Editor's Corner

Good morning!

Yesterday I wrote about the term “sea change,” and as someone reminded me, my misinterpretation of the phrase as “seed change” is called an “eggcorn.” We’ve talked about these before. The term is fairly new and it comes from a discussion about a woman who misheard the word acorn as eggcorn.

It’s not the same thing as a mondegreen (misheard song lyric) but it is similar. Today I will treat you with a few animal-themed eggcorns from the Eggcorn database.

They are presented in the following order:

<actual term> à <misheard term>

Definition of term or idiom (from Merriam-Webster or The Free Dictionary)

Examples using the eggcorn and where the examples were found

stark raving à stark raven

Definition: completely crazy; out of control

· Monsters from the Id have driven them stark raven mad. (sci.sceptic)

crosier à crow’s ear

Definition: The hooked staff carried by a bishop as a symbol of pastoral office.

· The 84-year-old John Paul was laid out in Clementine Hall, dressed in white and red vestments; his head covered with a white bishop’s miter and propped up on three dark gold pillows. Tucked under his left arm was the silver staff, called the crow’s ear, which he had carried in public. (International Herald Tribune, Apr 4, 2005)

Like a bull in a china shop à Like a bowl in a china shop

Definition: A very clumsy creature in a delicate situation; careless behavior in a sensitive situation.

· And she’s described in reports as a bowl in a china shop, but somebody of unassailable high ethics, and also as a direct, directly reporting to the then chief financial officer. (CNN.com, rush transcript, January 16, 2002)

Put the cart before the horse à Put the cat before the horse

Definition: To do things in an order that is not conventionally considered logical; to do things the wrong way.

· A population policy that is not predicated on the result of a credible census, in our view, is tantamount to putting the cat before the horse. (THISDAYOnLine.com, November 16, 2004)

· But perhaps to expect that the Attorney-General’s Office and the Government in general can eradicate corruption is to put the cat before the horse. (Daily Nation [Kenya], September 13, 1998)

scapegoat à escape goat

[KC – I love this one. I imagine making my getaway from the crime scene on my escape goat!]

Definition: A person who is unfairly blamed for something others have done.

· This replacement was an escape goat for a vindictive coward. (The Writer’s Association)

· In the eyes of most Somalis, these warlords are using Ethiopia as an escape goat to achieve their political agenda… (Somali News)

Kara Church

Senior Technical Editor

A couple nights ago, during an insomniac haze, I grabbed a Money magazine to read and lull myself back to sleep. Instead of returning to the land of slumber, however, I was awakened by the phrase “affecting a sea change.” I’d heard this before, but honestly, I thought people were saying “a seed change” and that they were a little loco. I knew that they were talking about a major change, but I just couldn’t figure out what gardening had to do with it.

Shiver me timbers, here’s some information behind that phrase. From Merriam-Webster:

sea change (noun): a big and sudden change

archaic

1: a change brought about by the sea

2: a marked change: transformation <a sea change in public policy>

According to Wikipedia, by way of the Oxford English Dictionary, the term sea change:

…originally appears in William Shakespeare’s The Tempest in a song sung by a supernatural spirit, Ariel, to Ferdinand, a prince of Naples, after Ferdinand’s father’s apparent death by drowning:

"Full fathom five thy father lies,

Of his bones are coral made,
Those are pearls that were his eyes,
Nothing of him that doth fade,
But doth suffer a sea-change,
into something rich and strange,
Sea-nymphs hourly ring his knell,
Ding-dong.

Hark! now I hear them, ding-dong, bell." [KC-While Shakespeare was an amazing playwright, I can’t really sing praises for his songwriting.]

The term sea-change is therefore often used to mean a metamorphosis or alteration. For example, a literary character may transform over time into a better person after undergoing various trials or tragedies (e.g., "There is a sea change in Scrooge’s personality towards the end of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol.")

Kara Church

Senior Technical Editor

619-542-6773 | Ext: 766773

www.symitar.com

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.

Oh my goodness. I don’t know about you, but I don’t think I can take any more of these comma rules! Here are the last two I will share with you. If you forget any of these rules or want to read more guidelines on comma usage, check Purdue’s Quick Rules or Extended Rules for Using Commas. Now, I’m going to go up to the roof of the parking structure to celebrate the end of this lesson with a scream.

· Use a comma to shift between the main discourse and a quotation.

Examples:

o John said without emotion, "I’ll see you tomorrow."

o "I was able," she answered, "to complete the assignment."

o In 1848, Marx wrote, "Workers of the world, unite!"

[KC] Note the punctuation at the end of the phrases above (period, exclamation point) goes inside the quotation mark. For more on that topic see previous posts on “punctuation in quotes,” or wait with bated breath for future editions of Editor’s Corner.

· Use commas wherever necessary to prevent possible confusion or misreading.

Example:

To George, Harrison had been a sort of idol.

Kara Church

Senior Technical Editor

Good morning!

