Here are the remaining 15 terms for “meeting,” from DailyWritingTips.com and a few extra ones for good measure. You can guess which ones are from them and which are from me. 🙂

The original list is here: http://www.dailywritingtips.com/30-synonyms-for-meeting/.

Flash Mob: A group of people that assemble suddenly in one place, do an extremely well-choreographed dance or make fools of themselves in the name of love (if you are living life in a movie), and then disperse. Flash mobs are arranged via smartphones, PC, or some other type of gizmo.

Gathering: a meeting (informal usage)

Get-together: an informal meeting

Huddle: a meeting (informal usage)

Meetup: a group of people with a common interest, who meet through social networking websites (in particular, Meetup.com).

Panel: a meeting at which participants discuss a topic or issue in front of an audience

Palaver: a meeting, especially one between disparate parties

Parley: a meeting to resolve conflict or negotiate with an enemy

Powwow: a meeting or a social event, or a meeting to celebrate Native American culture

Rally: a mass meeting to inspire enthusiasm and/or action

Rendezvous:a meeting at a planned place and time, whether it be a rowboat meeting up with a canoe, or a couple meeting up for canoodling (from the phrase rendez vous “present yourselves”)

Round-robin: a small meeting to discuss or decide on a topic or issue

Roundtable: see round-robin

Seminar: a meeting for disseminating and discussing information

Session: a meeting or series of meetings, or a portion of an extended meeting or one of various simultaneous meetings as part of a larger event

Summit: a meeting of high-level leaders

Symposium: a formal meeting at which several specialists deliver short addresses on a topic or on related topics

Synod: a meeting of clergy

Tryst: a meeting of lovers at a specific time and space (see rendezvous)

Workshop: an educational meeting or program

Okay, for the first part you’ll have to dig up a Paul Simon CD. But as far as having a meeting goes, DailyWritingTips.com is serving up a ton of terms to describe different types of gatherings. Today I’m delivering your first serving of fifteen.

Humans, being social animals, have many reasons for meeting — and many words to describe doing so in various degrees of formality and format. Here are thirty ways to label a meeting, depending on the particulars.

1. Assembly: a meeting for entertainment, legislation, or worship

2. Caucus: a meeting, often in a political context, to select candidates or policy

3. Clinic: a problem-solving meeting or one at which participants acquire knowledge or skills [KC – Note: A methadone clinic is not where you learn to use methadone.]

4. Colloquium: a meeting at which experts, usually in an academic setting, give presentations on one or more topics and engage in a question-and-answer period

5. Colloquy: a serious, important meeting (also, a synonym for conversation and dialogue)

6. Conclave: a private or secret meeting, especially that of Roman Catholic cardinals convened to select a new pope, or any gathering of an organization

7. Confab: a chat, discussion, or meeting (informal usage) [KC – From confabulation: conversation, chat.]

8. Conference: a meeting for discussing issues or topics of interest to all participants, usually including keynote speeches and a wide variety of sessions on specific subjects

9. Congress: a meeting or session, especially of delegates to discuss and act on an issue or topic

10. Convention: a meeting to bring together representatives of a trade, profession, or interest group, or to assemble representatives of a political party to select candidates and policy

11. Convocation: a meeting of attendees called together, of a college or university’s members, or of clergy (and perhaps laypeople)

12. Council: a meeting to discuss or advise on one or more issues

13. Demonstration: an informal mass meeting, usually held outdoors on public property, to protest about or bring attention to a topic or issue [KC – Or, at the local county fair, a man making vegetable juice and trying to sell you THREE-THREE-THREE BLENDERS IN ONE!]

14. Forum: a meeting that involves a discussion among experts or between them and audience members

15. Gathering: a meeting (informal usage)

Kara Church

Senior Technical Editor

S Y M I T A R

8985 Balboa Ave.

San Diego, CA 92123

Phone: 619-542-6773 | Extension: 766773

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.

Way to go! Admittedly, the final one was a bit tricky. As you’ll see by the explanation below, answers 4 and 5 are very close in that they both concern weights of materials made into jewelry. Everyone gets a 24-karat gold star for effort!

