Arlene Miller's Blog, page 13

Just in Case…

Image by ErikaWittlieb from Pixabay

One of the most common grammar problems is differentiating between I and me. Grammatically, we call that an issue with pronoun case. There are three cases in the English language: Nominative, possessive, and objective. We use cases only with pronouns, and the possessive case doesn’t pose much of a problem except with misplaced apostrophes (solution: no possessive pronouns have an apostrophe: its, ours, theirs, etc). The nominative and objective cases cause the problems. For the sake of this post, all we will say is that nominative case is used for pronouns that are sentence subjects (or predicate nominatives). Objective case is, unsurprisingly, used for objects, whether they are direct objects, indirect objects, or objects of a preposition. Here are some examples:

We are taking a vacation. (We is the subject.)   This is she. (She is a predicate nominative.)I am taking a vacation with him. (Him is the object of the preposition with.)I am following you. (You is the direct object of the verb following.)I am baking her a cake. (Her is the indirect object of the verb baking.)

Now, imagine if Latin were not an outdated language, and you had to be aware of not three cases, but five — and those cases were used for nouns.  Actually, there are six, but I learned only five. The cases in Latin change the end of the word. You may remember this from your high school Latin class. Oddly, I loved Latin and took five years of it.  Here are the Latin cases. We will use the common noun puella (girl) for illustrate:

Nominative – Used for a subject or predicate nominative, just as in English. Puella is the singular; puellae is the plural.Genitive –  Used for a possessive noun. Puellae is singular; puellårum is plural.Dative – Used for indirect objects. I gave the girl a gift would be puellae; plural is puellis.Accusative – Used for direct objects.  Singular is puellam; plural is puellås.Ablative – Used primarily for objects of prepositions, but you don’t need the preposition. Singular is puellå; plural is puellås.Vocative – Used for what we call direct address (Girl, please comb your hair!). Form is the same as nominative.Locative – Rarely used, but would be a seventh case.

NOTE: My little circles should actually be lines to indicate a long vowel sound. I couldn’t figure out how to do the line on my Mac. 

Keep in mind there are also masculine and feminine nouns in Latin (and many other languages) but we don’t need to worry about that in English. 

More that we don’t need to worry about:

English at one time did have noun cases, but those have gone, leaving only pronouns with cases.( Whew!!)Hungarian has around 17 cases, although it depends on the grouping. Some say it is more than 20!Russian has six cases.German has four cases.Finnish has 25 cases.Tsez has at least 36 cases. Tsez is a Northeast Caucasian language with about 15,000 speakers spoken by the Tsez, a Muslim people in the mountainous Tsunta District of southwestern Dagestan in Russia.

And we cannot figure out the difference between I and me????

 

And The Women Carry Black Cats

It is my pleasure to present a guest post by author Esther Erman.Image by Adina Voicu from PixabayAfter receiving her BA and MA in French from different divisions of Rutgers University, Esther returned there for her doctorate in language education. A multi-published author, she now lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband, Lee. When they’re not traveling—especially to be with family in other parts of the United States and in England—she loves to bake, quilt, and add to her monumental book collection. Her latest book, available on Amazon and in bookstores, is Rebecca of Salerno: a Novel of Rogue Crusaders, a Jewish Female Physician, and a Murder ,  and her website is  EstherErman.com .

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La Plume De Ma Tante

“La plume de ma tante est sur le bureau de mon oncle;
Le papier de mon oncle est sur le bureau de ma tante.”

These French lyrics, popularized in a fun song by Hugo & Luigi in 1959, typify the frequent silliness communicated in language lessons. Such absurd dialogues inspired the Romanian-French writer Eugène Ionesco to write his play The Bald Soprano (La Cantatrice Chauve). Based on my language education experience as both a teacher and a student, I think he was on to something. I see no practical reason for learning how to say “The pen of my aunt is on the desk of my uncle; the paper of my uncle is on the desk of my aunt.”

Grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation are the basic components of learning to speak, hear, read, and write a new language, as well as to acquire some familiarity with its accompanying culture. In my current efforts to learn Polish, I find myself questioning what makes for effective communication. How might a recent sentence I learned – “I am a machine.” – help me find my way around Poland? What about “Are you selling his dog?” Or the even more potentially problematic: “Why are you raising this man’s daughter?”

