Know Tea

Is it a “telepone”? No, it’s a telephone.
So it’s not “dip-theria,” and it’s not “dip-thong” either. Diphtheria. Diphthong. Look at it.
The same goes for ophthalmology and ophthalmologist.? Oph-thal-mol-o-gy.? Oph-thal-mol-o-gist.? There is no such thing as an “optomologist.”
Thank you.

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Josephine Hammond not long ago wrote an article for Onyx magazine discussing baby names in the African American community (of which Hammond is a member). I’ll let you read her article and her concerns about people giving their children “imaginative” names.
Recently, the actor Shia LeBeouf, who experienced a lot of schoolyard teasing and bullying [...]

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Sonic, you and I have a problem. And I’m not just talking about the HFCS in your soft drinks.

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Last night on the news, the anchorwoman told us all how a thief “snuck” behind the counter at a jewelry shop (actually I think she said it was a “Jew-lery shop”) and stole some diamonds.
My six-year-old knows better than to say “snuck.” There is no such word as “snuck.” The past tense of [...]

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Dave Letterman once asked Ari Fleischer why he never took Mr. Bush aside and said this.
Right, like someone would say that to the President.
The fact is, we all have things that we say that are a little off kilter. I’m not talking about incorrect grammar here: I’m talking about common expressions that are [...]

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Psst . . . hey, Bill Keneely:
Dude, you’re from New Jersey. Quit trying to be all colloquial and “get on our level.” It’s not working.
Mobile, Alabama is not near the Appalachians or the Ozarks. Stop emphasizing both syllables like you’re Jed Clampett talking about his “Cee-ment pond.”
The accent is on the second syllable, [...]

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I know you’re out there. I can here your mouses (mice?) clicking.
So Hole Foods and Outside Meat don’t do it for you, apparently. (I, on the other hand, always specifically request lots o’ outside meat.) Maybe this will get some of you talking, especially–or better yet, ek-specially –those grammar mavens out [...]

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Anyone who is going to be in the pulpit, on TV or radio, doing any kind of public speaking (or writing), or (perhaps most importantly) teaching young people, needs to read this right now. Bookmark it. Use it. Love it. It’s so good and so readable.
Some highlights:
Begging the Question
[...]

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Today has been so stressful that I really needed this. Check out this site. There are so many “great” examples here, one does not know whether to laugh or to cry. Enjoy.

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I propose a universal moratorium on the use of the word “hopefully” until everyone looks it up. (As Inigo Montoya would say, “I don’t think it means what you think it means.”)
In the meantime, why not just say, “I hope”? As Humpty Dumpty said to Alice, “You should say what you mean.”

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