Editor's Corner

Hello, everyone!

I hope you all had a nice set of holidays and that you are ready to tackle 2020! Today I have a topic that several of you have written to me about: the words use and utilize.

Some of you have written saying that you hate it when people overuse the word utilize. Others have written me asking why people (like editors) often change the word utilize to use. Let’s have a look at these two words, from portions of an article on the Elite Editing website.

When should you use “use,” and when should you pull out that big vocabulary and use “utilize”?

Aside from sounding pretentious when using the latter, at first glance these words seem almost identical. The definition of use is “to put into action, employ, utilize.” Likewise, the definition of utilize is “to make use of, employ.” But utilize also carries with it an assumed strategy of employment.

What does that mean?

Utilize can be used when indicating that the application is beyond its original intended use. For instance, “I use my frying pan to cook with, but I have utilized it as a weapon.” The intended use of a frying pan is for cooking, so the proper word here is use. When employing a creative or unintended application, like using a frying pan as a weapon, utilize is the right word.

Here are some more examples of the two words head-to-head, in sentences that use them correctly:

• I used bricks to build a new fireplace.
• I utilized bricks to fight off swarms of termites trying to eat my house.

• Jerry likes to use five-gallon buckets of white paint to mix in his own subtle colors.
• Jerry likes to utilize five-gallon buckets of white paint as steps from his unfinished front deck to his driveway.

• Shayna uses her laptop to work on spreadsheets.
• Shayna utilizes her laptop as a doorstop.

I hope that helps. When you think about most of the time people say or write utilize, they are really talking about using something in its intended manner; save utilize for those rare occasions of “creative or unintended applications.”

Kara Church

Technical Editor, Advisory

Symitar Documentation Services

Now that we’re all settled in to 2020, we can sit back, take a little break from the revelry, and have a quiet chat about the rules of pluralization. Yep. We’re starting the year off with a slow grammar roll.

When you want to pluralize a word, the basic rule is to add an s. Sometimes, however, you have to add es, as my friend Jan. W. pointed out, which prompted me to look into the rules a little more closely. My research led me to a short list of rules for pluralizing many English words. I thought it would be a helpful reminder for you. I am not including the exceptions like child/children, person/people, etc. I’m afraid you’re on your own memorizing those.

So, which words are pluralized with es instead of s? The Chicago Manual of Style (CMOS) explains that we add es to words that end in ch, j, s, sh, x, or z. Who knew? Here are some examples:

• torch/torches
• raj/rajes (not many English words end in j)
• lass/lasses
• crash/crashes
• tax/taxes
• fizz/fizzes

Pluralizing names works the same way—you add s for most names, but you add es for names that end in ch, j, s, sh, x, or z:

• Burcher/Burchers
• Church/Churches
• Jones/Joneses
• Walsh/Walshes
• Martinez/Martinezes (that’s a mouthful)

CMOS also provides this rule for pluralizing a compound word (with or without a hyphen)—you usually add s to the first word:

• fathers-in-law
• masters of arts
• attorneys general

And finally, CMOS provided this list of words and phrases that sometimes create problems. Note that we do not use apostrophes for these plurals—that’s a common mistake that people make:

• ifs ands or buts

• dos and don’ts (there’s an apostrophe for the contraction don’t, but not for the plural of do)
• threes and fours
• maybes
• yeses and nos (again, no apostrophe for nos)

CMOS didn’t mention the phrase to-dos, but Kearn L. and I would like to add it to the list above. Merriam-Webster spells it with a hyphen.

Happy New Year everyone!

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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Good morning, everyone. Happy (almost) New Year!

Usually we have a little breathing room at the end of the year, so I was hoping to have time to write about different “words of the year” and to do a little review of 2019. But this year our editing cups runneth over and I haven’t had time. Today’s Editor’s Corner is dedicated to the last article I had a chance to look into and write. I guess I will get to “words of the year” in 2020.

Happy New Year!

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

Dear Editrix,

What does it mean when someone replies, “everything is honky dory”?

Sincerely,

Ms. B

Dear Ms. B,

Where do I start? Okay, according to Merriam-Webster, the actual spelling is “hunky-dory.” It is an adjective that means “quite satisfactory” or “fine.” When someone tells you that everything is “hunky-dory,” it means everything is good.” Now, let’s look a little closer at this term.

