when writers wince

 I was taken aback yesterday at Costco when I saw this label on a package of Korean style meat and my, how we mess around with the language. Almost deplorable, but now we save that word for politics. 

the apostrophe catastrophe

I was surprised to read this from one of my favorite daily emails.

Yes, we can get rid of the damn squiggly mark, in my most

humble opinion. Thoughts?

A.Word.A.Day

with Anu Garg

Do you know the name of that Shakespeare comedy about a king 
swearing to avoid contact with women? How do you spell out the 
title of the play? With two apostrophes, one, or none?

Love’s Labour’s Lost
Love’s Labours Lost
Loves Labour’s Lost
Loves Labours Lost

When the play was first published in 1598, it was titled as 
Loues Labors Lost and it has since been published with 
various combinations of apostrophes.^*

Remind me again, is it Mother’s Day, Mothers’ Day, or 
Mothers Day? On second thought, don’t!

Why don’t we just get rid of the apostrophe?

You may be thinking: What? Et tu, Anu? You were supposed 
to be on the other side. I thought you were a defender of the 
purity of language.

OK, let’s look at the exquisite mess that is apostrophe.

A possessive takes an apostrophe (king’s), except when it 
doesn’t. Possessives its, his, hers, ours, yours, and theirs 
don’t employ the apostrophe and the Earth still goes around 
the Sun. Perhaps we should cut a little slack when we see 
someone confusing the words its and it’s. In fact, with an 
apostrophe, it’s can have two possibilities: it isor it has.

As seen in it’s, the “apostrophe s” construction doesn’t 
necessarily mean a possessive. This abbreviation can 
mean any of the following:

is (it’s cold)
has (he’s gone)
us (let’s go)
does (what’s she do?)

A little squiggly mark, and so much trouble. Death to the 
apostrophe! With apostrophe in the discard bin, green
grocers can go back to making sure their stuff (such as, 
potato’s and tomato’s)^** is fresh, little kids can go back 
to rejoicing in the beauty of English spelling (is it height,
hieght, or hyt?), and hiring managers can go back to 
finding some other reason to reject a job application 
(a degree from Harvard is nice, but a resume in Comic Sans?).

What about those of us with black markers in our hands, 
defacing correcting signs and defending the world from 
apostrophe catastrophe, you ask. Well, you’ll have to find 
something more fulfilling and productive in life. Have you 
brushed your cat’s (or cats’ or cats) teeth lately?

Some day this world would be free of metastatic cancers, 
narcissistic con men, and the apostrophe (I can dream, 
can’t I?). Until that happens, it’s my solemn duty to 
advise you that every term featured in A.Word.A.Day 
this week takes an apostrophe.

^*As it happens, Love’s Labour’s Lost is the first instance we know of 

the word “apostrophe” being used to indicate the omission of a letter. 

By the way, this is also the play that features the longest word Shakespeare

ever used.

**But, but, but, if we get rid of the apostrophe, we’d lose the distinction 

between a possessive and a plural! Well, I have two things to say here:

1. In the beginning an apostrophe was used simply to indicate the 
2. omission of a letter (o’er for over). So tomato’s was a perfectly 
3. fine way to write the plural of that vegetable/fruit. The spelling 
4. tomato’s indicated that the letter e was omitted.
5. We still use the apostrophe to indicate a plural in some cases. 
6. For example: How many i’s are in the word “distinction”?

today from Wordsmith

mondegreen

PRONUNCIATION:

(MON-di-green) 

MEANING:

noun: A word or phrase resulting from mishearing a word or phrase, 

especially in song lyrics.

Example: “The girl with colitis goes by” for “The girl with kaleidoscope 

eyes” (in the Beatles song “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds”).

ETYMOLOGY: coined by author Sylvia Wright when she misinterpreted

the line "laid him on the green” as “Lady Mondegreen” in the Scottish 

ballad “The Bonny Earl of Murray”. Earliest documented use: 1954.

