Editor's Corner

Editor’s Corner Contest

Ready to make your first New Year’s resolution—you know the one where you vow to improve your grammar, punctuation, and vocabulary? How about if I make it easy by inviting you to subscribe to the Editor’s Corner, where you will get several e-mails each week on these topics and more? I use many different resources—including you—to address the quirks of English, to review stubborn grammar rules, and to provide you with lovely golden nuggets of wisdom.

If you are already a subscriber, that’s okay; I have something else to offer you. I would like to invite all new and existing subscribers to join my contest. Here are the details:

Who: Editor’s Corner subscribers (only JHA employees are eligible to win the prize)

What: Encourage your co-workers to sign up for Editor’s Corner. They must e-mail me and mention your name. The person who signs up the most new people is the winner!

Where: From wherever you are.

When: From today until Wednesday, January 9, 2013. I will announce the winner on Friday, January 11.

How: Tell folks about it! If they want examples, you can send them to our website (address below). If you think someone is a fellow word nerd, have them sign up with me!

Why: To learn new vocabulary, to improve your grammar, to learn what an ellipsis is and when to use it—all of this and more, without being smacked on the knuckles with a ruler when you make a mistake. And remember, there is a prize!

Good luck and thank you!

Visit the website for previous topics: https://episystechpubs.com/

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Kara Church

Senior Technical Editor

619-542-6773 | Ext: 766773

www.symitar.com

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I love hearing about words and terms that people use in different areas of the United States. For example, when I moved to San Diego from Seattle, I called the holes in the road “chuckholes.” In San Diego they’re “potholes” and elsewhere some people call them “kettles.”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pothole

Another example is the Armadillidiidae (arma-diddly-doo to you!], known by this Northwesterner as the “potato bug” (or pill bug). Down here I’ve heard them called “pill bugs” and “roly-polies,” and it seems the common, more accurate name is the “wood louse.” Anybody out there with other names?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armadillidium_vulgare

But that aside, today’s tidbit is from the radio show A Way with Words (podcasts at www.waywordradio.org). Host Grant Barrett brings up something I’ve never heard of, and I have it here for you to ponder:

Do you have a saying for when you drive over a bump and plop back down? In the Northeast, it’s common to say thank you, ma’am, since the nodding motion of a head going over a bump is reminiscent of genteel greetings. It’s also known as a dipsy doodle, duck-and-dip, tickle bump, whoop-de-do, belly tickler, and how-do-you-do. Our favorite, though, is kiss-me-quick, a reference to seizing the opportunity when a bump in the road throws passengers closer together. The term goes back to the days of horse-drawn buggies.

Gary Cooper

http://www.hatshapers.com/minnie_pearl.htm

Kara Church

Senior Technical Editor

As we approach the end of the year, lists of the best and the worst of 2012 abound.

From dailywritingtips.com, here are the words of the year according to several of the major dictionary companies (edited for brevity).

· Merriam-Webster’s 2012 Word of the Year is a toss-up between capitalism and socialism, reflecting the controversy and debates about universal health care and discussion about the comparative government systems in the United States and in much of Europe.

The definitions according to M-W:

o capitalism: an economic system characterized by private or corporation ownership of capital goods, by investments that are determined by private decision rather than by state control, and by prices, production, and the distribution of goods that are determined mainly in a free market

o socialism: any of various theories or social and political movements advocating or aiming at collective or governmental ownership and administration of the means of production and control of the distribution of goods

· Dictionary.com’s choice is bluster, which means “loud, swaggering, often empty boasts, threats, or other comments”—an appropriate term, considering the unusually contentious political climate in the United States over the last year.

· The selection by editors at Oxford University Press’s UK headquarters is omnishambles, which denotes a thoroughly mismanaged situation notable for a chain of errors.

And from www.theatlanticwire.com, we have an excerpt on typos and typo corrections. I thought this one was particularly amusing:

A couple of corrections from the New York Times this year were particularly special, not due to typos but for the unique and beautiful quality of the corrections themselves. Take this one from back in January of 2012:

An earlier version of this article incorrectly described imagery from The Shining. The gentleman seen with the weird guy in the bear suit is wearing a tuxedo, but not a top hat.

For more of these, here is the link: http://www.theatlanticwire.com/entertainment/2012/12/best-typos-mistakes-corrections-2012/59828/

Kara Church

Senior Technical Editor

619-542-6773 | Ext: 766773

www.symitar.com

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Happy Friday!

I was looking for something fun and I stumbled on this word and several articles about it. I was in word nerd heaven! I’ve tried to whittle it down, but if you are at all interested, there is more information out there. The definition is from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pangram, where they also have pangrams in different languages. The other examples and information are from http://www.fun-with-words.com/pang_visitor.html. Enjoy!

