Editor, writer, ally. Advocate for plain language, journalism, free speech, tolerance. Woke, and trying to be more so. Host, That Word Chat on Zoom and YouTube.
Photos: Columbus skyline by Mark Allen on a kayak; portrait by Ann Allen in the dining room.
"His words struck a chord ... reminding us of the courage it takes to tell our own stories, and the responsibility we have as editors to honor the stories of others."
— ACES executive director Gigi Sutton on journalist @lzgranderson.bsky.social, the #ACES2025 keynote speaker.
How do you prefer to refer to the first day of April?
Most dictionaries, including Merriam-Webster's, say April 1 is "April Fools' Day," but Oxford's dictionaries—and apparently most people—prefer "April Fool's Day." The earliest reference in Oxford's corpus is to "April-Fool Day."
Google Ngrams comparison: https://zurl.co/zkhbn
"On Tyranny" has been on our coffee table since 2017.
Someone just shared this with me. Holy shit. 🤯
“Yale professors, #TimothySnyder, a historian of totalitarianism and the author of #OnTyranny, and Jason Stanley, a philosopher and the author of How #Fascism Works, move to #Canada” (to positions at the University of Toronto).
https://leiterreports.typepad.com/blog/2025/03/stanley-from-yale-to-toronto.html
Premiering today on YouTube:
Kelly Elizabeth Wright joins #ThatWordChat to discuss new words, language in flux, and why linguistic justice matters.
Watch the full episode: bit.ly/ThatWordVideo
To "orientate" or "orientated" are not uncommon in Britain, but they bring scorn in the U.S. In both varieties of English, we usually "orient" or have "oriented." In the OED corpus, the verb "orient" meaning "to position" rather than "to face east" predates "orientate" by six years (1842 and 1848). Some links for further orientation:
https://zurl.co/XAm6q
https://zurl.co/mo0Xe
https://zurl.co/zYZif…/
Happy spring!
Spring in Latin is "ver," so "vernal" as an adjective. Two words from Latin combine for "equinox": a form of "equal" and "nox", or "night," as in "nocturnal." So, literally, equal night, as the night accounts for fully half the day (slightly less where I live).
Photo: katerinavulcova, Pixabay
Get ready! Tomorrow, I talk with @junecasagrande about why punctuation is so confusing.
AP Stylebook prefers "caregiver" for one who cares for people and "caretaker" for one who looks after a building. "Care-taker" for taking care of children dates to the 19th century, while "caregiver" emerged in the 1960s but now dominates.
Next stop for the new docu-comedy "Rebel with a Clause" by Brandt Johnson: the Detroit Public Library this Sunday, March 9, 2pm. Please share with your Detroit peeps!
Wow, I'm blown away to learn that English isn't the first language of the poet who won the National #GrammarDay poetry contest. Congratulations, Salma Amanda Latifa!
As one of the judges, I can tell you the competition was fierce. If you want to roll around in some fabulous language, check out the winning poem and runners-up.
https://aceseditors.org/news/2025/announcing-the-winner-2025-national-grammar-day-poetry-contest
I'm looking forward to seeing some of you on National Grammar Day (March 4) at the NYC premiere of "Rebel with a Clause"! Doors open at 6:30 for the 7:30 start! Modest number of tickets still available at rebelwithaclause dot com.
@JosephMeyer Yes. This was casual use for an unknown quantity.
Twice in the past 24 hours I’ve started to type x as a variable number then changed it to n. It seems x is ruined for variables, too.
"Upfront" was one word in AP Style, based on the first listing for the adjective and adverb in Webster's New World Dictionary. But AP Stylebook switched to @merriamwebster.bsky.social , which hyphenates the adjective (an up-front payment) and leaves open the adverb (we paid up front). #APStyle
"Barbecue" is the preferred spelling for the gathering or cooking style. It's from a Taino-Arawak word that the Spanish spelled "barbacoa." "BBQ" is a casual but widely understood option, as is "barbie" if you happen to be in Australia or New Zealand. #words #tips #bbq #barbecue
Lexicographer John Kelly has been digging into slang and trending words. He just wrapped up a new section for Merriam-Webster, and he’s joining #ThatWordChat to talk about it!
Tuesday, Feb. 25 | 4:30 p.m. EST
Sign up: bit.ly/ThatWordChat
#Etymology #Slang #Lexicography #WordNerd #AmEditing #AmWriting
@JosephMeyer I use my basic knowledge of grammar and usage to help people navigate, never to denigrate, so the worst (best?) thing I’ve been called is “a minor linguistic gatekeeper.”
