Word Wise

Today's read & other stuff - For Immediate Release

You may never feel good about writing another press release again after reading this in the Aug. 31 edition of The New Yorker. 

Homonym Grits

Even though you know the difference in meaning between, say, it’s and its, its not uncommon to type the wrong one (okay, I did that on purpose). Then again, even good writers (and good typists) mix up words that are spelled differently and have different meanings but sound the same – that is, homonyms. I suspect that’s because they’re not really, really, really sure which one is right. Everyone has their particular bugaboo – mine is effect/affect; I am constitutionally incapable of using either without confirming I’m using the right word – and it’s worth noting yours and taking extra care when necessary.   I see these pretty regularly:   ad / add An ad is short for advertisement (one d in each), while add is related to addition (a double d in each). The ad for chartreuse Christian Louboutin peep-toe pumps made her want to add them to her collection.   aid / aide Aid is a verb and means to help or assist, while an aide is a helper or assistant. My aide aided in my indictment.   assent / ascent To assent is to say yes; while to ascent refers to the act of climbing something. Anik assented to the ascent up Sacré Cœur.   born / borne To be born is to be brought into existence, while borne is the past tense of bear, or to bring about. Right after Blanche was born, she contracted a water-borne illness.   cash / cache Cash is what I never have enough of, while a cache is a secret store of something. Barney found a cache of $1,000 cash.   cite / sight / site To cite is to refer to, while a sight is something you see and a site is somewhere you visit. The online site cited the sights of Venice.   counsel / council To give counsel is to provide advice, while a council is a group of folks in charge. The council of elders counseled me to stop all my damn bellyaching.   discreet / discrete Something discreet is confidential, while something discrete is distinct from other things. Penelope's discrete office affairs were mercifully discreet.   lesson / lessen A lesson is something you learn or the time you take learning, while to lessen is to remove or reduce. Cristobel lessened his boorishness with a lesson in manners.   peak / peek / pique A mountaintop is a peak, a quick look is a peek, and a hurt ego is a pique. Martha had a pique when she took a quick peek at Mt. McKinley’s peak and realized Stewart had beaten her there.   shear / sheer A shear is a large tool for cutting, while sheer is either very thin and light transmitting or in a complete manner. Mr. Kenneth’s talent with a pair of shears was a sheer delight to see.

The Grateful Head

As if compelling, clever headlines aren’t hard enough to write (see above), figuring out how to style them can be just as difficult. Assuming you're not capitalizing every letter in every word, here are the generally accepted rules: Always capitalize the first and last words Capitalize all nouns, pronouns, adjectives, adverbs, and verbs, as well as all other words that are four or more letters Despite their length, or lack thereof, capitalize the following: no, not, nor, off, out, so, up Capitalize what are known as “subordinating conjunctions”: if, because, as, that, etc. Capitalize the first word after a colon   Capitalize infinitives like this: to Be, to Do, to Go (it looks funny here, I know, but it doesn’t in headlines)