Of course, Polish lessons are not the only ones that dabble in the absurd. Here are some other head-scratcher examples culled from various texts: “In April I drink water.” (What do you drink the rest of the year?) “The women are carrying black cats.” (What are the men carrying?) “When I sleep, I do not talk.” (Are you sure?) “My mother writes a book on Tuesday.” (Must be a very short book, or perhaps she’s a very fast writer.) “I eat cheese and cry on the floor.” (Really? Is it limburger?) “The bride is a woman, and the groom is a porcupine.” (And I’m totally stumped on choosing a good wedding gift!) “I eat chocolate cake with mustard.” (Would it be okay if I order dessert for both of us?)
But then, consider a pivotal scene in My Fair Lady: After days of futile frustration for everyone, Eliza delights Professor Higgins and Colonel Pickering when she correctly enunciates “The rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain.” This triumph marks the start of her successful transition to speaking proper English – as defined by the professor and the colonel. Actually, the rain in Spain stays mainly in the mountains – but at least Eliza sounds good as she gets it wrong.

Maybe it’s enough for these dialogues to provide successful examples of proper usage without having to make any sense. After all, if politicians are free to use their native language to express the absurd, why should language learners be held to a different standard?

Note from The Grammar Diva: The only sentence I remember well from my years of taking French is, “Where is the library?” Ou est la bibliothèque? That would be useful if I were in France.

 

 

Moi Aussi

Image by Markus Winkler from Pixabay

Moi aussi is one of the few French phrases I remember from French class, oh-so-many years ago. It means “me too” in English.

“Me too” has become a common phrase (not to mention a movement and a hashtag #MeToo) in English. You have heard it, and probably said it, a million times. It isn’t a complete sentence, but it generally serves as one.

I want a chocolate ice cream cone. Me too. But is it grammatically correct? Shouldn’t it be I also or I too? And should there be a comma before too?

Sometimes it should be I also or I too –– grammatically speaking.  How do you know when to use which? The rule is the same as in some comparisons; you have to supply the missing (assumed) words:

She likes pizza more than me. She likes pizza more than she likes me?  Well, probably not. But if she did, it would be correct to use me.

She likes pizza more than me. She likes pizza more than I like pizza? That is probably what is meant. So, She likes pizza more than I do would be correct.

Now let’s look at me too.

I want a chocolate ice cream cone. Me too –  Me wants one too?  Or I want one too, or I want one also? In this case, me too is fine to use colloquially, but it isn’t grammatically correct. The correct response is I too or I want one also, etc.

She invited me for dinner tomorrow night. Me too – She invited me too. In this case, me too is correct.

Now, what about the comma? Is there a comma before too or also?

Here is the current ruling on that one: 

I, too, want a chocolate ice cream cone.I want a chocolate ice cream cone too.

No comma is needed before too at the end of a sentence.

So do the French call the Me Too Movement Moi Aussi? Maybe some do, but the more common name for it in France is #BalanceTonPorc, meaning out your pig.

The “me too” movement was begun in 2006 by survivor and New York women’s activist Tarana Burke. She wanted to support women who were victims of sexual abuse and to let them know they were not alone. 

Time Magazine named Burke Person of the Year in 2017.

Actors Ashley Judd and Rose McGowan came forward in 2017 to speak about Harvey Weinstein and abuse in Hollywood. Alyssa Milano joined in the cause.

Here are some statistics:

Nationwide, 81% of women and 43% of men reported experiencing some form of sexual harassment or assault, according to a 2018 study conducted by the University of California and the non-profit Stop Street Harassment.Sexual abuse often leads to substance use, suicide, psychiatric disorders such as PTSD, and other negative outcomes.After Milano’s tweet using the hashtag #metoo to raise awareness of the movement, Twitter users posted the hashtag almost a million times within two days. The movement spilled over to Facebook where about 4.7 million users shared 12 million posts in fewer than 24 hours. 53% of women ages 30 to 49 say they support the movement, which is not statistically different from the 47% of men that age who say the same. Some 48% of 50- to 64-year-old women say they support the #MeToo movement – greater than the 36% share of men in this age group who say the same.About one-in-five adults overall (21%) say they have not heard of the #MeToo movement. This share is greater among Black and Hispanic adults.Today, the phrase #MeToo is still a sign of solidarity for victims of sexual harassment and assault.

