Arlene Miller's Blog, page 59

Your Top Ten Grammar Peeves

What Are Yours????

In last week’s post I talked about my top three grammar peeves. This week I don’t even remember what they were, but now I sure now what yours are! I asked in my post for you to let me know about your grammar peeves . . . .

The floodgates opened, especially from the LinkedIn groups I share my posts with who are particularly interested in the English language  —  namely, those who teach it to either native speakers or English language learners.

The part about the pet peeves was fine. But then, as would happen, the verbal weapons began to emerge as the descriptivists and prescriptivists said their respective piece(s). I have talked about these two terms before, but let me review . . . .

Prescriptivists believe that there are grammar, punctuation, and usage rules that should be followed.  I stand mostly with this group.

Descriptivists believe that the way people really use the language helps it to evolve, and they do not like the word rule at all. They prefer standard conventions.

Honestly, I think that both beliefs must coexist, and that language really is a combination of both. There are rules, many of them from Latin . . . . and someone didn’t just make them up recently. No, they are not written in stone like the laws of physics or the multiplication tables, but they still exist in all the grammar and style books that are around.

Yes, of course, there are also regional dialects, colloquial language, and spoken language that often differs from formal writing. And, yes, language does evolve. But should we get rid of the difference between who and whom because people can’t figure it out? I don’t think so; and many people can figure it out. Should we say “Me and him have went to the movies,” just because many people say it that way? I don’t think so.

Talk any way you want to your friends. But if you are making an important speech to the faculty at Harvard Medical School, or you are writing an essay to get into college, or a resume, or a cover letter, I think it is better to stick closely to the “rules.”

That said, I have pages of your grammar peeves. Many of them were expected; however, there were many quite unusual ones, which I will get to in future blog posts (yup, you will have to keep reading . . . .)

Here are the ten that seemed to be the most popular:

1. Misplaced apostrophes. This one includes its and it’s and your and you’re, the two most popular peeves. People mentioned seeing things like “your cute” on Facebook, and I must agree. I rarely see you’re on Facebook! Is it that much trouble to put in an apostrophe? It’s and its are pretty easy to remember: All contractions (two words shortened into one) have apostrophes (I’m, don’t, we’ll), but possessive pronouns never do (yours, ours, his). One person said, “You wouldn’t write hi’s, so don’t write it’s!” Someone else remarked about a lawyer who writes a column for him using its’ as a possessive . . . . this one is not a word at all, but I have seen it being used lately.

2. Well, this one isn’t a surprise. The confusion between subject and object pronouns:

Between you and I. He gave it to him and I. NO-NO-NO-NO-NO-NO-NO!

It is between you and me. He gave it to him and me. Just like “he gave it to me.”

One of the people who responded said she heard between you and I on a television program said by lawyers who are supposed to have gone to Harvard. Another said a student of hers said that since she heard between you and I on television that it was right. The teacher told her that if she wrote it on her paper, she would flunk.

3. Less and fewer was a popular peeve. Use fewer for items you can count: Ten items or fewer. (This cookie has less sugar.)

Someone who wrote to me said a Columbia University professor on CNN said, “. . . .less arrests and less incarcerations.” She added, “My husband had to pull me from the ceiling!” I got a good chuckle out of picturing that one!

4. I could care less. Well, if you could care less, then you do care, so why are you even saying it? It should be I couldn’t care less.

5. Using a pronoun after a noun: Mr. Jones he is going. The teachers they are talking. The authors they are writing.  You get the picture. You don’t use both the noun and the pronoun.

6. Confusing that and who. Who is used for people. That is generally used for things.

The boy that made the basket was the MVP. It should be who made the basket. (By the way, animals are considered that, even though we all want to call them who.)

7. Should of and could of and would of. This is still pretty common error — actually very common. It is have, not of.

You should have told me,  not should of.

8. Where are you at? I am told this is more of a Midwestern thing. Although it is pretty much okay to end a sentence with a preposition these days, it is not okay to end a sentence with the preposition at. Where are you is good enough.

9. These ones instead of these. This one sounds like something kids tend to say. And . . . . why is this one okay, but  these ones not okay?

10. This one is surprising, but more than one person mentioned it: The use of be.

It bes really good.

These cupcakes be like the bomb!

