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Grammar

This tag is associated with 263 posts

Note 327 – Are you a fiction or non-fiction writer?

I’m more of a non-fiction writer myself – writing about true, factual accounts of real things, places, people etc., as opposed to stories, books etc., that are invented by an author. I have tried the odd short fictional story, but as I don’t enjoy it as much, I would never be inspired to write my … Continue reading

Note 326 – The use of the word gubbins

I’ve heard my work colleague use the word gubbins a few times, but never thought of looking it up until today. He says it’s a slang term that may be a substitute for ‘stuff’. Here are a couple of examples he gave me: I was clearing out some box files full of gubbins Reading through … Continue reading

Note 324 – Eight online sources of information + useful tips

When I wrote yesterday’s post, Note 323 – Eight books as a source of information, it made me realise how much I’ve missed each and every one of my writing books, as I tend to use the internet as a source of reference nowadays instead. I must get back to reading the books as a … Continue reading

Note 320 – The phrase okey dokey

I wrote this phrase in an email the other day and wondered about its origin. Phrases.org.uk define this as an American phrase first seen in the late 20th century and is another way of saying ‘okay’; however they list other American meanings as ‘absurd, ridiculous or ‘to swindle or deceive’ (which personally I’ve never used). … Continue reading

Note 315 – The difference between disc and disk

I’ve often wondered why compact disc has a ‘c’, but then other disks have a ‘k’ in British English. Wikipedia have a section on spelling of disc and explain that although they both relate to things of a thin circular nature, there is a difference which relates to the origin of the words. The spelling … Continue reading

Note 313 – Upper cross syndrome

This blog post is not a ‘writing fact’ as such but instead relates to the posture issues I have been talking about over the last few weeks. As a writer, I’m guilty of sitting at the computer incorrectly (or sitting anywhere incorrectly for that matter – more about that another day). Anyway, my chiropractor Mark … Continue reading

Note 312 – The Erector Spinae (group of muscles)

Being a writer, I spend many hours per week on the computer (and this is as well as my day job!).  As mentioned in previous blogs I have not been sitting correctly at the computer which isn’t helping my posture and spine.  My chiropractor, Mark Thomas (Chiropractor clinic), has been treating me for a couple of weeks now, and although … Continue reading

Note 311 – Travelling v traveling

I went travelling 10 years ago today (for 8 months); how my life has changed since then. When writing something about this on Facebook earlier, the word travelling corrected itself to traveling, so this was yet another word I had to look up today to check the spelling. As suspected, travelling is the British English way … Continue reading

Note 309 – The word verdigris

My dad plays the trumpet and in one of his music books it told him about a substance called verdigris which can form in trumpets or any brass instruments. This image found on Wikipedia (author Richard Webb) shows this green pigment caused by the corrosion of the copper in the bronze. You may also have seen … Continue reading

Note 308 – The phrase ‘chip on your shoulder’

Where does the phrase chip on your shoulder come from and what does it mean?  Wikipedia call it a metaphor that describes people who “nurse a grudge or grievance that readily provokes fury or disputation”. Cambridge Dictionaries online define the phrase as seeming “angry all the time because you think you have been treated unfairly or … Continue reading

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