Editor's Corner

Good morning, crew. I hope you all woke up on the right side of the bed this morning. I was awake before the sun rose. In fact, I was awakened by my very impatient, very persistent, slightly spoiled English bull terrier who wanted to go out in the dark and sniff around for squirrels.

And as we all wake up this morning, I thought it was a good day to fulfil a request from Linden B. to clear up the muddled tenses of the word wake.

Let’s start with definitions and examples:

• awake (intransitive): to come out of the state of sleep; to cease to sleep
  transitive: to arouse (someone) from sleep.

Example: I was awake before the sun rose.

• awaken (intransitive): to arise or spring into existence
  transitive: to rouse from sleep

Example: I was awakened by my very impatient, very persistent, slightly spoiled English bull terrier who wanted to go out in the dark and sniff around for squirrels.

• wake (intransitive): to be or remain awake; to keep oneself, or be kept, awake
  transitive: to rouse from sleep or unconsciousness

Example: I hope Rover doesn’t wake me again early tomorrow morning.

• wake up (verb phrase): to cease sleeping; to become awake

Example: As we all wake up this morning, I thought it was a good day to fulfil a request to clear up the muddled tenses of the word wake.

Since these are verbs, they have tenses (as you may have noticed in my example for awaken, when I used the past tense awakened. And there is a lot of interchangeability, which is what causes the confusion.

The Daily Writing Tips website says this:

Confusion about the past tense forms stems from the fact that the words evolved from two Old English verbs, one of which was “strong” and one of which was “weak.” Certain OE “strong” verbs developed past tense forms that end in -en in modern English. OE “weak” verbs developed past tense forms that end in -ed in modern English. In the case of awake and wake, we may choose to use either the strong or the weak endings:

awake / awoke / (have) awoken
awake / awaked / (have) awaked

wake / woke / (have) woken
wake / waked / (have) waked

In the case of awaken and waken, the weak ending is standard.

awaken / awakened / (have) awakened

waken / wakened / (have) wakened

Although these words mean more or less the same thing, I think they’ve all remained in the language because they express different slivers of meaning about waking and wakefulness.

Wake, wake up, and waken are possibly the most commonly used words for the literal act of rousing a sleeper.

Here is your takeaway, gang: since there is so much interchangeability with these verbs, you’ll probably be OK using whichever sounds right to you. And if you’re ever in doubt, Rover and I hope that you’ll check the dictionary.

Mr. Rover

Donna Bradley Burcher | Senior Technical Editor | 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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Several weeks ago, I sent out a couple of articles on “fancy” colors. These write-ups were about several colors in particular. Today I have words related to colors. The following terms and definitions are from Daily Writing Tips. The assorted screen captures are from the World Wide Web.

Words describing the qualities of color can confuse because they sometimes but not always overlap or are even interchangeable. Here’s a roster of color terms with definitions.

1. Cast: a change in appearance or color by adding one color over another; also, multiple senses of assigning, depositing, directing, shaping, spreading, turning, or twisting
2. Chroma: a combination of hue and saturation (see definitions below), or synonymous with saturation[KC – Now this one is confusing to me, because in Greek,
   chroma (or χρώμα) just means
   color. Oh, and happy Greek-American and Irish-American heritage month!]
3. Chromaticity: the quality of color based on wavelength and purity
4. Coloration: the condition of coloring, as in skin tone, an arrangement of colors, or the choice or use of colors
5. Colorway: a color or arrangement of colors [KC – This definition doesn’t seem to be very helpful. Here is an example of a yarn colorway, in this case it’s called the
   “peacock colorway” for obvious reasons.]

   

6. Contrast: the degree of difference in colors or light and dark, or their juxtaposition
   

7. Hue: color, gradation of color, or the characteristic that distinguishes one color from another
8. Saturation: purity of color; also, the state of being thoroughly wet, or heavy infiltration [KC – Here’s a nice example of hue, saturation, and brightness (not included on this list of words).]

9. Pigmentation: coloration caused by the presence of a pigment, a substance that produces a color (or black and white) in a material
10. Shade: a color produced by a mixture that includes black dye or pigment, or a color somewhat distinct from another, or, as a verb, to produce such a color; also, various meanings associated with the blocking or minimizing of light
11. Tincture: synonymous with color; also, a trace in a mixture
12. Tinge: color spread or stained over another color, or, as a verb, to spread or stain one color over another; also, a figurative sense of a light touch or effect, or, as a verb, to touch or effect lightly
13. Tint: a pale or slight coloration, or lighter or darker variations of a color, or, as a verb, to produce such an effect; also, a slight difference, or hair dye
14. Tone: a quality of color, or a shade, tint, or value (see definitions)
15. Value: the lightness or darkness of a color, or the difference in lightness and darkness

There are so many other words associated with color, and it can get a bit confusing without some actual examples. The Alpine paint site has some nice examples if you want to see a bit more about hues, shades, tones, and tints:

And remember, it’s always a good day when you get to see a double rainbow!

