Cumulative versus Accumulative
My friend, who works on a college campus, cringes when students talk about cramming for their accumulative exams. It’s not…
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More Messy Plurals
Creating plurals would be a snap if it were always as simple as adding s or es to a noun….
Using Hyphens to Avoid Confusion
If I called you a short story editor, would I be remarking on your height? I would be, if I…
I Would if I Could . . .
Some people might consider the distinction between could and would to be only a matter of degree of politeness (would…
Are You Getting the Just Deserts You Deserve?
Sometimes we think bad people should get what they deserve, but we shouldn’t liken that punishment to eating day-old pastries….
Can You Distinguish What’s Distinct?
So many words in the English language sound similar, so we often think they mean the same thing. Such is…
A Couple of Things You Should Know
Traditionally, the word couple has been used as a noun meaning “two things.” As a noun, it requires the use…
Deduce or Induce? It’s Elementary, Watson …
Whether or not Sherlock Holmes ever said “Elementary, Watson” is debatable. What’s not in question is Holmes’s keen powers of…
Here Lies—An Epithet or an Epitaph?
Here are a couple of closely related words that you don’t want to confuse: epitaph and epithet—especially when it comes…
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