Certainly, this use of be is more common in those whose native language is not English and in some dialects. The odd thing is that it is actually an almost-correct use of the subjunctive, which hardly anyone uses correctly! The subjunctive is used for things that you wish were true but aren’t, or for demands:

I wish I were rich. . . . not I wish I was rich. That is the subjective.

She demanded that I be there for the meeting.. . . .not that I am there. That is also the subjunctive.

So, I be there is unusual , but He asked that I be there is correct!

So there you have it! Your top ten grammar peeves. Oh, but there are a whole lot more . . . . so stay tuned and read next week’s blog post!

 

 

 

 

 

My Three Big Grammar Peeves (This Week!)

Grammar Pet Peeves

As a grammar person, grammar teacher, grammar author, grammar blogger, grammar hawk, Grammar Diva, grammar prescriptivist — whatever you or I wish to call me — I obviously have a great deal of grammar pet peeves, and they change according to whatever grammar faux pas seems to be in vogue at a certain time. Right now, here are three I am grappling with!

#1 Peeve: The fact that radio personalities and their guests; respected TV news anchors; and well-regarded newspapers can’t get their grammar right — and don’t seem to care —  is my number one pet peeve this week! The problem is rampant. Yes, of course I care because grammar is my livelihood (and without its proper use, I have no livelihood), but I also think that these people, above all, should be able to speak their own language correctly! Is it so difficult to say, “When I was a kid, my mom and I ..”? So why did I hear instead on CNN, “When I was a kid, me and my mom . . .”?

I would fire them all if I could! They get paid enough to speak correctly. Aren’t they getting paid to speak? Must they sound like morons? Do they think it’s cool to sound stupid?

#2 Peeve. The improper use of myself. I am getting tired of hearing this one. People obviously think it is high-class to use myself as much as possible — either that, or they don’t know whether to use I or me, so myself seems like a good solution. Wrong.

1. My colleague and myself are doing a presentation tomorrow. Wrong.

2. The important assignment was given to my colleague Bill and myself. Wrong.

3. I hope you join bestselling author Joe Schmoe and myself for this important interview. Wrong.

Try taking out the other person.Does myself make any sense at all?

1. Myself is going a presentation tomorrow? No.

2. The important assignment was given to myself ? No.

3. I hope you join myself for this important interview? No.

The rule is simple: Myself is never the subject of a sentence, and it can’t be used at all unless the subject of the sentence is I.

#3 Peeve. The whole pronoun situation: I and me, him and her, he and she, they and them, we and us. I would add who and whom, but let’s not get carried away with our expectations!

It isn’t rocket science. It isn’t difficult. The same people saying, “When I was a kid me and my mom would  .  . .” would never say, “When I was a kid me would . . . ” So, I am not quite sure why it becomes so difficult when the other person is added. That’s why I think these people, who should know better, just think it is cool to sound like a 7th grader.  Likewise, he didn’t give it to Bob and I because he wouldn’t have given it to I. We all know the trick of just taking the other person out to see which pronoun fits.

Grammar-wise, here is the rule: Certain forms of pronouns are used for subjects. Subjects do the verb or action in the sentence and are generally at the beginning of the sentence  — and before the verb. These pronouns are I, we, he, she, they, and who.

Other pr0nouns receive the action of the verb, either directly or indirectly, or come after prepositions. They are called objects. These pronouns are me, us, him, her, them, and whom. For example:

He kicked me. (Direct object of the verb kicked.)

He gave me a kick. (Indirect object of the verb gave.)

He gave a kick to me. (Object of the preposition to.)

Now I know you all have grammar peeves of your own, and I would love to know what they are, so I can write a blog post about them. You can comment, but better yet, e-mail your grammar pet peeves to me.

Maybe it is actually rocket science. . .In that case, I am raising my prices!

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Pen Is Mightier Than the Sword

The Pen Is Mightier Than the Sword

“The pen is mightier than the sword.”

The recent events in Europe have once again reminded us of this quote. So I thought I would write a bit about the origin of the quote, as well as find some other quotes that are appropriate for these times.

The English words “The pen is mightier than the sword” were first written by novelist and playwright Edward Bulwer-Lytton in 1839 in his historical play Cardinal Richelieu.

Richelieu, chief minister to King Louis XIII, discovers a plot to kill him, but as a priest he is unable to take up arms against his enemies.

