Editor's Corner

Good morning from my home office. I know that many of you are also working from home now. Like me, are you having trouble remembering what day it is? I do my best to keep regular work hours, and I have a room that I use as my office, so it kind of feels like I’m “going to work” every morning. But I’m still having trouble knowing which day of the week I’m in. Some weeks I’ve been two days off!

Friends and colleagues are telling me that they also don’t know what the heck day it is—it turns out that people all over the world are experiencing this phenomena. And some people also feel like time has shifted—it has either sped up (for those who find themselves being even more busy than they used to be) or it has slowed down (for those who are experiencing more loneliness and boredom).

This kind of thing is normal when your usual routine is interrupted. And when it is interrupted for as long as this pandemic has been going on (and for as long as it looks like it will continue), the days just kind of blur into each other.

So, lots of people think we need a way to describe this feeling of not knowing what day it is. And I know a lot of you are probably way ahead of me, but last week I found a couple of possibilities on the internet. When you just don’t have a clue what day it is, why not call it Whensday? And when the day you’re having seems like all the others you’ve had recently, why not call it Blursday?

Problem solved!

Donna Bradley Burcher | Senior Technical Editor | Symitar®

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

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,

My son and I were talking and he said, “that’s nothing to sneeze at.” I’ve heard this phrase all my life but have no idea where it comes from. Any ideas?

Sincerely,

Cover Your Mouth

Dear Cover,

So much talk about sneezing and coughing these days, but this idiom doesn’t require a face mask. Let’s see what we can find out about “nothing to sneeze at.” The Grammarist has a nice article about this exact topic:

Nothing to sneeze at describes something of consequence, something important enough to be paid attention to. Originally, the term to sneeze at was an idiom used to describe something that should be held in contempt, something unimportant. In this sense, sneeze may also be interpreted as a snort of derision. By the early 1800s, the admonishment nothing to sneeze at came about. Nothing to sneeze at is the American form.

Not to be sneezed at also describes something of consequence, something important enough to be paid attention to. Also appearing in the early 1800s, not to be sneezed at is the British form of this idiom.

Examples:

Correa’s sophomore season in the majors didn’t see him make the jump to light-speed stardom, but the 20 HRs, 96 RBIs, 13 steals and .274 average he produced were nothing to sneeze at, and could easily be topped in his third year. (The Sacramento Bee)

The King William Street building was bought at a 3.65 per cent net initial yield: not astronomical, but with government bond yields coming off record lows, also not to be sneezed at. (The Financial Times)

And for your viewing pleasure, the sender of this question also sent me a great link to a community sign page where the writer of the signs is a great punster. You can see a few here and more at Indian Hills.

Kara Church

Pronouns: she/her/hers

Technical Editor, Advisory

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

Good morning, friends! I received a question the other day about adjectives, and in my research, I learned a few things that I wanted to share with you. The question was about using the word “more” vs. using the ending “-er” with adjectives. For example, is it correct to say, “more proud” or “prouder”? Well, here are some usage rules from Grammar.com. (The content is theirs, but I’ve reformatted and changed some of the examples.)

Syllable Rule for the States of Adjectives

• One-syllable adjectives usually use -er and -est.

• sweet, sweeter, sweetest
• red, redder, reddest
• hot, hotter, hottest

Note: In some expression, even one-syllable adjectives use “more” for a comparison, such as more tart than sweet.

• Two-syllable adjectives can use -er and -est, more and most, or either.

• Angry, angrier, angriest
• Silly, sillier, silliest
• Bizarre, more bizarre, most bizarre
• Clever, cleverer, cleverest; or, clever, more clever, most clever
• Cruel, crueler, cruelest; or, cruel, more cruel, most cruel

• Three-syllable adjectives use more and most.

• Difficult, more difficult, most difficult
• Insecure, more insecure, most insecure
• Loveable, more loveable, most lovable

I know, the two-syllable guideline is a sketchy, chaotic solution, but these additional rules should help you write or use the correct wording.

Sounds-Weird Rule for States of Adjectives

Sometimes the ‑er and ‑est endings just sound strange.

