You know me—well, many of you do through Editor’s Corner—I love detective novels and police procedurals, particularly of the Law and Order variety. Thursday nights this year have been fabulous: Special Victims Unit, Law and Order (the original), and Organized Crime—three for the price of one! Today we’re going to look at the phrase “drop a dime on” meaning to rat someone out, snitch on someone, or inform on a criminal by calling the police.

The following description is from our buddies at the Grammarist.

Drop a dime is an idiom with an evolving definition.

The original meaning of drop a dime is to secretly report a lawbreaker to the police, to snitch on a fellow criminal, to anonymously betray a criminal partner. The term drop a dime first appeared in detective novels in the 1920s-1930s. The idiom drop a dime conjures the image of someone putting a dime in a payphone to call the police and betray or “rat out” a criminal.

Informants used payphones because short phone calls could not be traced, especially without prior warning of the incoming phone call. Even though payphones have passed out of usage, this meaning of the idiom does not seem to have waned….

Interestingly, the term drop a dime has also evolved into an American basketball term, dropping dimes, which means giving an assist on a play. Also, the expression is increasingly seen in American football to mean to throw a pass accurately.

Remember, snitches get stitches! (And good luck trying to find a pay phone. I just saw some tourists in Mexico taking a photo of a pay phone because it was so “quaint.”)

Kara Church

Pronouns: she/her

Technical Editor, Advisory

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

Happy Thursday to you!

I frequently listen to the radio and podcasts, and I often hear words being used in ways that are a little off. Over the past few weeks, I heard the following word pairs being misused. The definitions are similar, but the words have distinct meanings:

• expect vs. suspect
• assume vs. presume
• imply vs. infer

I’m not sure why these nuances thrill me so. Some people (my husband, one of my sons, the cashier who works the “15 items or less” lane at my neighborhood grocery store) think I’m a stickler, and then some people (my mom, my best friend, and some of you, I hope) find these subtleties interesting. If you are interested, read on.

I’ll start with the words expect and suspect. Both words, when used as verbs, look to the future, but they are looking with slightly different moods. Here are the definitions along with examples of proper use:

• expect: to look for (mentally); to look forward to, as to something that is believed to be about to happen or come; to have a previous apprehension of, whether of good or evil, to look for with some confidence; to anticipate

Example: I expect to have the project plans by the end of the day.

• suspect: to imagine to exist; to have a slight or vague opinion of the existence of, without proof, and often upon weak evidence or no evidence; to mistrust; to surmise

Example: I suspect that John will arrive late to dinner with a fantastic excuse.

Another pair of words that are often confused are assume and presume. These words are a little tricker because both words mean “to take something as true”; however, there is a slight difference in meaning.

• assume: to take as true with little supporting evidence

Example: I assume that everyone likes chocolate as much as I do.

• presume: to be confident or have evidence that something is true

Example: Just because you failed this test, don’t presume you’ll fail the next one.

And finally, let’s look at the words imply and infer. These words get mixed up a lot because they both deal with indirect suggestions:

• imply: to suggest or to say something in an indirect way

Tip: When we imply something, we’re hinting at what we mean without saying it directly.

Example: He didn’t promise, but he did imply that he would take the job.

• infer: to suppose or come to a conclusion, especially based on indirect suggestion

Tip: When we make an educated guess about something we think someone implied, we’re inferring.

Example: You can probably infer that she won’t be back based on her shocked expression and hasty retreat.

It might help to think of imply and infer almost as opposites. When you imply, you are giving a hint about something. When you infer you are making an educated guess about something.

I expect you all to have a wonderful day today.

Donna Bradley Burcher |Technical Editor, Advisory | Symitar®

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

Pronouns she/her/hers

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.

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Hello readers! Today I’m taking a bit of a vacation and letting Richard Lederer entertain you with A Buffet of Tidbits to Tickle a Language Lover’s Palate, from my dear buddy, Ron F.

A group of third-grade pupils were sitting in a circle with their teacher. She was going around in turn asking them all questions about animals:

“Davy, what noise does a cow make?”
“It goes moo.”
“Alice, what sound does a lamb make?”
“It goes baa.”
“Jimmy, what noise does a cat make?”
“It goes meow.”
“Jennifer, what sound does a mouse make?”
“Uhm . . ., it goes . . . click!”