The saying quickly gained popularity, says Susan Ratcliffe, associate editor of the Oxford Quotations Dictionaries. “By the 1840s it was commonplace.” (And interestingly, because Bulwer-Lytton is also known for his famous opening line “It was a dark and stormy night,” an annual contest for badly written first sentences is named after him.)

According to the Cambridge Dictionaries website, the quote emphasizes that “thinking and writing have more influence on people and events than the use of force or violence.”

However, the sentiment of the quote was uttered by many prior to Mr. Bulwer-Lytton.

There was a belief in classical times that the written word had the power to survive “and transcend even the bloodiest events… even if they didn’t actually prevail against arms in the short term,” according to Armand D’Angour, classics professor at Oxford University.

The Greek poet Euripides, who died in about 406 BC, is sometimes quoted as writing, “The tongue is mightier than the blade.” 

George Whetstone in his Heptameron of Civil Discourses, published in 1582, says, “The dashe of a Pen, is more greeuous then the counterbuse of a Launce.” (The dash of a pen is more grievous than the counter use of a lance.)

In the early 17th century, Robert Burton, in The Anatomy of Melancholy, says that “A blow with a word strikes deeper than a blow with a sword” was already an “old saying.”

According to Michael Broers, professor of Western European history at Oxford University, “Napoleon realized the power of the press.”  When Napoleon came to power, he suppressed most of the dozens of newspapers in France, sanctioning only a few publications.

Napoleon is sometimes quoted as saying, “Four hostile newspapers are more to be feared than 1,000 bayonets.” 

Some other quotes that might remind us of the current times:

It is the test of a good religion whether you can joke about it. ~G.K. Chesterton

The role of a writer is not to say what we all can say, but what we are unable to say. ~Anaïs Nin

And by the way, everything in life is writable about if you have the outgoing guts to do it, and the imagination to improvise. The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt. ~Sylvia Plath

Ink and paper are sometimes passionate lovers, oftentimes brother and sister, and occasionally mortal enemies. ~Terri Guillemets

Words — so innocent and powerless as they are, as standing in a dictionary, how potent for good and evil they become in the hands of one who knows how to combine them. ~Nathaniel Hawthorne

I write because I’m afraid to say some things out loud. ~Gordon Atkinson, reallivepreacher.com

All violence is the result of people tricking themselves into believing that their pain derives from other people and that consequently those people deserve to be punished. ~Marshall Rosenberg

The man who strikes first admits that his ideas have given out. ~Chinese Proverb

It is clear that the way to heal society of its violence… and lack of love is to replace the pyramid of domination with the circle of equality and respect. ~Manitonquat

Nonviolence doesn’t always work – but violence never does. ~Madge Micheels-Cyrus

Victory attained by violence is tantamount to a defeat, for it is momentary. ~Gandhi

Those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves. ~Abraham Lincoln

The pen is mightier than the sword. –  “La plume est plus forte que l’epee.”

 

(Credit to Quotegarden.com and Wikipedia)

Weird and Wonderful Words Finale: Z End

Zizel

Zowie! Who knew there were so many fascinating words beginning with the letter Z?? You will love some of these!

zabaglione – a frothy dessert or sauce made of eggs, sugar, and Marsala wine

zaddick – In Judaism, a righteous man

zaftig – having a full, rounded figure

zag – a sharp angle that helps to form a zigzag pattern, when alternated with a zig!

zakuska  hors d’oeuvre; snack

zalambdodont – having molar teeth with V-shaped ridges  (I didn’t make it up!)

zany – a silly or foolish person (Don’t you always use zany as an adjective???)

zapata – flowing, drooping moustache

zappy –  lively; entertaining

zarf – ornamental holder for hot coffee cup

zatch – female genitalia (hmmmm….)

zazzy – flashy; stylish

zebrine – offspring of male horse and female zebra

zein – white, colorless, odorless protein extracted from corn and used in plastics, paints, etc.

zebu – ox with hump and dewlap

zegedine – silver drinking cup

zek – inmate of prison labor camp

zelatrix – older nun in charge of disciplining younger nuns

zelator – sister in a convent in charge of checking on conduct of other nuns

zemni – blind mole-rat (Yes, there is such a condition as zemmiphobia – fear of the great mole rat)

zenzic – square of a number

zenzizenzizenzic – eighth power of a number – This HAS to be my favorite!

zeroable – able to be omitted from a sentence without any loss of meaning (to the subject or verb, for example!)

