Freeloader
Here’s an idea to improve newspaper copy: At the beginning of their print careers, journalists get 10 index cards apiece. On each card is written the word “special.” Every time …more
August 14th, 2012
Not infallible
I caught and corrected the reference to a Marine Corps “lieutenant colonial.” I didn’t catch and didn’t correct the phrase “dormers with lovers resembling windows.” Sigh.
August 8th, 2012
Why I was blue
This morning, I blogged about a story in the online Bleacher Report with two editing errors in one paragraph. Here’s that graf: Next, there is no precedence for what the …more
August 8th, 2012
I got the future-of-editing blues
I love the Nats and am eager to see whether they’ll stick to their stated innings limit for ace Stephen Strasburg. I happened upon this piece in the online Bleacher …more
August 6th, 2012
Who says fishing is boring?
My colleague George Newman was editing a piece about fishing. It mentioned a reel “designed to let you better feel the fight with the fish.” “With the [reel], anglers get …more
July 23rd, 2012
Send me, lend me, give me? Or send to me, lend to me, give to me?
Two readers recently questioned my use of the phrases “sent me a letter” and “forwarded me an email.” Both remembered being told by English teachers of yore that such constructions …more
July 19th, 2012
RGIII a health care expert?
Yesterday I was copy editing something that will soon run in our paper. And I came across a reference to two health care experts named Pierre Garcon and R. Gill. …more
July 19th, 2012
And the problem is?
Take a look at the first sentence of this press release my colleague Bill Tolbert received for inclusion in our Communities section. There’s something perplexing here—and I’m not referring to …more
July 16th, 2012
Efficacious? Or…
The mayor of London was gobsmacked to learn that some soulless bureaucrat pulled the plug on a Hyde Park concert by Bruce Springsteen, who’d just been joined onstage by Paul …more
July 16th, 2012
The mayor misspoke
You’ve probably heard about this: Bruce Springsteen and Paul McCartney were onstage at Hyde Park in London this weekend performing Beatles tunes. The concert went past curfew, and some pompous …more