USAGE:

“Sometimes in musical announcements, words lose their meaning, 

or are misheard, resulting in a delightful mondegreen. ... The audience 

thought Walter Love had said: ‘We are beginning tonight with Howard 

Ferguson’s overture ‘Fornication’.’” (instead of “Overture for an Occasion”).
Paul Clements; An Irishman’s Diary; Irish Times (Dublin); Oct 5, 2016.

“[Tim Minchin’s] elocution is so exquisite there’s not a mondegreen in earshot.”
Suzanne Simonot; Tim and Tom Show a HOTA Opening Act; The Gold 

Coast Bulletin (Southport, Australia); Mar 19, 2018. 

with thanks to Word A Day

Your lazy blogger found this particularly interesting...

 

Philadelphia lawyer

PRONUNCIATION:

((fil-uh-DEL-fee-uh LOI-yuhr)

MEANING:

noun: A shrewd lawyer, one who is adept at exploiting legal technicalities.

ETYMOLOGY:

The term is said to have been inspired by Philadelphia-based Andrew 

Hamilton's successful defense of the New York printer John Peter 

Zenger from libel charges. This decision helped establish the idea

that truth is a defense in a libel accusation and affirmed the freedom 

of the press in America. Though the incident took place in 1735, 

the earliest documented use unearthed so far is from 1788.

USAGE:

"Then Willie Lee nailed me those many years ago. With a woman's 

way she said to Bob, 'Bob, this man's been here three days and he's 

complimented my cooking more than you have in thirty years of marriage.'
"A death pall lay over the burdened table. Willie Lee had pierced both 

of us with two horns of the same bull. I gulped and floundered --

helpless to assist my wounded friend -- but Bob never missed a

 spoonful as he said, 'I've been too busy eatin'.'

"No Philadelphia lawyer ever saved (himself and) the condemned 

with so few words, so coolly and ably stated. I was in Bob's debt 

and learned that moment to keep my compliments to a peck and not a bushel."
Bill Tarrant; Hunting the Russian Boar; Field & Stream (Los Angeles); Apr 1998.

this naff invention

Naff was today's Word and I liked the quote below. While searching for this photo
online I read that there is now more plastic in the ocean than there is plankton.
The museums switched to paper bags about a year ago and everyone seems to
have adjusted just fine. It's so easy to wad up a tote bag and keep it in my purse,
I don't understand this reluctance to save our planet. Soon, I hope, the plastic bag
will be like smoking ~ folks will look with horror at the poor person still using one.

"The plastic bag is such a naff invention that it's quite hard to care one way or the other."
Matthew Carmichael; The Perils of Plastic Amnesia; The Ecologist (London, UK); Dec 2006.

hooked on words

Everyday in my email box I get a word to study from Wordsmith. Most often they
are words I already know, but once in awhile I'm surprised or I discover that I
probably have used the word incorrectly, if I have been brave enough to use the
word in public. Then the email ends with a quote that has nothing to do with
the word-of-the-day, but which I enjoy immensely. This week we have Latin
words, last week the doubles like chi chi and frou frou. On Sunday we get to
read fun emails from readers who have had unusual experiences with these
or similar words. There's just something about word people...

I enjoy a daily word game on my iPhone ~ 7 Little Words. Takes just a few
minutes and I think it helps my grey cell retention. Maybe. Available in the
iTune app store.

Both of these are FREE and a good reason to celebrate technology today.

but it is rocket science!

Oxford Scholars Name Top Ten Irritating Phrases

What are some of the most annoying phrases in the English language? In a new forthcoming book, A Damp Squid: The English Language Laid Bare, Oxford researchers list the common phrases that we use incorrectly or just all too excessively:

1 - At the end of the day
2 - Fairly unique
3 - I personally
4 - At this moment in time
5 - With all due respect
6 - Absolutely
7 - It’s a nightmare
8 - Shouldn’t of
9 - 24/7
10 - It’s not rocket science

Thanks to Mr. Z in the Blue State of Ohio for this list
and of course he included "going forward" in his
subject line because we hear/read that one without
surcease in the big boxes of all sizes.