This Week: BOOK SALE CONCLUDES + 2016 wrap-up on the podcast + spit and image/spitting image

spit and image/spitting image
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the earlier form was “spitten image,” which may have evolved from “spit and image.” It’s a crude figure of speech: someone else is enough like you to have been spat out by you, made of the very stuff of your body. In the early 20th century the spelling and pronunciation gradually shifted to the less logical “spitting image,” which is now standard. It’s too late to go back. There is no historical basis for the claim sometimes made that the original expression was “spirit and image.”



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End-of-year sale: Get the book for just $15 through December 31 (free shipping within the US).



On the podcast this week, we discuss some usage stories of the year.

Podcast Notes for the Holidays

 
We've posted a corrected version of podcast episode #63, which previously had some errors.
 
Also this week we rerun a two podcasts from last year: our solstice episode and our Christmas episode.

Don't forget to order the book before January 1 if you want to take advantage of our year-end special: $15 (just $12 if you order 5 copies or more). 

This Week: BOOK SALE CONTINUES + A couple of old favorites on the podcast + Xmas/Christmas

Xmas/Christmas
“Xmas” is not originally an attempt to exclude Christ from Christmas, but uses an abbreviation of the Greek spelling of the word “Christ” with the X representing the Greek letter chi. However, so few people know this that it is probably better not to use this popular abbreviation in religious contexts.



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End-of-year sale: Get the book for just $15 through the end of the year (free shipping within the US).



On the podcast this week, we repeat some old favorite episodes on the solstice and Christmas. Look for them Wednesday the 21st (Solstice) and Thursday the 22nd (Christmas).

This Week: BOOK SALE CONTINUES + Photography on the podcast (part 3) + lighted/lit

lighted/lit
Don’t fret over the difference between these two words; they’re interchangeable.


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End-of-year sale: Get the book for just $15 through the end of the year (free shipping within the US).



On the podcast this week, we talk photography a bit more before we move on to other topics next week.

This Week: BOOK SALE CONTINUES + Photography on the podcast (part 2) + acronyms and apostrophes

acronyms and apostrophes
One unusual modern use of the apostrophe is in plural acronyms, like “ICBM’s,” “NGO’s,” and “CD’s.” Since this pattern violates the rule that apostrophes are not used before an S indicating a plural, many people object to it. It is also perfectly legitimate to write “CDs,” etc. Likewise for “50s.” But the use of apostrophes with initialisms like “learn your ABC’s” and “mind your P’s and Q’s” is now so universal as to be acceptable in almost any context.

Note that “acronym” was used originally only to label pronounceable abbreviations like “NATO,” but is now generally applied to all sorts of initialisms. Be aware that some people consider this extended definition of “acronym” to be an error.


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End-of-year sale: Get the book for just $15 through the end of the year (free shipping within the US).


On the podcast this week, we take a holiday from our usual language-centered discussion to continue talking about photography.

This Week: BOOK SALE CONTINUES + Photography on the podcast (part 1) + wheat/whole wheat

wheat/whole wheat
Waiters routinely ask, “Wheat or white?” when bread is ordered, but the white bread is also made of wheat. The correct term is “whole wheat,” in which the whole grain, including the bran and germ, has been used to make the flour. “Whole wheat” does not necessarily imply that no white flour has been used in the bread; most whole wheat breads incorporate some white flour.


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End-of-year sale: Get the book for just $15 through the end of the year (free shipping within the US).


On the podcast this week, we take a holiday from our usual language-centered discussion to talk about photography.

This Week: BOOK SALE + Street talk on the podcast (part 2) + reap what you sew/reap what you sow

reap what you sew/reap what you sow
When you plant seeds you sow them. Galatians 6:7 says, “A man reaps what he sows” (harvests what he plants, gets what he deserves). This agricultural metaphor gets mangled frequently into “you reap what you sew.” At best, you might rip what you sew; but you probably wouldn’t want to tell people about it.

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End-of-year sale: Get the book for just $15 through the end of the year (free shipping within the US).




