523 GG Sightseeing. On Accident Versus by Accident
SIGHTSEEING: A listener asked, “Why is it sightseeing and not siteseeing? Aren't you seeing sites? Sightseeing sounds redundant.” Interesting question! ON ACCIDENT or BY ACCIDENT: A listener asked, "W...
30 Juni 201611min
522 GG Hearty or Hardy? How English Became English. Jury-Rigged.
HEARTY OR HARDY? A listener named Cheryl left a comment on the Grammar Girl Facebook page asking me to write about the difference between hearty and hardy. She wrote, “I am a writer and get confused o...
23 Juni 201617min
521 GG Is Funnest a Word? How to Pronounce Adirondack.
HOW TO PRONOUNCE ADIRONDACK: Apparently, I’ve been mispronouncing "Adirondack" my whole life, and thanks to the listeners who let me know. WRITING FOR AUDIO: A listener named Tim wrote that he heard s...
16 Juni 20169min
520 GG Band Names. Woman or Female?
BAND NAMES: When referring to a rock band, do I use the single form "is" or "are"? Does the band name dictate the usage? WOMAN OR FEMALE? The question of word choice is rising again—Is Hilary Clinton ...
10 Juni 20167min
519 GG RBIs. Principal and Principle. Run of the Mill
HOW TO MAKE RBI PLURAL: Baseball season has started, so it’s a good time to answer questions from listeners who have asked how to make an abbreviation such as "RBI" plural. PRINCIPAL OR PRINCIPLE? Tod...
2 Juni 201611min
518 GG Are You Interurban? Vonnegut's Famous Semicolon Quotation Was Taken Out of Context. Off the Cuff.
ARE YOU INTERURBAN? When you split your time between the East Coast and the West Coast, you can call yourself “bicoastal.” What about when you’re splitting your time between two cities, like a listene...
26 Maj 201611min
517 GG Why Do We Call It Commencement? When to Delete "It"
COMMENCEMENT: Last week a professor in my department asked me why we call a graduation ceremony “commencement” when the event marks the end of college. “To commence” means “to begin,” not end, so it s...
19 Maj 20168min
516 GG Celsius Versus Centigrade. 'Between' Versus 'Among'
Celsius Versus Centigrade: Anders Celsius was a Swedish astronomer who invented a thermometer based on the boiling point and freezing point of water. We know a slightly improved version of his thermom...
12 Maj 20168min
