Via the Communicators in Business web site – a link to a government report that finds young people leave school or college minus key everyday learnings such as how to write in real English rather than SMS speak, or how to take a phone message: The report finds that although many schools, colleges and universities […]
So, ever-reliable blog fodder the Daily Mail believes social networking sites damage children’s brains. A selection of accurate criticism about the lack of evidence beyond one person’s opinion based on one anecdote can be found here in the comments to a Cafe Hayek post, so I won’t bother adding to that. But seriously – how […]
Pesto jumps on the castigate-corporate-excess bandwagon today [that’s BBC business editor Robert Peston, of course], with a post about RBS selling its private jet – one it was embarrassed to be caught owning a few years ago apparently. But while RBS makes a great target for, well, any criticism really, Peston completely misses the point […]
Interesting post on the FT’s Alphaville blog [from last week, but I’ve only just caught up with it]. Reuters files a story based on an FT interview with Luo Ping, a director-general at the China Banking Regulatory Commission. In the course of it, Mr Luo passes comment on the current US policy of monetary loosening: Mr […]
According to Dictionary.com, this is the word that means “a person or thing that shows the existence or direction of a trend”. But it’s nothing to do with the way the wind is blowing. So it’s nothing to do with the weather. “Bellwether”: a sheep (wether: a castrated ram) with a bell around its neck […]
“Lose” is a verb that describes how one may mislay something – like punctuation. “Loose” is an adjective that describes something that is not tight – like much writing. (Though sometimes, but not often, it’s a verb that means “to set free”.)
“Free rein” is when you give something considerable freedom of movement, like loosening the reins on your horse. “Free reign” might be something to do with the monarch if it even existed as an expression. It doesn’t – ditch that “g” people…
“Just deserts” are the justice that someone richly deserves. “Just desserts” is a restaurant that someone should open that only serves pudding. Only one “s”, people!
A “wrack” is a very old-fashioned shipwreck. A “rack” is an old-fashioned torture device. If you are “racked with pain” you are in pain as if you were being tortured on a rack. Remember – no “w”!