zep – large sandwich made on a long crusty roll (like Subway?)

zeugma – figure of speech in which a single word, usually an adjective or a verb, is syntactically related to two or more words, through having a different sense in relation to each: The cake was good, but his attitude wasn’t. (?????)

zho – cross between a yak and a cow

zitella  – young girl; maiden (No, not a small zit!)

zizel – chipmunk

zimocca – bath-sponge

zizz – sparkle; vim

zoanthropy – delusion that one is an animal (very interesting!)

zoiatrics – veterinary surgery

zol – hand-rolled cannabis cigarette

zomotherapy – medical treatment using raw meat (Oh, is THAT what Lady Gaga was doing?)

zoodikers – an exclamation

zooid - an animal organism produced by other than sexual methods

zoothapsis – premature burial

zori – a Japanese sandal style

zowie! – an interjection!

zuchetto –  skullcap worn by Roman Catholic prelates (No, not a small zucchini)

zugzwang – chess blockade

zymurgy – branch of chemistry dealing with fermentation

zyzzyva – South American weevil (If you ever find a Scrabble game with three zzz’s, you are all set!)

Next week – Back to grammar! Hope you have enjoyed this series!

 

Weird and Wonderful Words Part 10: Oh, Y?

The Letter “Y”

Although Y isn’t a common letter with which to begin a word, many common words begin with the letter Y: you, your (and, of course, the often forgotten you’re), year, yes, yummy, Yahoo. . . . .

Well, here are some of the less common words that begin with Y. You have likely heard of some of them:

yabba – large Jamaican earthenware or wooden vessel

yabber – talk or jabber

yaff – to bark like a snarling dog

yaffingale – green woodpecker

yahrzeit – anniversary of the death of a parent, in the Jewish religion, commemorated by the lighting of a 24-hour candle

yakitori – Japanese dish, resembling shish kabob

yakow – animal crossbred from male yak and domestic cow (not cak?)

yapness – hunger (want some yakow?)

yare – ready, prepared

yatter – to talk foolishly about trivial things

yauld – active, nimble (pretty good, since y’auld!)

yaw- to sway back and forth  across its course,  as a ship moved by high waves

yawp – to utter a loud, harsh cry or call

yegg- a burglar of safes

yente – a woman gossip or busybody (most of us know this word!)

yeuk – to itch

yex – to hiccup, belch or spit

yill – to ply with ale

ylem – in some theories of cosmogony, the primordial  substance fro which all things are said to have been derived

yob – hoodlum

yogini  – female yogi (what else?) (yogette??)

yoicks – a cry used to urge on the hounds in fox hunting

yordim – emigrants who leave Israel

yowie –  a little ewe (not ewie?)

yuan – basic monetary unit of China

yuke –  to itch

yusho – skin-staining disease caused by contaminated rice oil

 And notice how many interjections begin with Y!
Yikes! Yo! Yum! Yuck! Yech! Yes! Yippee! Yow! Yup! Yoohoo!

THE YEND.

 

 

 

 

Quotes for the Holiday Season

Happy New Year!

Since we deal with words over here at bigwords 101/The Grammar Diva, we thought you might like to read some words uttered by others about things we might think about during the holiday season: (Credit for the quotes goes to The Quote Garden website.)

On Alcohol:

I feel sorry for people who don’t drink. When they wake up in the morning, that’s as good as they’re going to feel all day. ~Frank Sinatra

I drink only to make my friends seem interesting. ~Don Marquis

On Blessings:

May all your troubles last as long as your New Year’s resolutions. ~Joey Adams

May you live as long as you want,

And never want as long as you live.

~Irish Blessing

On Childhood:

When you finally go back to your old hometown, you find it wasn’t the old home you missed but your childhood. ~Sam Ewing

Childhood is that wonderful time of life when all you need to do to lose weight is take a bath. ~Author Unknown

On Consumerism:

Oh, for the good old days when people would stop Christmas shopping when they ran out of money. ~Author Unknown

Stuffocation: being overwhelmed by the stuff one has bought or accumulated. ~Author Unknown

On December:

Christmas begins about the first of December with an office party and ends when you finally realize what you spent, around April fifteenth of the next year. ~P.J. O’Rourke, Modern Manners: An Etiquette Book for Rude People, 1983

How did it get so late so soon?

It’s night before it’s afternoon.

December is here before it’s June.

My goodness how the time has flewn.