I think, from your original spelling, you might’ve thought it meant something completely different. “Honky” is a derogatory term for white people, so I imagine that this could have been a bit startling if you thought that was part of the response someone was giving you. And a “dory” is a small, flat-bottomed boat. But really, the term hunky-dory has nothing in particular to do with insulting white people or small boats. No wonder idiomatic phrases are so difficult to understand!

Here is the etymology for the term hunky-dory, from the Online Etymology Dictionary. I apologize in advance to sailors, including my uncle:

1866, American English (popularized c. 1870 by a Christy Minstrel song), perhaps an elaboration of hunkey "all right, satisfactory" (1861), from hunk "in a safe position" (1847) New York City slang used in street games, from Dutch honk "post, station, home," in children’s play, "base, goal," from Middle Dutch honc "place of refuge, hiding place." A theory from 1876, however, traces it to Honcho dori, said to be a street in Yokohama, Japan, where sailors went for diversions of the sort sailors enjoy. [KC – Maybe they mean singing sea chanties?]

And finally, Hunky Dory is the name of a studio album by David Bowie.

Kara Church

Technical Editor, Advisory

Symitar Documentation Services

Happy Boxing Day!

December 26 is not a significant day in the United States, but it is in the United Kingdom. Over there, and in the Commonwealth nations, they are celebrating Boxing Day today.

But what is Boxing Day all about? Well, I can tell you that traditionally, it had nothing to do with boxing matches or any other kind of fighting. It actually goes back to the Middle Ages, and it historically involves giving gifts to employees and people in need.

No one is sure how the day got its name, but it could be from the “Christmas box,” which was a clay box or container that was often placed in artisan shops in England. People put donations for the shop workers inside the box, and the day after Christmas, the box was broken, and the workers shared the contents.

Or, the term could come from the tradition churches had of collecting money in a designated box and distributing the money to people in need.

I have also heard that wealthy families and aristocrats who had house staff typically gave the staff at least part of the day after Christmas off, and they boxed up leftovers from the Christmas meal for them to take home to their families.

These days, Boxing Day is often associated with sporting events, especially soccer. In some African Commonwealth nations, prize-fighting contests are now held on Boxing Day. And I’m sure you won’t be surprised to hear that the day has also come to be associated with sales, similar to Black Friday.

At my house, we celebrate Boxing Day by opening the package my in-laws send to us from England. It usually includes PG Tips tea bags, huge creamy Cadbury chocolate bars, and other assorted favorite candies. Just a little taste of heaven.

I hope your Boxing Day is peaceful and delicious.

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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In years past, I’ve done the 12 Day of Grammar and the 12 Days of English, but I’m not going to go there this year. Today, I’m going to take a moment to sip some sugar-free spiced cider, I’m going to inhale the scent of pine needles, and I’m going to admire the amazing Wonder Woman figurine that somebody left on my desk. (Best Christmas present ever! Thank you, Eric!)

Oh yes, I’m also going to shamelessly guide you to an article about words and the upcoming holiday, written by Meghan Jones—not by me or my sweet little elves. We’re taking a break!

Enjoy!

Why Do We Say “Merry Christmas” but “Happy” Everything Else? by Meghan Jones

The word "merry" isn’t one we use very often during the months of January through November. But as soon as Thanksgiving passes, you’re bound to start hearing and seeing it everywhere—on billboards, on decorations, in songs, and, of course, straight from the mouths of well-wishers. And after it, you’re almost certain to hear the word "Christmas." (Or the words "little Christmas," in the event of a certain holiday standard.) But if you wished someone a "Merry Birthday," or a "Merry Halloween," you’d probably get some weird looks! Likewise, if you wished someone a "Happy Christmas" (unless you live in England, where many people do say "Happy Christmas"). Why is Christmas the only holiday we hope will be "merry"?

Today, we use " merry" for Christmas the way we use "happy" for any other holiday, but the words themselves technically don’t have the exact same meaning. While "happy" suggests a more general emotional state of joy, "merry" can imply that there’s a bit of raucous revelry afoot. And before the 18th century, you could hear both "Merry Christmas" and "Happy Christmas." The most likely reason for this is the fact that, well, "merry" was just a far more popular word back then than it is today. The first written record of someone using "Merry Christmas" comes from a 1534 letter from a bishop to royal minister Thomas Cromwell.