* * *

A school principal came into a teacher’s classroom and said she was spending too much time teaching about commas because they weren’t really that important in communicating content. So the teacher had a student write the sentence “The principal says the teacher is wrong” on the board and then asked the principal to put a comma after the word principal and another after the word teacher.

The result, of course, was “The principal, says the teacher, is wrong.”

* * *

What do you say to comfort a friend who’s struggling with grammar? “There, their, they’re.”

* * *

It’s helpful if you imagine your auto-correct to be a tiny gremlin inside your computer who tries hard to be helpful but who is, in fact, quite drunk and subject to Inconsonants and Irritable Vowel Syndrome. Breaking news! The inventor of auto-correct has died. His funnel will be held tomato.

* * *

The best online password is “incorrect.” Why? Because every time you key in the wrong password, your computer will remind you that “Your password is incorrect.”

* * *

Always remember to keep your eyes on the prize, your nose to the grindstone, your shoulder to the wheel, your hand on the tiller, your face to the wind, your chin up, your ear to the ground, and your foot on the pedal. Then go see your chiropractor.

* * *

I recently attended the immersive Van Gogh experience at the Del Mar fairgrounds. 300 paintings. 2 million pixels, original music — spectacular! The only downer was that I didn’t have enough Monet to buy Degas to make the Van Gogh!

* * *

Some of you may wonder how my wife puts up with living with a compulsive punster. Well, the other day, I said to her, “Did you hear my last pun?” She replied, “I sure hope so!”

Enjoy your day!

Kara Church

Pronouns: she/her

Technical Editor, Advisory

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

Today’s topic comes from the review of a ransomware survey, brought to me by Phil Ruffin. The review uses the phrase “curate’s egg,” which is most common in British English. The article defines the phrase as such:

“It’s a bit of a Curate’s Egg”, refer[s] to something about which you’re determined to keep a positive public attitude, even if your immediate private reaction was to be disappointed.”

Wikipedia provides additional information and includes the comic strips the phrase is from, both in 1895 publications (one called Punch, the other Judy). Here is their explanation:

A "curate’s egg" is something described as partly bad and partly good. In its original usage, it referred to something that is obviously and entirely bad, but is described out of politeness as nonetheless having good features that redeem it. This meaning has been largely supplanted by its less ironic modern usage, which refers to something that is in fact an indeterminate mix of good and bad, possibly with a preponderance of bad qualities.

Both ransomware and the curate’s egg stink, but you’ll have to read the article to find out which parts of the survey were not good, and which parts were very good. Thanks, Phil!

Kara Church

Pronouns: she/her

Technical Editor, Advisory

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

Good morning, everyone! A couple of weeks ago, one of you asked me where the phrase “Give it the old college try” came from. I thought this might be an easy one to look for, but there are several theories floating out there. It seems that it has been used, reused, misinterpreted, and misattributed. I trust the Grammarist, so let’s start there:

To give it the old college try means to put forth one’s very best effort, often to an outsized degree. Usually, but not always, give it the old college try refers to an attempt made to achieve something with a high risk of failure. The expression give it the old college try came not from the college campus, but from the baseball diamond.

At the turn of the century, a player was said to give it the old college try when attempting to make a play like a heroic attempt at catching a fly ball that was very far out of the player’s reach. Supposedly, the phrase referenced the enthusiasm of an amateur athlete playing for his college team.

The term give it the old college try was quoted in Babe Ruth’s book in the 1920s, and the phrase entered the American language to mean any heroic attempt to achieve something, especially something with a high risk of failure.

In Babe Ruth’s book, he defined the phrase as “playing to the grandstand or making strenuous effort to field a ball that obviously cannot be handled.” In the 1930s and 1940s, the phrase became associated with college football films, which were plentiful. The meaning changed with these films from “achiev(ing) something with a high risk of failure,” to achieving or winning “if you try, no matter what the odds.”

I can hear my sixth-grade basketball coach right now, “Okay girls, third quarter starts in a minute and we’re losing. Buck up and give it the old college try! And stop fouling yourselves out!” (Yeah, we only had seven girls there that day, and three of us fouled out in the first half. It’s hard to win with only four players.)

Kara Church

Pronouns: she/her

Technical Editor, Advisory

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

Top of the morning to you!

I was wearing a wristwatch recently, and my two-year old grandson touched it and said, “clock.” And I said “Yes, it is a kind of clock. It’s a watch.” And I immediately knew this was an Editor’s Corner moment.

Why do we call timepieces that are mounted on the wall or mantel clocks and timepieces on our wrists or in our pockets watches?

