http://smithwriting.com/blog Rebecca Smith, founder of the copywriting firm SmithWriting, blogs on grammar, language, and all things writing. Thu, 26 Jan 2012 21:48:10 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en This year, you might want to choose your words carefully—and be sure to steer clear of those terms recently “banished” by the folks at Lake Superior State University in Michigan. Every year since 1976, these linguaphiles have released their “List of Words Banished from the Queen’s English for Misuse, Overuse and ... http://smithwriting.com/blog/for-the-love-of-words/2012-banished-words-list/ It’s that time of year again—the time when dictionaries and self-proclaimed vocabulary nuts across the Internet unveil their “word of the year.” Though I’m no lexicographer (one who writes, compiles, or edits a dictionary), I am in the business of words, so I figured I’d compile my own list of terms ... http://smithwriting.com/blog/for-the-love-of-words/words-of-the-year/ Spread the word: It’s time to celebrate National Punctuation Day (NPD)! “A celebration of the lowly comma, correctly used quotation marks, and other proper uses of periods, semicolons, and the ever-mysterious ellipsis,” National Punctuation Day is—for those of us in the business of words (copywriters, editors, journalists [really, anyone who ... http://smithwriting.com/blog/for-the-love-of-words/happy-national-punctuation-day-2/ Ladies, don your jeggings. Men, slip into your mankinis. These styles are here to stay—or at least the terms are, according to the Concise Oxford English Dictionary. One hundred years after its original publication, this longstanding lexicon has released its 12th edition. In keeping with its mission to be an up-to-date ... http://smithwriting.com/blog/for-the-love-of-words/woot-mankini-makes-it-into-the-dictionary/ … well, not literally. Have you noticed that the word “literally” has been getting a lot of use—or should I say misuse—lately? Maybe you saw the episode of "How I Met Your Mother" in which the character Robin repeatedly misuses the term (This is literally driving me crazy!). Or perhaps you have ... http://smithwriting.com/blog/for-the-love-of-words/i%e2%80%99m-literally-sick-of-the-term-%e2%80%9cliterally%e2%80%9d/ Here in New England, you never know what you’re going to get for weather. Right now, we’re coming off a spring heat wave, and the temperature is forecast to drop 40 degrees as we head into a cool, rainy stretch. As Mark Twain once remarked, “If you don’t like the weather ... http://smithwriting.com/blog/for-the-love-of-words/how-bout-that-weather/ For those of you who don’t already know, April is National Poetry Month. And, in my opinion, the timing is perfect. Although it can be a month of weather extremes here in New England, for the most part, April is a time of great beauty and renewal. With spring in full ... http://smithwriting.com/blog/for-the-love-of-words/celebrate-poetry/ At a recent jungle-themed kids' birthday party, I found myself pondering over the names we call groups of animals. You know, how a group of lions is a “pride,” a gang of elephants is a “herd,” and an assemblage of baboons is a “congress.” Yes, you read that last one correctly. ... http://smithwriting.com/blog/for-the-love-of-words/what-do-you-call-a-group-of-turtles/ The vocabulary gurus at Merriam-Webster have just announced their Top Ten Words of the Year for 2010. The list, based on the volume of actual user lookups at Merriam-Webster.com, is known for capturing our interests and summarizing the current events in any given year. At the top of this year’s listing ... http://smithwriting.com/blog/for-the-love-of-words/the-top-10-words-of-2010/ While at the grocery store this morning, I was greatly irritated—and inspired to write a grammar post. No, it’s not about the dreaded greengrocers’ apostrophe, although I cringed as I read signs like “Fuji apple’s” and “Portuguese roll’s”—it’s about something a bit more tricky: the use of “fewer” versus “less.” You see, ... http://smithwriting.com/blog/for-the-love-of-words/less-than-pleased/