They Got Lego Right

rogersgeorge on April 16th, 2024

The company that manufactures this plastic toy insists that the word “Lego” has no plural form. “Lego” is an adjective, they say. Lots of folks, especially kids, say “Legos” but they’re wrong. Good old Scientific American gets it right! Here’s a quote from the March 2024 issue, page 4, in an article that mentions antibody-drug conjugate (ADC):

The pieces are mix and match, like Lego bricks: a cancer-killing drug, an antibody that clings to tumor cells, and a connector that releases the drug at the right time.

Scientific American March 2024, page 4

Not that you need a picture, but here’s one:

So what do you call those things?

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“Many” is a Plural

rogersgeorge on April 14th, 2024

What is it when you refer to a single group of many? I say it’s still a plural, so I say this headline is incorrect:

Children are expensive – not just for parents, but the environment – so how many is too many?

Should be “how many are too many?”

That’s in a newsletter named The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/children-are-expensive-not-just-for-parents-but-the-environment-so-how-many-is-too-many-176662

Here’s the picture behind the headline:

A Little Metaphorical Humor

rogersgeorge on April 12th, 2024

Of course you know what a mixed metaphor is, right?

“Metaphor” is a generic term that we use for any figure of speech. However, when the figure of speech’s beginning and end don’t match, that’s what we call a mixed metaphor. For example (or should I say “for examples”):

Might you see one that’s not mixed?

A Nice Little Vocabulary Lesson

rogersgeorge on April 10th, 2024

Here are the words for different ways to sit on the floor, first panel:

I’ve heard Nara’s word, but not the others. What about you?

One Good, One Bad List

rogersgeorge on April 8th, 2024

First panel. This sentence has two lists of adjectives. What’s wrong with the bad one? I speak of grammar, of course.

You’re right (I hope)! The second list is redundant. Both words mean the same thing. The first list has words with (technically) different meanings, so that list is grammatically okay.