Editor's Corner

Dear Editrix,

My pet peeve is the phrase "these ones."

Where did this grammatically incorrect statement come from and how do we send it back?

Sandra

Dear Sandra,

I don’t hear this often, but when I do, it is usually from little kids. I thought it might just be something that we train kids not to say, but then I found a couple of articles about it, that show it is not technically wrong.

First, the articles mention that it is not grammatically wrong. Then they go on to say it is more common in the U.K. than in the U.S. Then they go even further and say acceptability depends on where you live in the U.S.

The overall message is that it is not wrong, but to many of us in the U.S. it is like fingernails on a chalkboard, and we feel the need to correct people when they say it. Here are portions of the articles that explain the use better than I can:

Grammarphobia

We live in Iowa and we’re bothered when we hear people say “these ones,” as in “Do you want these ones?” or “These ones are for sale.” Is this acceptable English?

Let’s begin by looking at the singular version: “this one.”

The main part (or head) of the phrase is “one” (an indefinite pronoun, not the number 1), modified by “this” (a demonstrative adjective). Together they form a noun phrase: “I like this one.”

Logically, the plural form of this noun phrase would be “these ones.” And logically, we can’t see any reason why this would be grammatically incorrect. “Which ones do I like? I like these ones.”

The chief argument against “these ones” is that “these” alone would suffice (“I like these”). But the same objection could be made against the singular form: Instead of “I like this one,” you could simply say “I like this.” So that argument isn’t convincing.

Now, we have to admit that to our ears “these ones” sounds like a childish usage. We never say or write “these ones” (or “those ones”). But our prejudice against it doesn’t make it grammatically incorrect…

Like many questions of English usage, this one has a fuzzy answer. We can’t find any evidence that “these ones” is grammatically incorrect. The only reason to discourage it is that many – perhaps most – Americans find it objectionable.

On revisiting the topic, Grammarphobia lets us know that it isn’t a particularly recent use. There are…”many formal and informal examples of ‘those ones’ going back to the 1600s, and of ‘these ones’ dating from the 1700s.”

As you can see, it’s still kind of a gray area. Nobody can really say it’s wrong, but I’m with you, Sandra: it sounds awful to me.

Kara Church | Technical Editor, Advisory

Pronouns: she/her | Call via Teams | jackhenry.com

Editor’s Corner Archives: https://episystechpubs.com/

A joyful day to you readers! I hope your spring has sprung and that you are surrounded by tulips and daffodils!

Today, I have a few terms for you from dictionary.com, which are not English, but Portuguese. There are several other terms in the article, but these were my favorites. They are words that we don’t have an exact English translation for, thus the lengthy definitions of each. Enjoy!

cafuné

Perhaps the origin of the romantic image some of us have of Brazil is found within the Portuguese language. “The act of caressing or tenderly running fingers through a loved one’s hair” is a mouthful mercifully avoided in Brazil with the term cafuné. This affectionate action can be applied to lovers and pets alike, as can the term chamego, which wraps up the senses of intimacy, infatuation, and cuddling, all in one term.

farofa

A traditional Brazilian feast will come with a side of farofa. This dish consists of manioc flour toasted in butter, and usually mixed with finely chopped ingredients like bacon, eggs, or bananas. Brazilians generally serve farofa alongside other foods at a traditional barbecue, called a churrasco.

xodó

Your xodó is your sweetheart, in a way that applies both to your significant other and also someone you have a special closeness with, such as a grandparent. A pet could be a xodó too (especially if it’s enjoying cafuné). You can also “have” xodó for someone when you have a soft spot for them. This all-purpose term of endearment originated in northern Brazil and might be translated in some instances as the slang term boo. Another good match for this word (albeit in Spanish) is cariño.

desenrascanço

The term desenrascanço, used in Portugal, roughly means “the act of disentangling yourself from a difficult situation using available means.” Some English speakers find a near translation of desenrascanço in the colloquial verb MacGyver, as in the Gizmodo headline “How NASA MacGyvered the Crippled Apollo 13 Mission Safely Home.” The eponymous verb MacGyver comes from the action/adventure show of the same name, first aired in 1985, in which the title character evades sticky situations by reconfiguring the limited resources at his disposal. For example, in one episode, MacGyver fashions a trap using plywood, rope, water jugs, and a smoke detector to help him escape from a heavily guarded warehouse. That’s quite a “disentangling.”