For example, the correct comparative and superlative forms of common are commoner and commonest. But these words sound strange…thus, common, more common, and most common would be regarded as correct by most people (simply because they’re used to hearing these forms). In formal settings, however, you should choose the correct forms, commoner and commonest. [KC – Formal settings like senior prom, a business presentation, or dinner with Queen Elizabeth—though “commoner” might be a noun
to her.]

Look-It-Up Rule for States of Adjectives

[KC – I love this rule! Check the dictionary!]

You can always find the answer in the dictionary.

Look up common, and immediately following the word you’ll find the endings ‑er and ‑est. These entries show how to form the comparative and superlative forms of the adjective.

Now look up the word different. Notice that following the entry you do not find the endings ‑er and ‑est. The absence of these endings means that you use more for the comparative and most for the superlative.

An additional “rule” I read somewhere is that sometimes people use “more” or “most” for greater emphasis than using -er would have, which brings us back to the original question about proud, prouder, proudest, and more proud. Using that example, either of these is appropriate:

• Meredith could not be more proud of her son, the first in her family to get a Ph.D.
• Herschel was prouder of his strawberry jam this year than he was last year, even though last year he won first prize at the fair.

And for a smile, a few unfortunate quarantine haircuts:

Kara Church

Pronouns: she/her/hers

Technical Editor, Advisory

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

Dear Editrix,

I saw some movie and an older guy said “dagnabbit”. So, I was like, “Dagnabbit, where did that come from?” Sounds like a job for Super K, otherwise known as my friend Kara. Here are some other words I found like dagnabbit: blimey, butter my butt and call me a biscuit, Gordon Bennett, strike me pink, and tarnation.

Javier

My friend, Javier,

These look like examples of interjections—abrupt remarks, like an interruption or exclamation. I’d say as far as your list, they might also be used as more polite versions of some cursing that people do. In the case of dagnabbit, the dictionary describes it as a mixed-up alternative to a curse word with the same number of syllables and beginning with the word “god.” (I don’t want to offend, so those are all of the hints you’re going to get.) It reminds me of my grandma, who would say things like, “For the love of Pete,” or “For Pete’s sake,” instead of blaspheming.

Let’s check out some of the other words you mentioned. These definitions are all from Wiktionary.

• Blimey: British
  A minced oath from [God] blind me, concurrent with or from an abbreviation of gorblimey. [KC –
  Gorblimey is from the Cockney pronunciation of God blind me.]

• “Butter my butt and call me a biscuit”: Southern United States
  An expression of astonishment upon learning something unbelievable (usually positive).

• Gordon Bennett: British
  An expression of surprise, contempt, outrage, disgust, or frustration.

From James Gordon Bennett, Jr., a New York newspaper proprietor and playboy during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries who became widely known for his extravagant lifestyle and shocking behaviour. The Oxford English Dictionary places the phrase in the 1890s as an alliteration of gorblimey and again to James Gordon Bennett Jr.

• Strike me pink:
  (dated) Used to express astonishment or indignation.

• Tarnation: U.S.

From darnation, influenced by tarnal (from eternal). [KC – And darn/darnation are euphemisms for damn/damnation.]

Used to express anger, irritation, disappointment, annoyance, contempt, etc.

Okay, we’ll that’s about all I can cover today without getting into some serious trouble with HR!

Kara Church

Pronouns: she/her/hers

Technical Editor, Advisory

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

Good morning and happy Thursday! My friend Ron F. sent me a fun article about neologisms. My first question was, “What’s a neologism?” Well, I know that the prefix “neo” is Greek for “new” and “logos” is Greek for “speech or utterance.” Merriam-Webster defines neologism this way: “a new word, usage, or expression.”

The Washington Post has a neologism contest every year that concentrates on new usage. They ask readers to supply new meanings for existing words. 2019’s winners are pretty funny. I’ve copied and pasted the winners that were fit to share below. I hope they give you a chuckle.