 

 

Home Is Where Your Heart Is

Image by from Pixabay

I returned from a week-long vacation in California a couple of days ago. (My jet lag is part of the reason I am writing this particular post, which required little or no research!) I try to get to California, where I moved from (to Florida) a few years ago, at least a couple of times a year to see my son, who still lives there. I also have many friends and acquaintances there, having lived in California for 26 years. 

Petaluma, California, is a lovely town. Part of Wine Country, it has a population of at least 60,000, but still has a small-town feel. There is a downtown, which is missing from where I live in Florida. Although traffic is an issue everywhere, nothing is like the traffic in Florida. I noticed that the drivers in Petaluma did not feel the need to drive 90 miles an hour, and the traffic lights were not five-minutes long, as they seem to be here in Florida.

When I lived in California, I would think nothing of taking myself out to lunch (usually Chinese) along with a book to read. I have never done so in Florida and would not feel comfortable doing so. I don’t know why. In some ways, it just doesn’t feel like home. 

But Florida is home because my daughter, son-on-law, and five-month old granddaughter live here, ten minutes away. And that is the only reason I am here, although I do love the climate.  When I left for my week in California, it was in the low- to mid-80s in Florida and absolutely perfect. California was unusually cold and cloudy for May. No shorts needed! It was in the 50s, warming up to the low 60s for my last couple of days there. Funny, but I left Boston to move to a warm climate, and although northern California is not the tropics, it was a warm climate compared to Boston. Since I have arrived back in Florida, it has been in the 90s.

I did notice that I began to miss my villa in Florida a few days into my trip. So which is home? California or Florida? If home is where the heart is, then they are both my home. California has my son and many friends and acquaintances from my life there: tap dance teaching, writing. Florida has my daughter and granddaughter and a few new friends in addition to my oldest and best friend, who has lived in Florida for many years. She is four hours by car, but that is a lot closer than I was in California, five hours by plane!

When I visit California, I stay in a motel. A good friend invites me, but has too many dogs and cats for my allergies. My son lives with my ex-husband, so I can’t stay there! I have found a nice motel that is walking distance to a coffee shop and a Trader Joe’s. And the room has a microwave and fridge for storing leftovers from my many restaurant visits! And it is very clean, unlike the fancy Sheraton I stayed at once, where they cleared the rooms every few days.  It was during the pandemic, but I stayed in the motel during the pandemic too, and it is cleaned every day.

Because I stay in a motel and don’t want to hang around a motel room, I schedule my time with friends in advance, so I know just what I am doing, and so I keep busy. I was very busy (and very full) during this trip. Usually, I have time to take a tap class when I am there, but no time this time.  Here was my schedule:

Wednesday: Plane lands at 9:45 a.m. in San Francisco. Pick up rental car and have lunch on the way to Petaluma with a friend. Dinner with my son.

Thursday: Lunch with another friend and a walk around town and dinner with my son.

Friday: Coffee with a friend, lunch with another friend, happy hour with a group of teacher friends, and dinner with a writer friend. 

Saturday: The reason I went to California at this particular time. The Bay Area Independent Publishing Association, of which I have been a member since 2010, has met via Zoom since the pandemic. Actually, I was on their board when I moved to Florida, so they set up a computer where I could sort of see the meeting. This was before Covid. Once Covid appeared, the group met on Zoom once a month, and I could continue going to the meetings. Well, they continue to meet on Zoom, but  planned an in-person meeting and luncheon for last Saturday. I came in from Florida and someone else from Massachusetts. The president of the club  came down from Portland, Oregon. It was a hybrid meeting, so you could attend on Zoom. I was looking forward to seeing some of the people who had joined since Covid in person, since I had met them only on Zoom.  Unfortunately, many of them still came to the meeting on Zoom. Oh well. After the lunch I went about 40 miles north to my friend’s mother-in-law’s birthday party.

