Oy! Adding a Little Yiddish to Your English
I am proudly one-sixteenth Jewish. For most of my life, I didn’t even know that. I think I learned of my Jewish heritage in my teens or 20s. However, I realized the other day how many Yiddish words I naturally…
Tips for Talking Texan
It’s Amaze-ing Words Wednesday again! It’s also conference season, and many writers are busy preparing for their trip, classes, pitches, or table-dancing performance. Since we’ll have some non-Texans attending the DFW Writers’ Conference, I thought it was a good time to…
Why Grammar Matters in Your Book
I’ve been called a Grammar Nazi, a grammar geek, a grammar freak, a grammar nut, the grammar police, and a stickler. What they say behind my back, I don’t know. I’m not that bad. I don’t critique tweets, personal emails,…
Introducing Professor Punctuation
Welcome, Prof Punc! Today, we are welcoming a newcomer to Amaze-ing Words Wednesday. From our local college faculty, I now introduce Professor Punctuation. I’ll hand over the mic now. Thanks for coming, professor. I know, I know: I don’t look like…
Neologistically Speaking
Welcome to Amaze-ing Words Wednesday! Some time ago, I wondered if I could make up my own word. And then I did. New words are called neologisms (neo=new, logo=word). Neologisms are added to our language all the time. For instance,…
Word Game: Similes
A few weeks ago, I blogged about an alphabet game I found in a book published in 1940 called The Fun Encyclopedia. My father passed this book to me, and with it another book (which my grandfather originally owned) called The Complete…
The Cat's Out of the Bag: Idioms
Welcome to Amaze-ing Words Wednesday, where we enter the labyrinth of language and look for something interesting among the hedges. Today’s topic is in honor of our feline friends. I was going to do a post with idioms that included both…
Miss Spelling Returns: Words that Get Confused
Welcome to Amaze-ing Words Wednesday. By popular demand — or simply because she asked — Miss Spelling has returned. Her insistence on making a reappearance stemmed from a nonfiction book she is reviewing. While the book itself is written well, a…
The Fun Encyclopedia: Alphabet Game
My father recently went through his library (which is extensive). He came across a few old books he no longer wanted and offered them to me. Skimming through the pages, they looked interesting, so I carried the books home .…
A Lesson with Miss Spelling
Some time ago, my blog was visited by the well-known language arts teacher, Miss Pronunciation. She helped to clarify proper articulation of commonly mispronounced words, such as library and et cetera. I was recently contacted by her colleague, Miss Spelling,…