On the podcast this week, we once again take it to the streets. If you want to hear a Thanksgiving-themed podcast, you can listen to last year’s offering.

This Week: BOOK SALE + Street talk on the podcast (part 1) + working progress/work in progress

working progress/work in progress
If your project isn’t finished yet, it’s not a “working progress” but a “work in progress.”




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End-of-year sale: Get the book for just $15 through the end of the year (free shipping within the US).




On the podcast this week, we take it to the streets.

This Week: Apostrophe talk on the podcast (part 3) + genius/brilliant

genius/brilliant
In standard English “genius” is a noun, but not an adjective. In slang, people often say things like “Telling Mom your English teacher is requiring the class to get HBO was genius!” The standard way to say this is “was brilliant.”


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On the podcast this week, we wrap up our discussion on the apostrophe.

This Week: Apostrophe talk on the podcast (part 2) + urine analysis/urinalysis

urine analysis/urinalysis
The technical term for the test you use to kick the druggies off the team is not “urine analysis” but “urinalysis.”

 
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On the podcast this week, we continue our discussion on the apostrophe.

This Week: Apostrophe talk on the podcast (part 1) + visually impaired + Paul Brians’ latest blog post

visually impaired 
 Many people mistakenly suppose that “visually impaired” is a more polite term than “blind.” But the distinction between these two is simpler: a person without eyesight is blind; a person with vision problems stopping short of total or legal blindness is visually impaired.


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On the podcast this week, we give some background on the apostrophe and talk about its use.

Paul Brians’ latest blog post takes measure of how we use language to describe large areas.

This Week: Going nuclear (part 3) on the podcast + Confusionism/Confucianism

Confusionism/Confucianism
This spelling error isn’t exactly an English error, but it’s very common among my students. Confucius is the founder of Confucianism. His name is not spelled “Confucious,” and his philosophy is not called “Confusionism.” When you spot the confusion in the latter term, change it quickly to “Confucianism.”



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On the podcast this week, we conclude our discussion of the bomb and the arts.

This Week: Going nuclear (part 2) on the podcast + ya’ll/y’all

ya’ll/y’all
“How y’all doin’?” If you are rendering this common Southernism in print, be careful where you place the apostrophe, which stands for the second and third letters in “you.”

Note that “y’all” stands for “you all” and is properly a plural form, though some southern speakers treat it as a singular form and resort to “all y’all” for the plural. Most southerners reserve “all y’all” to mean “each and every one of you.” Then there is the occasional case in which the speaker is addressing someone representing a store or other institution composed of several people: “Do y’all sell shop vacs?”

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On the podcast this week, Paul Brians talks about his work studying the bomb and the arts.

This Week: The podcast goes nuclear + you can't have your cake and it it too/you can’t eat your cake and have it too

you can’t have your cake and eat it too/
you can’t eat your cake and have it too

The most popular form of this saying—“You can’t have your cake and eat it too”—confuses many people because they mistakenly suppose the word “have” means “eat,” as in “Have a piece of cake for dessert.” A more logical version of this saying is “You can’t eat your cake and have it too,” meaning that if you eat your cake you won’t have it any more. The point is that if you eat your cake right now you won’t have it to eat later. “Have” means “possess” in this context, not “eat.”

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On the podcast this week, Paul Brians talks about his work studying the bomb and the arts.

This Week: The podcast is totally cool + visually impaired

visually impaired 

Many people mistakenly suppose that “visually impaired” is a more polite term than “blind.” But the distinction between these two is simpler: a person without eyesight is blind; a person with vision problems stopping short of total or legal blindness is visually impaired. 

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On the podcast this week, Paul Brians talks about the word cool.

This Week It's Le Podcast Hot + complementary/complimentary + A new blog post by Paul Brians

complementary/complimentary
When paying someone a compliment like “I love what you’ve done with the kitchen!” you’re being complimentary. A free bonus item is also a complimentary gift. But items or people that go well with each other are complementary.

