Who knew, but yes, there is a Proofreading Day that is observed on March 8th and has been since 2011. “In 2011, Judy Beaver created Proofreading Day in remembrance of her mother, Flo. On her website, Judy relates that her … Continue reading
I’m a big fan of constantly expanding my vocabulary, mostly for my own benefit because I learned a long time ago that most people don’t do so and tend to look askance at those who do. And, as a writing … Continue reading
Do you ever get confused about proper pronoun usage? Are you unsure about which pronoun form to use when a possessive 1st person plural is needed? Or when it’s a subject pronoun for a 3rd person plural usage? If so, … Continue reading
I know just enough Latin to be dangerous (though how dangerous can a dead language actually be?) and only enough to understand the basis of words in English. And I do the same with other languages such as Spanish (took … Continue reading
I’ve been a fan and avid user of Moleskine notebooks for many years. I’m going to need a new one soon and I haven’t been able to find them in the office supply and general department stores I’ve looked in. … Continue reading
Oxford Dictionaries announced today that its International Word of the Year for 2014 is “vape”, a word that, language research conducted by the editors reveals, has doubled in usage during 2014 when compared to 2013. With the growing popularity of … Continue reading
The big story about writers this week concerns the firing of Tim Torkildson, Social Media Director for the Nomen Global Language Center in Provo, Utah, for his blog post on the Language Center’s website about homophones. Yes, homophones; words which … Continue reading
I’ve been a fan of “Weird Al” Yankovic since I first heard “I Love Rocky Road”, his parody song of “I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll” by Joan Jett and the Blackhearts in 1982 and, like many other fans, really, really … Continue reading
I always enjoy learning the etymology of our words and language. The video below is a short, 2 minute explanation and history of how the word “Lady” came to be. And, for good measure, they throw in the same for … Continue reading
I am still amazed every morning at the spelling and grammatical errors I read in news releases that cross my desk, supposedly written by professional journalists. Is this more evidence of the “dumbing down” of America? Is this the quality … Continue reading
Over on The Word Blog, Randy Ray has compiled a list of 50 Useful Blogs for Writers. He’s broken them down into 21 blogs of Writing Tips, 10 Word of the Day blogs, and 19 Grammar blogs. Plus, if you … Continue reading
Do I want to buy it… …or take it out on the water? Thank you for subscribing to The Word Of Jeff. This feed is for personal, non-commercial use only. If you are not reading this material in your RSS … Continue reading
Here’s another suggestion my brother sent me that is of particular interest to people who enjoy words and expanding their vocabulary. Artwiculate is a Twitter-based word of the day competition. To play you just use the word of the day … Continue reading
Last Sunday I was out in some of the hardest hit communities that were devastated by the Georgia September 2009 flood with our team of Community Relations specialists. These hardworking folks blanket disaster-affected areas from sunup until sundown with recovery … Continue reading
It’s a sad situation when AP posts something like this; “The exciting and important thing about this prize is that it’s given too someone …” They have since corrected it, but it hit me like a slap in the face … Continue reading
William Safire, a Pulitzer Prize winning author and newspaper columnist for the New York Time, former speech writer for President Richard Nixon and wordsmith of deserved renown, passed away Sunday at the age of 79. I always liked his Rules … Continue reading
Are you a morning lark or a night owl? A morning lark is up early in the day, rolling out of bed full of energy and ready to tackle the work of the day. A night owl finds higher energy … Continue reading
Don’t fear the semicolon! Today is National Punctuation Day. For both writers and readers, punctuation is an important part of any group of words. Celebrate National Punctuation Day; take an ellipsis to lunch. Thank you for subscribing to The Word … Continue reading
“Proofread carefully to see if you any words out.” – Author Unknown Thank you for subscribing to The Word Of Jeff. This feed is for personal, non-commercial use only. If you are not reading this material in your RSS reader, … Continue reading
This is a lesson. A lesson to me. A lesson about writing a post (or anything) late at night and submitting it with only a cursory eye toward editing. In spite of knowing better than to do the above AND … Continue reading
