Editor's Corner

Good morning! This article caught my eye because I’m currently planning a trip to Greece to visit my relatives and do some celebrating during Orthodox Easter. As I drool over thoughts of my aunt’s cooking and the neighborhood gyros maker’s delights, I send you this article on Greek letters, from Daily Writing Tips.

Alpha and beta, the words for the first two letters of the Greek alphabet, were combined—in Greek, Latin, Middle English, and Modern English consecutively—to denote a set of letters, constituting a language’s written system, arranged in a traditional order. The first and last letters, alpha and omega, also have a resonance in Christianity, as the Bible has God referring to himself as “the beginning and the end, the first and the last.”

Alpha also has a sense borrowed from the use of the term in science to describe the first, primary, or dominant specimen in a group, as in referring to the leader of a wolf pack as the alpha. By extension, in popular culture, an alpha male is a dominant, competitive, and aggressive man. Alpha is also the first stage in development of a product, especially software or hardware, during which the bugs are (ostensibly) worked out.

Beta, in turn, refers to the next iteration of a product when a select group of people not involved in development of the product are invited to test it to enable further refinement. The word is also used in rock climbing as slang for “advice,” but this usage apparently stems from the name of the obsolete Betamax videotape format, not directly from the name of the second letter of the Greek alphabet.

Delta, based on the shape of the Greek letter by that name, came in English to refer to a triangular area of land where a river divides into smaller flows of water as it nears an ocean; numerous deltas exist around the world, but the most prominent are the Nile Delta, in Egypt, and (to Americans, at least) the Mississippi River Delta, in Louisiana—the latter not to be confused with the Mississippi Delta, a land-bound geographic region in the northern part of Mississippi. It is the latter designation, not the former one, that inspired the phrase “Delta blues” to refer to the distinctive music form that developed in that part of the United States.

Iota, as the smallest letter of the Greek alphabet, came to mean “a very small amount,” as in “He doesn’t have an iota of common sense.” The word was sometimes transcribed by Latin scholars as jota, which led to the synonym jot. (This is also the source of the verb jot, meaning “quickly make a note.”).

Omega, as mentioned before, refers to the last or least of anything, including the omega wolf in a pack, while psi, in addition to its frequent use in scientific and technical contexts, refers to psychic or paranormal activity.

Kara Church

Technical Editor, Advisory

619-542-6773 | Ext: 766773

Symitar Documentation Services

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Some of you may have already gotten a jump-start on your spring-cleaning. If not, don’t worry, here’s a list of clean idioms from Daily Writing Tips to motivate you.

1. clean (one’s) plate: eat all the food served

2. clean (someone’s) clock: beat or defeat soundly

3. clean as a whistle: pure or free of involvement in illegal activities

4. a clean bill of health: notification that a person or entity is in good health or operating condition (from a report from a health official that all crew and passengers on a ship arriving in a port are free of illness)

5. clean break: abrupt and complete disassociation

6. clean code: well-written computer-programming code

7. clean conscience: absence of guilt or remorse (also “clear conscience”)

8. clean cut: tidy and well groomed

9. clean getaway: uninterrupted escape

10. clean house: rid an organization of corruption or inefficiency

11. clean (someone or something) out of: remove people or things

12. clean sheet: variant of “clean slate” (mostly used in British English); alternatively, said of an athlete or team that allows no goals (British English)

13. clean slate: a fresh chance or start (from the now-outmoded use of chalk on slate to record one’s debt at a tavern)

14. clean sweep: the winning of all competitions or prizes

15. clean the floor up (with someone): beat someone up

16. clean up: make something clean or proper, earn or win a lot of money, reform, or defeat

17. clean up (one’s) act: improve or reform

18. clean out: leave bare or empty, or take or deplete

19. come clean: be honest

20-21. have clean hands/keep (one’s) hands clean: be without guilt

22. keep (one’s) nose clean: stay out of trouble

23. make a clean breast of it: admit the truth

24. squeaky clean: completely clean or incorruptible

25. wipe the slate clean: give someone a fresh change or start (see “clean slate”)

Thank you,

Jackie Solano | Technical Editor | Symitar®

8985 Balboa Ave. | San Diego, CA 92123 | Ph. 619.542.6711 | Extension: 766711

Symitar Documentation Services

This past Sunday, our local language-loving Richard Lederer wrote a nice tribute about the San Diego Zoo in his column. Along with that, he included some interesting animal-related etymologies and idioms that I thought you might enjoy. For the full article, click this link: San Diego Union-Tribune.

