Author Archive

Articles by Merrill Perlman | Email the Author

 

1. Language Corner

   Taking Names in Vain

   October 31, 2011 01:08 PM

   You’re with your five-year-old at the ice cream shop, and she can’t decide which of the dozens of flavors to get on her waffle cone. Behind you, the line is building, as is your frustration. So you finally say to... Continue reading

2. Language Corner

   Fermenting Revolution

   October 26, 2011 02:27 PM

   With “Oktoberfests” popping up all over, it seems a good time to grab a “growler” and get “krausened.” The first “Oktoberfest” was in Munich in 1810, a celebration of the marriage of Crown Prince Ludwig of Bavaria and Princess... Continue reading

3. Language Corner

   Making Introductions

   October 17, 2011 02:14 PM

   Writers frequently introduce a topic or unfamiliar phrase, then define it, as in “The condemned rode to the gallows in a tumbrel, a two-wheeled cart.” But that’s backward. If you give a reader the familiar information first, then the... Continue reading

4. Language Corner

   No Use

   October 10, 2011 03:02 PM

   The Northeast has been experiencing a bit of a resurgent summer*, so cool refreshments have been called for. You have your choice: “ice” water, “ice” cream, or “iced” tea. Even though you’ll see “ice tea” occasionally, it’s not correct. So... Continue reading

5. Language Corner

   Only You Know

   October 3, 2011 01:30 PM

   OK, we’ll admit it: Most of the time you can put “only” anywhere in a sentence and no one will misunderstand you, especially when you’re speaking. But journalism is all about precision, and a misplaced “only” can... Continue reading

6. Language Corner

   Unequal Rights

   September 26, 2011 12:03 PM

   Strunk and White’s Elements of Style counsels to avoid euphemism, and, as we wrote on the book’s fiftieth anniversary, some journalists seem particularly fond of calling a dog a “canine” or a banana “an elongated yellow fruit.” ... Continue reading

7. Language Corner

   None of the Above

   September 19, 2011 02:12 PM

   How many of you were taught that “none” stands for “no one,” and must always take a singular verb? Bet none of you get it right all the time. That’s because saying that “none” is always singular is like... Continue reading

8. Language Corner

   Bodily Functions

   September 12, 2011 01:00 PM

   The scene may have been a long coach ride or a London park bench on a hot day, but the heart of the (probably apocryphal) anecdote about Dr. Samuel Johnson remains the same: A woman of some means says to... Continue reading

9. Language Corner

   Talking Back

   September 6, 2011 03:56 PM

   The recruiter was pleased that the law firm was interested in one of his clients. “I will revert with candidate details soon,” he wrote in an e-mail to the firm’s hiring manager. Gee, if he wanted his client to... Continue reading

10. Language Corner

    Against Semantic Satiation

    August 29, 2011 02:06 PM

    After a week in which the East suffered through earthquakes and a hurricane, we could all use a little entertainment. So here are some words for things you may not have known had names. See how many you can use... Continue reading

11. Language Corner

    Going Strait

    August 28, 2011 01:54 PM

    When two words sound the same and have similar meanings, you know they’re going to merge eventually. But until they do, it’s important to keep the differences “straight.” The men in white coats coming to take you away are carrying... Continue reading

12. Language Corner

    Oral History

    August 22, 2011 01:15 PM

    It’s a crazy market, the investors were told by the columnist, and they had to protect themselves. So they shouldn’t accept “verbal assurances” that their fund managers were making the right decisions; they needed it in writing. A court in... Continue reading

13. Language Corner

    One Word or Two?

    August 15, 2011 04:59 PM

    English insists on having variations of words, like “every day/everyday” or “any time/any time,” where two words are scrunched together in some uses, but must be separate in others. But people being people, the single-word version often shows up in... Continue reading

14. Language Corner

    Really?

    August 8, 2011 01:35 PM

    Here’s a cover letter cited in a column about what not to write when applying for a job: “I am currently being micromanaged, and it’s literally killing me.” Probably not. The letter-writer is uncomfortable, certainly, but unless the end of... Continue reading

15. Language Corner

    The Personals

    August 1, 2011 12:11 PM

    “We’re the people that are going to say, ‘No,’ to Washington, D.C., taxing and spending,” U.S. Rep. Pete Sessions (R-TX), told the House in arguing for a debt ceiling bill. Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg of New York... Continue reading

16. Language Corner

    Lone Modifications

    July 25, 2011 02:09 PM

    Adjectives play many roles. They can tell us which box on the gift table is being discussed—the “blue” box—so we don’t have to guess, for example. They can give us more details about something or someone—the “tall” stranger” or the... Continue reading

17. Language Corner

    Irony Patch

    July 18, 2011 01:47 PM

    It’s “ironic” that many journalists don’t understand when to correctly use “irony.” Here’s an example of how “irony” frequently appears in news articles: Neil Witt’s World War II service included participation in the Normandy invasion. So it’s ironic that... Continue reading

18. Language Corner

    Quotus Interruptus

    July 12, 2011 12:51 PM

    For weeks before Derek Jeter of the New York Yankees reached 3,000 career hits, he had been saying he didn’t feel any pressure to make that milestone. But after he had done it, he ’fessed up. Here’s how USA Today... Continue reading

19. Language Corner

    Almost Famous

    July 5, 2011 05:05 PM

    You probably don’t want to become “infamous.” but you may want to be “notorious.” The adjective “infamous” has traditionally meant “evil or villainous,” as in “the infamous Osama bin Laden.” Yet many people, most of them young, have been... Continue reading

20. Language Corner

    Gonna Wanna

    July 5, 2011 03:40 PM

    Writing the way people speak is one way to make sure your copy doesn’t become bloviated or stodgy. But journalists have always taken great liberties with how they transcribe the way people speak. “Gonna” and “wanna” are endemic in... Continue reading

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