Kara Church | Technical Editor, Advisory | Technical Publications

Pronouns: she/her | Call via Teams | jackhenry.com

Editor’s Corner Archives: https://episystechpubs.com/

Not long ago, I shared a new word (new to me), tmesis, which is “the introduction of one or more words between the parts of a compound word” as in “any-old-where” or “fan-freaking-tastic.” I got quite a few pleasant responses, and one of them, from Vijay R., brought up some other words I thought we could examine: synchysis, chiasmus, and syneresis.

If you’re interested in learning more about these words, read on, my fellow verbivores.

• synchysis: (sin-ki-sis)derives from the Greek word synkein which means “to mingle” or “to confuse”

Synchysis rearranges words in a way that requires the reader to figure out the relationship between the words to discover the meaning.

Example from a Samuel Butler poem:

An ass will with his long ears fray

The flies that tickle him, away;

But man delights to have his ears

Blown maggots in by flatterers

Meaning:

A donkey will with his long ears frighten away the flies that tickle him;

But man delights to have maggots blown in his ears by flatterers.

• chiasmus: (kee-az-muss) derives from the Greek word chiazein meaning “crossing” or “X-shaped”

A chiasmus is a two-part phrase in which the second phrase is a reverse of the first phrase.

Examples:

o She has all my love; my heart belongs to her.

o When the going gets tough, the tough get going.

• syneresis: (si-ner-uh-sis) derives from the Greek word sunairesis meaning “to contract or draw together”

Syneresis is the drawing together of two consecutive vowels or syllables into one syllable, so as to form a diphthong (a sound formed by combing two vowels into a single syllable). It is a phonological process of sound change in which two vowels are combined to make one sound.

Examples:

o coin

o loud

Enjoy the rest of your day!

Donna Bradley Burcher |Technical Editor, Advisory | jack henry

Pronouns she/her/hers

9660 Granite Ridge Drive, San Diego CA 92123

Symitar Documentation Services

About Editor’s Corner

Editor’s Corner keeps your communication skills sharp by providing information on grammar, punctuation, Jack Henry style guidelines, and all things English. As editors, we spend our days reading, researching, and revising other people’s writing. We love to spend a few extra minutes to share what we learn with you and keep it fun while we’re doing it.

Did someone forward this email to you? Click here to subscribe.

Don’t want to get Editor’s Corner anymore? Click here to unsubscribe.

Do you have a question or an idea for Editor’s Corner? Send your suggestions or feedback to Kara and <a href="mailto:DBurcher.

NOTICE: This electronic mail message and any files transmitted with it are intended
exclusively for the individual or entity to which it is addressed. The message,
together with any attachment, may contain confidential and/or privileged information.
Any unauthorized review, use, printing, saving, copying, disclosure or distribution
is strictly prohibited. If you have received this message in error, please
immediately advise the sender by reply email and delete all copies.

I love learning the history of words, and I thought I had done articles on the months of the year, but now I’m not so sure. I remember doing January and Janus words. And I’m pretty sure I’ve talked about some of the months the Romans named after the Caesars (Julius/July, Augustus/August), their gods (Mars/March, Juno/June), and their numbers (seven/September, eight/October, etc.) But April? I don’t remember learning or talking about April.

Dictionary.com put together an explanation this month. I’ve edited it just a bit.

Before January and February were added to the end of the year by King Numa Pompilius around 700 BCE, April was already the second month of the Roman calendar year (March was the first). Around 450 BCE, April was rearranged into the fourth slot, and was assigned 29 days.

With the introduction of the Gregorian calendar by Pope Gregory XIII in 1582, an extra day was added….

But being confident about the origin of a word that’s been around since before 1150 isn’t so simple. There are a few common theories behind April‘s naming. One is that the name is rooted in the Latin Aprilis, which is derived from the Latin aperire meaning “to open”—which could be a reference to the opening or blossoming of flowers and trees, a common occurrence throughout the month of April in the Northern Hemisphere.

Another theory holds that since months are often named for gods and goddesses, and since Aphrilis is derived from the Greek Aphrodite, it is possible the month was named for the Greek goddess of love (the goddess that the Romans called Venus)! Even now, April is a popular name. [KC – At first this seems reasonable, because March, June, and May (Maia) are named after gods and goddesses.
Why skip a month? But the Roman goddess was Venus and while they liked “borrowing” Greek things, they tended to rename them. I think if this were true, our month would be called Venusa or Venusember.]