The winners are:

• Coffee (n.), the person upon whom one coughs.
• Flabbergasted (adj.), appalled over how much weight you have gained.
• Abdicate (v.), to give up all hope of ever having a flat stomach.
• Esplanade (v.), to attempt an explanation while drunk.
• Negligent (adj.), describes a condition in which you absentmindedly answer the door in your nightgown.
• Lymph (v.), to walk with a lisp.
• Gargoyle (n.), olive-flavored mouthwash.
• Flatulence (n.), emergency vehicle that picks you up after you are run over by a steamroller.
• Balderdash (n.), a rapidly receding hairline.
• Rectitude (n.), the formal, dignified bearing adopted by proctologists.
• Pokemon (n.), a Rastafarian proctologist.
• Oyster (n.), a person who sprinkles his conversation with Yiddishisms.
• Frisbeetarianism (n.), (back by popular demand), the belief that, when you die, your soul flies up onto the roof and gets stuck there.

The Washington Post’s Style Invitational also asked readers to take any word from the dictionary, alter it by adding, subtracting, or changing one letter, and supply a new definition.

The winners are:

• Bozone (n.): The substance surrounding stupid people that stops bright ideas from penetrating. The bozone layer, unfortunately, shows little sign of breaking down in the near future.
• Cashtration (n.): The act of buying a house, which renders the subject financially impotent for an indefinite period.
• Sarchasm (n): The gulf between the author of sarcastic wit and the person who doesn’t get it.
• Inoculatte (v): To take coffee intravenously when you are running late.
• Osteopornosis (n): A degenerate disease.
• Karmageddon (n): It’s like, when everybody is sending off all these really bad vibes, right? And then, like, the Earth explodes and it’s like, a serious bummer.
• Glibido (v): All talk and no action.
• Arachnoleptic fit (n.): The frantic dance performed just after you’ve accidentally walked through a spider web.
• Caterpallor (n.): The color you turn after finding half a grub in the fruit you’re eating.

I hope the rest of your day is happy.

Donna Bradley Burcher | Senior Technical Editor | Symitar®

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

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, folks! Today I want to talk a little bit about myself. Not actually me, but the word myself. One of our coworkers is tired of people using the word at the wrong time and asked for one of the editors to cover it in Editor’s Corner, without a lot of mind-numbing grammar.

The main problem is that people seem to get confused about when to say me vs. myself. When in doubt, people like to opt for the longer word because it sounds fancier or more educated. But when you use it incorrectly, it has the opposite effect, and our coworker (who shall remain nameless) cringes and texts me to say, “It happened again.”

Here it is in a nutshell: The only time you should use myself is when you are referring back to the pronoun I. The only time you use yourself is when referring back to the pronoun you. And the same goes with himself, herself, and themselves, which refer to him, her, and they/them, respectively. Uh-oh. Mind numbing? Let’s see examples of what works and what is correct:

• I made dinner and set the table myself.
• She thinks of herself as a true intellectual.
• You might think you learned a lesson, but you are fooling yourself.
• The fire fighters exercise at the park to keep themselves in shape.
• When I look at myself in the mirror, I wonder if the acne will go away when I retire.
• He found himself staring at the ravioli, as if he hadn’t eaten for a week.

Now here is what you don’t say:

• Give the cupcakes to Rick and myself.
• Jason and myself are going to play bocce ball this weekend.

As you can see, those last two examples aren’t referring to I anywhere in the sentence, so they should not include myself. Here are some more examples of what works, what doesn’t, and a little secret that can help you remember when to use me instead of myself.

Correct:

Give the cupcakes to Rick and me.

Incorrect:

Give the cupcakes to Rick and I.

Give the cupcakes to Rick and myself.

Reread those sentences. This time, get rid of Rick! When you take him away, you are left with these results:

Correct:

Give the cupcakes to me.

Incorrect:

Give the cupcakes to I.

Give the cupcakes to myself. (Remember you need to be referring back to I here to use myself. There’s no Rick, there’s no I. Don’t do it!)

