Author Archive
Articles by Merrill Perlman | Email the Author
Just Because
Let us count the reasons why
By Merrill Perlman Dec 7, 2009 at 01:35 PM
One reason why columns like this are written is because so many writers don’t realize when a tautology has them... More
Before the Beginning
Doing away with some pre-fixes
By Merrill Perlman Nov 30, 2009 at 11:01 AM
One of English’s favorite prefixes is “pre,” three little letters that mean “before.” It helps modify words like “nuptial,” “conception,”... More
Your Move
Chess terminology, imprecisely played
By Merrill Perlman Nov 23, 2009 at 02:08 PM
To practice politics, one must know something about strategy. Like a poker player, a politician needs to know when to... More
Foundering Flounders
When a fish is not a failure
By Merrill Perlman Nov 16, 2009 at 04:41 PM
Whenever the government announces the failure of another bank, a news outlet somewhere reports that the bank has “floundered.” Well... More
Playing Tricks
The expression ‘tricked out’ isn’t new
By Merrill Perlman Nov 9, 2009 at 01:53 PM
A review of the new “Lego Rock Band” video game mentioned one cool feature: “You can also trick out your... More
Early Bird Special
On turning the clocks back
By Merrill Perlman Nov 2, 2009 at 12:34 PM
Unless you live in Hawaii, Puerto Rico, most of Arizona, or off the grid with sundials, you turned your clocks... More
Plethora Galore
When does ‘many’ become ‘too many’?
By Merrill Perlman Oct 26, 2009 at 11:31 AM
The English language has many words for “many”: “abundance,” “multitude,” “profusion,” “a lot,” and so forth. With such a “myriad”... More
Assurance Policy
The lives of ‘insure,’ ‘ensure,’ and ‘assure’
By Merrill Perlman Oct 19, 2009 at 04:33 PM
In Washington, legislators are trying to “assure” their constituents that they are working to “ensure” that any new health-care bill... More
Walk It Off
A negative baseball term becomes positive
By Merrill Perlman Oct 12, 2009 at 01:21 PM
The World Series is fast approaching, and many of the teams in the playoffs are hoping for at least one... More
Doctored Language
When medical jargon hurts
By Merrill Perlman Oct 5, 2009 at 12:19 PM
A sheriff said a suspect in the killing of a family may have some injuries, including “include cuts, lacerations, ... More
Bodies in Motion
How many objects are moving in a “collision”?
By Merrill Perlman Sep 28, 2009 at 02:30 PM
News stories frequently cover accidents where a car hits a bus, a train hits a car, a bicycle hits a... More
Lost Innocence
People plead “not guilty”
By Merrill Perlman Sep 21, 2009 at 05:42 PM
Back in the days before everyone had a computer, news stories would have to be retyped at least once before... More
Times Up
Is “three times more” the same as “three times as many”?
By Merrill Perlman Sep 15, 2009 at 01:44 PM
Most journalists didn’t become so because they’re good at math—even economic journalists. But, when dealing with numbers, you don’t have... More
All Wet
When you read, you “pore,” not “pour”
By Merrill Perlman Sep 9, 2009 at 12:52 PM
The White House releases a bunch of sensitive documents on a Friday afternoon, and the investigative reporter resigns herself to... More
Nerve Center
“Enervate” is not “energetic”
By Merrill Perlman Aug 31, 2009 at 04:43 PM
Context clues are wonderful things. With them, a writer can load an article with lots of unusual or unfamiliar words... More
Double Entendre
When one word has opposite meanings
By Merrill Perlman Aug 24, 2009 at 03:16 PM
San Francisco commuters were relieved recently when a commuter rail strike was averted. But for some time, stories about the... More
Off the Wrack
The difference between “rack” and “wrack” is a wreck
By Merrill Perlman Aug 17, 2009 at 05:18 PM
One news article said: “Compensation is coming under greater scrutiny since the world’s biggest financial companies wracked up almost $1.6... More
Apostrophe Catastrophes
Why is this little mark so troublesome?
By Merrill Perlman Aug 10, 2009 at 01:19 PM
We’ve all seen it and cringed: The sign advertising “Antique’s for Sale,” the one in the supermarket boasting about it’s... More
Silent Speaker
How “reticent” came to mean “reluctant”
By Merrill Perlman Aug 3, 2009 at 12:10 PM
In one recent news article, a buyer said he was “reticent” to participate in the “cash for clunkers” program because... More
Vir-gin Version
“Ginning up” won’t make you drunk
By Merrill Perlman Jul 27, 2009 at 04:49 PM
President Barack Obama apparently enjoys “ginning up.” While we’ve known that his wife, Michelle, enjoys a martini or two on... 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.
