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Fly Your Flag Memorial Day
How to display the American flag on Memorial Day:
1. At dawn, raise your flag briskly to the top of the mast and leave there for a few moments.
2. Lower slowly to half-mast and secure.
3. At noon, raise the flag to the top of the mast and secure.
4. At dusk, lower the flag slowly, remove, and fold.
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Memorial Day in USA
Ah, Memorial Day weekend coming up in America. Time to get the grill going (hardwood or charcoal only, please) and start your summer off right. But take a moment to remember the fallen brave, those who gave their lives in order that we might enjoy freedom. May we live in a way that honors and values their sacrifice.
1. epitaph: (a) a characterizing word or phrase accompanying or occurring in place of the name of a person or thing; (b) a work of art (as a novel or drama) that resembles or suggests an epic; (c) an inscription on or at a tomb or a grave in memory of the one buried there; (d) a riddle.
2. round-robin: (a) a written petition, memorial, or protest to which the signatures are affixed in a circle so as not to indicate who signed first; (b) a bill of sale returned to the buyer to memorialize the transaction; (c) slang for bird flu; (d) rockin-robin's sedentary sibling in the play Bye-Bye Birdie.
3. cairn: (a) battlefield; (b) a heap of stones piled up as a memorial or as a landmark; (c) a song or hymn of grief or lamentation; especially one intended to accompany funeral or memorial rites; (d) a burial vault.
4. buffalo soldier: (a) an African-American soldier serving in the western United States after the War Between the States; (b) a soldier dispatched to secure fresh meat for troops; (c) a scout; (d) an American pop singing group of the 1960s.
5. propitiation: (a) fortification; (b) an antagonistic military maneuver; (c) an atoning sacrifice; (d) something pleasing to the senses; especially, something aromatic.
6. antebellum: (a) existing after a war; especially: existing immediately after the American War Between the States; (b) an antitoxin to a venom; (c) serving to prevent, derail, or alleviate war; (d) existing before a war; especially: existing before the American War Between the States.
7. wraith: (a) the exact likeness of a living person seen usually just before death as an apparition; (b) an existence after death; (c) abundance of valuable material possessions or resources stored in eternity; (d) destitute.
8. Valhalla: (a) a memorial service; (b) the great hall in Norse mythology where heroes slain in battle are received; (c) in memory of; (d) the great hall in Norse mythology to which villains slain in battle are banished.
9. copperhead: (a) a white Southerner acting in support of the reconstruction governments after the American War Between the States often for private gain; (b) a shroud; (c) a member of an escort or honor guard; (d) a person in the northern states who sympathized with the South during the American War Between the States.
10. ultima ratio regum: (a) death is the final reward; (b) the final argument of kings, i.e., war; (c) if you wish peace, prepare for war; (d) the king remembers the most.
ProofreadNOW encourages you to fly your flag this Memorial Day, thank a war veteran, and send a message of gratitude to a military person on active duty somewhere.
Answers: 1:c 2:a 3:b 4:a 5:c 6:d 7:a 8:b 9:d 10:b Rate Yourself: Wake more.
3 to 5 correct: Read more.
6 to 7 correct: Study more.
8 to 9 correct: Memorize more.
All 10 correct: Meditate more.
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| Weekly Grammar Tip |
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Agreement
Compound Subjects Connected by Or: When less is more...
Guideline. Use the singular form of the verb when two or more subjects are connected by or--with the following exceptions: (1) when all the subjects are plural; (2) when the subject nearest the verb is plural.
- Either Miriam or Katryn is going to be at the pub tomorrow evening. (The verb is singular because both subjects joined by or--Miriam and Katryn--are singular.)
- Either the band members or the fans are going to lose their hearing at this concert. (The verb is plural because both subjects--members and fans joined by or--are plural.)
- Either Alice Louise or the stage hands are going to stay until the end of the rehearsal. (The verb is plural because stage hands, the subject closer to the verb, is plural.)
- Either the babies or Tali is going to be on the boat this afternoon. (The verb is singular because Tali, the subject closer to the verb, is singular.)
A closer look. When the nouns and pronouns that make up a compound subject represent different persons (first person [I], second person [you], etc.), the form of the verb is governed by the person of the word nearest the verb.
- Either Natalie or I am going to the reunion in PEI. (The choice of am over is is governed by the fact that I [first person: am] is closer to the verb than Natalie [third person: is].)
Compound Subjects with Neither/Nor: Two-way street
Guideline. Follow the same guidelines that govern subjects connected by or.
- Neither Miriam nor Katryn has any interest in going to the pub tomorrow evening. (The verb is singular because Miriam and Katryn are both singular.)
- Neither the band members nor the fans are going to lose their hearing at this Theramin concert. (The verb is plural because members and fans are both plural.)
- Neither Alice Louise nor the stage hands are going anywhere near the electrical switches. (The verb is plural because stage hands, a plural noun, is closer to the verb than Alice Louise.)
- Neither the babies nor Tali is going to be outdoors this afternoon. (The verb is singular because Tali, a singular noun, is closer to the verb than babies.)
Source: Grammar for Smart People, by Barry Tarshis.
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| Word of the Week |
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spendthrift
Pronunciation: SPEN(d)-thrift
Function: noun and adjective
Date: 1584
Definition: a person who spends improvidently or wastefully
Example: "Yet you couldn't write a piece of legislation that more thoroughly represents the Beltway status quo than this one. In every way imaginable, and even a few more, it repeats and compounds the spendthrift errors of previous farm bills."
- Wall Street Journal, p. A14, 5/22/2008.
Definition source: Merriam-Webster's Eleventh Collegiate Dictionary.
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Copyright 2008 by ProofreadNOW.com, Inc., 447 Boston Street, Topsfield, MA 01983 USA. Published weekly (we try) by the editors at ProofreadNOW.com, Inc. and sent to customers of record and to opt-in guests. Many readers find it is best to read a portion, put it aside, then come back and read more.
Please rate this GrammarTip (10=high, 0=low):
10 - Like having all your picks win the bowl games.
8 - Like having half the day off after New Year's Day.
6 - Like finding a parking space at the mall.
4 - Like finding a parking space near the mall--across the street.
2 - Like working all day the day after New Year's Day.
0 - Like staying home and forgetting the office was open all day the day after New Year's Day...until they tracked you down.
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