The English used to call the yellow, shaggy weed a “lion’s tooth” because the jagged, pointed leaves resemble the lion’s snarly grin. During the early 14th century, the lion’s tooth plant took on a French flavor and became the dent-de-lion, “tooth-of-the-lion.” Then it acquired an English accent: dandelion….

When people are capricious and caper about, they are acting like a frisky, playful billy goat. Caprice, capricious, caper and Capricorn all come to us from the Latin caper, “goat.” Goats caper through our English vocabulary:

· A goatee is a trimmed chin beard that resembles the tufts of hair on a goat’s chin. Perhaps the most famous goatee adorns the chin of our own Uncle Sam.

· A cabriolet was originally a light, two-wheeled vehicle drawn by one horse. The jaunty motion of the small carriage reminded some of the frisky leaps of a goat. Hence, cabriole, ultimately shortened to cab.

· The island of Capri is so named because of the goats that graze on it.

· And goats caper in one very common expression in American English. High-strung racehorses are sometimes given goats as stable mates to calm them, and the two animals can become inseparable companions. Certain gamblers have been known to steal the goat attached to a particular horse that they want to run poorly the next day. By extension, when we get someone’s goat, we upset them and throw off their performance.

Biologically, a tadpole is a larval amphibian. Etymologically, tadpole is formed from the Middle English tode, “toad”+ polle, “head” because a tadpole looks like a toad that is all head, with the limbs to grow out later. The clipped form tad swam into American English around 1915 with the meaning “a small amount,” as in “a tad of sugar” and “a tad chilly.”

As for muscle, it is easy to see why the word derives from the Latin musculus—“little mouse.” A twitching muscle resembles the movements of a small mouse beneath the skin.

Kara Church

Technical Editor, Advisory

619-542-6773 | Ext: 766773

Symitar Documentation Services

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Dear Editrix,

I’m seeing this more often now and it bugs me: When did publicly become publically?

Publicly Curious in San Diego

Dear Curious,

This is one of those examples of our ever-changing language. I’m with you. I like publicly, and that has been considered the correct spelling for a long time. However, this article I found is interesting, so I thought I’d share part of it with you. For the full article, see the Stroppy Editor. (And by the way, the punctuation and spelling is British, so don’t get too upset with the author.)

Publicly vs. Publically

From time to time I see “publically” in copy. I’ve even caught myself typing it once or twice. It’s widely regarded as a mistake (although some dictionaries now list it as a variant spelling).

But the approved spelling, “publicly”, is a unique oddity. It’s the only adverb ending in “–icly” formed from an adjective that ends in “–ic”.

Compare:

· hectic – hectically

· tragic – tragically

· archaic – archaically

· cryptic – cryptically

· idiotic – idiotically

And so on. But “public” alone bucks the trend to become “publicly”.

People who write “publically” – whether through momentary carelessness or because they think that’s how it’s spelt – may be mistaken but they’re not stupid. They’re promoting regularity in the language. They’re like children who say “runned” and “buyed” and “bringed” because they’ve worked out the rule for forming past-tense verbs but haven’t realised that there are exceptions.

We get taught about these exceptions, though: there are over 100 irregular verbs, most well-known. But there’s only one “publicly”, so people are less aware of it as an issue and it appears in adult usage far more than over-regularised verbs.

Kara Church

Technical Editor, Advisory

Symitar Documentation Services

Today I want to talk about when to use the word where and when to use the word which. Let’s just jump right into a couple of examples, so you know what I’m talking about.

· Episys® presents a dialog box where you can choose to use the standard or deluxe PowerOn® editor.

· Join us for this session where we use business cases to show you better ways to access and use data with different tools, including Excel®.

The two sentences above may seem fine to you, and that’s because you may hear people speak this way. However, in professional circles, this kind of writing is considered too conversational. Typically, the word where denotes a physical location, so the preferred, professional choice is which. A suggested revision for the first example would be:

· Episys presents a dialog box at which you can choose to use the standard or deluxe PowerOn editor.

