Just been sent a link to Roy Greenslade’s blog in today’s Grauniad [sorry – knee-jerk old sub’s joke on the notoriously badly typeset 1980s style Guardian. Just the sort of SEO unfriendly copy we must now stamp out]. He is part justifying the decimation of the subbing function in many publications – possibly to be […]
Recently a sub I know was made redundant by a trade magazine. The grand total of sub-editors it now employs is zero. While we both found this shocking, he found it a lot more shocking than I did (and not just because it was his job that went belly up). In fact, this a recurrent […]
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”!