Author Archive
Articles by Merrill Perlman | Email the Author
Misbegottens
More twisted idioms
By Merrill Perlman Jul 29, 2013 at 02:50 PM
Last week, we talked about some idioms that have been twisted by people who write them as they hear them,... More
Righting speech
When people misspell while talking
By Merrill Perlman Jul 22, 2013 at 02:50 PM
Here's a shocker: People don't talk the way they write, or the way they should write. They have accents; they... More
Weathering heights
Unusual terms for not-so-unusual phenomena
By Merrill Perlman Jul 15, 2013 at 04:00 PM
Had the Weather Channel been around in the 1930s, it's possible that the period of severe drought, crop failure, and... More
Body parts
Spelling malpractice
By Merrill Perlman Jul 8, 2013 at 02:50 PM
At a recent concert in Milwaukee, John Mayer dedicated a song to his girlfriend, Katy Perry, for helping him get... More
Either win(s)
Verbs to use with neither/either
By Merrill Perlman Jul 1, 2013 at 03:00 PM
Either I or they is playing tricks with your head. Last week, we said that it's OK to use "or"... More
Language Corner
Orchestra pits
By Merrill Perlman Jul 1, 2013 at 12:00 AM
Bob Kamman writes that he's seen "orchestrated" or "carefully orchestrated" misused a lot. He quoted a New York Times article... More
Neither regions
Using “nor” or not
By Merrill Perlman Jun 24, 2013 at 03:00 PM
Neither you nor I set the "rules" of English; we do it together, by using words in certain ways. But... More
Small bites
Making big numbers more understandable
By Merrill Perlman Jun 17, 2013 at 03:00 PM
The wildfires are at it again: One near Colorado Springs was really big. How big? CNN said it was about... More
New math
Keeping numbers simpler
By Merrill Perlman Jun 10, 2013 at 02:28 PM
Last week, we talked about how the words used to express numbers can help (or confuse) readers. Now, let's talk... More
Countdown
Help with numbers
By Merrill Perlman Jun 3, 2013 at 03:00 PM
Math is hard for many people, though it's often not the numbers that cause so many problems, but the words... More
Between ‘us’ and ‘I’
Getting stuck on plurals
By Merrill Perlman May 28, 2013 at 03:00 PM
The editors were discussing a story about the health benefits of a particular type of cactus, and maybe others. The... More
Pleas-ing words
Prepositions and crime
By Merrill Perlman May 20, 2013 at 03:00 PM
One man "pleaded guilty to DWI." Another "pled guilty of DWI." A third "entered a plea of guilty to DWI... More
Grammar police
Zealousness over correctness
By Merrill Perlman May 13, 2013 at 03:00 PM
The New York Times recently posted an opinion piece and a short film about a "vigilante copy editor" who was... More
Letter perfect
Why English is so hard
By Merrill Perlman May 6, 2013 at 03:00 PM
The cashier at the fancy foods store was from Bosnia. "I have so much hard time with English," she said.... More
Language Corner
Plum loco
By Merrill Perlman May 1, 2013 at 12:00 AM
The witness, according to the news story, said the robbers were "plum crazy." Not unless they were robbing a green... More
Participial con-fusion
When possession is the law
By Merrill Perlman Apr 30, 2013 at 06:50 AM
WARNING: Grammar lesson ahead. If you ever knew what a "participle" was, you may have forgotten. Same with the word... More
Natal gazing
Of birth, and being borne
By Merrill Perlman Apr 22, 2013 at 03:00 PM
"I don't know nothing about birthing babies!" Butterfly McQueen told Vivien Leigh in Gone With the Wind. Those who believe... More
Writing tics
The optics of metrics
By Merrill Perlman Apr 15, 2013 at 02:51 PM
The mayor's op-ed piece urged action on a regional 911 system, which, among other things, would "provide consistent and transparent... More
Blame excuses
Where to point the finger
By Merrill Perlman Apr 8, 2013 at 03:43 PM
"Deer Creek blames fire on science experiment," read one headline. "Arsonist blames fire on living conditions," said another. Some people... More
Season openers
Baseball terms and myths
By Merrill Perlman Apr 1, 2013 at 03:00 PM
Major league baseball season gets under way this week, so let's throw out the first ball, left-handed. That's called "southpaw."... More
Woman’s work - The twisted reality of an Italian freelancer in Syria
Sourcing Trayvon Martin ‘photos’ from stormfront - Not a good idea, Business Insider
Elizabeth Warren, the antidote to CNBC - The senator schools the talking heads on bank regulation
Art Laffer + PR blitz = press failure - The media types up the retail lobby’s propaganda
Reuters’s global warming about-face - A survey shows the newswire ran 50 percent fewer stories on climate change after hiring a “skeptic”
Barack Obama: ‘those old times aren’t coming back’
“It used to be there were local newspapers everywhere. If you wanted to be a journalist, you could really make a good living working for your hometown paper”
The Guardian’s editor opens up on Reddit
Alan Rusbridger, editor of The Guardian, answered questions in an Ask Me Anything
The (almost) lost speech of Justice Anthony Kennedy
How his insightful remarks about the Constitution inadvertently make the case for a Supreme Court “media pool”
Fox News sues TVEyes for copyright infringement
Says subscription service sells access to its content without permission nor compensation
CJR's Guide to Online News Startups
ACEsTooHigh.com – Reporting on the science, education, and policy surrounding childhood trauma
Who Owns What
The Business of Digital Journalism
A report from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism
Questions and exercises for journalism students.