But then, in the 18th century, "merry" started to tip the scales, largely thanks to one man: Charles Dickens. "Merry Christmas" was the phrase of choice in Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, a work that would have a major influence on the modern English-speaking world’s perception of Christmas. It was gaining popularity in carols as well. In addition, the language was changing and "merry" was falling out of fashion as a word on its own. It stuck around, though, in phrases like "the more the merrier" and—you guessed it—the now increasingly popular "Merry Christmas."

But, because of the potentially rabble-rousing connotations of "Merry Christmas," high-class Brits—including the royal family themselves—chose "Happy Christmas" as their default greeting. That’s why you’ll still hear it today in the U.K. This likely also helped cement the popularity of "Merry Christmas" in America—newly independent Americans were determined to specifically not do and say things the British way.

Now, of course, because of the popularity of "Merry Christmas"—and how little we say "merry" in other situations—"merry" now calls to mind a celebration that’s cozy, festive, and filled with gift-giving rather than one that’s overly revelrous and rowdy. And this is the most likely reason it would just sound…odd to use the word for any other holiday.

Happy Holidays!

Kara Church

Technical Editor, Advisory

Symitar Documentation Services

Good morning, folks!

Today’s question is from one of our credit union clients. He asked if I could review the phrase “I feel like chopped liver” or “What am I? Chopped liver?” A coworker said it, and he thought that it meant they were going to go eat chopped liver.

Well, Michael, of course we can review it! According to Know Your Phrase, “What am I? Chopped liver?” is a “rhetorical question used by a person who feels they are being given less attention or consideration than someone else.”

Here are the author’s theories on where the phrase might be from:

The first theory says that liver is not always viewed on the same level as other foods. For example, if a person is cooking a chicken, they’ll oftentimes throw away the giblets, you know, like the liver or gizzard. Or instead of throwing the giblets away, the person will cook them, not for themselves, but for their pets to eat. Hence, since liver is not usually as desirable to eat as other foods, the expression might spring from such an idea.

Another explanation, as Wikipedia explains, is that “chopped liver was traditionally served as a side dish rather than a main course.” So, the idea would be that sometimes, a person might feel like their thoughts or feelings are not being considered as fully as they should, so they feel like they are being treated as if they were a side dish.

I’m not sure what your coworker was getting at, but this is the most common use and meaning of the phrase.

I am definitely NOT chopped liver! Ew.

Kara Church

Technical Editor, Advisory

Symitar Documentation Services

Very recently, the phrase “OK Boomer” has become popular among younger people to “dismiss or mock attitudes stereotypically attributed to the Baby Boomer generation. It is considered by some to be ageist,” according to an article on Wikipedia. The phrase is traced back to 2009, but it didn’t become popular until January of this year, when people started reacting to a video of an older man who said "millennials and Generation Z have the Peter Pan syndrome, they don’t ever want to grow up; they think that the Utopian ideals that they have in their youth are somehow going to translate into adulthood.” The response to the video (“OK Boomer”) became even more popular this past November because of several news stories on the phrase.

Rather than insult each other, let’s look into where some of these generational names came from. The following excerpt is from an article called How Baby Boomers, Generation X, and Millennials Got Their Names, from Mental Floss:

…Who decides what…generations are named, if they get a name at all? Surprisingly, there isn’t one single clearinghouse where these names are chosen. Instead, generations frequently receive multiple names that then battle it out until only one remains—a process that is currently being fought between the likes of iGen, Generation Z, and Post-Millennials….

BABY BOOMERS (1946-1964)

(KC – The children who would come to be known as Baby Boomers were born a few years after the soldiers returned home from World War II and the economy “boomed.”)

Although the children born from 1946 to 1964 get the name Baby Boomers, that phrase wouldn’t appear until near the end of the generation. In January 1963 the Newport News Daily Press warned of a tidal wave of college enrollment coming as the “Baby Boomers” were growing up….

Oddly, an alternate name for people born during this time was Generation X; as London’s The Observer noted in 1964, “Like most generations, ‘Generation X’—as the editors tag today’s under 25s—show a notable lack of faith in the Old Ones.”

GENERATION X (1965-1980)

That comment in The Observer was in reference to a then-recently published book called Generation X by Jane Deverson and Charles Hamblett. A few years later, Joan Broad bought a copy at a garage sale, her son found it, and he fell in love with the name.

