An Interesting Word Balloon
In comics and cartoons (hmm, what’s the difference?) word balloons have a pointer that identifies the speaker. The pointer zig-zags to indicate speech coming from a telephone, and a line of bubbles indicate something being thought. Here’s one I haven’t seen before.
The room has only one cat. Apparently the multiple pointers mean multiple Z’s! Cats do sleep a lot…
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Where should “Only” Go?
People frequently put “only” at the beginning of the clause that contains the target word. For example Mom might say “you can only have one piece of pie before supper.” But “only” modifies the word directly after it. Is having the piece the only thing? Can’t he see it, or smell it? What she means […]
“Comprise” Done Backwards
Yes, this is one of my chronic complaints, though usually the error is to say “is comprised of.” This is another way to get “comprise” wrong. From The New Yorker, yet! The hundred accumulated tales comprise the Decameron, and together contain an era’s worth of comedy and debauchery. Should be “… hundred tales compose the […]
This one is correct!
This post goes with my last one. You measure brain power, you don’t count it, even though it’s measured in units, apparently. Units notwithstanding, memory is something you measure. See the sign in the elevator: I apologize, sort of, that my second and third sentences are basically a repeat.
A Measuring-Counting Distinction
Misuse of “fewer” and “less” is one of my hobby horses. Use “fewer” when you’re counting, “less” when you’re measuring. Sometimes the distinction can be ambiguous, especially with speed, time, and distance. Here’s another ambiguous one. Second speech in panel two: “Amount” is technically incorrect. It goes with things you measure, not count. But he’d […]
