Two Lessons, One Comic

Or maybe two half lessons. Here’s the comic:

First lesson: The pronunciation of “nuclear” is undergoing linguistic transition. The dictionaries are even giving both pronunciations. A similar duo that I’d be a bit more dogmatic about is calvary and cavalry. You know the difference, right?

Second lesson: This is an example of sarcasm, which is saying the opposite of what you mean. Sarcasm is a legitimate figure of speech, so only we curmudgeons really care about it.

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I don’t usually post comics that contain profanity, but I do like it when someone gets their grammar right…

I got to the third panel and decided to post the comic with a grammar correction, then I got to the fourth panel! At least the monster didn’t say “your so easy.”

—Some of the time, anyway. Tech docs have a reputation for not being read, but that’s because we make the info so clear, people sometimes think they didn’t read it. Details after the comic.

Five things about writing instructions well:

• Number the instructions.
• One instruction per instruction. (Except you can end with “and press Enter” when appropriate.)
• Start with an imperative.
• Tell the result of doing it right.
• Include a picture afterwards if possible. The goal is to make it possible to follow the instructions just by looking at the pictures. Hence the reputation of not being read.

The first lesson I’ve mentioned before: use the subjunctive with “if.” The kid doesn’t, which is incorrect. First panel:

He should say “If I were left-handed.” “If” implies contrary to fact, hence the need for the subjunctive.

So what’s the answer to his question? Could he be left-handed and right-footed? Yes! Herein lies lesson two, a vocabulary lesson. When you are right-one thing and left-another thing, that’s called being cross-dominant. I happen to be cross-dominant—right-handed and left-eyed, so that’s how I know.

What about you? Might you be cross-dominant?

“Comprise” and “compose” are not interchangeable! But “comprise” and “composed of” are. I found these usages in an interesting article about small towns that are good places to visit—https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/the-15-best-small-towns-to-visit-in-2022-180980129. (I’ve been to two of them).

“Comprise” goes from the whole to its parts:

The massive mural, painted by Navajo artist Chester Kahn and comprising 65 portraits of Navajo individuals, including past politicians and unsung leaders, is one of more than two dozen murals gracing the exteriors of downtown.

“Composed of” also goes from the whole:

Today, Chillicothe’s Hopewell Culture National Historical Park and a couple of nearby properties house the Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks—eight archaeological sites of the Hopewell Indigenous people composed of ceremonial earthen wall enclosures, each made up of varying geometric forms and dating back nearly 2,000 years.

Each site has enclosures. They look like mounds in the picture

Do not say “is comprised of”!