1 – ABAB (1 response)

2 – BBBB (1 response)

3 – BABC (2 responses)

4 – BBBA (47 responses)

5 – BBBC (66 responses)

Total Responses: 117

Choose the correct sentence from each group below:

A) The receptionist excepted my resume and said that someone would contact me soon.
B) The receptionist accepted my resume and said that someone would contact me soon.

Explanation: Use the word accepted to mean received or agreed. Excepted means excluded.

A) Frederika hit the breaks when she saw the deer crossing the road.

B) Frederika hit the brakes when she saw the deer crossing the road.

Explanation: Use the word brakes to mean devices used to slow down or stop movement. Breaks means separates into pieces.

A) Let’s canvas the neighborhood to see if everyone has the same opinion.

B) Let’s canvass the neighborhood to see if everyone has the same opinion.

Explanation: Use the word canvass to mean take a poll. Canvas is a type of cloth.

A) Tina can’t wear jewelry unless it’s made of 24-carat gold.

B) Tina can’t wear jewelry unless it’s made of 24-carrot gold.

C) Tina can’t wear jewelry unless it’s made of 24-karat gold.

D) Tina can’t wear jewelry unless it’s made of 24-caret gold.

Explanation: Use the word karat to mean a unit for measuring the fineness of gold. A carrot is an edible root, caret is a proofreading mark to show insertion, and carat is a unit of weight in gemstones.

*Material created by Jane Straus and Co. Copyright by Jane Straus.

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.

Welcome to Thursday! Today’s quiz is on homonyms and frequently confused words.

The way this works:

· You choose the correct sentence from each pair below

· Jot down your answers

· Look for the voting buttons at the top of this e-mail

· Select the set of answers that you think is correct

· Wait until noon (or later, depending where you are) and all will be revealed!

Choose the correct sentence from each group below:*

1 A) The receptionist excepted my resume and said that someone would contact me soon.

B) The receptionist accepted my resume and said that someone would contact me soon.

2 A) Frederika hit the breaks when she saw the deer crossing the road.

B) Frederika hit the brakes when she saw the deer crossing the road.

3 A) Let’s canvas the neighborhood to see if everyone has the same opinion.

B) Let’s canvass the neighborhood to see if everyone has the same opinion.

4 A) Tina can’t wear jewelry unless it’s made of 24-carat gold.

B) Tina can’t wear jewelry unless it’s made of 24-carrot gold.

C) Tina can’t wear jewelry unless it’s made of 24-karat gold.

D) Tina can’t wear jewelry unless it’s made of 24-caret gold.

*Material created by Jane Straus and Co. Copyright by Jane Straus.

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 received an e-mail yesterday about the terms home in vs. hone in, and I was shocked to learn that I’ve been using the wrong phrase. Here is some information from The Grammarist (http://grammarist.com/usage/home-in-hone-in/):

Home in means to direct onto a target. The phrasal verb home in derives from the 19th-century use of homing pigeons, but today the term usually refers to missiles that home in on their targets. It’s also commonly used metaphorically.

Hone in derives from a mishearing of home in. The verb hone means to sharpen or to perfect, so hone in makes no sense. [KC – And here I thought it meant sharpening your focus on something. I think my brother’s fascination with knives and swords rubbed off on me.]

Because the erroneous hone in is so common, it has appeared in dictionaries and is accepted as a variant of home in. Still, most edited publications prefer the original form.

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 hope you all enjoyed Labor Day weekend and return well rested.

The other day, I found myself talking to my dogs (which I often do) and I said, “Look at you two waiting there with bated breath.” Being dogs, they were definitely eager for their walk, but they also had garbage breath, which made me wonder why it was “bated” breath, and where the confusion with “baited” came from.

For the answer, I read this article from Mignon Fogarty (Grammar Girl) at: http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/baited-versus-bated.aspx.

"Bated" is one of the many words Shakespeare invented (or at least he was the first person to put the word on a piece of paper that survived to this day).

"Bated" is a form of "abate," which means “to diminish, beat down, or reduce.” So when you’re waiting with bated (read: abated) breath, you’re so eager, anxious, excited, or frightened that you’re almost holding your breath.