According to an article on the Grammarphobia website, the term watch did not originate from the act of watching your watch (be it a pocket watch or a wristwatch) as you might imagine. It actually comes from the Old English word wæcce or wæccan, and it refers to wakefulness, particularly to the sense of staying awake to guard or observe something.

After reading that, you might still be confused about why we call the timepiece we wear on our wrist a watch. I was,so I continued reading, and the article goes on to say that a watch was originally a device that was used to wake people up so they could stand their watch—a sort of alarm clock. Closer, but still not what we think of as a watch today.

In Middle English, the word for an alarm that was attached to a clock and that was used to wake people was wecche, and the word for clock was clokke. So, you would have a wecche on your clokke (nothing at all like having a burr on your hide or a bee in your bonnet).

Moving along in time, several citations from the Oxford English Dictionary, dating back to the late 1500s, use the word watch to refer to a small timepiece that is spring driven and small enough to be carried in the pocket. So there’s your pocket watch, friends!

According to a New York Timesarticle, the first wristwatch was made for Countess Koscowicz of Hungary in 1868 by a Swiss manufacturer named Patek Philippe. And wristwatches for men came soon after. This article states that the first wristwatches for men were produced after an officer in the German Imperial Navy, in 1880, “complained that operating a pocket watch was difficult when timing a bombardment,” so he strapped his pocket watch to his wrist, and that lead to small timepieces being attached to bracelets. And there you have your first wristwatches, friends!

My curiosity is quelled. We can all thank little Jack Burcher for today’s Editor’s Corner topic.

Donna Bradley Burcher |Technical Editor, Advisory | Symitar®

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

Pronouns she/her/hers

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.

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Good morning, everyone! Today’s topic is another “word about words” from Dictionary.com: snowclone. A snowclone is a “cliché or templated phrase that can have different words filled in” to describe new situations. For example, the slogan for the movie Alien (1979) was “In space, no one can hear you scream”; the template for these Alien snowclones is: In space, no one can hear you X. Some resulting snowclones are:

• In space, no one can hear you belch.
• In space, no one can hear you complain.
• In space, no one can hear you DJ.
• In space, no one can hear you dream.

The following snowclones are from Wikipedia and others are from pop culture.

X is the new Y

• Orange Is the New Black (Netflix℠ series)
• gray is the new black
• 50 is the new 40
• Quiet Is the New Loud (album name)

The mother of all X

(From Wikipedia) The phrase entered American popular culture in September 1990 at the outset of the Gulf War, when Saddam Hussein’s Revolutionary Command Council warned the U.S.-led Coalition against military action in Kuwait with the statement "Let everyone understand that this battle is going to become the mother of all battles."

To X or not to X

Well, without the X, most of us would know this as “To be or not to be,” a famous line from Shakespeare’s Hamlet. But as a template, it seems to be used for a lot of things besides just “being.” When I Googled “X or not to X,” one article in Snowclones.org says that there are “13 million plus hits for it…with over 700 different variations on X, including rent, file, cut, drink, teach, speak, grow, herd, cheat, certify, etc.”

Have X, Will Travel

This snowclone holds a soft spot in my heart. I used to love listening to the Have Gun – Will Travel radios shows when driving the road from Seattle to San Francisco and back. Here are some other snowclones from this phrase:

• Have Tux, Will Travel (memoir of Bob Hope, 1954)
• Have Gun – Will Travel (1957 Western series)
• Have Guitar Will Travel (1960 Bo Diddley album)
• Have Rocket, Will Travel (1959, The Three Stooges film)

There are other snowclones out there, but some of them aren’t pleasant. I like to keep this a happy place, so I hope you have a good day!

Kara Church

Pronouns: she/her

Technical Editor, Advisory

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

Good morning!

As promised weeks ago, I have another term from Dictionary.com that was new to me and I thought I would share it with all y’all. Today’s term is crash blossom. A crash blossom is an ambiguously worded news headline that can lead to confusion or laughter. Crash blossoms are generally due to space restrictions for article titles. They might start out a little too long, or not exciting enough to grab the reader’s eye, but by over-editing, you can end up with some crazy headlines. Over the years, many of you have sent me your local versions of crash blossoms, which are always amusing.

