Write and Polish ~ News & Blog - Write and Polish

Tweeted Grammar Haiku in Observance of National Grammar Day

2/29/2012

Yes, there is a National Grammar Day (March 4), and there is a Tweeted Grammar Haiku Contest that celebrates it.

Who knew?

We didn't, until we stumbled across the fact. But, upon having our ignorance expelled, we immediately composed the following:
Style manuals banishapostrophic confusionyour peace is restored We Tweeted it to the contest, and look forward to perusing the results.You may review everything you ever wished to know about Haiku here.

The Power of Retro ~ Using Nostalgic Touchstones in Marketing

2/29/2012

The new way to be eye-catching is to be old! Read this article on using nostalgia and iconic images in marketing.

The spirit of this observation, of course, has everything to do with forging an immediate emotional connection with your audience. After that instant, though, you have to be able to deliver with content and/or a product that lives up to the expectation that is created at the outset!

Outbreak of Great Vocabulary -- We've Created an Award for That!

2/27/2012

A recent outbreak of Great Vocabulary has inspired us to create an award. Way back, we all enjoyed getting a gold star for the day. Now, you can have that satisfaction again! Use a great word (or phrase) and you may find yourself in possession of a Gold Vocabulary Star!

Inaugural awards go to Media Beyond for use of 'ennui' in their fabulous new demo video, Chris Rickert's recent 'kerfuffle' in the Wisconsin State Journal, and Jim Hall of DCS Property Inspections for 'flotsam and jetsam.'

Well expressed, each of you!

Feel free to submit nominations of worthy word usage. Point us in the direction of the especially literate or clever by sending an e-mail or commenting on this thread. Tell us the person/entity you'd like to recognize, the word or phrase, and a link to the context so we may enjoy it ourselves. We'll be happy to recognize those using the language with loving creativity!!So, light up the firmament with great vocabulary and the Gold Stars that go along with it!!

Writing Tip: "Irregardless" is a word, but you still shouldn't use it...

2/27/2012

Grammar Girl offers this great piece about irregardless, under the title Why You Can't Always Trust the Dictionary.

Word of the Day: Halcyon

2/24/2012

Halcyon

We recommend trying to work this one into conversation this weekend...the most frequent context that we encounter is in the course of a reminiscence.

Of Word Origins and Anachronistic Phraseology

2/23/2012

We've been hunkered in the Write and Polish bunker for the last couple of weeks, working away furiously. We hope to have something to show (publicly) for it soon.

But, in the meanwhile, we submit for your entertainment and edification this mash-up of Downton Abbey linguistic anachronisms
(NOTE: spoilers for season 2).

Though we are persuaded by most of the explanations as to the origins and documentable first-uses, slang always occurs in speech before finding its way into the written record. So, one or two of these phrases might be less anachronistic than they first appear.

Word of the Day: Amorous

2/14/2012

Amorous

Very much in the spirit of the day!

The English Language ~ Not as Easy as it Looks!

2/12/2012

'I' before 'E' except after 'C' ~ Weird!

That's rather it in a nutshell.

English is a peculiar language of rules and exceptions and exceptions-to-the-exceptions.

Ours is a language that's adopted words from more directions (and other languages) than can be counted, and we've no Ultimate Authority that acts to control the result. It's enchanting and confounding.

We at Write and Polish enjoy it for it's very madness, but understand that it makes many want to throw their hands in the air in despair!

Now, How's That Social Media Work Again?

2/10/2012

This is for all of those who are confused about the constantly developing social-media-verse.

We've seen this "explanation" several times this week, and snickered about it in each and every case! It's quite a good summation of the differences, especially for those just dipping a toe into the wide ocean of Social Media Marketing.

Thanks W&P friend Mary Tanner, from whose posing we shared it!

Ever Wonder About the Thesaurus?

2/10/2012

We love, love LOVE grammatical humor!!!