Today’s Editor’s Corner is brought to you by DailyWritingTips. This list of animals with their corresponding adjectives may come in handy the next time you need to describe a co-worker’s animal-like behavior.

ant: formicine

ass: asinine

bear: ursine

bird: avian

bull: taurine

crow: corvine

dog: canine

dove: columbine

elephant: elephantine

fish: piscine

fox: vulpine

hornet/wasp: vespine

horse: equine

lion: leonine

peacock: pavonine

pig: porcine

seal: phocine

serpent: serpentine

sheep: ovine

swan: cygnine

tiger: tigrine

tortoise: testudine

wolf: lupine

viper: viperine

Here are some examples:

Bad writing brings out Kara’s taurine characteristics.

Ron guarded the cookies on the counter in a leonine manner.

Donna’s posture is cygnine-like.

Thank you,

Jackie Solano

Technical Writer, Episys Technical Publications

Symitar®

8985 Balboa Avenue

San Diego, California 92123

Direct Line: 619-542-6711

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.

It’s another mondegreen Friday! I think maybe it’s time to join up with a local karaoke bar to create a drink called the “Mondegreen” (though “Mondegreen Mondays” has a better ring to it) and let the singing begin! Today I’ve collected a few favorites with a common theme: critters! Whether there are animals in the songs or not, we seem to hear lyrics about dogs, cats, bears, lice (ick!), chicken, and more.

As before, these mondegreens are from books by Gavin Edwards: ‘Scuse Me While I Kiss This Guy, When a Man Loves a Walnut, and He’s Got the Whole World In His Pants.

Remember, mondegreens are misheard song lyrics. These are presented as follows:

Group/Singer (Song Title)

Mondegreen. (Actual song lyrics.)

Stevie Nicks (Edge of Seventeen)

Just like the one-winged dog (Just like the white-winged dove)

J. Geils Band (Freeze-Frame)

Flea spray (Freeze frame)

Sheryl Crow (All I Wanna Do)

Dry their shiny dachshunds (Drive their shiny Datsuns)

Traditional (Gladly, the Cross I’d Bear)

Gladly, the cross-eyed bear. (Gladly, the cross I’d bear.)

David Bowie (Suffragette City)

Don’t lean on me man, ‘cause you ain’t my type of chicken (Don’t lean on me many, ‘cause you can’t afford the ticket)

Smashing Pumpkins (Bullet with Butterfly Wings)

The spider marines, Siam’s steel-chested rabbit arcade. (In spite of my rage, I am still just a rat in a cage.)

The Grateful Dead (Sugar Magnolia)

She paints my chicken when I sleep. (She pays my ticket when I speed.)

Jimmy Buffet (Margaritaville)

Wasting away in my gorilla suit. (Wasting away in Margaritaville.)

The Knack (My Sharona)

Mice aroma (My Sharona)

The Clash (Rock the Casbah)

Sherry don’t like it/Rock the catbox (The Sharif don’t like it/Rock the casbah)

Cher (Gypsies, Tramps, and Thieves)

Gypsies, chimpanzees/And every night all the men would come around and lay the monkey down. (Gypsies, tramps, and thieves/And every night all the men would come around and lay their money down.)

The Rolling Stones (Street Fighting Man)

My name is Countess Gerbil (My name is called disturbance)

Elton John (Tiny Dancer)

Count the head lice on the highway (Count the headlights on the highway)

Elton John (Goodbye Yellow Brick Road)

Your cat just peed in your penthouse (You can’t plant me in your penthouse)

Kara Church

Senior Technical Editor

619-542-6773 | Ext: 766773

www.symitar.com

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 afternoon everyone! Here’s another comma lesson for you. This one should come in handy to almost everyone. Use commas in the following instances to set off certain types of information, such as geographical names or dates. Here are some of the items you can set off with commas and examples of where commas are appropriate.

And a comic strip which mysteriously appeared on my desk:

Kara Church

Senior Technical Editor

I feel pretty comfortable with most punctuation rules, but for some reason, the hyphen continues to rattle me. I’m thinking maybe some of you have the same mental block; so, today I’m going to share one tip about hyphens (there are quite a few more rules; this only gets us started).
Rule: Use hyphens for phrasal adjectives when the phrasal adjective is placed before the noun. (A phrasal adjective is simply a phrase—more than one word—that describes a noun.)
To explain this rule, I’ll give you an example from my not-too-distant past. I was recently in need of someone to repair my microwave, and I sent an email to my co-workers asking if anyone could provide a referral for a small appliance repairman. I got several responses asking just how small I wanted him to be and one asking what I had against tall repair women.
One of my mistakes was in the omission of the hyphen between “small” and “appliance.” As I mentioned, you need to hyphenate phrasal adjectives like “small-appliance,” “first-rate,” or “top-notch” when they precede a noun like “repairman.” The hyphen clears up any confusion about which words are working together.
The other mistake was that I didn’t choose a gender-neutral term (like “repair person” or “technician”). Good old-fashioned public humiliation helped me to finally internalize this rule and reminded me to be even more conscientious about my word choice. I would thank my smart-alecky colleagues, but I’m still holding a grudge.