Sunday: Coffee with an ex, brunch with a friend, the symphony with a friend, and dinner with my son.

Monday: Lunch with a group of writing friends. Stopped in to see my son, who was working. 

Tuesday: Coffee with a friend, lunch with another friend, and stopped by to say goodbye for now to my son. Got my flight at 10:35 p.m., which landed in Florida at 6:45 a.m. So tired!

I also managed to stop by and see a friend who owns a women’s clothing boutique downtown and my tax guy!

I am still tired, but now I know where home is. Florida……and California.

 

Capitalization in Titles: The Best of the Grammar Diva

I am on vacation in California this week. Enjoy this “Best Of” post originally published in May 2013 – Wow! That is ten years ago!!!!

Headings, chapter titles, book titles, movie titles……these titles all require proper capitalization. Which words are capitalized in a title, anyway? Or, which words are not?

Here are some rules to help you:

1. The first and last words of a title are always capitalized, no matter what they are.

2. The articles a, and, and the are not capitalized unless they are the first or last words of a title.

3. The conjunctions for, and, nor, but, or, yet, or so are not capitalized unless they are the first or last words of a title. However, sometimes for, yet, and so can be other parts of speech. For can also be a preposition, but you don’t have to worry about that because little prepositions are not capitalized either! However, yet and so can also be adverbs, and adverbs are capitalized in a title. Here are some examples of yet and so:

I am so tired. (So is an adverb.)

I am tired, so I will take a nap. (So is a conjunction here; it is connecting two clauses.)

Are we there yet? (Yet is an adverb here.)

I am tired, yet I can’t sleep. (Yet is a conjunction here, a connecting word.)

You probably won’t have to worry about yet and so too much in titles. My guess is usually they will be adverbs in a title, unless your title is really long. So capitalize them.

4. Small prepositions of four or fewer letters (with four letters you have a choice of whether or not to capitalize) are not capitalized.

Common short prepositions: to, for, by, in, out, up, down, at, with, past, over.

Common longer prepositions (capitalize these): above, below, beyond, between, among, along, beneath, under.

NOTE: Although in is a preposition, if and it and is are NOT! These words need to be capitalized! If is a conjunction, it is a pronoun, and is is a verb.

Here are some titles that are capitalized correctly:

Tender Is the Night

Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner?

Joy to the World

Somewhere over the Rainbow (or Over)

Woe Is I

The Best Little Grammar Book Ever!

Correct Me If I’m Wrong

Algebra Is Tough, yet Fun!

I that last title, yet is used as a conjunction, or connecting word, so it isn’t capitalized. It looks kind of funny to me. If all words except one in a longish title are capitalized, and it looks odd to you, you can capitalize all the words. In a title, ’tis better to capitalize a word when in doubt, than not capitalize one that should be capitalized.

Special Note: Is, Are, Was, Were, Be: These words are all verbs and thus very important and always capitalized in  a title. If you don’t capitalize these, the grammar police will be out looking for you!

 

Not in English!

Image by PublicDomainPictures from Pixabay

In last week’s post we talked about words that do not translate into other languages, including English words that cannot be translated. Today, we talk about words in other languages that cannot be translated into English.

Loskop – Afrikaans – Literally “loose head”; absent minded, forgetful.

Besa – Albanian – A pledge to honor your word.

Samar – Arabic – Staying up late and having fun with friends.

Ya’ Aburnee – Arabic – An emotional declaration and hope that a loved one will outlive you.

Aspaldiko – Basque – The happiness you feel when catching up with someone you haven’t seen in a long time.

Ghodar-dim – Bengali – Literally “horse’s egg,” a sarcastic term for false hope.

Ailyak – Bulgarian – Doing everything calmly and without rushing, while enjoying the experience and life in general.

Re-nao – Chinese – A fun, lively place with an inviting vibe.

Litost – Czech – Torment created by the sudden sight of one’s own misery.

Arbejdsglaede – Danish – (No, I cannot pronounce it.) Literally “work happiness,” the joy you get from having a great job.

Hygge – Danish – The emotional warmth one feels when relaxing in the company of loved ones and getting cozy with blankets and candlelight (rather specific!).

