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The Blundering Lawyer
Last time it was your proposal. This week, well, it's the simple r�sum�. Not that we focus on r�sum�s here at ProofreadNOW.com, but as with all important documents, you don't want to skimp on getting it right...especially when it comes to passing the bra...er...bar exam. Click the photo for our latest (and some think funniest) ad yet.
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Current Events
I don't know about you, but current events have us down, what with the so-called stimulus poised to bankrupt the country, tax dodgers in high places, and Ponzi schemes surfacing all over the place. Some words on our list today are meant to be funny, others are grabbed from the headlines. See if your vocabulary needs a recovery plan of its own.
1. dyspepsia: (a) ill will; (b) sly wit; (c) ill humor; (d) soft-drink deprivation.
2. funny bone: (a) the place at the back of the elbow where the ulnar nerve rests against a prominence of the humerus; (b) the place at the back of the elbow where the ulnar nerve rests against a prominence of the femur; (c) the place at the back of the elbow where the ulnar nerve rests against a prominence of the serius; (d) laughing stock.
3. petulant: (a) disturbed; (b) characterized by temporary or capricious ill humor; (c) having humorous qualities that attract affection; (d) of a serious mien.
4. black bile: (a) a humor of medieval physiology believed to be secreted by the kidneys or spleen and to cause melancholy; (b) an inclination to anger; (c) a humor believed in medieval physiology to be secreted by the liver and to cause irascibility; (d) (capped) Sir Lancelot's horse.
5. cataplexy: (a) psychotic dependence on the company of felines; (b) predisposition to cat-like behavior; (c) sudden loss of muscle power following a strong emotional stimulus; (d) deathly animosity for the Felidae (cat) family.
6. free association: (a) the reporting of the first thought that comes to mind in response to a given stimulus (as a word); (b) the expression (as by speaking or writing) of the content of consciousness without censorship as an aid in gaining access to unconscious processes especially in psychoanalysis; (c) how the government feels about your money; (d) all the above.
7. misfeasance: (a) the performance of a lawful action in an illegal or improper manner; (b) wrongdoing or misconduct especially by a public official; (c) the unlawful taking of personal property with intent to deprive the rightful owner of it permanently; (d) a wrong name or inappropriate designation.
8. pheromone: (a) a hormone that is secreted by the anterior lobe of the pituitary gland and stimulates the thyroid gland; (b) a chemical substance that is usually produced by an animal and serves especially as a stimulus to other individuals of the same species for one or more behavioral responses; (c) a substance (as tamoxifen) that blocks the action or inhibits the production of a hormone; (d) the sound made by a female mosquito intended to attract and stimulate the male mosquito.
9. shaggy-dog: (a) whimsically humorous; (b) droll; (c) confused; (d) of, relating to, or being a long-drawn-out circumstantial story concerning an inconsequential happening that impresses the teller as humorous or interesting but the hearer as boring and pointless.
10. fillip: (a) an illegal kickback; (b) stimulus; (c) an unpaid tax; (d) a market loss on a stock.
If errors in printed publications are prompting you to look for a government bailout, ProofreadNOW has the perfect stimulus package to perk your documents up and get you back on the road to financial recovery. WE PROMISE. We'll examine the spelling, punctuation, and clarity of your ad, proposal, Web page, brochure, earmark, or anything else in print. We'll get you back on the bridge to somewhere.
Answers: 1:c 2:a (the humerus, get it?) 3:b 4:a 5:c 6:a 7:a 8:b 9:d 10:b Rate Yourself: There's no hope.
3 to 5 correct: Porkulus gone mad.
6 to 7 correct: Hey, big spender.
8 to 9 correct: 80% confidence rating.
All 10 correct: You are the maven of stimulating conversation.
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| Weekly Grammar Tip |
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What a Difference a Space Makes
All day and all night, customers ask us to find problems in documents. Our editors are really good at it. Some mistakes are easier to find than others, of course. And sometimes a space makes all the difference. Perhaps one of the most common mistakes we see is the word everyday used when it should be two words: every day. Examples of correct use: Customers use us every day to find mistakes in proposals and slide shows. Misuse of the space character is an everyday occurrence for some of our needier clients.
Other words posing space issues include abase, blackout, pickup, apiece, altogether, runoff, and blowout.
An interesting one is goldbrick. With the space, a gold brick is worth a lot of money (around $1000 per ounce!). Without the space, a goldbrick is something that appears to be valuable but is actually worthless, or it is a person who shirks assigned work.
Now for current events: The word bail has at least four meanings.
It is a container used to remove water from a boat.
It is the temporary release of a prisoner in exchange for security given for the due appearance of the prisoner.
It is a hinged bar for holding paper against the platen of a typewriter.
And in England, it is a device for confining or separating animals.
When combined with out, it can take on two new meanings. With a space, bail out is a verb meaning to parachute from an airplane or to abandon a harmful or difficult situation. Without the space, bailout is a noun that means "a rescue from financial distress."
So...if you are writing about related events these days, use the one-word form, as in "The government bailout plan began as the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008."
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| Word of the Week |
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hidebound
Pronunciation: HIDE-bound
Function: adjective
Date: 1603
Definition: having an inflexible or ultraconservative character
Example: "Just as generals are notorious for fighting the last war, Congress and the White House seem intent on fixing an economy of hidebound and obsolete companies and industries, while ignoring the innovative ones rising before us and those waiting to be born."
-Tom Hayes and Michael Malone writing in the Wall Street Journal, 2/24/2009, p. A15.
Definition source: Merriam-Webster's Eleventh Collegiate Dictionary.
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Copyright 2009 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 - Juliet.
8 - Romeo.
6 - Hamlet.
4 - Lord Angelo.
2 - Shylock.
0 - Aaron the Moor.
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