Shakespeare used the phrase "with bated breath" in The Merchant of Venice. It’s a scene where Shylock, the moneylender, points out the irony of Antonio, the merchant, coming to him for a loan after treating him so poorly in the past:

Shall I bend low and in a bondman’s key,
With bated breath and whispering humbleness, Say this;
“Fair sir, you spit on me on Wednesday last;
You spurn’d me such a day; another time
You call’d me dog; and for these courtesies
I’ll lend you thus much moneys”?

That set phrase, "with bated breath," is the only place you’ll hear "bated" used these days. Since "bated" is such an archaic word, it’s common to see the phrase incorrectly written as "with baited breath."

There’s an odd logic to the "baited" misunderstanding—you bait a hook to catch a fish, and people eagerly waiting for something could be tempted to put out metaphorical bait, but why would it be their breath? It wouldn’t. Nobody would rush toward fishy breath. [KC – She hasn’t met my dogs.]

Just remember the moneylender Shylock and his abated breath.

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.

Wow! What a turnout! I’m shocked at how many of you like quizzes. I think that’s considered an illness in some states.

Today’s total number of responses: 132. The number of responses per option:

1. ABA – 10

2. AAA – 95

3. BAA – 13

4. AAB – 11

5. BAB – 3

The correct answers (bold) and the explanations (from GrammarBook.com):

A) Meryl asked, "What time will you be coming home from work this evening?"

B) Meryl asked, "What time will you be coming home from work this evening"?

Explanation: The question mark belongs inside the quotation marks with the question itself.

A) Each time the company publishes its new catalog, online orders increase by 50 percent.

B) Each time the company publishes it’s new catalog, online orders increase by 50 percent.

Explanation: "Its" is a possessive pronoun. "It’s" is a contraction for "it is."

A) She is very self-conscious about her appearance.

B) She is very self conscious about her appearance.

Explanation: Hyphenate all compound words having "self" as the prefix.

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 been too long since we’ve had a quiz, so let’s have one with breakfast!

The way this works:

· You choose the correct sentence from each pair below

· Jot down your answers

· Look for the voting buttons at the top of this e-mail

· Select the set of answers that you think is correct

· Wait until noon (or later, depending where you are) and all will be revealed!

Choose the correct sentence:

A) Meryl asked, "What time will you be coming home from work this evening?"

B) Meryl asked, "What time will you be coming home from work this evening"?

A) Each time the company publishes its new catalog, online orders increase by 50 percent.

B) Each time the company publishes it’s new catalog, online orders increase by 50 percent.

A) She is very self-conscious about her appearance.

B) She is very self conscious about her appearance.

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, dear readers. Many of you send me your pet peeves, which I’m happy to cover because they’re usually bits of grammar and punctuation we all need a refresher on.

Today, Editrix is going to share a personal peeve of mine. I reviewed this a month or so ago, but perhaps it was nested in too much other information. Writers take note: a peeved editor is an ugly thing to behold.

Revised for your reading pleasure and retention:

/ (Called by many names: slash, forward slash, solidus, stroke, or Virgule)

“During the Middle Ages, this sign of many names, including those listed above, served as a comma; a pair denoted a dash.” (“12 Signs and Symbols You Should Know,” DailyWritingTips.com) People, we are not in the Middle Ages! Please read on for the modern uses and rules of the slash.

But before we begin: There are no spaces before or after the slash. The one exception is the quotation of poetry. The last time I checked, technical documentation, while lovely, does not include poetry, and should not include spaces before and after the slash.

Slashes have many names and duties:

· You can use slashes to signify alternatives, such as he/she

· Sometimes used as shorthand for “or,” but in technical documentation we require precision and “or” should be spelled out

· In some cases represents “per,” for example: $3000/month

· Used in certain abbreviations, such as “c/o” (in care of)

· Sometimes used to mean “divided by” when other symbols are unavailable or impractical

· Used in URLs and file paths to separate directories and file names

· Used to indicate a line break in a poem or play, or the start of a new paragraph in quotations of ordinary prose, for example: “I met a man that was very wise. / He had no hands, but he had three eyes, / ” (John Ciardi)

Go forth, prosper, and leave out the extra spaces around the slash (/). You’ll be glad you did.

Sorry folks,

Now I’m really crying! The web site for the 20 terms for crying is DailyWritingTips.com, not DirtyWritingTips.com. Ms. Grant, thank you for catching this error!

Link to sorrow:

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.