Uitwaaien – Dutch – To go outside, especially in windy weather, to clear one’s mind.

Epibreren – Dutch – To give the appearance of being busy and important when in reality you are being really lazy. 

Leilviskaja – Estonian – Someone who throws water on hot rocks to make steam in a sauna (someone has to do it!).

Poronkusema – Finnish – The distance a reindeer can comfortably travel without having to stop for a potty break.

Shemomedjamo – Georgian – Describes someone who is full, but continues to eat. (Who?Me?)

Schnapsidee – German – Brilliant ideas that originate when one is intoxicated.

Tsundoku – Japanese – Hoarding books and never reading them (Who? Me?).

Gattara – Italian – A woman who has many cats and enjoys their company more than she does humans. In other words, a crazy cat lady.

Kummerspeck – (German) – Translates into “grief bacon.” Weight gained  because of excessive eating when one is depressed.

Gigil – Tagalog – A situation of overwhelming cuteness.

 

 

You’d Better Say That in English!

Image by Oli Lynch from Pixabay

Some words and phrases in the English language cannot be precisely translated into other languages. Certain words can be translated into some languages, but not others. Sometimes other languages need to use a close substitute to translate it. And other words and phrases just exist in English.

jinx – cannot be translated into Italian or Polish with a single word. The Polish language needs to use a translation for “something that brings bad luck.”awkward – has no equivalent in Italian. The closest is scomodo, meaning uncomfortable.shallow (meaning superficial) has no Italian equivalent.insight – has no direct Spanish translation.nice – is a vague word that can have a subtle range of different meanings that many other languages cannot reproduce.put – has no German equivalent. Germans use place, set, or lay for translating. off- is hard to translate into French. The translation is covered by de, but de means more of, from, or by.bully – there is no Portuguese word for bully. Maybe there are no bullies in Portugal or Brazil!fortnight – this British English term, meaning two weeks, has no translation into American English.

These words and phrases don’t have translations into any (or many) languages:

serendipity – a coincidental discovery of something beneficial.about to go down (as in Things are about to go down at Twitter today).tabling an item – office talkbandwagon – I guess you can’t get on it in other languages.cold turkeyflabbergastedsillyscroll (used as a verb)spam – something undesirable but plentiful. And yes, the word does come from that disgusting meat in a can (sorry, Hawaii). cheesy (not the pizza kind, but the “insincere” or  “of poor quality” kind).gobbledygook – the lack of translation is understandable!pimphillbillybrouhaha (a noisy big deal)facepalmbaloney (not the sandwich king, which is bologna)bamboozletrade-off

And there are probably many more!

 

English-to-English Dictionary

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

Would you like a biscuit?  Or would you prefer a cookie? Well, they are the same. Those of us in America call it a cookie. The British call it a biscuit.

In addition to the our that appears in British English when we just use or (flavour/flavor, honour/honor, etc.) and the slight differences in punctuation and pronunciation, many words mean one thing in British English and another in American English.  Here is a beginner’s dictionary for English to English:

