Tabs on Writing

The following set of heavy-duty homophones is unusual in that they are all in the past tense. I waded into this group today when I was writing copy for a brochure that certain decision-making factors with numerical values could be weighted to come out to an average score. Although it was this afternoon when I was deciding whether to use the [...]

The verb “to ruminate” is more often used to mean ”to reflect upon,” or “to consider.” Secondarily, it refers to the manner how cows “chew their cud” to digest their food, which led to the colloquial expression “to chew it over” when thinking about something. On the other hand, to eschew does not necessarily mean to spit out the cud, [...]

During the American frontier days, desperado was the name given to a bold or desperate outlaw. Listen here  for the song “Desperado” performed by the Eagles band. Someone who is desperate is fraught with extreme danger; nearly hopeless, such as the women on the ”Desperate Housewives” TV show. The name of that program could also be [...]

The origin of the proverb, “A Rolling Stone Gathers No Moss” dates back to Roman times and has been proven literally true by the television show Mythbusters. A rolling stone that did gather moss recently was Minnesota in the National Football League who picked up Randy Moss, an All-Star wide receiver,  from the New England Patriots. So, Moss might [...]

The literary device used in this headline is obvious to most readers and recognized as alliteration. To alliterate is the actual verb that describes the process of writing words that feature the repetition of the same first letter.  The right word to use for someone who has never learned to read or write is to say that he or [...]

Not many events, particularly those combining history and sports, can celebrate a 2,500-year anniversary with so many people who participate but don’t necessarily know the origin of the event. On October 31st a marathon will be run on the original course from the plains of Marathon, Greece to Athens to commemorate the Athenian battle victory over the Persians. [...]

Recently my two pre-school granddaughters drove out to the countryside from the big city – Chicago – to scour a pumpkin patch and to do some apple-picking on a farm. The farmer offered a corn maze through which the girls happily wound their way. The irony  about a corn maze is that the origin of the word [...]

We often hear about tort reform, that is, having to do with the legality of infringement of private rights. Add these ingredients – little or no flour, eggs and ground nuts or bread crumbs plus the letter “e” to the mix – and you get a torte. A torte is a rich cake that originated in Austria, and [...]

If you want to have an intimate setting for a romantic meal at your favorite restaurant, you might request that the maitre’d seat you and your guest at a banquette, a long bench, usually upholstered, secluded along the wall. On the other hand, if your intention is to openly enjoy a gastronomic feast in someone’s honor, then [...]

When a news writer, whether for a newspaper or magazine, writes the introduction to an article, the hook or introduction that is supposed to entice the reader is called the lede. The term came into usage during the mid-sixties when printing press type was made of lead, so that the when the reporter referenced the opening part of [...]