And, as if that isn’t enough of a mystery, April also has yet another origination story. Around the fifth century, the Anglo-Saxons referred to April as Oster-monath or Eostre-monath, a reference to the goddess Eostre, whose feast was celebrated during the month. The Venerable Bede, a monk from the Northumbrian monastery of Saint Peter, believed this gave root to the word Easter—which is most often observed during the month of April.

April’s derivation will remain a story full of maybes, but we don’t see this month going anywhere soon.

So that’s April. Nothing definitive, but there are several stories you can choose from. I hope your month is going swimmingly!

Kara Church | Technical Editor, Advisory

Pronouns: she/her | Call via Teams | jackhenry.com

Editor’s Corner Archives: https://episystechpubs.com/

Good morning, folks!

It’s been a long time and I’ve missed you all. I wish I could say I’ve been living in the lap of luxury and touring around the world, but instead I’ve been on leave, and am now enjoying thousands of emails and negative PTO. And no, I don’t have a cute baby or anything to show for it. 😊

So, first up on my Editor’s Corner agenda is a new slang term I learned. I saw this term girl grip and my first thought was that it might be a sexist way of referring to how some females hold and throw a baseball or softball.

I was happily surprised that, according to dictionary.com:

Girl grip is a slang phrase that refers to holding multiple items in one hand by grasping them between fingers.

Typically, the phrase girl grip refers to a person using a clawed hand to hold multiple items at once. For example, a person may hold a paper cup using primarily their thumb and pointer finger while holding a smartphone, keys, receipt, and wallet with their remaining fingers on the same hand.

Here is a photo of the girl grip in action.

It reminds me of a more astounding type of grip you see at Oktoberfest in Munich:

I’m not sure if there’s a special name for holding 10 steins of beer in two hands, besides impressive!

Cheers!

Kara Church | Technical Editor, Advisory | Technical Publications

Pronouns: she/her | Call via Teams | jackhenry.com

Editor’s Corner Archives: https://episystechpubs.com/

Donna Bradley Burcher |Technical Editor, Advisory | jack henry

Pronouns: she/her/hers

Symitar Documentation Services

NOTICE: This electronic mail message and any files transmitted with it are intended
exclusively for the individual or entity to which it is addressed. The message,
together with any attachment, may contain confidential and/or privileged information.
Any unauthorized review, use, printing, saving, copying, disclosure or distribution
is strictly prohibited. If you have received this message in error, please
immediately advise the sender by reply email and delete all copies.

Good morning, people. One of my favorite resources, Dictionary.com recently created a word bracket to find out what folks’ favorite silly word is. In honor of March Madness, they collected 32 fabulous words, they put the words through five rounds of eliminations and received 212,000 votes, and then they declared a winner. What fun!

Let’s start with all 32 glorious words:

Here’s how it all started:

The final four words were whippersnapper, discombobulate, shenanigans, and kerplunk. I have a favorite word in this competition, do you?

After tallying the votes, the final two words were discombobulate and shenanigans. My word is still in the running, how is yours doing?

And after the final vote, the winner was announced. And the winner is…discombobulate!

I win, I win, I win!

Here’s how it all played out:

Words can be such fun. And funny words like these really can put a smile on your face. I hope you keep smiling all day long.

Donna Bradley Burcher |Technical Editor, Advisory | jack henry

Pronouns she/her/hers

9660 Granite Ridge Drive, San Diego CA 92123

Symitar Documentation Services

<![if !vml]><![endif]>

About Editor’s Corner

Editor’s Corner keeps your communication skills sharp by providing information on grammar, punctuation, JHA style, and all things English. As editors, we spend our days reading, researching, and revising other people’s writing. We love to spend a few extra minutes to share what we learn with you and keep it fun while we’re doing it.

Did someone forward this email to you? Click here to subscribe.

Don’t want to get Editor’s Corner anymore? Click here to unsubscribe.

Do you have a question or an idea for Editor’s Corner? Send your suggestions or feedback to Kara and <a href="mailto:DBurcher.

NOTICE: This electronic mail message and any files transmitted with it are intended
exclusively for the individual or entity to which it is addressed. The message,
together with any attachment, may contain confidential and/or privileged information.
Any unauthorized review, use, printing, saving, copying, disclosure or distribution
is strictly prohibited. If you have received this message in error, please
immediately advise the sender by reply email and delete all copies.

Good morning, inquisitors. A while back, I was asked to define and explain the difference between the words irony and sarcasm, so I’m going to give it a whirl. Wish me luck.