While we say counterclockwise in America, the British say anticlockwise .Our birds are flying animals, but in Britain bird is colloquial for women. Blinkers are flaps on a race horse’s face to restrict vision in England, but indicators on cars in America.We say swamp ; they say bog .A bonnet on the other side of the Atlantic is what we call the hood of a car. Candy floss isn’t very good for your teeth, as Americans call it cotton candy . We don’t use it after brushing.You wouldn’t want to be buried in a casket in English; it is a jewelry box there!If you order chips in England you will get french fries . If you go to the chemist in England, you can pick up a prescription, for it is a drugstore. Car park?  We Americans call it a parking lot.  Give that baby a dummy because we know it as a pacifier. Wipe up after that baby with a flannel , known to us as a washcloth .If you live on the first floor, in American you will be on the ground floor, but in England you will be on the floor above the ground floor.You might be disappointed if you order flapjacks in English and instead of pancakes you get a flat oatmeal snack.You rent a flat over there, but an apartment over here. If you trim your fringe o ver there, you trim your bangs over here. We come to a full stop at a stop sign (well, some of us do), but they come to a full stop at the end of a sentence.That geezer might be an old man over here, but he is a tough guy or gang member over in England.British football is American soccer .That hair slide is called a barrette over here.You might not want to talk about the big hoo-ha   because while it means an argument in British English, it is female genitalia to us.Would you like hundreds and thousands on your ice cream? Or would you prefer sprinkles ? They are the same.A jumper to us is more like a dress; to the British it is a pullover sweater. If the lift is out of order, the elevator isn’t working.Our highway or freeway is their motorway .They call it a mobile phone. We call it a cell phone .Change that baby’s nappy — in other words, diaper .Would you like to play naughts and crosses? Oh, you mean tic-tac-toe !Now that you have changed the nappy , baby is ready to take a walk in the pushchair , otherwise known as a stroller.If you are peckish, you are slightly hungry in England, but irritable or angry over here.Whether you call it petrol or gas , it is expensive these days.If you tell someone to put on their pants , the British might put on underwear , while an American will put on trousers .They say rubber; we say pencil eraser. Shag: Remember those carpets from the 70s? Well in England you can shag (colloquial for sex) on a shag.No solicitors: To the British that would mean no lawyers .In England sneakers are called trainers. Do they actually train you?We wear pantyhose, but the British wear tights. To us tights are usually thicker and colored rather than sheer.If you have a big wardrobe, you have a large collection of clothing; In England you have a place to put the clothes into, because it is a close t.In America a vest goes over your shirt. In England a vest is an undershirt.

That should get you started!

If you are one of my readers from “over there,” just reverse everything! LOL

 

Why I Go to Book Fairs

I have been writing and publishing books since 2010, and I have gone to a number of book fairs during that time. What is a book fair? I use the term pretty liberally in this post, but generally it is an event where a variety of authors buy tents with tables and bring books and swag in an attempt to make some sales and make their presences known.

I have been a vendor at the San Francisco Writers Conference, attended the now defunct Sonoma County Book Festival a couple of times, bought space at the Sonoma County Fair section for my writing club, was invited to an author day at the local library, and attended one or two other book fairs in California. Shortly after my move to Florida in 2019, the pandemic happened, which put a stop to most such events. My first foray in Florida was the Venice Book Festival, which I attended both in 2022 and again this year. 

So we pack a rolling suitcase (or wagon or some sort) and schlep some books, bookmarks, business cards, signs, and other paraphernalia (don’t forget some cash to make change and some way to take credit cards) in the hopes of selling books and making friends and connections. Some of us try to lure people to our tables by providing candy, pens and other giveaways. 

Several hours later, we pack up our books – a lot fewer than we came with, we hope – and drag everything back home. For me personally, it is a lot easier to stay home and let Amazon sell my books – they do a whole lot better than I! 

I have the following personal perceptions about book fairs:

I think it is easier to sell grammar books on Amazon than at a book fair. I mean, do you go to a book festival on a nice sunny day to buy a grammar book? I would think people might be more intrigued by a fantasy, thriller, children’s book, or interesting travel story for an impulse buy. That said, I don’t think anyone goes to book fairs to make a living off book sales.Book fairs are just a nice social event for authors and book lovers, especially if they are outside and the weather is nice. As a shopper or browser, you never know what you might find; as an author, you never know whom you might meet.Which leads me to book fairs as networking and marketing events. Authors give out bookmarks and business cards in hopes of future sales. They meet other authors and perhaps trade books. You talk to some interesting people.It doesn’t seem to matter whether you go all out or do a low-key kind of thing. At least it has not mattered for me. Some people have fancy roll-up signs and T- shirts and stuffed animals and banners. I have never had a roll-up sign, and for this recent book fair in Venice, Florida, I did it as low-key as I could — especially since I was out late at a concert the night before, and Venice is an hour away from where I live. I do have a tablecloth (as they are not generally provided) and a table runner with my name and logo. I brought only a few bookstands (you can always just pile the books up) and not even all my titles. I did bring bookmarks and business cards — and  a grammar quiz for those interested. I tried not to bring too many books, but I would bet every author has the fear they will sell out before the end of the fair — heaven forbid — which has never happened to me and probably hasn’t happened to too many authors.I usually sell 10 or 12 books, which is pretty good. I did not do too well at the San Francisco Writers Conference because the people there were all authors – and authors tend to think they don’t need a grammar book.