How did it get so late so soon?

~Dr. Seuss

On Desserts:

Research tells us fourteen out of any ten individuals likes chocolate. ~Sandra Boynton

Always serve too much hot fudge sauce on hot fudge sundaes. It makes people overjoyed, and puts them in your debt. ~Judith Olney

On Dieting:

The cardiologist’s diet: If it tastes good, spit it out. ~Author Unknown

I go up and down the scale so often that if they ever perform an autopsy on me they’ll find me like a strip of bacon — a streak of lean and a streak of fat. ~Texas Guinan

On Family:

It is not flesh and blood but the heart which makes us fathers and sons. ~Johann Schiller

Families are like fudge — mostly sweet with a few nuts. ~Author Unknown

On Food:

One of the very nicest things about life is the way we must regularly stop whatever it is we are doing and devote our attention to eating. ~Luciano Pavarotti and William Wright, Pavarotti, My Own Story

The most remarkable thing about my mother is that for thirty years she served the family nothing but leftovers. The original meal has never been found. ~Calvin Trillin

On Generations:

They say genes skip generations. Maybe that’s why grandparents find their grandchildren so likeable. ~Joan McIntosh

First we are children to our parents, then parents to our children, then parents to our parents, then children to our children. ~Milton Greenblatt

On Gifts:

It isn’t the size of the gift that matters, but the size of the heart that gives it. ~Quoted in The Angels’ Little Instruction Book by Eileen Elias Freeman, 1994

Christmas is the season when you buy this year’s gifts with next year’s money. ~Author Unknown

On Guests:

Santa Claus has the right idea: Visit people once a year. ~Victor Borge

If you are a host to your guest, be a host to his dog also. ~Russian Proverb

On Housework:

Housework is something you do that nobody notices until you don’t do it. ~Author Unknown

There may be dust in my house but there isn’t any on me. ~Author Unknown

On Parties:

At every party there are two kinds of people — those who want to go home and those who don’t. The trouble is, they are usually married to each other. ~Ann Landers

I am thankful for the mess to clean after a party because it means I have been surrounded by friends. ~Nancie J. Carmody

On Peace:

You cannot shake hands with a clenched fist. ~Golda Meir

Peace cannot be achieved through violence, it can only be attained through understanding. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

On Shopping:

People will buy anything that is one to a customer. ~Sinclair Lewis

Shopping is better than sex. If you’re not satisfied after shopping you can make an exchange for something you really like. ~Adrienne Gusoff

On Social Anxiety:

Nobody realizes that some people expend tremendous energy merely to be normal. ~Albert Camus

I love mankind — it’s people I can’t stand. ~Charles M. Schulz, Go Fly a Kite, Charlie Brown #INFJ

On Christmas:

He who has not Christmas in his heart will never find it under a tree. ~Roy L. Smith

The best of all gifts around any Christmas tree: the presence of a happy family all wrapped up in each other. ~Burton Hillis

On Chanukah:

May the lights of Hanukkah usher in a better world for all humankind. ~Author Unknown

Most Texans think Hanukkah is some sort of duck call. ~Richard Lewis

On Kwanzaa:

The time is always right to do what is right. ~Martin Luther King, Jr.

Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on earth. ~Mohammed Ali

On New Years:

Many people look forward to the new year for a new start on old habits. ~Author Unknown

Approach the New Year with resolve to find the opportunities hidden in each new day. ~Michael Josephson, whatwillmatter.com

 

We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year’s Day. ~Edith Lovejoy Pierce

 

bigwords101 and The Grammar Diva wish you a happy, healthy, and productive 2015!

Weird and Wonderful Words Part 9: The ‘X’ Stands Alone

Words That Begin With X

The letter X seemed worthy of having its own blog post in this series of weird and wonderful words. Click to view other parts of this series:

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, and Part 8.

