Grammar Girl Quick and Dirty Tips for English

781 - Blursday or Whensday? Middle Grade Versus Young Adult Fiction

Blursday is a popular word to use when you don't know what day of the week it is. It captures...

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780 - Which Comes First? Who or Where?

We started to wonder about the question words in the phrase "Who does what and goes where where."...

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779 - How You Can Help the OED. Capitalizing 'Black.' How Playwriting Techniques Can Improve Your Writing.

Imagine the bragging rights: The OED needs your help antedating words. Why you should capitalize...

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778 - Do We Say 'Red Skies at Night, Sailor's Delight' Because of the Saharan Dust Plumes? Also, 'Yoiks!'

The Saharan dust plumes can make the sky red, but they aren't the source of the old saying "Red...

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777 - How to Write Fight Scenes (and How to Get Started as a Fiction Editor)

Fiction editor Joshua Essoe gives his best tips for writing fight scenes (hint: it's not about...

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776 - Why a Detective Searched for 'Clews' in a 1929 Novel. ‘Systemic’ or ‘Systematic’?

Our writer was surprised when he came across "clew" instead of "clue" in a detective novel from...

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775 - Why We Talk About 'Bad Apples.' 'A Few' Versus 'a Couple'

We started to wonder why people seem to forget the second half of the saying about bad apples....

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774 - Roy Peter Clark on Civic Clarity and Murdering Your Darlings

Roy Peter Clark has been teaching writing at the Poynter Institute since 1977 and regularly...

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773 - Postal Zones. Reenter. Bougie.

How postal zones led to ZIP codes. Why I like to put a hyphen in "re-enter." How "bougie," which...

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772 - The History of ZIP Codes and Addresses (Plus How to Write Them)

If you've ever wondered how to capitalize 'ZIP Code' (or is that 'ZIP code' or 'zip code'?), this...

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771 - Writing Lessons from Bad Job Applications

Our guest, Lindsay McMahon of the All Ears English podcast, recently hired and now shares the...

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770 - 'Muslim' or 'Moslem'? 'Fishfolk'? 'Fishist'? What Is the Gender-Neutral Term for 'Fisherman'?

Why do we use the new spelling "Muslim" and not the older spelling "Moslem" anymore? Also, we...

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769 - Why Do We Say 'Cool Your Heels'? What's Up With 'Zhuzh'?

Here's why we say "cool your heels" and "cool your jets"—they're different! Also, we take a close...

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768 - Why Aren't We 'Whelmed'? And Cabin 'Fever,' Anyone?

We know we can be overwhelmed. Why aren't we ever just whelmed? Also, maybe it was having cabin...

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767 - The semicolon is so much more interesting than you imagine

From 19th century grammatical duels to modern day suicide prevention campaigns, the semicolon has...

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766 - 'Flaunt' and 'Flout.' 'Band Together.'

The word "flaunt" and "flute" are strangely related (flue of shame, anyone?), but don't use...

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765 - Say No to Marshall Law. How 'Vaccine' Is Related to 'Cow.'

Why you could be forgiven for (briefly) getting excited about "Marshall Law." Plus, the word...

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764. Skeleton Crew. Hunker Down. Uncharted. Existential.

Times are terrible, but no matter what is happening, we will always have interesting words and...

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763. How to Write Better Email. 'Pandemic' vs. 'Epidemic.' 'Canceled' vs. 'Cancelled.'

Are you writing more email? We have seven ways to do it better. Also, we'll help you understand...

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762 - How to Pronounce 'Celtic.' 'Whiskey' or 'Whisky'?

Sports fans say "Seltik." Historians say "Keltik." Here's the deal. Plus, have you ever noticed...

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