I really must compliment the planners of the Venice Book Fair, particularly this year. They had high school students helping the authors bring their books from the car to the tent. And this year, those kids were so helpful and always coming by to see if we needed anything. There is plentiful and easy parking.  There were four or five food trucks with breakfast, lunch, coffee, ice cream etc. And one of the food trucks sent someone around with a cart of breakfasts and then lunches and water bottles, so that authors didn’t have to leave their tables to get food. Really nicely done.

The biggest observation I made this time around: I had a particularly good spot with an aisle next to me, so I was very visible. And I noticed that everyone has something to say about grammar, good or bad. There are those who chuckle and murmur “grammar” as they walk by. I take no offense. Most of the people who come up and talk with me are wondering where grammar went and what a shame it is that they don’t teach it enough anymore. Of course, most of these people are older (most, but not all, although teenage students tend to pass me by!) and many of them are retired teachers. We commiserate for a while, and then they go on their way after I tell them I am fighting the good fight. The most common issue people talk about is the Oxford (series) comma. All ages for that one.

Then there is the occasional person who comes by and says “I think I have one of your books.”

 

 

Once in a Blue Moon

Image by Donate PayPal Me from PixabayIdiom: A type of phrase or expression that has a meaning that can’t be deciphered by defining the individual words. The word idiom is derived from the ancient Greek word idioma, which means “peculiar phraseology.”

Here are some common idioms and their derivations.

Under the weather – To feel ill

This idiom is believed to be nautical in nature. When a sailor was feeling ill, he would go beneath the bow, which is the front part of the boat. This would hopefully protect him from adverse conditions. Thus, he was literally “under the bad weather” that could make him sicker.

 Beating around the bush – To circle around the main point This common phrase is thought to have originated from  game hunting in Britain. Hunters would beat bushes in order to draw out the birds. Therefore, they were beating around the bush before getting to the main point of the hunt: capturing the birds. Spill the beans – To reveal a secret  This idiom is most likely derived from an ancient Greek voting process involving beans. People would vote by placing one of two colored beans in a vase, white typically meaning yes, and black or brown meaning no. If someone happened to spill the beans, the secret results of the election would be revealed before intended.  Chewing the fat – Idle chatter Another nautical idiom, this phrase refers to the days before refrigeration when ships carried food that wouldn’t spoil. One of these foods was salted pork skin, which consisted largely of fat. Sailors would eat it only if all other food was gone, and they often complained as they ate it. This idle chatter became known as “chewing the fat.”  Close but no cigar – You are close, but not quite there.  In the late 19th century, carnival games were targeted to adults, not kids. So instead of getting a giant teddy bear, winners might get a cigar. If they almost won but didn’t earn a prize, they’d be “close, but no cigar.” By the 1930s, the phrase extended beyond fairgrounds.  Once in a blue moon – Not occurring very often The “blue moon” is a real astronomical phenomenon, referring to the second full moon in the same month. It’s a rare occurrence—usually occurring just once every 2.7 years. Giving the cold shoulder – Ignoring someone or being unfriendly Surprisingly, this doesn’t just refer to coldly turning your back on someone. This phrase likely originated from medieval etiquette. After a feast, hosts in England would subtly signal that the meal was over (and it was time for guests to leave) by serving a cold slice of pork, mutton, or beef shoulder.  Let the cat out of the bag – Reveal a secret carelessly or by mistake In medieval markets, people used to sell piglets tied in bags for farmers to carry home. A shady dealer might swap the piglet in the sack with a less expensive animal, such as a cat. So when you let the cat out of the bag, you were exposing the con to everyone. Red herring – A clue that is meant to mislead or distract someone.

During the 17th century, hunters would train their dogs to follow the correct scent. They would do this by placing pungent smoked fish in trees to distract the dogs, so they would become used to ignoring irrelevant scents. 

 Til the cows come home – For a very long time Cows were often milked in their barns at night, making that task one of the last on a farmer’s to-do list. The expression has been around since at least the late 1500s and is likely to continue until … the cows come home. Thank you to the following websites for the information: Reader’s DigestBritannicaTCK Publishing