X: Always a challenge in Words with Friends and Scrabble! Well, if you are getting tired of xi, here are some other words that begin with x. Words that begin with ex are common, but just x??? Here we go . . . .

xanthippe – an ill-tempered woman

xanthodont – one with yellow teeth (ew!)

xanthous  – yellow or yellowish

xebec – a small, three-masted ship with an overhanging bow and stern, once common in the Mediterranean

xeme –  fork-tailed gull

xenagogue  – guide; someone who conducts strangers

xenial – of or concerning hospitality toward guests

xenocracy – government by a body of foreigners

xenodocheionology – love of hotels

xenoglossia – person’s knowledge of a language never studied

xenograft – a graft of skin, bone, etc., from an individual of another species

xenology – the study of extraterrestrial phenomena

xenomenia –  menstruation from abnormal orifice (I don’t even want to think about it!)

xenophilia – attraction or admiration of anything or anyone foreign or strange

xenophobia – fear of anything or anyone foreign or strange

xerasia – abnormal dryness of the hair (I can relate! Conditioner!!!!)

xeric – having dry or desert-like conditions

xerophyte – plant structurally adapted to growing in very dry conditions

xertz- to gulp down quickly and greedily

xi – the fourteenth letter of the Greek alphabet (now I know what it means!)

xiphoid – sword-shaped

xiphosuran  –  the horseshoe crabs and related extinct forms

xu –  former monetary unit of Vietnam (good one for Scrabble?)

xylograph – a woodcut or wood engraving

xyloid – of or like wood, woody

xylophilous – fond of wood; living in or on wood

xylotomous – able to bore into or cut wood, said of certain insects (like termites, for instance?)

xyster – surgical instrument for scraping bones

 

 

 Happy Holidays from The Grammar Diva!

 

 

 

 

 

11 Reasons Why Books Make Great Gifts!

Oh, Christmas Tree!

The holidays are upon us, and once again you are stumped. What do you get someone who apparently has everything? Or at least has the money to buy everything? What do you buy someone you don’t know so well? Books, that’s what! Why? Here are some great reasons:

1. Books are easy to get. You can get them in a store or online and you can have them delivered anywhere. You can even mail them book rate and save some money.

2. Books are easy to wrap! No weird shapes! That helps people who wrap the way I do! They also fit nicely in gift bags.

3. Books come in a huge variety of prices from the very inexpensive  on up.

4. You can buy books for any age recipient, from an infant to a senior — and you can generally tell, or find out, the ages the book was intended for.

5. You can buy books for any gender of recipient.

6. Everyone is interested in something, and there is always a book for that “something.” If you don’t know what that something is, there are always bestsellers that interest most everyone.

7. Books keep on giving. If you like a book, you can then share it with someone else, who can then share it with someone else. Then, you can donate it.

8. Books are entertaining. Books can take you into a new world — if even for just a little while.

9. Books are very portable. Especially ebooks. They travel well and fill time well.

10. Books are educational!

Shameless Promotion Section: Let’s focus on #10 for a minute. I’ll  bet you can think of someone — a student, a teacher, a recent graduate, a job seeker, a professional, someone for whom English is a second language, someone who writes frequently for his or her job, someone interested in words and language — who might really appreciate a grammar book. Not a thick, boring tome that reminds you of English class decades ago. . . .  but a small, easy-to-read, light-hearted book that concentrates only on the mistakes that most people make when writing and speaking. Could someone you know (or maybe even you) use a book like that? Let’s see if it fits our other 9 reasons:

(1) Yes, it is easy to get. Amazon has it, as well as all other online book retailers (and this website). (2) Small, at 6 by 9 inches, it will be easy to wrap and inexpensive to send. (3) It costs about $14 and (4) it is intended for anyone from about 10 to 110, (5) any gender! (6) Everyone needs good grammar, and (7) shares a great grammar book or donates it to a lucky school! (8)— and it is as entertaining as a grammar book can be, while still giving you good information. (9) It’s easy to carry, either in paperback or on your favorite reader. (10) And of course, it’s educational!

 The Best Little Grammar Book Ever by Arlene Miller and published by bigwords101 makes a great gift!

And so do my other grammar books: Correct Me If I’m Wrong, The Great Grammar Cheat Sheet, and Beyond Worksheets.  And my novel, Trashy Novel, written under the pseudonym JoJo Baker. Find them on Amazon, other online retailers, and this website.

11. Oh, I almost forgot #11! You can make a really nice Christmas tree out of books!

 

 

Happy Holidays from bigwords101 and The Grammar Diva!

Weird and Wonderful Words (Part 8: V, W)

Wabbit!

Wabbit: Exhausted, tired, worn out. (See photo on left!)

Hmmmm . . .  unusual words that begin with V and W. This ought to be good! So try adding these to your conversations this week! Of course, some of these are likely obsolete, but they are all real words.

