Double possessives. Words that do double duty. The monkeys aren't working.
Grammar Girl Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing12 Aug

Double possessives. Words that do double duty. The monkeys aren't working.

1107. This week, we look at double possessives, such as "a friend of Mignon's" and whether they are grammatically correct. Then, we look at words that do double duty, from the nautical origins of "scuttlebutt" to "beetle" — which can be both an insect and a tool.

The double possessives segment was written by Susan Herman, a retired multidisciplined language analyst, analytic editor, and instructor for the federal government.

The words doing double duty segment was written by Karen Lunde. Karen's a career writer and editor who drifted into marketing—which turned out to be creative storytelling in business-casual clothes. These days, she helps solo business owners find the right words to talk about their work. Find her at chanterellemarketingstudio.com.

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083 Interviewing Tips

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082 Daylight-Saving Time

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078 Formatting Hyperlinks

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077 Verbification of a Noun

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076 Starting a Sentence With "Hopefully"

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073 Simplify Your Writing

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