The term crash blossom comes from a newspaper title about an airplane crash. From the New York Times Magazine:

For years, there was no good name for these double-take headlines. Last August, however, one emerged in the Testy Copy Editors online discussion forum. Mike O’Connell, an American editor based in Sapporo, Japan, spotted the headline “Violinist Linked to JAL Crash Blossoms” and wondered, “What’s a crash blossom?”

Another participant in the forum, Dan Bloom, suggested that “crash blossoms” could be used as a label for such infelicitous headlines that encourage alternate readings, and news of the neologism quickly spread.

And now, for some crash blossom examples (titles formatted differently according to different style guides):

§ Doctors Help Bee Sting Victims

§ Dead Man Remains Discovered by Police

§ Party Head Eyes Flexing Muscles by Handing Arms to Foot Soldiers

§ Giant Waves Down Queen Mary’s Funnel

§ MacArthur Flies Back to Front

§ Eighth Army Push Bottles Up Germans

§ Squad Helps Dog Bite Victim

§ Red Tape Holds Up New Bridge

§ Infant pulled from wrecked car involved in short police pursuit

§ McDonald’s fries the holy grail for potato farmers

§ Lawmen from Mexico Barbecue Guests

§ Genetic Engineering Splits Scientists

§ Girl found alive in France murders car

§ Trump demands dog “Dreamers” deal

§ Death Happens Slower Than Thought

§ Orthodox Jew Flies in Plane Covered in Huge Plastic Bag, Possibly to Avoid Cemetery Flyover

§ Lance Armstrong Admits Doping in Oprah Winfrey Interview

Kara Church

Pronouns: she/her

Technical Editor, Advisory

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

Hello all! Today is the last of the haiku you submitted for the contest. Three cheers to all of you who sent in your works of art. Today is sort of a free-for-all topic-wise. Most of these have the haiku, then author listed, but towards the end I have the author first because some of you sent in a lot of haiku. The ones that won’t get me in trouble are all here! Thank you so much for sharing with us!

She’s a Looker Haiku

My girl is real cute

She’s in the mirror all day

I’m still waiting to see me

T. Fluellen

Dream Ride Haiku

That ride was hilly

Maybe I need a new bike

Did I just dream that?

T. Fluellen

Hope

Hope springs eternal

Hope my Astros aren’t cheating

Baseball brings us hope

B. Jones

Stone nymph, haiku dream

While moist mulch pokes under brick

It’s time for Wordle

K. Halvin

Wordle obsession

Three vowels in starting word

Two options… well crap…

B. Jones

Haiku for Calvin’s Dad

Why do ice cubes float?

It’s cold, ice wants to get warm.

Nearer sun’s warmer.

Chris Aston

Ode to My Hair-Challenged Dad

So bright and shiny

My noggin painfully red

Oh no, my bald head

B. Selden

For evermore die

Said the chirping wire bird

Be nigh silent bud

Marty Griffin

Haiku for the Reader

A used book for me?

One more is always welcome.

It still reads as new.

C. Aston

They want me badly

I sneak out of Trader Joe’s

“Sign this petition”

E. Boyd

Wife, Augie, Mustang

Retirement plans in progress

Warmer climate time!

M. Murrock, ACCESS FCU

Haiku Pikachu

Where can I find you today?

I know, look for you.

S. Walter

Diplomacy, yes.

Open hand slap not the best.

Peace and love to all.

E. Flick

“Big cars are comfy,”

I think, as I stop for gas

Again and again.

J. Lucas

Last day of the month

Getting older, time goes fast

Hello to next month

E. Flick

Haiku for Teenagers

Clothes exit the dryer

Clean plates leave the dishwasher

Trash departs your room

B. Jones

************************************************************************

D. Isaman

Haiku Trouble #2

People are lazy

I hate when things aren’t finished

Like a haiku

Haiku Trouble #3

I tried to write a haiku,

But I got reversed

The structure of a haiku

Hearts

With blood the heart beats,

But can two hearts beat the odds?

Together ours can!

M. Acuff

Haiku Season of Truth

Ode to my mailbox

So strong and stately you stood

Now you’re just rubbish

A pile of brown bricks

No match for Maggie Mazda

You did leave a mark!

Expenses for both

Incurred by the spouse un-named

I dare not complain

C. Sparkman

They grow up so fast…

Diapers are not cheap

Two transmission replacements

Grown kids have grown bills

Digital grandkids

FaceTime me Gramma

Text my line or Tweet or Skype

I’ll call you later

Empty Nesters

This is not my cake

I can’t deny I ate it

No one else to blame

W. Ponath

You Are

You are my best friend.

