#gummystuff — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #gummystuff, aggregated by home.social.
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The importance of punctuation: What, was she diagnosed as a pathological liar? 😂
(There should be a comma after "hard".)
(Also, #SavedYouAClick: She was diagnosed with osteoporosis (she's 66), OCD, and ADHD.)
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I'm just a copy editor, standing in front of the Fediverse, begging people to stop separating subject from predicate with a comma, e.g.:
My friend from upstairs, visited me.
Just. Stop.
Please.
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WHINY: characterized by whining (a whiny coworker)
WHINNY: a high-pitched sound made by a horse
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TENET: A cornerstone of a system, often of belief or government
TENANT: One who pays rent to a landlord
(My off-the-cuff definitions. You want dictionary definitions, look 'em up.)
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#AmEditing #GUMmyStuff
If you're using ellipses to indicate someone's speech trailing off, you don't need to add a tag to that effect. No need to say "Her voice trailed off." We see that with the ellipsis. (One ellipsis, two ellipses.)You can, however, insert a beat like "took a slow, measured breath" or "traced a circle on his arm" or what have you. Some small business to occupy the space the words would have, had they been spoken.
https://grammargeddon.com/2014/10/30/mechanics-of-dialogue-part-2-tags-and-beats/
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TIL that the noun form of "far-fetched" is
FARFETCHEDNESS
Don't take my word for it. Look it up in Merriam-Webster, the free online version.
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GODS BLESS CMOS for finally saying we should capitalize the first word following a colon when it begins a sentence (as opposed to a list). I despised the previous guidance, which left far too much to judgment and left many a MS looking as if the editor was flip-flopping.
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Remember that the subjunctive mood is used to indicate something that is not true/factual.
"If I were you . . ." I'm not, nor can I ever be.
This also includes "wishes, ... conjectures, ... demands, ... and suggestions" (Garner, The Chicago Guide to Grammar, Usage, and Punctuation, p. 92-3).
https://grammargeddon.com/2015/03/10/wishin-and-hopin-and-prayin-the-subjunctive-mood-in-english/
https://grammargeddon.com/2018/12/17/it-aint-necessarily-so-the-subjunctive-mood/
1/2
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In case you wondered, "home fries" is so styled. Open, no hyphen. Not a closed compound.
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A general note on my method:
When I post about a grammatical thing, or a mechanical thing, I keep my focus on the specific issue at hand rather than making a larger-in-scope statement covering any related items.
Part of that is because I'm working, and I don't have time to type a lot of information. I keep it as brief/useful as possible.
Another part is because I've learned over time that infodumping doesn't help teach. Small bites, easily digested.
1/2
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Remember: I'm an AmE user. I edit primarily in AmE. I am not qualified to speak to other Englishes' usage points.
(And if you question the existence of "other Englishes" aside from British, Canadian, and Australian, I implore you to educate yourself.)
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"Insure" always involves money. You insure your car, your home, your life for a certain amount of money to be paid under specific circumstances.
"Ensure" involves making certain something happens, whether that's attaining a level of quality or graduating from high school or college. You do your best to ensure the safety of your family by taking appropriate steps to protect them.
I see these confused quite often, usually with "insure" where "ensure" is meant.
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You know you're an editor when
you get excited about preordering the 18th Edition of Chicago Manual of Style, the "most extensive revision" to the venerable guide in the last 20 years
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NO, Word, one does not hyphenate compound adjectives formed with adverbs ending in -ly.
It's "fully formed." NO hyphen.
(Note that "family-style," however, is hyphenated because "family" isn't an adverb. Neither is "scholarly," as in "scholarly-looking.")
This guidance is true for all major style guides. That's a good thing, innit.
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The incautious reader might well think that all of those things went into the bag with the pork. But let's say (because I know what I mean to say, here) that those are served with the pork.
"Ingredients include a cup of rice, a handful of beans and a marinated pork roast that's sat for at least 24 hours in a plastic bag with orange juice."
The only things in that bag are the pork and the juice. (That's a very sad marinade indeed.)
2/2
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The incautious reader might well think that all of those things went into the bag with the pork. But let's say (because I know what I mean to say, here) that those are served with the pork.
"Ingredients include a cup of rice, a handful of beans and a marinated pork roast that's sat for at least 24 hours in a plastic bag with orange juice."
The only things in that bag are the pork and the juice. (That's a very sad marinade indeed.)
2/2
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The incautious reader might well think that all of those things went into the bag with the pork. But let's say (because I know what I mean to say, here) that those are served with the pork.
"Ingredients include a cup of rice, a handful of beans and a marinated pork roast that's sat for at least 24 hours in a plastic bag with orange juice."
The only things in that bag are the pork and the juice. (That's a very sad marinade indeed.)
2/2
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The incautious reader might well think that all of those things went into the bag with the pork. But let's say (because I know what I mean to say, here) that those are served with the pork.
"Ingredients include a cup of rice, a handful of beans and a marinated pork roast that's sat for at least 24 hours in a plastic bag with orange juice."
The only things in that bag are the pork and the juice. (That's a very sad marinade indeed.)
2/2
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Something I'm seeing lately that I know isn't touched on in most GenEd English comp classes is the nicety of putting the longer phrase/clause at the end of a list of such things.
