Are you "pantless" or "pantsless"? Who (or what) is Beetlejuice?

Are you "pantless" or "pantsless"? Who (or what) is Beetlejuice?

1028. This week, we look at the weird situation when you want to add a suffix (such as "-less") to a plural-only noun such as "pants" or "scissors" — with a fun detour for some pants-related idioms. Then, with a new "Beetlejuice" in theaters, we look at the fascinating origin of the name and its role in mythology throughout the ages.

The "pantless" segment is by Jim Norrena, MFA, who has been writing and editing for more than thirty-five years. He’s the founder and principal editor at TypoSuction.com, an independent editing/writing service. He taught grammar and copyediting intensives and professional proofreading workshops at Media Alliance and served as events coordinator for Bay Area Editors’ Forum (BAEF). Visit Linkedin.com/in/jimnorrena/ for his complete work history and highlighted projects.

The "Beetlejuice" segment was written by Samantha Enslen who runs Dragonfly Editorial. You can find her at DragonflyEditorial.com.

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Episoder(964)

120 He Said, She Said

120 He Said, She Said

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25 Jul 20083min

118 Writing Accents and Dialects

118 Writing Accents and Dialects

Writing Accents and Dialects Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

18 Jul 20085min

123 How to Avoid Clichés

123 How to Avoid Clichés

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15 Jul 20085min

116 "Than I" Versus "Than Me"

116 "Than I" Versus "Than Me"

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10 Jul 20087min

114 Phrasal Verbs

114 Phrasal Verbs

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4 Jul 20086min

113 Writing with Slang

113 Writing with Slang

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27 Jun 20084min

110 When to Leave Out "That"

110 When to Leave Out "That"

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6 Jun 20086min

108 Whose for Inanimate Objects

108 Whose for Inanimate Objects

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23 Mai 20085min

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