 V

vagient – Crying like a baby

vaticide –  Killing of a prophet

venesect –  To open a vein for blood-letting (hopefully obsolete?)

ventripotent –  With great capacity or appetite for food (I can relate)

verbomania  – Craze for words (I can relate to this one too. Guess you can as well!)

vernalagnia – Spring fever

versemonger –  Writer of mediocre poetry

vespasienne  – Public lavatory (how fancy!!)

vespertilionize –  To turn into a bat (I don’t assume you will be using this one too often)

vigintiquintuple – Result of multiplying by twenty-five

vindemy – Taking honey from beehives

viripotent – Fit for a husband; marriageable

 

W

wawaskeesh – An American elk

whiskerando  – A whiskered person (I love this one!)

widdershins – In a contrary or counterclockwise direction

widdiful – Someone who deserves to be hanged

windlestraw – A person who is tall, thin and unhealthy looking

winebibber – A person who habitually drinks a lot of alcohol. Today we just say this person is an alcoholic. (Try this one out at a holiday party!)

woofits – An unwell feeling, especially a headache; a moody depression.

 

You have probably noticed that the holidays are upon us. Well (shameless promotion begins here), what makes a better gift than a book? And what more useful book than an educational book……perhaps a grammar book? Do I have a suggestion for you!

 

The Best Little Grammar Book Ever and Correct Me If I’m Wrong are available on Amazon, Kindle, and all other online print book and ebook sellers including iBooks. Beyond Worksheets and The Great Grammar Cheat Sheet are available on Kindle.

Want a real deal? Get all four books– plus my novel– as PDF downloads for only $20!!!

The Best Grammar Workbook Ever is coming . . . . Quality takes time!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Thanksgiving Post: It Takes More Than a Village

Thank You.

For my Thanksgiving week post, I thought I would attempt to thank all the people who have helped my books get written and get sold, and those who have otherwise helped put bread (and chocolate) on my table as CEO of bigwords101.  I will no doubt miss some people; there are so many of you who have befriended, inspired, assisted, bought, and marketed my books; and so many of you who have allowed me to copyedit your books.

First I need to thank my children, Jake and Shelley, for without them I am nothing. (Also thank you to their father Brian, without whom they wouldn’t be here!).And Joshua Bindon, my new son (in-law) and the Bindon family, who have made my daughter so happy!

My dear friends: Bobbi Noderer and her husband Dave, Norma Sadow, Edie and Jim Partridge, Francis Caballo, and Jeannie Thomas.

My business coach: John DeGaetano

All of you who are reading this blog post: Insert your name here! And anyone who has ever bought any of my books: Your name here.

My old friends from school back East, whom I reconnected with on Facebook and were the first people to buy my books: Teresa Strait Davis, Eileen Curley Tweed, Sheryl Currier, Jim Messina, Don Grohman, Linda Yaloff, and everyone else — you know who you are!

My friends from the education field: Robin Kneeland, Marty Murphy, Heidi Sager, Carol Ann Street, Linda Thompson (special thanks for using my book in her class ), Dr. John Walker of St. Vincent’s High School, Linda Burbank, John Lehmann, Jon Day (a super supportive colleague), John Bribiescas, Anne Osterlye, Ron Everett (for granting me leave), Patty Buzard, Charlene Nugent, Bob Hermann, and everyone else!

Special thanks to Cory Gilman and Barry Sovel for convincing me to become a teacher, which led me to even consider writing grammar books. And Elaine Smith at Elan Gym for being the first person I told about my germ of an idea for my grammar book.

People who helped me produce my books: Pete Masterson, Marny Parkin, Carol Vuilemenot, Ron Teplitz, Matt Hinrich, Joel Friedlander, Linda Jay, Val Sherer,  Amazon’s Create Space, Lightning Source, Book Baby, and Kindle.

The excellent people at Petaluma, CA Copperfields: Grace Bogart and Ray Lawrason, and Alex at the horribly missed Borders in Santa Rosa for allowing me several book launches and signings.  A special thank you to Jeane Slone and Mona Mechling for distributing my books at Sonoma County coffeeshops and other venues. And to Robin Moore who has allowed be to be a featured reader at Open Mike. Gary Carnivale for his excellent videos at the readings.

Thanks to the Petaluma and Guerneville public libraries for letting me speak and to Jim Partridge and Bryce Hodge for a great videotaping job!

