Tag Archives: humor

Lost in translation

Posted on February 1, 2013 by

Don’t use Google translate for your foreign language homework. Period. Sure, if you’re just looking for the general idea of a passage of foreign language text, this tool is nifty. However, translation is one area where it is best not … Continue reading →

Posted in foreign language | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

AP vs. Chicago

Posted on January 8, 2013 by

The Onion posted a funny (well, funny to me) article yesterday about copy editing: 4 Copy Editors Killed In Ongoing AP Style, Chicago Manual Gang Violence NEWS IN BRIEF • News Media • News • ISSUE 49•01 • Jan 7, 2013 NEW YORK—Law enforcement officials confirmed Friday that … Continue reading →

Posted in copy editing, punctuation | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Erbs and herbs

Posted on January 4, 2013 by

British people call those green things you keep in your spice rack herbs, pronouncing the H. Here in America, We call ‘em erbs, without the H sound. Is one way more correct than the other? Well, no. Different pronunciations happen … Continue reading →

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Severe weather etymology

Posted on October 30, 2012 by

I have previously written about the etymology of tsunami. Today we are delving into the history of words for other serious weather systems. Note: I received all my information from the Online Etymology Dictionary—an amazing, exhaustive resource that I strongly … Continue reading →

Posted in etymology, foreign language, in the news | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Airplane call signs

Posted on April 6, 2012 by

  If you’re flying and your airplane doesn’t fall from the sky and leave you burning to death in a horrible crash, you might be able to thank my friend Joe. He just graduated from air traffic control school. (Congrats!) … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | 6 Comments