Definition

A pangram (Greek: παν γράμμα, pan gramma, "every letter") or holoalphabetic sentence for a given alphabet is a sentence using every letter of the alphabet at least once. Pangrams have been used to display typefaces, test equipment, and develop skills in handwriting, calligraphy, and keyboarding.

Brief History

Almost half a millennium ago, a printer scrambled a galley of type to produce the first pangram for a specimen book. The text was in Latin, so only 23 letters were required (Latin does not use J, V or W; however V is now used to represent the consonantal U, and sometimes J to represent consonantal I). [KC – Many of you may recognize the example below from templates and font research.]

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit,
diam nonnumy eiusmod tempor incidunt ut labore et dolo…

This means There is no one who loves pain itself, who seeks after it, and wants to have it, simply because it is pain…

Examples

A perfect pangram is one where each letter is used only once, such as these gems:

· The quick brown fox jumps over a lazy dog.

· Pack my box with five dozen liquor jugs.

· How quickly daft jumping zebras vex.

And here are several that use each letter (though some are repeated. The total number of letters is in parentheses after the pangram.

· The five boxing wizards jump quickly. (31)

· Sympathizing would fix Quaker objectives. (36)

· Jim just quit and packed extra bags for Liz Owen. (39)

· A large fawn jumped quickly over white zinc boxes. (41)

· Harry, jogging quickly, axed Zen monks with beef vapor. (44)

· Five or six big jet planes zoomed quickly by the tower. (44)

· My grandfather picks up quartz and valuable onyx jewels. (47)

· Jack amazed a few girls by dropping the antique onyx vase! (47)

· Fred specialized in the job of making very quaint wax toys. (48)

Have a fantastic weekend (and vacation if you’re taking days off for the holidays)!

Kara Church

Senior Technical Editor

619-542-6773 | Ext: 766773

www.symitar.com

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As promised, here are today’s answers:

1. Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer
2. Silent Night
3. O’ Little Town of Bethlehem
4. Carol Brady (Florence Henderson)
5. Deck the Halls
6. Joy to the World
7. Good King Wenceslas (or some say Jolly Old St. Nicholas)
8. We Three Kings
9. Carol Burnett
10. Come All Ye Faithful
11. O Holy Night
12. I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas
13. Carol Peterson
14. The Twelve Days of Christmas
15. It Came Upon a Midnight Clear
16. Frosty the Snowman
17. Carole King (nee Klein)
18. Silver Bells
19. Walking in a Winter Wonderland
20. Up on the Rooftop/Housetop

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It’s quiz day! I have something a little different today, courtesy of Ann Puddister, Tiffany Haynes, and “the Google.”

I have changed the name of the quiz from Name That Christmas Carol, to Name That Carol. If you choose to participate, you will see that I am not declaring war on Christmas, but there are other reasons behind the title change—primarily mischief.

The instructions are to figure out the names of the “carols” without searching the Internet. Here are twenty, and I will send you the answers sometime around noon, Pacific Time. Enjoy!

Name That Carol

1. Quadruped with crimson proboscis

2. 5 p.m. to 6 a.m. without noise

3. Miniscule hamlet in the Far East

4. Fictional maternal figure on 60s and 70s TV series, with a triad of male children and a triad of female children

5. Adorn the vestibule

6. Exuberance directed to the planet

7. Ancient benevolent despot

8. Monarchial trio

9. Red-headed American actress, singer, and variety show funny lady

10. Assemble, everyone who believes

11. Hallowed post meridian

12. Fantasies of a colorless December 25th

13. Female leader in Episys upper management, Capricorn, Billy Idol fan, and sailor

14. A dozen 24-hour Yule periods

15. Befell during the transparent bewitching hour

16. Homo sapiens of crystallized vapor

17. American singer, songwriter, and pianist with fantastically successful album in 1971 (album name synonymous to “embroidered wall-hanging”)

18. Shiny grey metallic tintinnabulums

19. Perambulating through a December solstice fantasy

20. Aloft on the acme of the abode

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Although it’s a little belated, this is the follow-up from Monday’s e-mail on names of medical conditions that have taken on new meaning in our language. The newer meaning is first, followed by the medical definitions in parentheses.

The original article is from DailyWritingTips.com.