Kara Church

Pronouns: she/her/hers

Technical Editor, Advisory

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

Today I was talking to someone who had just come back from vacation and I said her writing was “no worse for wear,” indicating that just because she took some time off, her writing was still fabulously error-free. Where I got a bit stuck was trying to remember if it was “worse for wear” or “worse for ware.” I decided that “wear” was correct, but then I thought, “What an odd phrase.“ Wear makes a little bit of sense, but not much. It seemed to me like a good time to look into this particular idiom.

From our idiom experts at The Grammarist:

The phrase the worse for wear describes someone or something that has been used and shows signs of that use. Something that is the worse for wear is in bad condition, shabby, worn out. A person who is described as being the worse for wear may look exhausted, ill, dirty or disheveled. The worse for wear may also be used as a euphemism for someone who is drunk or hungover from drinking, especially in British English. To express that someone has endured something and come through it with no ill effect, the expression none the worse for wear is used. The expression the worse for wear dates back at least to 1546.

Actually, now that I read that, I think I said, “No worse for the wear.” I guess I’m not even using the idiom correctly. Maybe that’s a sign that I should just say, “I hope you had a nice vacation. Being away certainly didn’t have a negative effect on your writing.”

And something completely unrelated, but it made me laugh:

Kara Church

Pronouns: she/her/hers

Technical Editor, Advisory

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

Recently, our coworker Sandra B. posted “Phrases Black Southerners Say” on the Mosaic Teams site. I enjoyed it thoroughly, and thought I’d look for some other Southern phrases I could share. It’s been four years since I shared lively Southern phrases with you, and it seems like a good time to look at more. I had to rely on Wander Wisdom for new material since I don’t have a Southern connection. I have cut out the items I did last time, and also the ones that are a bit “blue” for the office.

Enjoy!

When a Southerner Gets Angry:

• He’s got a burr in his saddle.
• His knickers are in a knot.
• She’s pitching a hissy fit.
• She’s pitching a hissy fit with a tail on it.

Southern Sayings About Bad Character:

• You’re lower than a snake’s belly in a wagon rut.
• She’s meaner than a wet panther.
• Worthless as gum on a boot heel!

When Southerners Are Busy:

• I’m as busy as a one-legged cat in a sandbox.
• Busier than a moth in a mitten!

Southern Expressions About Being Cheap:

• He squeezes a quarter so tight the eagle screams.

Southern Phrases About Being Broke or Poor:

• I’m so poor I can’t afford to pay attention.
• He was so poor, he had a tumbleweed as a pet.
• I couldn’t buy a hummingbird on a string for a nickel.

Irritation Brings Out Some Creative Southern Expressions:

• That would make a bishop mad enough to kick in stained glass windows.
• She could make a preacher cuss!
• Who licked the red off your candy?
• She could start an argument in an empty house.
• He’s about as useless as a screen door on a submarine/a trapdoor on a canoe.

Colorful Southern Expressions About Liars:

• You’re lyin’ like a no-legged dog!
• If his lips’s movin’, he’s lyin’.

Southernisms About Stupidity:

• If brains were leather, he wouldn’t have enough to saddle a junebug.
• He’s so dumb, he could throw himself on the ground and miss.
• When the Lord was handin’ out brains, that fool thought God said trains, and he passed ’cause he don’t like to travel.
• His brain rattles around like a BB in a boxcar.
• If his brains were dynamite, he couldn’t blow his nose.

When Something Smells Really Bad, a Southerner Says:

• He smelled bad enough to gag a maggot.
• Something smells bad enough to knock a dog off a gut wagon.

If You Hear These Southern Expressions, You Better Watch Out:

Either somebody’s in real trouble, or there’s a fight brewing if you hear…

• I’m gonna jerk her bald!
• Me-‘n-you are gonna mix.
• You better give your heart to Jesus, ’cause your butt is mine.
• I’ll slap you to sleep, then slap you for sleeping.

Ugly or Looking Bad?

• He’s so ugly, he didn’t get hit with the ugly stick, he got whopped with the whole forest!
• So ugly she’d make a freight train take a dirt road.
• She’s so ugly I’d hire her to haunt a house!
• He looks like ten miles of bad road.

Of the Wealthy:

• He’s so rich he buys a new boat when he gets the other one wet.

A Hungry Southerner Says:

• I could eat the north end of a south-bound polecat.
• I’m so hungry I could eat the north end of a south-bound goat.

Kara Church

Pronouns: she/her/hers

Technical Editor, Advisory

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

Good morning, my friends!

