By Judy Vorfeld How many times have you heard triumphant trumpets (in one sense or another) while someone said something like, “Viola! We did it!”? Um, it’s possible that these people didn’t get the word quite right. Betcha they meant “Voilà!“ A viola (vee-oh-lah) is a stringed instrument that […]
FREE REIGN OR FREE REIN? It’s “rein.” Merriam Webster says it’s unrestricted liberty of action or decision.” The Cambridge Dictionary of Idioms says “free rein” is synonymous with “allow” and “give.” If you give people, ideas, or emotions free rein, they are free to develop without the intrusion […]
By Judy Vorfeld DISSEMBLE Dictionaries say that to dissemble is to hide under a false appearance, conceal facts, intentions, or feelings under some pretense. Hmm, what could we use as examples? How about people in the public eye? Like the occasional politician. Or CEO. Then there’s the sweet, […]
By Judy Vorfeld Ever heard that it’s wrong to say, “Less than 50 people took part in the poll,” and that “Fewer” is the proper word? How can we tell which is right? “Fewer” should be used with a plural noun that describes a group of individual items that can […]
By Judy Vorfeld Let’s tackle the sometimes loved, sometimes hated word, “like.” Like, have you wondered if there’s a technical term for, like, sticking the word “like” like, throughout a sentence, like, like this? Here’s the gripping answer: it’s an interjectional word. Interjectional speech is often called “slang.” Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, […]