In geometry, complementary angles add up to 90°, whereas supplementary ones add up to 180°.

 

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This week on the podcast, hot is the word. Also Paul Brians’ latest blog post discusses an interesting misspelling.

This Week: unchartered/uncharted + an opportunity to catch up on the podcast!

unchartered/uncharted 

“Unchartered” means “lacking a charter,” and is a word most people have little use for. “Uncharted” means “unmapped” or “unexplored,” so the expression meaning “to explore a new subject or area” is “enter uncharted territory.” Similarly, it’s uncharted regions, waters, and paths.

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No new podcast episode this week. Here's your chance to look through the archives and catch up!

This Week: On the podcast, Commonly Confused Words, the PC Edition + cut and paste/copy and paste

cut and paste/copy and paste
Because “cut and paste” is a familiar phrase, many people say it when they mean “copy and paste” in a computer context. This can lead to disastrous results if followed literally by an inexpert person. If you mean to tell someone to duplicate something rather than move it, say “copy.” And when you are moving bits of computer information from one place to another, the safest sequence is often to copy the original, paste the copy elsewhere, and only then delete (cut) the original.




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This week on the podcast we discuss commonly confused words (the PC edition).

This Week: On the podcast, More Commonly Confused Words + footnotes/endnotes

footnotes/endnotes
About the time that computers began to make the creation and printing of footnotes extremely simple and cheap, style manuals began to urge a shift away from them to endnotes printed at the ends of chapters or at the end of a book or paper rather than at the foot of the page. I happen to think this was a big mistake; but in any case, if you are using endnotes, don’t call them “footnotes.”


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This week on the podcast we discuss more commonly confused words.

This Week: On the podcast, Swell (and other Fabulous Words) + emergent/emergency

emergent/emergency 
The error of considering “emergent” to be the adjectival form of “emergency” is common only in medical writing, but it is becoming widespread. “Emergent” properly means “emerging” and normally refers to events that are just beginning—barely noticeable rather than catastrophic. “Emergency” is an adjective as well as a noun, so rather than writing “emergent care,” use the homely “emergency care.”



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This week on the podcast we discuss “swell” (and other fabulous words).

This Week: On the podcast, Trump, the name + aisle/isle

aisle/isle
An aisle is a narrow passageway, especially in a church or store; an isle is an island. Propose to the person you’re stranded on a desert isle with and maybe you’ll march down the aisle together after you’re rescued.


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This week on the podcast we discuss Trump, the name.

This Week: On the podcast, the names of the nominated + face the piper/pay the piper, face the music

face the piper/pay the piper, face the music  

When it comes time to accept the consequences of your actions you may have to pay the piper or face the music, but you don’t have to “face the piper.”

 
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This week on the podcast we discuss the names of the nominated.

This Week: On the podcast, more words often confused + PC computer/PC

PC computer/PC 
The phrase “PC computer” is a bit awkward and redundant since “PC” stands for “personal computer.” The problem is that originally the label “PC” meant not personal computers generally, but computers compatible with the IBM PC introduced in 1981. By the time IBM adopted the abbreviation for a specific model there had been many earlier personal computers like the Commodore PET and the Apple II. Now IBM doesn’t make PCs and none of today’s popular personal computers is compatible with the original PC. The label is still used to distinguish between computers running some version of Microsoft’s Windows operating system and the Macintosh computers made by Apple, even though Macs are certainly personal computers and the newer ones can also run Windows. No wonder people forget what “PC” stands for. If you want to use the abbreviation to indicate that your computer is not a Mac, “PC” alone will do, despite its literal inaccuracy.


 

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This week on the podcast we discuss Melania Trump, labyrinths, and words often confused.

This Week: On the podcast, more misconceptions about The Bible + first come, first serve/first come, first served

first come, first serve/first come, first served  

It might seem logical to put both verbs in the same form, as in “first come, first serve,” but actually the phrase means something like “the first to come will be the first to be served.” Early comers do not do the serving; they are served.

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This week on the podcast we conclude our discussion of passages and phrases from The Bible.