That son was Billy Idol, and according to his memoir, Dancing with Myself,“We immediately thought it could be a great name for this new band, since we both felt part of a youth movement bereft of a future, that we were completely misunderstood by and detached from the present social and cultural spectrum.” The band Generation X would begin Billy Idol’s career. [KC – And the song “Your Generation” is one of my all-time favorites!]

But the name Generation X wouldn’t become associated with a wide group of people until 1991. That’s the year Douglas Coupland’s Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture was released….

MILLENNIALS (1981-1996)

What comes after Generation X? Generation Y, obviously. That was the logic behind several newspaper columns that proclaimed the coming of Generation Y in the early ’90s. But as psychologist Jean Twenge explained…the failure of “baby busters” as a term to describe Generation X, “Labels that derive from the previous generation don’t tend to stick.”

Instead, in 1991 authors Neil Howe and William Strauss wrote Generations, which included a discussion about the Millennials. According to Forbes, they felt that as the oldest members of this generation were graduating high school in 2000—and everyone was focusing on the coming date—Millennials seemed a natural fit.

It seems there has always been a generation gap. Like Millennials today, Boomers probably felt that previous generations were out of touch.

No matter which generation you are part of, try to appreciate the differences of those younger or older than you—instead of using their generation’s name as an insult.

Kara Church

Technical Editor, Advisory

Symitar Documentation Services

Last week, Kathy C. sent Kara and me a link to an CNN article titled Apostrophe Protection Society Disbanded. At first, I was surprised to learn that there is an Apostrophe Protection Society. It made me wonder if there is a Quotation Mark Correct Usage Society or a Stop the Blatant Misuse of Capitalization Society. That would be cool! But I had a sneaking suspicion that I’d heard about the Apostrophe Protection Society before. And I definitely remember reading and writing about a group in the UK that advocated banning apostrophes altogether because they’re “too confusing.” I remember that surprising me because, as we’ve pointed out numerous times, there are only two main uses for apostrophes: to show omission and to show possession.

CNN’s article mentioned that the Apostrophe Protection Society was founded in 2001 by a retired British journalist named John Richards. Recently, Richards said that he has disbanded the society because the battle for proper usage has been lost.

Wait a minute! I didn’t know the battle was lost! I’m still fixing apostrophe mistakes in the jobs I work on. I haven’t given up hope! But Richards’s comment intrigued me, so I did a little research, and there is an interesting background to this story. Here’s a passage from an article I wrote in 2015:

In 2009, in England, the Birmingham City Council determined that apostrophes were too confusing, so they banned their use on road signs and place names (like King’s Heath—a suburb of Birmingham). John Richards, founder of the Apostrophe Protection Society, who was understandably outraged, said, “Now children will go around Birmingham and see utter chaos…If you don’t have apostrophes, is there any point in full stops [periods], or semicolons, or question marks? Is there any point in punctuation at all?”

Richards has been championing this cause for a long time, and he is clearly very passionate. My guess is that he is simply fatigued. This has been a long struggle. But I’m not so sure that there is no hope for the embattled apostrophe. Some people, like many of you (and me), care a lot. Some people don’t care at all. Whichever group grows biggest and strongest will win this language battle. That’s the way it works. Our language is always changing. Sometimes we like the change. Sometimes we don’t. But I’d say that the apostrophe battle has not been lost. Not yet, comrades.

And the Apostrophe Protection Society has not completely disappeared. In case you’re interested, there is an Apostrophe Protection Society website, and it was updated as recently as November 2019. They’ve put up a message that says the site will “remain open for some time for refence and interest.” That’s encouraging.

Incidentally, I just performed a search for apostrophes in this article, and I used 19 of them.

I’ll be in sad shape if they’re banned. (Make that 21 apostrophes.)

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,

Last week, a client pointed out to me that when a word is used as both a noun and a verb that the emphasis will be on the first syllable if it is a noun and on the second syllable if it is a verb. For example, desert. As a noun it is pronounced DEH-zert, and as a verb de-ZERT. The client gave me other examples such as object, permit, and insult. I told her that it did not work with vomit, but perhaps I am just pronouncing it wrong as a verb. 👩 Can you expand on this a little?

