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SODA (Medieval Arabic, “saltwort”) is a carbonated drink. The
SODA (Medieval Arabic, “saltwort”) is a carbonated drink. The drink has many regional names, however, which is one of the great pleasures of regio...

FORTUITOUS (Latin, “by chance”) differs from FORTUNATE (Latin,
FORTUITOUS (Latin, “by chance”) differs from FORTUNATE (Latin, “fortune”). Fortunate always assumes a positive outcome, while fortuitous is si...

How do you know when to end a word with the suffix –ABLE as
How do you know when to end a word with the suffix –ABLE as opposed to –IBLE? Here is the magic double formula; it works about ninety-five percent...

Use a SEMICOLON to join two complete phrases, particularly when
Use a SEMICOLON to join two complete phrases, particularly when they are related. I enjoy writing; I make part of my living from writing. Please note ...

MOMENTS differ from MINUTES. A moment (Latin, “movement”) is a
MOMENTS differ from MINUTES. A moment (Latin, “movement”) is a period of time that does not last long; casually speaking, it could be a minute, or...

JIVE is a noun (both a dance and a form of African-American
JIVE is a noun (both a dance and a form of African-American speech), a verb (both to dance and to taunt), and an adjective (worthless). JIBE is a verb...

Many (though not all) of us have the basics of capitalization
Many (though not all) of us have the basics of capitalization figured out: proper names, days, months, books, and films. After a colon, however, capit...

Allow me to offer assistance regarding the use of PARENTHESES
Allow me to offer assistance regarding the use of PARENTHESES (Greek, “put in beside”) in relationship to other punctuation marks. Assume, first, ...

Speaking of homophones, a common error is to switch INCIDENTS and
Speaking of homophones, a common error is to switch INCIDENTS and INCIDENCE. Incidents (Latin, “to happen to”) are events, as in “we found fifte...

ISLE and AISLE have distinct meanings, and too many people confuse
ISLE and AISLE have distinct meanings, and too many people confuse them in sometimes entertaining ways. Isle (Latin, “island or peninsula”) gets t...