The Nitpicker’s Nook: June’s linguistic links roundup

The Nitpicker’s Nook is a monthly collection of language-related articles, interviews, and blog posts from around the Web. If you read something that would make a good addition, email your suggestion to [email protected]. By Robin Marwick If you’re a Toronto editor who didn’t go to Editing Goes Global on the weekend of June 12 to … Continue reading The Nitpicker’s Nook: June’s linguistic links roundup →

Wordplay: When intransitives go transitive

Wordplay is a regular column by editor and language writer James Harbeck in which he tastes and plays with English words and usages. We’ve all learned that there are two kinds of verbs: transitive and intransitive. Transitives take a direct object—“I fry an egg”—and intransitives don’t—“My stomach aches.” But that’s not the whole story. In fact, … Continue reading Wordplay: When intransitives go transitive →

The Nitpicker’s Nook: February’s linguistic links roundup

The Nitpicker’s Nook is a monthly collection of language-related articles, interviews, and blog posts from around the Web. If you read something that would make a good addition, email your suggestion to [email protected]. By Robin Marwick Mary Norris has worked at The New Yorker since 1977 as an indexer, collator, and finally, a copy editor. This … Continue reading The Nitpicker’s Nook: February’s linguistic links roundup →

Wordplay: Tittle-ating jottings from the Bible

Wordplay is a regular column by editor and language writer James Harbeck in which he tastes and plays with English words and usages. The King James Version of the Bible gives us two English words that usually travel together: jot and tittle. We find them in Matthew 5:18: “For verily I say unto you, Till heaven … Continue reading Wordplay: Tittle-ating jottings from the Bible →

The Nitpicker’s Nook: December’s linguistic links roundup

The Nitpicker’s Nook is a monthly collection of language-related articles, interviews, and blog posts from around the Web. If you read something that would make a good addition, email your suggestion to [email protected]. By Laura Godfrey You know an editor's work is important, but did you know not hiring an editor could land you in small … Continue reading The Nitpicker’s Nook: December’s linguistic links roundup →

Food for thought: How language affects our eating habits

By Samita Sarkar Editors know that language is a powerful tool. In fact, our world is shaped by the language we use and the ways we communicate with each other. The language we use changes the way we see things. The rhetoric of war, for example, is used to dehumanize the enemy, and the rhetoric … Continue reading Food for thought: How language affects our eating habits →

The Nitpicker’s Nook: October’s linguistic links roundup

The Nitpicker’s Nook is a monthly collection of language-related articles, interviews, and blog posts from around the Web. If you read something that would make a good addition, email your suggestion to [email protected]. By Emily Chau As we celebrated Thanksgiving in October, what were you thankful for? Valued EAC member Frances Peck wrote an article … Continue reading The Nitpicker’s Nook: October’s linguistic links roundup →