First, I’ll tackle the word that is more often misused and misunderstood: irony. Irony occurs when the opposite of what you expect happens. Here are some examples of everyday ironic situations:

• Right after you wash your car, it starts to rain.
• The firehouse burns down.
• You reluctantly go on a blind date, and while you’re waiting, you start talking to someone and find you really like them. And then you find out you just met your blind date. (Isn’t that sweet?)

To clarify a little bit more, here are a couple of good movie-related examples of irony in action:

• In the movie Nemo, there is a clip during which Nemo’s dad, Marlin, is arguing with Mr. Ray about who is better able to supervise Nemo so he doesn’t get into trouble. The irony is that while they are arguing, Nemo swims off and gets into trouble.
• In the movie The Sixth Sense a child therapist is helping a little boy who claims he can see dead people. SPOILER ALERT: Don’t read the next sentence if you haven’t seen the movie but plan to. The plot twists when the therapist (and the movie audience) find out that he (the therapist) is dead.

Irony can be verbal as well as situational. According to Merriam-Webster, irony is “the use of words to express something other than and especially the opposite of the literal meaning.” For example, on a cold, dreary wintery day, it would be ironic to say, “What a beautiful, sunny day!” It’s ironic because it’s the opposite of the truth. But it’s not sarcastic because it’s not biting or mocking (more about that in a minute).

It’s important to remember that irony is not the same as coincidence. If you and I share the same birthday, it is not ironic, it’s a coincidence. And even though it might be very unusual, if we bump into each other three times in the same day, it would not be ironic, it would be series of coincidences.

Let’s move on to sarcasm, which Merriam-Webster defines this way, “a sharp and often satirical or ironic utterance designed to cut or give pain.” For example, when someone does something wrong, it would be sarcastic to say, “Good job, Ace. You really nailed it!”

It might help to think of the relationship between irony and sarcasm this way: sarcasm is a form of irony that is directed at a person with the intent to criticize in a “humorous” way.

I hope the explanation and examples help. Thanks for the question David P., and I mean that sincerely, not sarcastically.

Donna Bradley Burcher |Technical Editor, Advisory | jack henry

Pronouns she/her/hers

9660 Granite Ridge Drive, San Diego CA 92123

Symitar Documentation Services

<![if !vml]><![endif]>

About Editor’s Corner

Editor’s Corner keeps your communication skills sharp by providing information on grammar, punctuation, JHA style, and all things English. As editors, we spend our days reading, researching, and revising other people’s writing. We love to spend a few extra minutes to share what we learn with you and keep it fun while we’re doing it.

Did someone forward this email to you? Click here to subscribe.

Don’t want to get Editor’s Corner anymore? Click here to unsubscribe.

Do you have a question or an idea for Editor’s Corner? Send your suggestions or feedback to Kara and <a href="mailto:DBurcher.

NOTICE: This electronic mail message and any files transmitted with it are intended
exclusively for the individual or entity to which it is addressed. The message,
together with any attachment, may contain confidential and/or privileged information.
Any unauthorized review, use, printing, saving, copying, disclosure or distribution
is strictly prohibited. If you have received this message in error, please
immediately advise the sender by reply email and delete all copies.

Good morning. I’m back from my brief hiatus and I’m raring to go.

Back in January, I provided Dictionary.com’s word of the year (which was hallucinate) along with a short list of the runner-up words. Today, I have another gift of words for you from Dictionary.com. They recently published a list of over 300 new words that they’ve added to their dictionary. As a reminder, according to Dictionary.com, in order for a word to be added, it must meet the following criteria:

<![if !supportLists]>· <![endif]>It’s a word that’s used by a lot of people.

<![if !supportLists]>· <![endif]>It’s used by those people in largely the same way.

<![if !supportLists]>· <![endif]>It’s likely to stick around.

<![if !supportLists]>· <![endif]>It’s useful for a general audience.

Since they’ve added over 300 new words, I will share only one word from each category. If you want to review the entire list, you can find it here.

The diligent lexicographers who write and edit dictionaries don’t only add and define new words, they also add new definitions to existing words to reflect common usage, they revise definitions that have become outdated or have changed, they provided pronunciation information and etymologies, and they decide which words to remove. They’re a hard-working group!

I hope you enjoy the rest of your day.

Donna Bradley Burcher |Technical Editor, Advisory | jack henry

Pronouns she/her/hers

9660 Granite Ridge Drive, San Diego CA 92123

Symitar Documentation Services

<![if !vml]><![endif]>

About Editor’s Corner

Editor’s Corner keeps your communication skills sharp by providing information on grammar, punctuation, JHA style, and all things English. As editors, we spend our days reading, researching, and revising other people’s writing. We love to spend a few extra minutes to share what we learn with you and keep it fun while we’re doing it.

