Pun and Vocabulary Lesson

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You know that the pun is on the word “corn.” What’s a kern? Kerning is adjusting the space between letters so they look like the right amount of space is between them. Unlike what typewriters did. Look at AWA and MNM. If you put a vertical straightedge between the letters, you can see that the A-W letters actually overlap. Obviously, the M-N series letters don’t, but the spaces look the same. That’s kerning.

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First panel. I suppose both “may” and “might” could fit here. Or “could,” which means “might-can.”

Coloquial English often uses “may” as a mild version of “might.” Here’s an example of another misuse, neglecting that “may” is asking permission, not describing the ability to do something.

I had a job a while back writing some math curriculum for IBM. The PhDs in charge insisted that we use “can” when “may” would have been correct.

You might see “may” on traffic signs (The bridge may be icy). I can see how the limited space might justify using the shorter word.

Those two words are sometimes close synonyms, but they can have a significane difference, too. Last panel:

Right and wrong can have a moral meaning, but correct and incorrect are limited to the facts. Most of the time.

Writing takes advantage of homonyms, which are words that sound the same but are spelled differently.

So did you ever read a book about editing?