Perilous Pairs

Will you — or your editor — know to pick the right word?

The sentence in a recently written Sherlock Holmes story stopped me cold.

“There were besides some more mundane elements: drafting tables laden with dusty blueprints, labels and vices and tools, chains for heavy lifting suspended from the ceiling.”

Did one word jump out at you?

At first I was … Continue reading

Put ONLY in Its Place

A word’s placement makes a difference.

I have a beef with Safeway. They may know groceries, but they struggle with word order.

I cringe every time I hear this line in their radio ad: “Safeway only sells U.S.D.A. choice beef.”

What’s wrong with that? The placement of the word only.

In English, … Continue reading

The Potato Chip Test

Do you keep tempting people to read one more page?

I hadn’t plan to listen to the music festival’s next band. It was about supper time, and I needed to catch a bite before the following group played.

My expectations for the Ellis Island Boys weren’t high, but I decided … Continue reading