GrammarPhile Blog

We've received some interesting questions lately. Here are a few we hope you'll find helpful.

Many of us often confuse these tropes (a trope is a word or expression used in a figurative sense). Here's an explanation of all three, along with examples.

It's happened. You're in a five-way conversation and somebody pipes up with something like "Yeah, it's a Catch-22. You just can't get a job if you don't live in Florida." Trouble is, you know it's not a Catch-22, that the guy's blowing smoke, but you can't quite remember precisely what a Catch-22 is. So you keep quiet and everybody goes along. Well, study up and next time be the one in your cube-farm who doesn't mangle these common expressions. Read on!

This week, I thought I'd share answers to some questions our grammar experts have received and answered.

When it comes to numbers, you may know that our standard style book, the Chicago Manual of Style, calls for spelling out whole numbers from one through one hundred. The Associated Press Stylebook calls for spelling out whole numbers only up to nine. Here are some more rules about numbers in your text.

It's an unusual water ski, no one knows much about it is an example of the so-called comma fault--using a comma to connect two independent clauses. The comma is not a connector; it is a separator. The semicolon, however, can function as both a connector and a separator, and at the same time: It's an unusual water ski; no one knows much about it. If we use a comma, then we have to supply a connector--that is, a conjunction such as and: It's an unusual water ski, and no one knows much about it.

You've been there, at some chic party, when the pompous oaf next to you says something like this: "My wife's such a delightful party guest--well-dressed, polite, and always ready with a bon mot." A what? Well, you don't want to look ignorant, so you smile and try to appear as though you know precisely what the fellow meant. And so does everyone else, even though they're probably wondering too! Read on, and this weekend it will be you impressing your friends with some very cool words.

JOIE DE VIVRE (jwa dih VEE-vruh) FRENCH
Definition: A hearty enjoyment of life. Literally, "joy of living."
Usage: Granny has real joie de vivre. She drives a convertible, listens to Caspian, and still skis the slalom course at fifteen off with the best of them.

PERSONA NON GRATA (purr-SOH-nuh nahn GRAH-tuh) LATIN
Definition: Unacceptable or unwelcome.
Usage: Billy has been persona non grata around our house ever since he knocked a baseball through our dining-room window.

FAUX PAS (foe pah) FRENCH
Definition: A social blunder. Usage: Criticizing the boss's daughter was just her first faux pas on the new job.

MENSCH (mentsh) YIDDISH
Definition: A person of honor and integrity; a decent, upright person.
Usage: His grandfather always used to tell him, "Comb your hair, straighten your tie, look people in the eye, be a mensch."

ENFANT TERRIBLE (on-fon teh-REE-bleh) FRENCH
Definition: A difficult child; an unconventional or outspoken person whose behavior dismays or embarrasses others.
Usage: In the author's opinion, John McEnroe, the enfant terrible of the eighties, single-handedly ruined the sport of tennis in America.

We often find mismatched subjects and verbs in even the most smartly edited client documents. But that's why we're here! Check out this week's post on the subject.

If I had only one day left to live, I would live it in my tenth-grade math class, because it would seem like infinity. If numbers do the same to you, fear not: you can master them by knowing the rules.

Authoritative style guide books contain pages and pages of notes on titles of works. Do you know that headlines, titles, and subtitles in proposals, white papers, and brochures are the most common spots for typos? And they are also hotspots for innocent errors (errors you look at and don't realize are errors) as well, mostly in capitalization and hyphenation. This week we're covering classic headline style.