I occasionally write about misused words. And today, I’m going to do it again—only with a twist. The misused words I’m sharing today are from GrammarBook.com, and they are misused because they sound like they should mean something different from what they actually mean. Without really thinking about it, when we hear a word, we relate it to words that seem to have the same root or to words that sound similar. It’s an intuitive response that can save us time, but in these instances, it leads us to an incorrect conclusion.

Maybe these are not words you hear often these days, but it’s interesting to know that when people do use them, they often use them incorrectly because they sound similar to more common words.

I want to add a disclaimer here: some of the words are misused so often that some dictionaries have included the incorrect definition (Hiss! Boo!). Dictionaries will usually list the most accepted definition first, and they’ll list the least accepted definition last or near the end of the list of definitions.

Here’s the list, don’t choke on your coffee or tea when you learn how wrong we’ve been!

Donna Bradley Burcher | Senior Technical Editor | 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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Dear Editrix,

Would you mind doing accept and except sometime?

Question from the Carolinas

Why, of course, I would love to cover accept and except! Let’s get to it right away.

Accept and except are frequently confused because they are homophones (words that sound alike). Homophones tend to be confusing to both native English speakers and people with English as a second language. First, we’ll look at accept because that is the easy one.

Accept is a verb that means to agree, to believe, or to receive something. Here are a few examples:

• Rico accepted the terms of the contract, even though he thought he could get a better deal elsewhere. (In this case, accept means “agree to.”)
• When Kelsie was young, she accepted her brother’s story there were fairies in the family strawberry patch. (In this case, accept means “to believe.”)
• As a graduation gift, Lemuel accepted a golden watch from his grandfather. (In this case, accept means “to receive.”)

Except is a bit trickier because it can be used as a verb, a conjunction, or a preposition. On the plus side, except only has one meaning: to exclude something.

• Zeb and Petronia have a secret hiding place; they haven’t told anyone about it except Zeb’s mother. (Preposition)
• Paul knows nothing about his new OKCupid date except that he is tall, dark, and handsome. (Conjunction, usually use with that, when, or if.)
• My dog Bella is very even-tempered, except when Harvey tries to steal her treats. (Conjunction, usually use with that, when, or if.)
• The lawyer excepted against potential witnesses 14, 18, and 21. (Verb, rarer use than as a preposition or conjunction.)

Grammarly.com suggests that you can simplify the two words by remembering this:

• Accept means to agree or to receive something offered.
• Except means excluding or with the exception of.

I hope this helps!

Kara Church

Pronouns: she/her/hers

Technical Editor, Advisory

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

The other day I was editing a document about bankruptcy and I thought, “Boy, does bankrupt sound like erupt.” I started wondering if the destruction caused by bankruptcy and the potential mayhem from an erupting volcano had a common history. I turned to my beloved—not my husband, Ray—my beloved Online Etymology Dictionary. This is what I found for bankrupt, rupture, erupt, and bankruptcy (edited for brevity).

bankrupt (adjective)

"in the state of one unable to pay just debts or meet obligations," 1560s, from Italian banca rotta, literally "a broken bench," from banca "moneylender’s shop," literally "bench" + rotta "broken, defeated, interrupted" from Latin rupta, fem. past participle of rumpere "to break" (see rupture).

Said to have been so called from an old custom of breaking the bench of bankrupts, but the allusion probably is figurative.

rupture (noun)

late 14c., originally medical, from Latin ruptura "the breaking (of an arm or leg), fracture," from past participle stem of rumpere "to break". Specifically as "abdominal hernia" from early 15c.

erupt (verb)

1650s, of diseases, etc., from Latin eruptus, past participle of erumpere "to break out, burst," from assimilated form of ex "out" + rumpere "to break, rupture" (see rupture). Of volcanoes, from 1770 (the Latin word was used in reference to Mount Etna). Related: Erupted; erupting.

bankruptcy (noun)
1700, "the breaking up of a business due to its inability to pay obligations," from bankrupt, "probably on the analogy of insolvency, but with -t erroneously retained in spelling, instead of being merged in the suffix …." [OED]. Figurative use from 1761. Earlier words for it (late 16c.-17c.) were bankrupting, bankruption, bankrupture, bankruptship.

Now that’s a lot rupture, eruptus, and rupta, but we can definitely see that all four words are commonly related by rumpere (to break). Now what I’d like to know is, “Why did we stop using bankruption?” That seems like a much more active word! And how about a breakout of acne? Doesn’t telling your doctor your face erumpered sound a little suaver? In any case, it’s some knowledge you can break out during the next client conference or at the bar during Trivia Night. 😊

Have a bankruptureless day!

