Search results for “altogether”

Homonyms often cause confusion. Here are a few tricky ones, mostly all vs. al- words, clarified for you. Allot vs. A Lot  The word allot means "to parcel out." Example: The company will allot each of us a cell phone. The expression a lot means "many" or "much." Examples: We had a lot of fun. A lot …

Homonyms often cause confusion. Here are a few tricky ones, mostly all vs. al- words, clarified for you. Allot vs. A Lot The word allot means "to parcel out." Example: The company will allot each of us a cell phone. The expression a lot means "many" or "much." Examples: We had a lot of fun. …

Clichés are to good writing as McDonald’s is to fine dining. You don’t need to shun them altogether; occasionally they have their place. But overall, like fast food, the job they do isn’t worth the toll they take. But what’s really so wrong with avoid like the plague? You know exactly what it means when …

Almost a century ago, in 1916, the British author, editor, and literary critic Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch (1863-1944) published On the Art of Writing. The book’s fifth chapter is titled “Interlude: On Jargon.” Quiller-Couch abhorred jargon, a catchall term for pompous, bloated, clumsy, hackneyed, or impenetrable writing. Quiller-Couch, who wrote under the pen name “Q,” extols …

Using bi or semi in front of time periods can create tremendous confusion these days as definitions and style guidance continue to soften and blur. To illustrate this, we located the following definitions of words with the bi or semi prefix after researching both style books and dictionaries. Biweekly: once every two weeks or twice a …