Summer is almost here! And you know what that means: ice cream, frozen yogurt, frozen custard, that oh-so-mysterious soft serve stuff, gelato, sorbet, Italian ice, sherbet. The treats are plentiful, which is one of the best parts of summer. But that last item on the list is a tricky fellow;…
The trio for this week’s Which Word Wednesday is something I’ve seen a few times recently, although I’ve failed to keep track of the examples. And examples make this so much more interesting! Oh well—onward. It’s another round of homophones with cite, site, and sight. Let’s look
I’d like to dedicate this week’s Which Word Wednesday to the 2013 Kentucky Derby. Those of you who know me know that my heart doesn’t beat for horses—I have a now-hilarious horseback riding experience that sealed it. (Let’s just say I’m not a fan of crabby horses or saddle bruises.)…
No matter how much I learn about language, I am continually discovering definitions and guidelines and applications to keep me humble. Language serves as a training ground for admitting mistakes and embracing my imperfections while still enjoying the discipline! This week’s Which Word Wednesday matchup—gantlet vs. gauntlet—has given me quite…
I love it when friends encounter their own word duels and send them my way as potential Which Word Wednesday entries. Today’s match up comes from dear friend Angel who wondered about the difference between connote and denote. Good one! Although I’m familiar with the pair, I had a hard…
It’s amazing what an extra letter can do to a word. Take today’s Which Word Wednesday entries, lose and loose. The extra O changes the word from something lost to something that’s not tight. That extra letter can be tricky. It causes us to loose what is lost or lose…
Happy Which Word Wednesday, my friends! There has been a lag here as of late due to some heavy project deadlines. I’ve missed being here! And I’m sure your linguistic tank is tapped dry by now, so I’m giving you a triple-dose with a threesome: peak, peek, and pique. This…
Word glitches happen. Given the right set of circumstances, anyone can insert the wrong word for the context. That’s what happened at Christ and Pop Culture for an article title that needed either complement or compliment. The one with I was chosen and posted for the world to see—and that…
Word debates are often impassioned affairs, each side loyal to some set of rules imparted to them by an elementary school English teacher. So it is with the debate over which word we should use to describe parents bringing up their children. Do parents raise children or do they rear…
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