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Articles by Merrill Perlman | Email the Author

 

1. Language Corner

   Soaking It Up

   May 24, 2010 03:11 PM

   The aftermath of the Gulf oil spill is giving many readers an education in a booming industry that rarely comes to light: companies that make “sorbent” products. No, that’s not a typo for “absorbent.” Turns out, there’s an ocean full... Continue reading

2. Language Corner

   Hyphen Tension

   May 17, 2010 04:57 PM

   Precision is necessary in a lot of things in journalism—facts, spelling of names, etc. It’s also vital in Web addresses—tell someone the wrong URL, and that person could be viewing porn instead of your site. So it’s annoying, if... Continue reading

3. Language Corner

   Stopping the Flow

   May 10, 2010 04:18 PM

   Frantic efforts are underway to shut off the oil flowing from a well in the Gulf of Mexico. Everyone agrees that cutting off the flow of oil is a good thing. News reports, though, can’t seem to agree whether workers... Continue reading

4. Language Corner

   You Talkin’ ‘Bout Me?

   May 3, 2010 01:05 PM

   “A 28-year-old man who died early Saturday in a crash was remembered Sunday as an outgoing, optimistic fellow who had fulfilled his dreams of serving in the Marines and becoming a police officer. “Bill Smith, the longtime wrestling coach at... Continue reading

5. Language Corner

   Out the Wazoo

   April 26, 2010 11:14 AM

   Here’s how language changes: Take a term rendered in a foreign language, let’s say “yin and yang.” Have people start mispronouncing (and misspelling) it as “ying and yang,” bring in a slang term for what polite people call the buttocks—“she’s... Continue reading

6. Language Corner

   Ex-Sited

   April 19, 2010 02:59 PM

   The Associated Press shook up the world last week. The World Wide Web, that is. The AP, whose stylebook is ubiquitous in newsrooms real and virtual around the other www (whole wide world), has decreed that the place one visits... Continue reading

7. Language Corner

   Beset by Acrimony

   April 12, 2010 01:44 PM

   Time for a rant. Journalists seem to love certain words that no one actually uses in normal conversations. Have you remarked on the “acrimonious” divorce your friends are going through? (Almost 300 hits in Nexis in the past month.) How... Continue reading

8. Language Corner

   Portion Control

   April 5, 2010 02:31 PM

   How do I “proportion” thee? Let me count the ways: • “Checks dated by April 30 will receive a special, proportional match.” • “A proportionate number of teaching or administrative positions were not eliminated.” • “Future resource additions will consist... Continue reading

9. Language Corner

   Exclusive

   March 29, 2010 03:41 PM

   The newspaper reported a burglary, and said that “four items were taken, including a DVD player, a laptop computer, an iPhone, and a flat-screen TV.” The newspaper did not report the violation in Associated Press style: “Use include to introduce... Continue reading

10. Language Corner

    Probably Likely

    March 22, 2010 02:08 PM

    Now that the health care bill is through Congress, President Obama “likely” will sign it soon, opponents “likely” will challenge it in the courts, and some readers “likely” are grinding their teeth. No, not at the health care bill, though... Continue reading

11. Language Corner

    Your Deal

    March 15, 2010 11:12 AM

    You’re in Vegas, putting your poker skills to the test. As you are raking in the chips from a particularly clever hand, the player to your right smiles broadly and calls you a “card shark.” The one on your left... Continue reading

12. Language Corner

    No Lectures, Please

    March 8, 2010 01:10 PM

    There’s an old joke among journalists—OK, mostly among copy editors—about a passage that says that the speaker “stood behind the podium.” “Stupid guy,” people would snicker. “How can people see him when he’s standing behind the platform he’s supposed to... Continue reading

13. Language Corner

    Incomplete

    March 2, 2010 01:46 PM

    “Completely” is probably one of the most completely superfluous words in the English language. Too often, it’s used to emphasize something that is an absolute in itself, like “superfluous.” Something can’t be partly superfluous—the definition of superfluous is “not... Continue reading

14. Language Corner

    Exit Strategies

    February 22, 2010 12:02 PM

    The Eskimos may—or may not—have many words for “snow,” but we English speakers certainly have a number of words to describe ways to exit various conveyances. It’s not enough, apparently, to just say you are “getting off the train.” No,... Continue reading

15. Language Corner

    Special Issue

    February 16, 2010 02:10 PM

    Gene Foreman has an issue with “issues.” “I see the misuse of ‘issues’ as a synonym for ‘problems’ as part of the annoying trend toward euphemisms in journalism,” Foreman, a legendary newspaper editor, wrote. “It may be... Continue reading

16. Language Corner

    Meta Data

    February 8, 2010 11:43 AM

    Lady Gaga and Elton John, two of the music world’s most self-referential and self-aware performers, sang a duet at the Grammy Awards in a setting that made many references to Hollywood, fame, and each other. “It was a typically meta... Continue reading

17. Language Corner

    Natural Selection

    February 1, 2010 04:00 PM

    These are tough times, and politicians have to make hard choices about how to spend the smaller amounts of money they have. Mayor Michael Bloomberg of New York, for example, has told the city’s labor unions, including teachers, police officers... Continue reading

18. Language Corner

    Sissy Talk

    January 25, 2010 03:15 PM

    If you had children in the early part of the twentieth century, you probably clothed the babies in one-piece suits, a shirt and pants with snaps or buttons around the garments’ middles to allow easy access to diapers. You probably... Continue reading

19. Language Corner

    Sizing It Up

    January 19, 2010 12:44 PM

    In a letter to CJR, Jeffrey Kaye, a freelance journalist and author, objected to some usages in recent articles about laid-off journalists. “I suggest you reconsider your occasional use of PR-speak,” he wrote. “I respect the need for synonyms, but... Continue reading

20. Language Corner

    Compound Interest

    January 11, 2010 01:33 PM

    In the wake of the attempted Christmas Day bombing of a commercial jet, we were introduced to a new term. An announcement from the Transportation Security Administration said that “every individual flying into the U.S. from anywhere in the... Continue reading

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