1. Nerve: boldness, strength, or a sensitive issue (tissue that connects components of an organism’s nervous system, or sinews or tendons)

2. Oral: spoken (pertaining to the mouth, or to personality traits or a stage of psychological development)

3. Paralysis: incapacity or powerlessness (loss of ability to sense and move part or all of the body)

4. Plethora: abundance, excess (an excess of blood)

5. Postmortem: an analysis or discussion of an event after it has occurred (an autopsy)

6. Prognosis: forecast (chances for recovery from disease)

7. Sanguine: bloodthirsty, or optimistic (pertaining to blood, or having a ruddy complexion)

8. Schizophrenia: antagonistic or contrary attitudes or qualities (a psychiatric disorder marked by delusion of perception and thought)

9. Surgical: marked by precision (pertaining to medical operations)

10. Umbilical: used in references to excessive emotional attachment (pertaining to the navel or the center of the abdomen)

Kara

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Here are some great vocabulary words for Monday meetings! See how many you can use when called in to talk with your peers or your boss! For example, “Mr. Dithers, you used to happily flesh out your project plans to the minutest detail; today you have a dyspeptic attitude, your plan is anemic, and unless you diagnose and articulate the problem you will find yourself being transferred to the division of the company that has suffered from unstoppable hemorrhaging since layoffs began.”

Most of these words describe medical conditions or phenomena, but have acquired new connotations. In some cases, the medical meaning followed the original meaning. The list includes the terms and newer meanings, as well as the initial definition. (From DailyWritingTips.com, “Figurative and Alternate Meanings for 20 Medical Terms🙂 The first ten, for your reading pleasure:

1. Anemic: lacking in some quality, such as energy, interest, quantity, or substance (blood deficiency, resulting in a lack of vitality)

2. Artery: a communication or transportation channel, especially a major one (vessels that carry blood from the heart throughout the body)

3. Articulation: the action, manner, or state of being joined, or expressing or uttering sounds or words; also, an obstruction (a joint or juncture in an animal)

4. Cataracts: waterfalls or steep rapids, or torrents (a clouding of the eye that obstructs light) — this word, from the Latin term for a portcullis, a gate that is lowered from above, likely acquired the medical connotation later, from the resemblance of the clouding to a sheet of water

5. Diagnosis: an analysis or investigation, or its conclusion (using signs and symptoms to identify a disease, or the identification itself)

6. Dyspeptic: disgruntled (suffering from indigestion)

7. Hallucination: delusion (false perception caused by drugs or a nervous system disorder, or the object so perceived)

8. Hemorrhage: a significant loss or release (a heavy flow of blood)

9. Nasal: a vocal quality suggestion obstruction in the nose (pertaining to the nose)

10. Morbid: melancholy or gruesome, or related to death (pertaining to or affected by or causing disease)

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Good morning! I apologize to anyone who got an accidental Tweet today; unfortunately, it contained nothing of value.

Today we return to the peeves from last week. I’ve covered this one before, but it is still one of the most frequently requested topics. These definitions (and the tips) are from Grammar Girl. I’ve edited the article down quite a bit, so if you want to read the entire piece, it’s at: http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/assure-ensure-insure.aspx.

· Assureis something you do to a person, a group of people, or an animal to remove doubt or anxiety. You can remember that assure can only be used with things that are alive (and both assure and alive start with a). Only things that are alive can feel doubt or anxiety, so only they can be assured.

· Ensureis something you do to guarantee an event or condition. You can remember that guarantee has those two e‘s on the end to help you remember that to ensure (with an e) is to guarantee something.

· Insurecan be done to a person, place, or thing, but it’s reserved for limiting financial liability, most commonly by obtaining an insurance policy. You can remember that we take out insurance to protect our income if we become unemployed, disabled, or injured in an accident. Both insure and income begin with in.

Kara Church

Senior Technical Editor

Both of these holiday tidbits are from Grammar Girl at www.quickanddirtytips.com.

· "Hanukkah" or "Chanukah"?

Hanukkah begins soon, and you may be wondering why you see it spelled different ways. There are many acceptable spellings for the Jewish holiday also known as the Festival of Lights; the name of the celebration is translated from Hebrew and there are multiple credible ways to make the translation. (It’s actually a transliteration rather than a straight translation because Hebrew and English use different alphabets.) Some acceptable spellings include Hanukkah, Chanukah, Hanukah, and Hannukah.

A word like this is a great example of why organizations need a style guide. The best way to deal with the variations is to pick a spelling and use it consistently.

· "Xmas" or "Christmas"?

Retailers have long been accused of secularizing Christmas by using "Xmas" in signs and advertisements; therefore, I suspect many of you will be surprised to learn that "Xmas" has a religious origin.

In Greek, the letter "chi" is written as an X, and chi is the first letter of the Greek word for "Christ." Greeks sometimes abbreviated "Christ" as "X." For example, they abbreviated "Christ savior" as "XP." ("P" is the symbol for the Greek letter "rho," which is the first letter of the word "savior" in Greek.) The Oxford English Dictionary shows the first known English use of "Xmas" in 1551.

As for appropriateness, "Xmas" may have a religious origin and fit better on signs, but many people—both those who use "Xmas" and those who complain about its use—are unaware of the religious origin. If you choose to use "Xmas," you should know that some people will be infuriated.

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