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Big Proposal Due January 5?
Your office is probably closed today... No one around to help you with that big proposal due Monday. BUT... ProofreadNOW is still working over the long holiday weekend, as we always do. So if you have that big proposal that's due next week and you want it proofed while you recover from all your partying this weekend, be sure to use our service. It takes 60 seconds to register, and 30 seconds to submit something. We're here for you!
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Happy New Year!
If you're like us, you're saying 'good riddance' to 2008 and looking for a better year ahead. Go forward with these new words in your vocabulary and see how far into the new year they take you.
1. analemma: (a) an argument presenting only one conclusive alternative against an opponent; (b) a glossed word or phrase; (c) a plot or graph of the position of the sun in the sky at a certain time of day (as noon) at one locale measured throughout the year that has the shape of a figure 8; (d) a tree showing the relationships of the manuscripts of a literary work.
2. annus horribilis: (a) a disastrous or unfortunate year; (b) foreboding imminent disaster or final doom; (c) a person known to be difficult to work with or deal with; (d) a military defeat of profound proportions.
3. annus mirabilis: (a) prdictive of success and good fortune; (b) a remarkable or notable year; (c) a person known to be cooperative and pleasant to work with or deal with; (d) a military victory of profound proportions.
4. biennial: (a) occurring every two years; (b) occurring twice a year; (c) occurring every year; (d) a period of two years.
5. lustrum: (a) the podium at an inauguration; (b) a glow of light from within; (c) a period of five years; (d) a glass pendant used especially to ornament a candlestick or chandelier.
6. busman's holiday: (a) January 10 celebrated in New York City and other cities with subway systems, commemorating the date in 1897 marking the first subway operation; (b) New Year's Day; (c) a period when public transits in general are closed often by government fiat; (d) a holiday spent in following or observing the practice of one's usual occupation.
7. Quadrantid: (a) any of a group of meteors that appear annually about January 3; (b) a four-legged monstrous constellation appearing only in the January night sky in the earth's northern hemisphere; (c) a brand of aspirin for sale only outside the United States; (d) the first four weeks of a new presidential term.
8. vicennial: (a) a period of corruption or deceit; (b) occurring once every 20 years; (c) the office, authority, or term of service of a viceroy; (d) the quality or state of being near.
9. brumal: (a) indicative of or occurring in the winter; (b) a winter melon having smooth green and gold skin and sweet salmon-colored flesh; (c) a dense winter fog containing frozen particles that is formed in deep mountain valleys of the western United States; (d) sweeping.
10. the measured or measurable period during which an action, process, or condition exists or continues: (a) moment; (b) time; (c) span; (d) era.
This rough economy is wreaking havoc on everyone's budgets. If the first few days of 2009 find you in need of expert help to improve your publication quality, ProofreadNOW has the perfect agenda to restore the luster and glow of every document you create. We examine the spelling, punctuation, and clarity of your ad, newsletter, proposal, Web page, brochure, or anything else in print. We'll make it look as if you hired 100 expert proofreaders, when in fact your company may be laying people off in droves.
Answers: 1:c 2:a 3:b 4:a 5:c 6:d 7:a 8:b 9:a 10:b Rate Yourself: Your New Year's hangover is still hanging on!
3 to 5 correct: You partied heartily New Year's Eve.
6 to 7 correct: You partied, but not so heartily, New Year's Eve.
8 to 9 correct: You were the life of the party New Year's Eve.
All 10 correct: No doubt you enjoyed a peaceful, elegant dinner with close friends, a bottle or two of fine Champagne, and a few fun word games.
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| Weekly Grammar Tip |
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Word Choices...
Always be sure you're using the right word. If you're not sure, don't use it! Here's a great list from Woe Is I.
nauseated/nauseous. It's the difference between being sick and sickening. You are made sick (nauseated) by something sickening (nauseous). Never say, "I'm nauseous." Even if it is true, it's not something you should admit. "I'm nauseated by that nauseous cigar!" said Ethel.
on to/onto. If you mean on top of or aware of, use onto. (The responsibility shifted onto Milo's shoulders. I'm really onto your shenanigans," he said.) Otherwise, use on to: Hang on to your hat. Sometimes it helps to imagine a word like "ahead" or "along" between them. Milo drove on to Chicago. He was moving on to better things.
different from/different than. What's the difference? The simple answer is that different from is almost always right, and different than is almost always wrong. But... You may use either one just before a clause (a group of words with its own subject and verb). Both of these are accepted: Respectability is different from what it was fifty years ago. Respectability is different than it was fifty years ago.
continually/continuously. Yes, there is a slight difference, although most people (and even many dictionaries) treat them the same. Continually means repeatedly, with breaks in between. Continuously means without interruption, in an unbroken stream. Heidi has to wind the cuckoo clock continually to keep it running continuously. (If it's important to emphasize the distinction, it's probably better to use periodically or intermittently instead of continually to describe something that starts and stops.) The same distinction, by the way, applies to continual and continuous, the adjective forms.
farther/further. Use farther when referring to physical distance; use further to refer to abstract ideas or to indicate a greater extent or degree. Lumpy insisted that he could walk no farther, and he refused to discuss it further.
Source: Woe Is I, by Patricia T. O'Conner.
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| Word of the Week |
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alchemy
Pronunciation: AL-ka-mee
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English alkamie, alquemie, from Middle French or Medieval Latin; Middle French alkimie, from Medieval Latin alchymia, from Arabic al-kimiya', from al the + kimiya' alchemy, from Late Greek ch*meia
Date: 14th century
Definitions: 1. a medieval chemical science and speculative philosophy aiming to achieve the transmutation of the base metals into gold, the discovery of a universal cure for disease, and the discovery of a means of indefinitely prolonging life. 2. a power or process of transforming something common into something special. 3. an inexplicable or mysterious transmuting.
Example: "This ratings alchemy created enormous demand for dross--in this case, dodgy mortgages. Credit was extended to countless dubiously qualified purchasers of homes, which in turn drove dramatic increases in house prices. The housing bubble has now burst, with average house prices in America down some 20% to 25% from the peak. This led to the current crisis."
- Robert Rosenkranz in today's Wall Street Journal, p. A15.
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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