Thanks to all the unknown (and known) people who have bought my books and commented on them on Amazon, Teachers Pay Teachers, and other sites.

To all of you who have so generously offered blurbs for my book covers: Best-selling author Sheldon Siegel, Dawn Josephson, K.Patrick McDonald, Myrna Ericksen, Handsome Ransom Stephens,  Erik Kassebaum, Jeannie Thomas, Ana Manwaring, Jeane Slone, Dr. Jon Walker, Persia Woolley, David Watts, Tim Nonn, Gary Miller, Dave Noderer, and Robin Moore. Most of all to Dr. Susan Behrens who has gone way beyond the call of duty, writing blurbs and being a Beta reader for my new workbook. Thank you, Susan!

Thank you also to Joy Hermson whose class inspired me to start a business, Maureen Richardson (now herself an author) who handles the $$$, Jim Troxel who figures out my taxes,  and the fabulous Gileeeeee Namur who creates and fixes the website.

Thank you to Marie Millard, my writing colleague who thought of the name for my book Correct Me If I’m Wrong, and is wholly responsible for that book being written at all!

To everyone who helped me and helped my books become a little more known in the media: Chris Smith, Yovonna Bieberich and the other people at the Petaluma Argus Courier, Tim Nonn and Frances Rivetti who started it all for me, Dan Taylor and the people at the Press Democrat, Gil Mansergh at KQED, and of course Ronn Owens at KSO radio San Francisco. And Ransom Stephens who was responsible for my meeting Tim Nonn in the first place. And then Phoebe Antonio who always manages to come to my signings. And Bart Scott who wrote his excellent novel alongside me during NaNoWriMo 2011 and has remained a friend. And Joe Peer, my actor friend, who used to motivate me, and I him, during our coffees at Aqus Cafe.

And, of course, Starbucks, who provided me with the stamina and ambience to do much of my work (and Peets to a much lesser degree, but that’s where I met Ransom Stephens and Tim Nonn, so….) Thanks, baristas!

I am grateful to all the people who let me speak about grammar: Michael Meyers, Michael Powell, various Rotarians, Dave LaRoche, Sharon Hamilton, Judy Baker at BAIPA, Linda Reid — who was the person who told me I actually could speak in public,  Redwood Writers, and other people already mentioned. And Joylene Butler, whose blog I was a guest writer on.

The wonderful people at College of Marin for whom I have been teaching a community ed class on grammar, and Kristen in the court reporting program for inviting me to speak.

My many friends at Redwood Writers, who are too numerous to mention (and many are mentioned elsewhere): Al King, Robbie Sommers Bryant, Susan Littlefield, Robin Moore, Kay Miller, Amanda McTigue, the incredible Linda Reid, Ann Hutchinson, and on and on.

My many friends at BAIPA who have helped me so much and been so inspirational: Joel Friedlander, Joel Friedlander, and Joel Friedlander! Judy Baker, Val Sherer, Linda Jay, Veronica the Computer Tutor, Rob Badger, agent Peter Berens (who offered to shop my book around), Gordon Burgett, Lee Foster, and on and on.

The many people who trusted me edit their writing: Shane McGarrett, Rosalinda Randall, Susan Solomon, Renee Dumbadse, Amanda Bindon, Dallas Stainthorp, Sharon Hamiton, Pamela Taeuffer, Frances Caballo, Jeannie Thomas, Tujuana Common, Amber Starfire,  Gwen Grace, Waights Taylor, Armando Garcia DeVilla, Marvin Shepherd, Chris Bruce, Lisa Nolan, Kay Mehl Miller, Linda Reid, Kent Sorenson, and Lorene D’adam….and I know there are more.

And to the following people who have crossed my path on this journey and have so inspired me: Paul Claeyssens, Mignon Fogarty (The Grammar Girl!!!), Mark Coker, Brian Felson, Penny Sansievieri, Patricia V, Davis, and everyone else I have heard speak and who made me just want to go home and build an empire!

To every connection I have on LinkedIn and other social media….you have helped too.

And then there are a bunch of you who have made testimonials on my website, and to you– a big thank you!

So you see…..it takes more than a village to inspire, motivate, help create, market, and support an entrepreneur and author like me. So thank you all. Have a blessed Thanksgiving. We will get back to talking about words and grammar next week. I promise.

And if I have forgotten your name here, I haven’t forgotten you.