-
Subscribe
Subscribed
Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
A work colleague emailed me today with this scenario: ‘In doing so’ versus ‘In so doing’ – which is better or grammatically correct? Or is it the use of old fashioned language to use the latter? Before researching, my immediate thought was that ‘in doing so’ sounds better, but after a quick glance at some forums both … Continue reading
There are two online dictionaries that I have found useful when trying to work out how to pronounce something. Howjsay.com is “a free online dictionary of English pronunciation” with 151,299 entries (as at the time of writing). After you’ve typed in your word, it appears in pink – you then hover your mouse over the word and an … Continue reading
Tiny Online has a section on their website called ‘unusual words’. The one that caught my eye today was ‘autohagiography’ which is a rarely used words meaning “one who speaks and writes in a smug fashion about their own life and accomplishments”. World Wide Words (a site by writer Michael Quinion) say that: “The first use of it I can trace … Continue reading
Having been at my cousin’s wedding all day in London, I knew that it was going to be tricky to find a writing tip to blog about – until halfway through the church service when my family turned to me and asked what arrhae meant. After googling it later, I’ve discovered that it means unity coins … Continue reading
Today’s suggestion for a writing topic comes from Noel Walker, founder of OpenLeaf and author of Get the Life you Want (Twitter @GTLYW). The suggestion he tweeted was “what about something on the lines of writers block i.e. just start writing, anything & allow those inspired thoughts to come?”. Thanks Noel. I don’t recall ever having writer’s block as such, but … Continue reading
Six months ago I set up my writing notebook blog and the challenge that began on 1st May 2011 was for me to learn a new writing tip every day for a year and blog about it to teach others. I’m now half way there and determined to continue. What I have achieved in this time I feel that I’ve … Continue reading
Vis à vis is a preposition meaning ‘in relation to’ or ‘regarding’ according to the Collins English Dictionary & Thesaurus. Here are a few facts noted from Phrases.org.uk about the phrase vis à vis: The French spell it vis à vis. The English sometimes miss off the grave accent on the à and print it as ‘vis-a-vis’ or ‘viz-a-viz’. … Continue reading
Here are a few facts about the word viz (source: Wiktionary.org and Wikipedia.org): It is an adverb and abbreviation meaning ‘namely’ It comes from the Latin word videlicet. Wiktionary states that “the ‘z’ [in viz] was originally not a letter but a common Middle Latin scribal abbreviation that was used for -et“. When reading it in a … Continue reading
I’m going to be honest here – I wrote down the words brocolli and broccoli yesterday and decided that the former was correct. Later in the same day, my six year old daughter asked why I had written both spellings down and quite confidently told me that it has to ‘c’s and one ‘l’. I double checked the dictionary and … Continue reading
In Note 168 – Writing the old fashioned way with pen and paper I mentioned that I would try writing in bed whilst having a lay in. This morning, after first listening to a meditation track for an hour, I got out my notepad and pen. My thoughts were flowing with so many ideas that I couldn’t write them … Continue reading
My Writing Notebook 