladder. In fact, this one-word form is still not recognized by some dictionaries. (I’m looking at you, OED). “Anytime” technically is defined as an adverb meaning “whenever” or “on any occasion,” but as a new word, it is young and defiant, having other meanings too. “Anytime” can also simply mean “No problem,” in response to a “thank you.”
If you aren’t sure if you can get away with “anytime” vs. “any time,” ask yourself if you can replace the word in question with “at any time.”
This idiom is up there with “for all intents and purposes” (not “intensive purposes”), “hunger pangs” (not “pains”), and “exacting” (not “extracting”) revenge for how often it is confused by writers and speakers alike.
Reminder: “Every once in a while” is the proper form of this expression—not “every once and a while,” not “every once in awhile.”
Every once in a while, I seem to notice a certain mistake all over the place.
Every once in a while, I can be polite and not point an accusatory red pen at the offenders.
Every once in a while, I need new red pens because I tend to run them dry.
We’ve already discussed the differences between “awhile” and “a while,” but this expression needed a note of its own. Are you writing it correctly?
Just because spell-check doesn’t flag “waiver” doesn’t mean that it’s the correct word for your sentence.
If you’re feeling weak in the knees, you’re “wavering” not “waivering”—unless, of course, at that moment you are also signing away some prior held privilege. In this case, maybe you’re wavering while you’re waivering? No, that’s still not right. Let’s explore “waiver” vs. “waver” further.
If you were hit by a wave, maybe you’d waver.
If you’re being indecisive, there’s no need to bring legal documents into it.
Just my two cents. Know what you’re saying. Don’t just trust spellcheck, people.
Psst… I have a secret your old high school English teacher didn’t want you to know. It’s okay to begin with “And” or “But.”
There’s a good reason your English teachers didn’t want you starting sentences with a conjunction. Developing strong writing skills is all about learning clarity and precision, and academic writing especially requires a certain language formality—the same formality that requires the proper usage of who vs. whom and semicolons. When students grow up and write professional correspondences, being in the habit of starting sentences in ways other than a conjunction will be a benefit to them.
But, of course, avoiding conjunctions at the start of sentences isn’t a hard rule.
No matter how much the weather makes you feel like gardening (or perhaps not…), there is nothing tracing back to seeds, roots, or things buried far within the dirt with this idiom.
If you have a belief that is held deep in your core, it is “deep-seated”—as in seated deeply within your heart. (Note, there’s a hyphen present since these two words are combining to become an adjective.)
You don’t want to bury your seeds too deeply or they won’t grow. The same goes for this idiom. No more deep seeding, everyone. “Deep-seated” is the way to go.
Words are so much fun sometimes that we often add them in nonsensically, letting them land where they may. Sometimes we stick extra words into sentences where they really have no point. That’s exactly the case when it comes to “equally as.”
Hint: There’s no point to the word “as” next to the word “equally” in most instances. Please clean it up if it spills onto your keyboard.
For example:
Do you see how “as” is never needed in these cases? Yet writers add this little word in all of the time. Why is that? Where did it start? When will it stop?
Admittedly, in instances where you are writing “equally as (adjective) as ____,” making a comparison in the latter half of the sentence, the “as” works–though in this case, there would be two “as”es in the sentence, never just one. I repeat, never just one. Here’s a little grammatical instance of how change can start with you.
100 writing tips compose my book, Alright? Not All Right. My book comprises 100 writing tips. There’s a subtle difference between these words that is essential in mastering their usage. Are you getting them right?
We’ve addressed prickly “I” versus “me” usage, but “myself” needs its own moment in the editorial spotlight. Sure, it can be egotistical or dramatic, but it’s time that “myself” is finally understood. Are you with me?
Above all else, remember that “myself” is not interchangeable with “I” or “me.”
Neither of these sentences is correct. If you’re not sure why, return to that “I” versus “me” refresher. Here’s what you do need to know about this tricky word—and let’s add “yourself,” “himself,” “herself,” “itself,” “ourselves,” “yourselves,” and “themselves” to this conversation too. (These are all reflexive pronouns, but I’ll whisper the grammar jargon so as not to scare you away).