Author Archive

Articles by Merrill Perlman | Email the Author

 

1. Language Corner

   Who, I?

   October 4, 2010 12:34 PM

   If you go to Language Corner’s Facebook page (and while you’re there, you may as well “like” it), you’ll see a number of posts from Ron Sharp about people writing or saying things like “she called him and I... Continue reading

2. Language Corner

   Echo Chamber

   September 30, 2010 04:59 PM

   An acronym or initialism can become so familiar that we forget what it stands for and add one of its own words back. A pin, or personal identification number, already has “number” in it, so adding “number” is redundant.... Continue reading

3. Language Corner

   Selling Short

   September 27, 2010 03:03 PM

   By now, just about everyone knows what an “app” is, and knows it’s short for “application.” The verb form of “app,” which seems inevitable if not already popular, is likely to be “app” as well. (“I’m so totally going to... Continue reading

4. Language Corner

   Un-towards

   September 21, 2010 12:19 PM

   “The electorate seems to be moving towards the right,” one media site said after a conservative candidate won a recent primary. Another site quoted a more liberal thinker as saying that a backlash against Democrats “is sending our nation backwards... Continue reading

5. Language Corner

   Sic Transitive Gloria

   September 13, 2010 11:35 AM

   When a journalism professor gave students the sentence “He snapped to attention only when a tourist asked directions,” a number of them added “for” after “asked.” The prof wrote, “They swore they’ve never seen that phrasing.” “That phrasing” is... Continue reading

6. Language Corner

   Been There

   September 7, 2010 11:12 AM

   Hurricane Earl was a monster, a Category 4 storm. Along the East Coast from North Carolina to New England, news organizations leaped into action. Most forecasts kept the storm offshore, but some of the possible tracks showed it hitting the... Continue reading

7. Language Corner

   You Said What?

   August 30, 2010 12:55 PM

   Kenn Fong wonders about words whose meanings have been co-opted by popular culture. “The other day a friend spoke of his first wife, who died at 22 from cancer,” he wrote. “He spoke of her special qualities, which others recounted... Continue reading

8. Language Corner

   Look It Up!

   August 23, 2010 03:43 PM

   Twitter was all, ah, atwitter last week because a new edition of a dictionary came out, adding about 2,000 words to the “official” English language. Among those words were “chillax,” “cool hunter,” “turducken,” and “vuvuzela.” On Twitter, and... Continue reading

9. Language Corner

   Double Word Score

   August 16, 2010 02:37 PM

   The truck on the highway carrying dangerous chemicals usually carries a notice that its contents are “inflammable.” If the truck were very short, it could just as easily carry a sign that the contents were “flammable.” The words mean the... Continue reading

10. Language Corner

    Capital Losses

    August 9, 2010 12:23 PM

    The coming fall elections promise a lot of intrigue. We will read in The New York Times all about the “Tea Party,” while the Associated Press will deliver a lot of news about the “tea party.” The intrigue won’t... Continue reading

11. Language Corner

    Sworn Out

    August 2, 2010 01:21 PM

    Caution: Adult content ahead! Only a dork or scumbag wouldn’t acknowledge screwing up, though admitting error really sucks. And only a crap publication wouldn’t print that sentence, though many may not know what those words really mean. Some publications... Continue reading

12. Language Corner

    For Giving

    July 26, 2010 04:00 PM

    A golfer who hits a ball into the vicinity of others is beholden to yell “Fore!” to warn them to watch out for a sailing dimpled object. And that should be the only clue you need to figure out when... Continue reading

13. Language Corner

    Two Shall Be as One

    July 19, 2010 03:52 PM

    In the beginning, there were two words. And people went forth and used the words separately or together as needed. And it was good. But there came a time when the two words cleaved unto each another, becoming as one,... Continue reading

14. Language Corner

    Presto, Chango!

    July 13, 2010 10:21 AM

    Many legislators are resorting to interesting budget tricks to try to pay for everything they want without necessarily having the funds in hand. In many news reports and numerous letters to the editor, this trickery is called “slight of... Continue reading

15. Language Corner

    The ‘-ize’ Have It

    July 6, 2010 11:38 AM

    News organizations are in a quandary. They’re trying to “incentivize” readers, “monetize” the publication’s content, and “prioritize” their resources. It’s not enough, apparently, for them to “attract” readers; they have to offer some sort of incentive. But it takes... Continue reading

16. Language Corner

    Style-ish

    June 29, 2010 01:38 PM

    Yahoo! There’s a new style guide! By Yahoo! Available now on the Web and to be available in print very soon. Big deal, you say. You already have the Associated Press Stylebook (followed by most news publications),... Continue reading

17. Language Corner

    Dangling by a Thread

    June 21, 2010 02:46 PM

    “After beating Jankovic in 60 minutes in the semifinals, Stosur’s parents and two brothers flew in from Australia to watch the final in person,” a sports story said. Gee, it seems unfair to let Stosur’s parents play Jankovic in... Continue reading

18. Language Corner

    On Your Mark

    June 14, 2010 12:50 PM

    When you have a cold, you use a lot of kleenex. When you cut yourself, you put on a band-aid. You tweet your latest story, about the cops who tasered the guy who was rollerblading down the sidewalk, xerox the... Continue reading

19. Language Corner

    Proof

    June 7, 2010 11:30 AM

    A basic tenet of the court system, going back to British common law, is that a suspect is “innocent until proven guilty.” A basic tenet of grammar is that that tenet is ungrammatical. The Associated Press Stylebook, The New York... Continue reading

20. Language Corner

    How Big Is Big?

    June 1, 2010 04:52 PM

    It’s that time of year again. Wildfires are starting to spread, well, like wildfires. And meaningless measurements of the size of those fires are spreading, too. “So far this year, 261 fires have burned about 260,000 acres statewide,” one report... Continue reading

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