DEAR RICHARD: The Oxford comma, also known as the serial comma, is the comma used before the conjunction in a list of three or more items. For example: “I like to eat apples, bananas, and oranges.” I was taught to not place a comma before the word and in the example above. A big issue […]
A Sesquicentennial Celebration of poet Robert Frost’s birth is coming to San Diego on Wednesday, March 20, through Sunday, March 24 at our San Diego Central Library, 330 Park Blvd, downtown and at UCSD Park and Market in East Village. Dozens of America’s most acclaimed poets will attend, and so can you, free of […]
In America, we celebrate just about everything, so it may come as no surprise to you that, in two days, March 4 (March Forth!), my pun pals will observe National Pun Day. After all, a good pun is like a good steak — a rare medium well done. A few weeks ago, I participated […]
Presidents’ Day (please note my placement of the apostrophe) began life as a celebration of George Washington’s Birthday, February 22, 1732, But Washington was really born on February 11, 1731, according to the Julian calendar, which was in effect when Washington entered the earthly stage. When the Gregorian calendar was adopted in 1752 throughout […]
The word history descends from the Latin historia, meaning “narrative, take, story,” and the saga of our American presidents is festooned with fascinating stories. Here are a few of my favorites: Our second and third presidents, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, political rivals, then friends, both died on July 4, 1826, exactly 50 years […]
What do you get when you dip your little finger into a bottle of writing fluid? An inky pinky. Looking for an entertaining way to sharpen both your ear for rhyme and your skill in defining words? Try the Inky Pinky game. In Inky Pinky, the first player offers a concise, clear definition, and […]
DEAR RICHARD: Now retired from 50 years of college teaching and having no more student papers to grade and critique, I address your recent U-T column. I so enjoy, appreciate, and support your language advocacy, and then, in the third sentence, you split an infinitive on me (“to carefully proofread my books”)! This notwithstanding, you continue to have […]
Child film star Shirley Temple wrote, “I stopped believing in Santa Claus when I was six. Mother took me to see him in a department store, and he asked for my autograph.” It’s fun to look at the holiday through the innocent eyes of children: A mother was pleased with the Christmas card her […]
Here’s little poem I’ve conjured up about Halloween monsters: Don’t ever play ping pong with King Kong. Don’t ever take blood tests with Dracula. Don’t you dare give a wedgie to Frankenstein. Your ending will be quite spectaculah! Don’t you dare snap a towel at Godzilla. Such a prank would be foolishly rude. Don’t you […]
I am a member of the Grammar Police force, and our motto is “To Serve and Correct!” How strong is your grasp of English grammar, usage, spelling, and punctuation? To help you find out, here’s a passage marred by three dozen goofs and gaffes, blunders and boo-boos, and fluffs and flubs that frequently infest […]