If that seems too stuffy (and I would say that it does), you can always revise the sentence further:

· When the dialog box appears, choose the standard or deluxe PowerOn editor.

Now, here’s a suggestion for how to revise the second example from above:

· Join us for this session in which we use business cases to show you better ways to access and use data with different tools, including Excel.

That sentence is OK, but it could be even better. Here’s a smoother option:

· During this session, we will use business cases to show you better ways to access and use data with different tools, including Excel®.

Yeah, that’s more like it! As you can see, it often takes more than one attempt to come up with a sentence that is both professional and succinct. Take the time. Your audience will appreciate it!

Donna Bradley Burcher | Senior Technical Editor | Symitar®

8985 Balboa Ave. | San Diego, CA 92123 | Ph. 619.278.0432 | Ext: 765432

Good morning, all! I received another request from the audience to explain the difference between the word “apart” and the two words “a part.” Today we’ll have a look at the definitions so you know which one to use when the time comes.

apart: Apart is an adverb, which implies separation.

Examples:

· My cousin and Joe were split apart after trying to punch each other.

· The twins were raised apart from each other to prove whether certain traits were more representative of nature or nurture.

· I tore apart the packaging trying to get to my new accordion.

a part: A is an article, which in this case means one. Part is a noun that means a piece of something.

Examples:

· As a part of this team, we expect you to attend meetings on the weekend.

· He is playing a part in the play—I believe it’s Nick Carraway.

· I live in a part of the house that is cold and damp.

ape art: Art created by a member of the primate family.

Kanzi the bonobo and his ape art

Kara Church

Technical Editor, Advisory

Symitar Documentation Services

Today is St. Patrick’s Day, a holiday commemorating the fifth-century Christian missionary and patron saint of Ireland.

Gaelic (also called Irish Gaelic or simply Irish) is the national language of the Republic of Ireland and an officially recognized language in Northern Ireland. Irish Gaelic has about 40,00080,000 native speakers. Scottish Gaelic, which shares a linguistic ancestor, has about 57,000 speakers.

Although Gaelic is not widely spoken today, English has borrowed several words from Gaelic. Here are six you may already know:

• banshee: a female spirit in Gaelic folklore (from bean-sth, woman of fairyland)
• galore: abundant, plentiful (from go leor, enough)
• slew: a large number (from sluagh)
• slob: a slovenly or boorish person (from slab, mud, ooze)
• slogan: a brief attention-getting phrase (from sluagh-ghairm, army cry)
• whiskey: a liquor distilled from fermented wort (from uisce beatha, water of life)

Ben Ritter | Technical Editor | Symitar
8985 Balboa Avenue | San Diego, CA 92123
619-682-3391 | or ext. 763391 | www.Symitar.com

NOTICE: This electronic mail message and any files transmitted with it are intended
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Kara is enjoying a well-deserved day off today, but she left you the gift of this Editor’s Corner.

Hello all,

Today is part two of your apostrophe lesson from Daily Writing Tips. Enjoy!

Apostrophe Errors to Avoid (continued)

7. With a Span of Years
Some publications persist in using an apostrophe in a reference to a span of years, but that form is outdated: Write, for example, “The style, which flourished briefly in the 1960s, made a comeback several decades later” (not 1960’s) and “He continued to work well into his 70s” (not 70’s).

Generally, an apostrophe should follow a number only if it is possessive (“It was 1985’s longest-reigning Top 40 hit”), though this style is awkward. (An exception is use of a number to stand in for a person, such as when an athlete is identified by a uniform number, as in “It was number 13’s lucky day.”)

8. With the Plural Form of a Word Used as a Word
Don’t apostrophize the conjunctions in “There are no ifs, ands, or buts about it” or the counterpoints in “A helpful list of dos and don’ts follows.” (Do, however, retain the intrinsic apostrophe in the plural form of don’t.)