All that I think of is you.

My heart is so full.

Rain Tears

Rain falls on my face.

But the sun will shine again.

Can I cry till then?

New Pup

We have a new pup.

He knows where to pee and poop.

We love him so much.

It’s Too Early

My room is all dark.

My alarm clock is ringing.

The bed is so warm.

Gone Fishing

I have some free time.

I like fishing from the pier.

Fish do not know me.

So Sad

Can love become hate?

Can good ever become bad?

Oh, without a doubt.

Summer Rain

The clouds are building,

Rain on asphalt, what a smell!

I love summer storms.

Last One?

This is the last one;

or does it need to be last?

Maybe it’s penultimate.

I Am

To be, not to be!

What is to be, not to be?

I am that I am.

Mike Timmerman

[KC] Your haiku were great

With Sandy Bottom funnies

I laughed every time.

High upon their thrones

Counting syllables with glee

Editors delight

Before it’s too late

I’m begging you to listen

Refinance today.

It was really good

The haiku that I thought of

Alas, it is gone.

Rising from ashes

Haiku versus Godzilla

Tokyo saved again

Idiom Haiku

It was puppy love

With the apple of my eye

Then we tied the knot

Candy Bar Haiku Duel: K. Slayton and J. Matheney

Payday candy bars!

So, what is Hershey’s quota?

How many loose nuts?

K. Slayton

Nothing hits the floor

When Matheney eats Paydays

All in one big bite.

J. Matheney

That’s true to the word!

There’s only one nice big bite.

Watch out! The wrapper!

K. Slayton

Plastic’s everywhere

Oceans, rivers, lakes, and streams…

But not in my gut.

J. Matheney

Kara Church

Pronouns: she/her

Technical Editor, Advisory

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

Good day to you!

The word sealioning came into my inbox recently (in an email from Dictionary.com) and I did a doubletake. I love sea lions! Who doesn’t?

Here in San Diego, we have several beautiful coastal areas where you can observe seals and sea lions in their natural habitat. All along La Jolla Cove, you can watch them sun, and swim, and play. And during the pupping season (May–June), you can get a breathtaking view of the fluffy little pups. Watching them makes me happy; after all, they’re called the dogs of the ocean. I love dogs! I love the ocean!

However, the term sealioning doesn’t portray the same happy attitude as the animals themselves. Here’s an explanation of the term from Dictionary.com:

Sealioning is a critical term for a form of trolling that involves relentlessly pestering someone with questions and requests (such as for evidence or sources), typically with the goal of upsetting them and making their position or viewpoint seem weak or unreasonable.

The verb form sealion (or sea lion) is also used.

These terms are typically applied to online contexts, such as social media, forums, and message boards (although it can also happen offline).

Sealioning often involves giving off the impression of sincere curiosity and an open mind, using polite-sounding language, and framing the questioning as part of honest intellectual debate. However, the real goal of such behavior is to irritate the other person until that person gets angry or upset, thus allowing the questioner to portray themselves as a victim as an attempt to diminish a position or viewpoint they disagree with.

I didn’t know the name of it, but this is definitely one of the reasons I have such limited online presence.

But where did the term sealioning come from? I was surprised it had such a negative connotation until the Dictionary.com article explained its origin:

The term and concept of sealioning was popularized by the 2014 webcomic “The Terrible Sea Lion” by artist David Malki. In the comic, a person states in a private conversation that they dislike sea lions. In response, a sea lion suddenly appears and relentlessly harasses the person by asking them to provide evidence that supports their negative opinion of sea lions. The sea lion pretends to be nice and reasonable while still following the person to their home and continuing to harass them, even when they are trying to sleep. When the person gets upset and asks the sea lion to leave, the sea lion claims they have done nothing to deserve such rudeness. Malki has explained that the sea lion in the comic was intended to represent certain types of behavior.

The term is now most commonly used to call out such behavior on social media, where it’s considered a specific type of trolling.

So, there you go. As so often happens, one obnoxious individual (in this case a sea lion) has ruined it for all the rest. But I don’t want you to leave with a negative impression of all seals and sea lions. I’ve lived near them all my life, and I can honestly say that every single one I’ve met has been the epitome of graciousness.

Adorable sea lion pup

An excerpt from David Malki’s “The Terrible Sea Lion.”

Donna Bradley Burcher |Technical Editor, Advisory | Symitar®

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

Pronouns she/her/hers

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.