Next time you think of using myself, yourself, or another “self” pronoun, make sure it is referring to the correct subject (I, you, etc.) earlier in the sentence. If you find yourself saying something like, “Give the report to Joe or myself,” stop, recognize it is incorrect, and correct yourself before you wreck yourself: “Give the report to Joe or me.” It’s okay. Better to recognize your mistake and correct it than earn the wrath of your coworker (who shall still remain nameless).

For past lessons and the grammar, see these articles:

https://episystechpubs.com/2012/08/15/editors-corner-me-myself-and-i/

https://episystechpubs.com/2013/04/15/editors-corner-rule-4-the-return-of-me-myself-and-i/

Kara Church

Pronouns: she/her/hers

Technical Editor, Advisory

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

Hello folks. I apologize for a missing comma and a missing “the” in my last Editor’s Corner. It’s summertime and I think my brain was at the beach.

Today, I have the comma rules sequel for you! Get comfortable, grab some tea, pretend there is a stirring concerto playing in the background, and join me for rules five through eight.

Rule 5

Use commas to separate two or more coordinate adjectives that describe the same noun.

Okay. What the heck am I talking about? Uncoordinated? No, that’s me, not the adjectives. Here is a little bit of information on coordinate and non-coordinate adjectives:

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.

Examples:

• Joy was a clever, intelligent woman. (coordinate)
• Lanie has a giant bread box. (non-coordinate)
• I have two navy wool suits. (non-coordinate)
• The street was lined with large, green Sycamore trees and red, white, and blue flags. (coordinate)

Rule 6

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

Oh, for the love of Pete! Too much coordination required! Now it is contrasted coordinate elements. What am I talking about? Have a look:

Examples:

• He was merely ignorant, not stupid.
• The hippopotamus seemed very reflective, almost human.
• You and Maurice are close friends, aren’t you?

Rule 7

Use commas to set off all geographical names, the day and year in dates, addresses (except the street number and name), and titles in names.

Examples:

• Birmingham, Alabama, gets its name from Birmingham, England.
• My uncle lives at 234 Handyman Lane, Peoria, Illinois.
• December 22, 1979 was a momentous day in his life.
• Bono B. McDonald, MD, will be the principal speaker.

Note: When you use just the month and the year, no comma is necessary after the month or year: "The highest temperature in Springfield, Missouri, was 108° F, July 1986.”

Rule 8

Use commas wherever necessary to prevent possible confusion or misreading.

Example:

To Trevor, Noah was a generous man.

Commas are important!

Kara Church

Pronouns: she/her/hers

Technical Editor, Advisory

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

Say hello to my little friend! No, not Al Pacino’s “little friend” in Scarface—my little friend, the comma! There are so many rules for this little piece of punctuation, I think it helps to review them now and then. Today we’ll look at half of my handy list and some examples. There are quite a few specific rules, but the following will give you a good starting point.

Rule 1

Use commas to separate independent clauses when joined by one of these seven conjunctions:

and, but, for, or nor, so, yet.

Examples:

• Today is a beautiful day, so I am going for a swim.
• I used conditioner on my hair, yet it is still tangled.

Rule 2

Use commas after introductory a) clauses, b) phrases, or c) words that come before the main clause. Common starter words for introductory clauses that should be followed by a comma include the following:

• after
• although
• as
• because
• if
• since
• when
• while

Examples:

• When I see puppies, it fills my heart with glee.
• I fell in love with him, because he sang me Green Day songs.

Rule 3
Use a pair of commas in the middle of a sentence to set off clauses, phrases, and words that are not essential to the meaning of the sentence. Use one comma before to indicate the beginning of the pause and one at the end to indicate the end of the pause. (You may remember a discussion about using parentheses and em dashes in a similar way. Just remember, this use is for nonessential information.)

Examples:

• Clause: This Saturday, which happens to be the Fourth of July, is the day new car arrives at the dealership.
• Phrase: There are a lot of rich people at this party. The donations, on the other hand, don’t reflect that at all.
• Word: Joanne’s cooking is beautiful. In this case, however, it looks like it came out of a can.

