So let me get this straight…lips are makin’ the grub? Those are some talented lips!
DANGER! You may misspell “attention” if you don’t pay attention!
This isn’t how to spell the synonym for danger. It is, however, the right spelling for the county from which Bo and Luke hail. I just pray that the error doesn’t cost lives in a tragic store fire.
Dear Conan,
This complaint (whine? rant?) has nothing to do with the written word…it is the spoken word that gets my aged hackles up.
Adult and child actors in commercials, TV news reporters, generally anyone who may utter this word within my hearing…PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE be aware that there is NO “M” IN SANDWICH! There may be meat in your sandwich; there may be lettuce, mayo, and tomato in your sandwich, but there IS NO BLOODY “M”! The word is pronounced “SAND” (as in the little grainy particles on the beach) – “WICH” not SAMMICH. There are an “N”, a “D”, and a “W” in the word “SaNDWich. The Earl would be very much displeased with this mutilated enunciation of his honorable and ancient name from which the term—and the snack itself—were derived (supposedly during a marathon card game). Continue reading…
Capital/capitol. Boy, this one’s a pain, isn’t it? Because it almost seems–well, unpatriotic or something not to know the difference.
But fear not. Sometimes knowing a word’s origin helps us to remember how it’s used. For me, this is one of those times.
The word capitol comes from the Roman Capitoline Hill (Mons Capitolinus), the highest of the seven hills of Rome, on which the temple for the Capitoline Triad stood. (What? You’ve forgotten the three Roman gods of the Capitoline Triad? For shame!) Continue reading…
From the website of a Sanford, Fla., pharmaceutical company specializing in dermatology products:
Our criterion for marketing a product is simple:
- It must work better then any other product
- It must be safer then any other product
- Patients will be able to afford it
I am your principle! Uh, principal...I think...
Here comes one that has stymied people for generations — the age-old duel between principle and principal. And why not? One is a rule you’d rather not follow and the other is a person you’d rather not run into in the hall. As always, there’s a way to keep the two separate, just like Rosie O’Donnell and Elisabeth Hasselbeck: one here, one over there. But first, how about some definitions? Continue reading…
Punctuational danger, Will Robinson!
I’m about to reveal a well-guarded secret to you. Are you sitting down? All strapped in? Ready to know a universal truth? Here it is, forthwith:
It’s okay to place an s after proper nouns that end in y to pluralize them. I hereby give you permission. You have Conan’s word that it’s correct. Can you dig it? Continue reading…
This isn't Mark Spitz.
I was surfing America Online the other day when I came across the tantalizing headline Worst Sports Comebacks. I’m a sucker for this kind of thing, so I clicked on the link — and what to my wondering eyes should appear, but this gem of an entry: Continue reading…