Sincerely,

Just wonDERing

Dear WonDERing,

I was not aware of this particular quirk with English. As you found, it doesn’t apply to all verb/noun pairs that are spelled alike, but it does happen with a lot of them. It happens often enough that there is a name for the process where the stress moves to the first syllable of a verb when it is used as a noun or adjective. This process is called “initial-stress derivation,” and it sounds a little like something you might catch if you walk into a patch of poison ivy. According to Wikipedia, you can find this occurring

…in the case of several dozen verb-noun and verb-adjective pairs and is gradually becoming more standardized in some English dialects, but it is not present in all. The list of affected words differs from area to area, and often depends on whether a word is used metaphorically or not. At least 170 verb-noun or verb-adjective pairs exist….

Many of these have first syllables that evolved from Latin prepositions, although again that does not account for all of them.

Here are a few more examples, but for a more complete list, check out the entire article here:

Kara Church

Technical Editor, Advisory

Symitar Documentation Services

Dear Editrix,

I’ve noticed the use of “on premise” instead of “on premises” in company documents and accounting codes. I’ve also seen it on a restaurant’s website advertising “on-premise” catering. I see Google claims that “on premise” has become the accepted tech industry term. Why did this incorrect use become acceptable? I know language evolves, but this is a case of total replacement. If I have to say or write “on premise,” I’ll feel stupid, but if I stick with “on premises,” I might be seen as ignorant of modern technology terms.

What’s the tipping point? At what point does a stickler tip over?

Thanks for any insight!

Emily

Dear Emily,

I don’t really know of the tipping point for sticklers, though I’ve been tipped a few times. I think a lot of these things are just shortcuts that become accepted, but in this case, it is the removal of a single letter and I don’t really see the point. I was about to go on a tirade about this particular term, but then I found an article that’s better than a rant from me. Here is Shirley Siluk’s response, from Collective Content. (Note: It is a British group, so the following article has some differences in punctuation and spelling.)

Not every writer enjoys being a scold about grammar and usage. Here at Collective Content we’re willing to give the occasional pass….

But even non-pedants have sore spots about certain bad writing habits, and here’s ours: describing information technology infrastructure as being ‘on-premise’. And we hear that a lot, given the main area where Collective Content operates is B2B IT.

According to the OED, this would suggest that your IT is on ‘a previous statement or proposition from which another is inferred or follows as a conclusion’. And that, obviously, is doubtful.

No, when people write ‘on-premise’, the term they’re really looking for is ‘on-premises’. As in, the IT equipment is located on the site of a ‘building… occupied by a business or considered in an official context’.

We get it. ‘On-premise’ is shorter, quicker and a bit easier to say than ‘on-premises’. But it’s a usage that’s just a bit too wrong…, even when compared to other bad writing habits. For instance, some of us might snicker when we see business copy using ‘service’ as a verb…. But the verb ‘service’ does have a legitimate alternate definition that means to ‘perform a service or services’. For now, at least, there’s no such alternative for ‘on-premise’.

Beyond being grammatically wrong, saying your IT is ‘on-premise’ is also imprecise from a technology perspective. And that’s not an impression any tech company should want to make. Customers seeking good, secure, up-to-date IT want highly specific things: 99.999 percent uptime, laser-sharp focus on security, low mean-time-to-detect and mean-time-to-respond, and so on.

Even if just a few prospects are put off by something as wrong as ‘on-premise’, you could hurt your chance of winning new business.

The problem is, the use of ‘on-premise’ has become pervasive in some corners of the tech world… to the point it’s becoming standard. Before it’s too late to reverse this trend, could we suggest a few solutions?

First, just try making a point of saying ‘on-premises’. It’s really not that difficult or time consuming – certainly not for an industry that loves using ‘utilise’ instead of ‘use’, or ‘incentivise’ instead of ‘encourage’.

If not, perhaps a shortened form – ‘on-prem’ – might be better? [KC – Yuck. No, it is not better. This is where I disagree. Just add the “s” to the end of the word. We don’t need to make the language that lazy!] It’s a variation that’s also appeared frequently in the tech world, and it avoids the whole ‘premise’ versus ‘premises’ problem entirely.

That’s a premise that works for us, no matter whose premises you’re talking about.

Kara Church

Technical Editor, Advisory

Symitar Documentation Services