Kara Church

Pronouns: she/her/hers

Technical Editor, Advisory

619-542-6773 | Ext: 766773

Editing: Symitar Documentation Services

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

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Fair warning—I’m going to harp today. But it’ll be short and sweet (well, maybe it won’t be sweet; it’ll be short and tart…mmm, SweeTARTS®). I’ve talked about this pronoun conundrum before, but I hear so many people who should know better get it wrong that I feel like I have to try to find another way to get the point across.

What point? Using the subjective pronoun I when we should use the objective pronoun me.

Here are some examples of the kind of things I hear that are making me so tart:

• You can count on Jim and I.
• Finding a solution will come down to Karen or I.
• Sometimes, my family treats my sister and I differently.

In all those cases, the correct pronoun is me. How can you know for sure? The easiest way to determine whether you should use I or me is to remove the other person from the sentence:

• You can count on me.
• Finding a solution will come down to me.
• Sometimes, my family treats me differently.

Some people incorrectly assume that if two people are being discussed, they should always use the pronoun I. But we’re not “assumers.” To assume is to suppose without proof. We know where to find proof. As my sister would say, “Google™ that!”

Now, you and I can tackle the world! Enjoy the day.

Donna Bradley Burcher | Senior Technical Editor | 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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Top of the morning to you!

I recently read a very interesting article from one of my favorite resources, GrammarBook.com, on one of my favorite topics—dialects. This article is specifically about American dialects. As you know, although most Americans share the common language of English, we don’t all speak it exactly the same way. There are differences in the grammar we use, in our accents, in our word choice, and in our common expressions—and all this makes up our regional dialect.

The article I read stated that there are fourteen different regional dialects in the United States, but for the sake of brevity, they narrowed them down to the three major dialects that I’m sure you’re all familiar with: Southern, Northern, and Western. Here is some of the information they provided. I hope you find it as fascinating as I do. (I’ve cut it down for your convenience.)

Southern

American Southern English is perhaps most recognized for its distinctive drawl with longer vowel pronunciations. Another regional distinction can be the dropping of the final r of a word before another word that begins with a vowel (e.g., greater idea is pronounced great-uh idea).

Southern English might also be identified by colloquialisms such as using done as an auxiliary verb (I done already reminded you about the yard work) and using been instead of have been in present perfect constructions (I been building this cabinet for about two weeks).

Northern

American Northern English includes dialects from New England (e.g., Boston, Rhode Island), New York and the Mid-Atlantic (e.g., Baltimore, Philadelphia), Inland Northern (e.g., Chicago, Detroit), and the U.S. Midland (Ohio, Nebraska, Missouri).

In Boston…you may hear the dropping of the r from words such as car (caa)…You might also hear the word wicked in place of very and references to a tonic (TAWN-ic) for a soft drink.

In certain boroughs of New York (New Yawk), you might hear WAW-duh for water…

In Philadelphia and surrounding areas, one may hear h-dropping as in YOO-men for human. The word water might also be pronounced as WOO-ter. Some Philadelphians are known to refer to the chocolate sprinkles on ice cream as jimmies as well.

Many Americans can identify Chicagoans by how they refer to their hometown: shi-CAW-go. Other Chicago-isms include I got dibs for I have first access, da for the, and pop for soda…

Western

Perhaps because it was settled last by European immigrants on different settlement routes, the American West is less distinct in its dialect than the South and the North.

With close to 40 million people (12 percent of the U.S. population), California has developed its own forms of English, but an identifying regional tongue is yet to be defined. Its most discernible pattern of speech may be the Valley Girl vernacular popularized in the 1980s. The lingo included using like as filler between words and expressions such as gnarly, awesome, totally, and gag me with a spoon. [dbb – Last time, I briefly discussed the
Valley Girl dialect, remember? It was, like, totally awesome!]

Other subdialects include New Mexican, Utahan, and Wyomese English.

I love trying to figure out where people are from by their accent and speech patterns. I was raised in California by two Southern parents. I’ve learned to love the slow Southern drawl and the sometimes silly but very apt southern sayings I often hear from my dad. Here are some of his top hits (the ones that are suitable for work):

And I’m married to a Londoner with just as many quirky sayings—even fewer that are fit to print, but I’ve shined them up a bit to save my job and your innocence. Here are a few of Mick’s most often used work-friendly sayings:

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Today my dear coworker, Jane, sent me a graphic from Facebook®, and asked me if this were true:

I hadn’t heard this term before, but I think it’s great. A kangaroo word hides a smaller baby word (a joey) in her pouch! To verify that this wasn’t just a cool poster, I found a website called Hit Bullseye, which published a huge list of kangaroo words. If you just want a selection of kangaroo words, that list is below. For many more, click here. (Note: The webpage comes with a couple of pop-ups, but the list of kangaroo words is good.)

Like the kangaroo word container, this ‘roo has two joeys! How can she walk, let alone hop?

Kara Church

Pronouns: she/her/hers

Technical Editor, Advisory

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