9. With the Plural Form of a Letter Used as a Letter
Even when a letter is italicized, it still looks awkward to simply place an s next to it to indicate plurality, so do insert an apostrophe: “How many m’s do you spell hmm with?” (Follow this rule even when, in the case of an expression such as “Mind your p’s and q’s,” italicization isn’t necessary.) However, omit an apostrophe when pluralizing capital letters: “She received only As and Bs on her last report card.” [KC – Here we would still use an apostrophe after the vowels so that they aren’t confused with actual
words, such as As or Is.]

10. With Brand Names
Many brand names, such as Starbucks Coffee, that technically should include apostrophes don’t, for one of two reasons (or both): A company decides that the brand name and/or logo look better without an apostrophe, or it reasons that it’s better to omit the punctuation mark so that people typing the URL for the company’s website into a web browser or searching for it (or for other references to the company) online won’t have difficulty doing so. Yes, “Starbucks Coffee” is a “mistake,” but one the company has the right to make (and writers and editors have an obligation to honor). [KC – Even though most editors I know would rather have it written correctly than get a free cup of coffee for editing it incorrectly.]

Kara Church

Technical Editor, Advisory

Symitar Documentation Services

Good morning, folks!

I still see a lot of apostrophe problems in documents I receive and it pains me…mostly because I can tell that you are trying really hard to do things correctly. It’s almost as if some rules flip-flopped as they crossed through your brain; I know it’s happened to me.

Here is the first part of an article from Daily Writing Tips to help everyone with apostrophes.

Apostrophe Errors to Avoid

1. With Plurals
Writing the plural form of a noun in which an apostrophe precedes the plural s, such as when taxi’s is written instead if taxis, is a common error. (This mistake is known as a greengrocer’s apostrophe due to its ubiquity in hand-written—and even printed—store signs.)

2. With Pronouns
Pronouns are followed by an apostrophe and s only as contractions (for example, he’s). Possessive pronouns (such as theirs and yours) never include an apostrophe.

3. With Shared Possession
When two or more people or other entities are described as separately owning something, each name should be in possessive form: “John’s and Jane’s houses are the same color.” But when they share possession, include an apostrophe and an s after the last name only: “John and Jane’s house is just down the block.”

4. With the Possessive Form of a Surname
That shingle on your neighbor’s porch should not read, “The Brown’s house,” unless your neighbor’s legal name is “the Brown.” A sign identifying the residence of the Browns should read “The Browns’ house” (or simply “The Browns”).

5. With the Plural Form of an Abbreviation
No apostrophe is required with plurals of abbreviations. Write, for example, “They disarmed or detonated several IEDs” (not IED’s).

6. With the Plural Form of a Numeral
In the rare case of indicating more than one instance of a numeral, do not use an apostrophe: “Write three 7s on a piece of paper” (not 7’s).

Kara Church

Technical Editor, Advisory

Symitar Documentation Services

Good morning! I’m back from my vacation, and I’m all rested up.

Today I want to talk to you about gerunds. What’s a gerund, you ask? Well, it’s not a relative of the furry little gerbil or a member of the geranium family. A gerund is a word, specifically a noun, that ends in –ing.

Gerunds can be confusing because they look and sound like verbs, and they are action-oriented, but they serve as nouns. And they can serve as either the subject or the object of the sentence.

Here are a couple of examples:

· Dancing is fun.

o Gerund = dancing (subject)

o Verb = is

· I enjoy reading.

o Gerund = reading (object)

o Verb = enjoy

To refresh your memory, a subject is who or what the sentence is about. You could say that the subject does the action. An object, on the other hand, receive the action.

Here are some examples of gerunds as subjects:

· Swimming is good exercise.

· Drinking and driving is against the law.

Here are some examples as gerunds as objects. These gerunds tell you something about the subject of the sentence:

· He prefers walking his dog before daylight.

· The quilters do not like listening to heavy metal while they sew.

If you’re not done with gerunds yet, watch this video (it’s about four minutes long). I feel like I should warn you that the narrator’s voice is kind of annoying—but I’d also say that about my voice if I narrated it: http://www.elementalenglish.com/ing-action-words-gerunds/.

Donna Bradley Burcher | Senior Technical Editor | Symitar®

8985 Balboa Ave. | San Diego, CA 92123 | Ph. 619.278.0432 | Extension: 765432

Symitar Technical Publications Writing and Editing Requests

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