You can read more about this rule at the Grammarist website. Enjoy your day.

Donna Bradley Burcher | Technical Editor | Symitar®
8985 Balboa Ave. | San Diego, CA 92123 | Ph. 619.278.0432 | Ext: 765432

Good afternoon! You’ll be happy to see that today’s comma lesson from the Purdue OWL is short.

Use a comma near the end of a sentence to separate contrasted coordinate elements or to indicate a distinct pause or shift.

He was merely ignorant, not stupid.

The chimpanzee seemed reflective, almost human.

You’re one of the senator’s close friends, aren’t you?

The speaker seemed innocent, even gullible.

And a graphic take on a song title I used a couple weeks ago (aka some more word nerd humor):

Enjoy your day!

Kara Church

Senior Technical Editor

I hope you all enjoyed the extra day off! Now that you are super-charged with extra energy, let’s try to find our way through the next few comma rules. It’s understandable why people get confused—I don’t know if there are this many rules for other punctuation marks. Here’s today’s rule, which is a three-parter, from the Purdue OWL.

· DO use commas to separate two or more coordinate adjectives that describe the same noun.

· DO NOT add an extra comma between the final adjective and the noun itself.

· DO NOT use commas with non-coordinate adjectives.

Coordinate adjectives are adjectives with equal status in describing the noun; neither adjective is subordinate to the other. You can decide if two adjectives in a row are coordinate by asking the following questions:

· Does the sentence make sense if the adjectives are written in reverse order?

· Does the sentence make sense if the adjectives are written with and between them?

If you answer yes to these questions, then the adjectives are coordinate and should be separated by a comma. Here are some examples of coordinate and non-coordinate adjectives:

He was a difficult, stubborn child. (coordinate)

They lived in a white frame house. (non-coordinate)

She often wore a gray wool shawl. (non-coordinate)

Your cousin has an easy, happy smile. (coordinate)

There’s actually a hierarchy of adjectives when describing a noun. This is referred to as the cumulative order of adjectives. The order, type of adjective, and an example of each appears below. These would not be separated by commas since they are not coordinate adjectives.

Correct:

Thirty handsome young Greek men met our cruise ship.

A large black umbrella was the only thing that remained of Mary Poppins.

The plumber found an old lead pipe underneath our house.

Incorrect:

A Christian young huge man rang our doorbell.

Digging good new shovel was used to dig up the plant.

Silken aqua Pokey’s boot was found at the scene of the crime.

Kara Church

Senior Technical Editor

619-542-6773 | Ext: 766773

www.symitar.com

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 wish you a Happy Valentine’s Day and a great three-day weekend in honor of U.S. presidents past and present. My gift to you is a series of lovey-dovey mondegreens from these three books by Gavin Edwards: ‘Scuse Me While I Kiss This Guy, When a Man Loves a Walnut, and He’s Got the Whole World In His Pants.

Remember, mondegreens are misheard song lyrics. These are presented as follows:

Group/Singer (Song Title)

Mondegreen. (Actual song lyrics.)

Bonnie Tyler (It’s a Heartache)

It’s a hard egg. (It’s a heartache.)

John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John (You’re the One That I Want)

I got shoes, they’re made of plywood (I’ve got chills, they’re multiplying)

Paul Young (Everytime You Go Away)

Every time you go away/you take a piece of meat with you. (Every time you go away/you take a piece of me with you.)

Belinda Carlisle (Mad About You)

I’m mad about food, you’re mad about cheesecake. (I’m mad about you, you’re mad about me babe.)

The Rascals (Groovin’)

Life could be ecstasy/Just you and me and Leslie, groovin’. (Life could be ecstasy/Just you and me endlessly groovin’.)

Diana Ross (Love Hangover)

I’ve got a Swedish hangover. (I’ve got the sweetest hangover.)

Barry Manilow (Mandy)

Oh Mandy, you kissed me and stopped me from shaving. (Oh Mandy, you kissed me and stopped me from shaking.)

Live (All Over You)

I love you like Walter. (Our love is like water.)

Kenny Rogers & Dolly Parton (Islands in the Stream)

Eyelids in the street. (Islands in the stream.)

Orleans (Still the One)

You’re still the one, eye with a twitch (You’re still the one, and I wouldn’t switch)

Bonnie Raitt (Something to Talk About)

Let’s give them something from Taco Bell. (Let’s give them something to talk about.)

George Harrison (Got My Mind Set on You)

I’ve got my man scent on you. (I’ve got my mind set on you.)

The Four Tops (Ain’t No Woman)

Ain’t no woman like the one-eyed Gott (Ain’t no woman like the one I’ve got)

Aerosmith (Love in an Elevator)

Loving an alligator. (Love in an elevator.)

Van Morrison (Brown Eyed Girl)

Hey there, amigo! (Hey where did we go?)

The Hues Corporation (Rock the Boat)

So I’d like to know where you got your nose from (So I’d like to know where you got the notion)

Kara Church

Senior Technical Editor

619-542-6773 | Ext: 766773

www.symitar.com

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.