Author Archive

Articles by Merrill Perlman | Email the Author

 

1. Language Corner

   Word

   January 4, 2010 11:49 AM

   As the new year begins, we’re reeling from an overload of retrospective lists: top news stories; persons of the year; scandals of the year (and their subsets: financial scandals of the year, celebrity scandals of the year, etc.); viral videos... Continue reading

2. Language Corner

   Seizin’ Greetings

   December 21, 2009 03:20 PM

   Pity the poor apostrophe. Even in this, the jolliest of seasons, its traditional role is misused, abused, and forgotten. As holiday poems, greetings, and lyrics become commonplace expressions, their apostrophes often get battered or shoved aside. Let’s... Continue reading

3. Language Corner

   Singulars Bar

   December 14, 2009 01:47 PM

   Grammar is a strict matchmaker: singular subjects must be paired with singular verbs, and plural subjects can associate only with plural verbs. Each must stick with its own kind. But they frequently intermingle, forming combinations that are unnatural in the... Continue reading

4. Language Corner

   Just Because

   December 7, 2009 01:35 PM

   One reason why columns like this are written is because so many writers don’t realize when a tautology has them in its grasp and won’t let go. “Tautology” is a fancy word for “needless repetition,” or silly redundancy. And... Continue reading

5. Language Corner

   Before the Beginning

   November 30, 2009 11:01 AM

   One of English’s favorite prefixes is “pre,” three little letters that mean “before.” It helps modify words like “nuptial,” “conception,” and “disposition,” among hundreds of others, to include a “pre-condition.” Even “prefix” has its own “pre” fix. “Pre” has... Continue reading

6. Language Corner

   Your Move

   November 23, 2009 02:08 PM

   To practice politics, one must know something about strategy. Like a poker player, a politician needs to know when to hold ’em and when to fold ’em. And while politicians occasionally use poker terms when discussing strategy, more of them–and... Continue reading

7. Language Corner

   Foundering Flounders

   November 16, 2009 04:41 PM

   Whenever the government announces the failure of another bank, a news outlet somewhere reports that the bank has “floundered.” Well it did “flounder,” but once the government seized it, it stopped “floundering” and started “foundering.” “Flounder” and ”founder” have... Continue reading

8. Language Corner

   Playing Tricks

   November 9, 2009 01:53 PM

   A review of the new “Lego Rock Band” video game mentioned one cool feature: “You can also trick out your Rock Den and buy new costumes and instruments for band members.” A feature on a group that revitalizes old mopeds... Continue reading

9. Language Corner

   Early Bird Special

   November 2, 2009 12:34 PM

   Unless you live in Hawaii, Puerto Rico, most of Arizona, or off the grid with sundials, you turned your clocks back an hour yesterday, in the annual return to standard time. (Nowadays, lots of clocks turn themselves back, so it’s... Continue reading

10. Language Corner

    Plethora Galore

    October 26, 2009 11:31 AM

    The English language has many words for “many”: “abundance,” “multitude,” “profusion,” “a lot,” and so forth. With such a “myriad” of choices,* it can be useful to maintain the nuances to indicate whether the large quantity is a good... Continue reading

11. Language Corner

    Assurance Policy

    October 19, 2009 04:33 PM

    In Washington, legislators are trying to “assure” their constituents that they are working to “ensure” that any new health-care bill will “insure” them. All three of these transitive verbs mean the same thing: To make certain of something. (Surely... Continue reading

12. Language Corner

    Walk It Off

    October 12, 2009 01:21 PM

    The World Series is fast approaching, and many of the teams in the playoffs are hoping for at least one “walkoff” victory. That’s where the home team takes the lead in the bottom of the ninth inning or later, and... Continue reading

13. Language Corner

    Doctored Language

    October 5, 2009 12:19 PM

    A sheriff said a suspect in the killing of a family may have some injuries, including “include cuts, lacerations, bruises, contusions, abrasions, and/or loss of hair." When was the last time you fell off your skateboard... Continue reading

14. Language Corner

    Bodies in Motion

    September 28, 2009 02:30 PM

    News stories frequently cover accidents where a car hits a bus, a train hits a car, a bicycle hits a pedestrian, and so forth. These are frequently called “collisions.” In newspaper parlance, a “collision” occurs only when both objects... Continue reading

15. Language Corner

    Lost Innocence

    September 21, 2009 05:42 PM

    Back in the days before everyone had a computer, news stories would have to be retyped at least once before they could appear in print—a reporter would write the story on a typewriter or by hand, and it would make... Continue reading

16. Language Corner

    Times Up

    September 15, 2009 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 to be a savant to try to make things as clear as possible for readers, most of whom are also... Continue reading

17. Language Corner

    All Wet

    September 9, 2009 12:52 PM

    The White House releases a bunch of sensitive documents on a Friday afternoon, and the investigative reporter resigns herself to spending the weekend examining them closely. Luckily, the forecast calls for torrential rain, so she’s not worried about missing anything... Continue reading

18. Language Corner

    Nerve Center

    August 31, 2009 04:43 PM

    Context clues are wonderful things. With them, a writer can load an article with lots of unusual or unfamiliar words and not worry that a reader will misunderstand. That’s good. But if the context clues are unclear, a reader... Continue reading

19. Language Corner

    Double Entendre

    August 24, 2009 03:16 PM

    San Francisco commuters were relieved recently when a commuter rail strike was averted. But for some time, stories about the negotiations said that rail workers had vowed “to strike at midnight Sunday.” To some readers, that meant that they... Continue reading

20. Language Corner

    Off the Wrack

    August 17, 2009 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 trillion of losses and write-downs.” Another, about a beloved pet going into surgery, said: “It was a nerve-wracking day of... Continue reading

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