Tabs on Writing

Tweet Listen up. Here is a list of derived words that have as their core meaning legitimate and lawful: licit – permissable, legal, lawful complicit – associated with or participating in a crime explicit –  fully revealed illicit – unlawful, not permitted solicit – petition, lure, urge Ideally, these words and definitions will help in […]

Tweet While not a big fan of NASCAR racing, I was curious to learn that while the sport falls under the generic category of Oval Racing, not all of the track sites are truly oval in shape. A few, such as Martinsville, Dover and Homestead-Miami are technically in an oblong configuration. Geometrically speaking, a true […]

Tweet Not only would The Incredulous’s have been a poor substitute for The Incredibles as a name for Disney’s action-packed, animated film about an ordinary suburban family of super-heroes;it would have been a grammatical faux pas, as well. The word incredulous, according to Merriam-Webster, means  “unwilling to admit or accept what is offered as true.” On the other […]

Tweet Started this post with the opening words to The Star-Spangled Banner feeling a little patriotic, with today being George Washington’s real birth date, and yesterday having celebrated Presidents Day. Did you know, however, that, due to a Congressional committee oversight in 1968, the official name of Presidents Day is Washington’s Birthday. This news is not just hearsay, so […]

Tweet “You snooze, you lose” goes the saying. In my case, it’s “No muse, you lose.” I apologize for not posting for a few days, waiting for the right inspiration. Ironically, it came when I saw the word “impromptu” used the other day, and what a great word to inspire me to renew blogging. According […]

Tweet Visit www.atlantafreelancewriter.com and register to receive this complimentary, handy grammar and spelling reference sheet.

Tweet This being Abraham Lincoln’s birthday, do you know why most people don’t know about the “other” Gettysburg Address? That speaker was Edward Everett, former Governor of Massachusetts, Congressman, U.S. Senator, one-time Secretary of State and a renowned orator of his day. Yet, practically no one can quote what he said on November 19, 1863 […]

Tweet With all of the political turmoil going on in Egypt, it is very difficult to decipher all of the facts and get to a resolution. A good metaphor for this volatile situation might be to compare the events to Egyptian hieroglyphics, i.e., not easy to translate into everyday words. The word hieroglyphics (a combination […]

Tweet John le Carré, the renowned spy novelist, wrote a book that he entitled, Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. Later, Sir Alec Guiness played the movie role of the protagonist, George Smiley. The title of the novel actually comes from an English children’s nursery rhyme/counting game which goes like this: Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Sailor, Rich Man, Poor […]

Tweet When plans were being finalized for the merger between the long-standing National Football League (NFL) and the upstart American Football League (AFL), the original recommendation for the championship game proposed by then NFL Commissioner, Pete Rozelle – believe it or not – was: “The Big One.” Thank heavens Lamar Hunt, owner of the Kansas […]