How often have you read a passage and thought ‘what a cliché-ridden heap of twaddle!’? When we recognise these well-worn words and phrases, we prefer to think we don’t use them ourselves. It is, however, surprisingly easy to slip into Read More …
National Indexing Day has recently passed, with indexers around the world quietly celebrating. You might ask ‘Why does it matter?’. Why do we need to devote a day in praise of the index? Inspired by a 2017 article in the Read More …
When editing almost any piece of writing, chances are that the writer will have made a few mistakes in the choice between ‘that’ and ‘which’. So often, I need to turn a ‘which’ into a ‘that’, as the difference is Read More …
In recent years there has been a bit of a trend to reduce the number of hyphens in our writing – perhaps part of the general tendency towards fewer little marks dotted and dashed around text. We now see fewer Read More …
Anyone who has worked in a government organisation will have had to use, if not embrace, acronyms. But have you ever wondered what an acronym is? Some will put all commonly used sets of initials into the acronym basket, others Read More …
I have been working on an editing job for a dear relative. Now, that could bring problems, but thankfully, this relative has made it clear that I am to treat him like any other client. There should be no careful Read More …
Flight paused, then frowned. ‘Winching?’ Now he too was smiling, though trying hard not to show it. Rebus laughed aloud. ‘It means dating,’ he said. ‘Next you’ll be telling me you don’t know what hoolit means.’ ‘Try me,’ said Flight, Read More …
…of the science dictionary. I picked up a French-English science dictionary that a colleague gave me after a clean-up. She knew I had a scattering of French to add interest to the years of science language and veterinary terminology, and Read More …