Did someone forward this email to you? Click here to subscribe.

Don’t want to get Editor’s Corner anymore? Click here to unsubscribe.

Do you have a question or an idea for Editor’s Corner? Send your suggestions or feedback to Kara and <a href="mailto:DBurcher.

NOTICE: This electronic mail message and any files transmitted with it are intended
exclusively for the individual or entity to which it is addressed. The message,
together with any attachment, may contain confidential and/or privileged information.
Any unauthorized review, use, printing, saving, copying, disclosure or distribution
is strictly prohibited. If you have received this message in error, please
immediately advise the sender by reply email and delete all copies.

Hello again. I have a quick correction to make to the Editor’s Corner I sent this morning. I accidentally switched the old and current meaning of prestigious. The corrected definitions are here:

Thank you for notifying me, David and Kari!

Donna Bradley Burcher |Technical Editor, Advisory | jack henry

Pronouns she/her/hers

9660 Granite Ridge Drive, San Diego CA 92123

Symitar Documentation Services

About Editor’s Corner

Editor’s Corner keeps your communication skills sharp by providing information on grammar, punctuation, JHA style, and all things English. As editors, we spend our days reading, researching, and revising other people’s writing. We love to spend a few extra minutes to share what we learn with you and keep it fun while we’re doing it.

Did someone forward this email to you? Click here to subscribe.

Don’t want to get Editor’s Corner anymore? Click here to unsubscribe.

Do you have a question or an idea for Editor’s Corner? Send your suggestions or feedback to Kara and <a href="mailto:DBurcher.

From: Donna Bradley Burcher <DBurcher@jackhenry.com>
Sent: Tuesday, February 20, 2024 6:52 AM
To: Donna Bradley Burcher <DBurcher@jackhenry.com>
Subject: Editor’s Corner: More Words that Have Changed in Meaning

Good morning to you all. Recently, I shared with you the word of the year from Dictionary.com. The word was hallucinate with a new meaning related to artificial intelligence. The new definition is “to produce false information contrary to a user’s wishes, and to present it as if it’s true and factual.” I don’t know about you, but I’ve seen and heard this word, with this meaning, quite a few times since I learned about it.

I received a few responses to that post, and one from Jason M. initiated an email conversation about how the meaning of words can change over time. Both Kara and I have written about this phenomenon in the past and included words like girl, which used to refer to any child, not just a female, and the word bully, which used to mean sweetheart or darling and was used to refer to males and females.

And today I want to share some words we didn’t cover previously. These words come from two places: IDEAS.TED.COM and A.Word.A.Day. The original meanings and the current meanings are provided below:

I’ve only included the words we never covered before. If you’d like to see our earlier posts that include even more words that have changed in meaning over the years, you can find Kara’s here: Editor’s Corner: Words Whose Meanings Have Changed | Editor’s Corner (episystechpubs.com).

And you can find mine here: Editor’s Corner: Meanings Change | Editor’s Corner (episystechpubs.com).

Kara is currently on leave, and I’ll be on vacation for the next three weeks, so you won’t receive any Editor’s Corner emails from us until mid-March. We’ll miss you. I hope you miss us!

Donna Bradley Burcher |Technical Editor, Advisory | jack henry

Pronouns she/her/hers

9660 Granite Ridge Drive, San Diego CA 92123

Symitar Documentation Services

About Editor’s Corner

Editor’s Corner keeps your communication skills sharp by providing information on grammar, punctuation, JHA style, and all things English. As editors, we spend our days reading, researching, and revising other people’s writing. We love to spend a few extra minutes to share what we learn with you and keep it fun while we’re doing it.

Did someone forward this email to you? Click here to subscribe.

Don’t want to get Editor’s Corner anymore? Click here to unsubscribe.

Do you have a question or an idea for Editor’s Corner? Send your suggestions or feedback to Kara and <a href="mailto:DBurcher.

NOTICE: This electronic mail message and any files transmitted with it are intended
exclusively for the individual or entity to which it is addressed. The message,
together with any attachment, may contain confidential and/or privileged information.
Any unauthorized review, use, printing, saving, copying, disclosure or distribution
is strictly prohibited. If you have received this message in error, please
immediately advise the sender by reply email and delete all copies.