Word of the Day
Transpontine (adj., trans-PONN-tin)
On either side of a bridge or a body of water, especially from one side of the Atlantic. Yes, it's a British word.
Gif of the Day
ReactionsDisapprovalExpressionlessTurn to cameraKey, no PeeleFreeze frame?
Link of the Day
Paul Brians' list of grammar suggestions and non-errors
"I am not a grammar professor," writes Paul Brians. "I am a literature professor who is interested in grammar." His website, still available even in his retirement, has a few useful components to it: a list of common suggestions, a list of common errors, and (best of all) a list of non-errors:
Feeling bad
“I feel bad” is standard English, as in “This t-shirt smells bad” (not “badly”). “I feel badly” is an incorrect hyper-correction by people who think they know better than the masses. People who are happy can correctly say they feel good, but if they say they feel well, we know they mean to say they’re healthy.
Brians explains his reasoning for the site in two good FAQs on the "Common Suggestions" page:
Q. I was always taught X but all the authorities I’ve looked in say Y. What’s happening to the English language?
A. It’s changing—always has changed, and always will. When you reach the point that nobody seems to agree with your standard of usage any more, you may have simply been left behind. There is no ultimate authority in language—certainly not me—nor any measure of absolute “correctness.” The best guide is the usage of literate and careful speakers and writers, and when they differ among themselves one has to make a choice as to which one prefers. My goal is to keep my readers’ writing and speech from being laughed at or groaned over by average literate people.
Q. How can you possibly approve of ___________? Your effrontery in caving in to this ignorant nonsense is appalling [ranting, raving, foaming at the mouth . . .].
It’s odd how some people with high standards of correctness seem to have no notion of manners at all. You and I both know that I am not the most conservative of commentators on usage. If you want to make a logical case for a rule I don’t accept, please do so politely.
It's a usseful site to bookmark but also to peruse. Go check it out.
EnglishPaul BriansTechnical detailsCh-ch-changesPearl clutchingStop being so pernickety?