Rule 4

Use commas to separate three or more words in a series. Yes, this is the serial comma that some of you resist, but this rule is in our JHA Style Guide and in the Chicago Manual of Style. Learn to love it! Embrace it! If you haven’t met it, I’d like to introduce you to your new little friend!

Example:

• We love to serve fruit salad with cantaloupe, strawberries, watermelon, and grapes.
• Caleb, Vinay, and Piper are coming to help us move.

Note: The serial comma is the comma after the second-to-last term and before the conjunction. In the phrase “parameters, fields, and privileges,” the serial comma is the comma after fields.

Al Pacino as Tony Montana, with his “little friend” the Colt AR-15 assault rifle.

Kara Church

Pronouns: she/her/hers

Technical Editor, Advisory

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

Good morning, everyone! Today’s subject is the importance of word choice. If you’re ready, let’s dive right in.

Good writing is about choosing the best words and organizing them in the most efficient way to make a clear point. As business and technical writers who want to provide easy-to-access information, we should always use the most common word (for instance, everywhere instead of ubiquitous). And we should choose words with a neutral connotation.

You probably won’t be surprised to learn that we editors try to reduce the usage of words that have a violent connotation: words like kill and execute (as in “you will need to kill the process” and “you must execute the command”). Yes, we do realize that these terms are common, and we cannot always change them, but we ask you to be aware, and when possible, to use neutral words like stop and run, respectively.

We also try to replace words that have an undesirable connotation, like impacted (as in “the member was impacted”—I think you can see the problem there). We almost always replace impact and impacted with affect and affected. According to our friend Grammar Girl, “Although impact has taken root in the business world as a verb, as in ‘Cutting prices will impact our revenue,’ many people maintain that impact is only proper as a noun. They believe the verb impact only means to hit, and any other use is just irritating jargon.”

Which brings me to my final point today and that is that you should always choose common terms over jargon. Not only does every industry have its own jargon (we have plenty in the financial industry) but every department in every company has its own jargon. Jargon is OK to use when communicating with the people in your small group, but it can be difficult for all the people outside your group (or for newcomers) to understand—so you should avoid it in your writing.

If you need more motivation to stop using jargon and ten-dollar words, think of me in front of my keyboard, crying, as I try to figure out what you mean.

Donna Bradley Burcher | Senior Technical Editor | Symitar®

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

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.

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Dear Editrix,

My friend was recently telling a story about her deceased husband and used the phrase “my late husband.” This is one I have heard often (e.g., my late parents, my late brother) and one I use regularly in my professional work. Do you know where it came from and why it is phrased as such?

Brittany

Hi Brittany,

I have wondered the same about using late in this way. I mean, the dead aren’t ever going to be late to tea again, are they? Let’s see where this euphemism comes from.

The Grammarphobia web site provides a very lengthy description with a lot of old English in it, so I’m going to cut and paste just the best bits of it for you.

…The sense you’re asking about (“designating a person recently deceased”) showed up in the early 15th century, according to the OED. The first known example in writing is from a petition dated sometime before 1422: “Elizabeth, ye Wyfe of ye seid late Erle.”

Here’s an adverbial example, from a 1435 will, that hints at the adjectival usage: “Thys is the will o Isabell Dove, lat [that is, “formerly”] the wyf of Thomas Dove”….

In the radio show “A Way with Words,” one of the hosts, Grant Barrett, provides this guidance, including how long you can use “late” to referred to someone who is dead.

Late Meaning Deceased

When is it appropriate to use the word late to describe someone who has died? Late, in this sense, is short for lately deceased. There’s no hard and fast time frame, although it’s been suggested that anywhere from five to 30 years is about right. It’s best to use the word in cases where it may not be clear whether the person is still alive, or when it appears in a historical context, such as “The Civil Rights Act was passed in 1964 in honor of the late John F. Kennedy.”

I hope that helps!

And I just found out that it isn’t just ‘possums and dogs that play dead. Bunnies can play dead, too!

ASPCA Alert: No animals were actually harmed during the writing of this Editor’s Corner.

Kara Church

Pronouns: she/her/hers

Technical Editor, Advisory

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