It's especially nice if there's not a serial comma. Here's what I mean.
"Ingredients include a marinated pork roast that's sat for at least 24 hours in a plastic bag with orange juice, a cup of rice and a handful of beans."
Just what's in that bag, eh? 1/n
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Up and working early this morning, because I'd like to finish this pass and have some free time later today to chill before the proofing push.
Just left a comment for the client about a word change to avoid repetition. "We just had this word, Does it work better to swap the edit, using this option first and 'slumping' here? I'm debating and leaning in that direction (not slumping, just leaning)."
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Up and working early this morning, because I'd like to finish this pass and have some free time later today to chill before the proofing push.
Just left a comment for the client about a word change to avoid repetition. "We just had this word, Does it work better to swap the edit, using this option first and 'slumping' here? I'm debating and leaning in that direction (not slumping, just leaning)."
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Up and working early this morning, because I'd like to finish this pass and have some free time later today to chill before the proofing push.
Just left a comment for the client about a word change to avoid repetition. "We just had this word, Does it work better to swap the edit, using this option first and 'slumping' here? I'm debating and leaning in that direction (not slumping, just leaning)."
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Up and working early this morning, because I'd like to finish this pass and have some free time later today to chill before the proofing push.
Just left a comment for the client about a word change to avoid repetition. "We just had this word, Does it work better to swap the edit, using this option first and 'slumping' here? I'm debating and leaning in that direction (not slumping, just leaning)."
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Love turning "sensory deprivation" into a verb
"Sensory-deprivate" (as done with the Estes method in paranormal investigation: "when you sensory-deprivate yourself")
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8 a.m. in the morning
Pick one. Both is a redundancy, as "a.m." means "ante meridian," which is morning.
8 in the morning
8 a.m.
or even
eight o'clock in the morning (note that the word "eight" is used here instead of the numeral) -
8 a.m. in the morning
Pick one. Both is a redundancy, as "a.m." means "ante meridian," which is morning.
8 in the morning
8 a.m.
or even
eight o'clock in the morning (note that the word "eight" is used here instead of the numeral) -
8 a.m. in the morning
Pick one. Both is a redundancy, as "a.m." means "ante meridian," which is morning.
8 in the morning
8 a.m.
or even
eight o'clock in the morning (note that the word "eight" is used here instead of the numeral) -
8 a.m. in the morning
Pick one. Both is a redundancy, as "a.m." means "ante meridian," which is morning.
8 in the morning
8 a.m.
or even
eight o'clock in the morning (note that the word "eight" is used here instead of the numeral) -
8 a.m. in the morning
Pick one. Both is a redundancy, as "a.m." means "ante meridian," which is morning.
8 in the morning
8 a.m.
or even
eight o'clock in the morning (note that the word "eight" is used here instead of the numeral) -
In Chicago style, two-word adjectives are hyphenated before the noun they modify, but not after it.
They have a well-developed language.
Their language is well developed.
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In Chicago style, two-word adjectives are hyphenated before the noun they modify, but not after it.
They have a well-developed language.
Their language is well developed.
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In Chicago style, two-word adjectives are hyphenated before the noun they modify, but not after it.
They have a well-developed language.
Their language is well developed.
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In Chicago style, two-word adjectives are hyphenated before the noun they modify, but not after it.
They have a well-developed language.
Their language is well developed.
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"Add into" drives me around the bend.
You're adding something to something. If you're putting it in a bowl or a pan, you're adding it to the pan. You don't "add in/into." If you're adding it to a curriculum, you add it to that.
You ADD TO.
::flails::
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"Her hand landed on his shoulder."
Did it fall from the sky, maybe?
"Her hand touched his shoulder."
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"We are not the slapping-together kind."
Gary Cooper as Professor Bertram Potts in BALL OF FIRE (dir. Howard Hawks)
That line is his rebuke of the benefactor's accountant who suggested that Potts and his colleagues slap together their encyclopedia to save money.
Cooper's grammarian is delightfully straightlaced. His panic over the changing English language prompts him to leave the ivory tower and go among the masses, to hear it as it's being spoken..
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Hey. Here's a handy reference for you.
(Sorry about the error in the first try. Fat fingers. Yeah, I typed it.)
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Hey, here's a handy reference site for you.
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Still looking for an enjoyable book to read on #NationalGrammarDay ?
REBEL WITH A CLAUSE: Tales and Tips from a Roving Grammarian by @grammartable (Ellen Jovin) is an excellent option. Far from didactic, it's a delightful collection of experiences with everyday people asking questions about #GUMmyStuff at Ellen's literal grammar table, a card table she hauls around the country and sets up on corners or in parks or outside libraries.
Kindness, understanding, descriptiveness. Nothing's better.
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ROLL and ROLE are #homophones. Some people have trouble remembering which is which.
ROLL can mean a baked bread, like a cinnamon roll, or it can mean to cause something to move. Perhaps there are wheels involved. Perhaps it's by tossing the thing, like dice (or a single die). It can even refer to something that's rolled up, like a roll of parchment or carpeting.
ROLE is a part someone plays. It might be fictional (as in a play or a game) or occupational (a teacher, a nurse). 1/2