Home › Posts tagged apostrophes I’ve recently noticed a growing trend of people misusing – or, to be precise, failing to use – apostrophes in expressions of time. It seems to be fairly widespread, ranging from emails and newsletter content to blog posts and social… You know that idiom that refers to comparing yourself to […]
Inspired by the OVO Energy Tour of Britain 2018 cycle race, which whizzed through leafy Warwickshire this week, I thought I’d check to see how many cycling phrases, idioms or other expressions I could find. Quite a few, as it… As the final of this year’s Eurovision hits our screens tonight, I thought it would […]
If you’re confused by terms like “PPC” and “CTR” – and completely baffled by “tags” and “bounce rates” – this beginner’s guide to key SEO terms is for you. Whether you’re a small business owner with your own website or you… Posted in SEO Tagged with: glossary, SEO, terminology, terms
Recent weeks have seen some pretty extreme weather conditions in certain parts of the world. While many Australians swelter in excessive heat, parts of the U.S. have – quite literally – been buried under several feet of snow. So it’s… Here in the Northern Hemisphere, winter is well underway – we’re not exactly snowed in in the UK, but […]
As writers we’re often encouraged to keep things short and to the point. After all, “Brevity is the soul of wit”.[1] Many of the abbreviations we rely on in everyday English have Latin origins. In fact, the word abbreviation derives from the Latin brevis meaning ‘short’. But Latin abbreviations can be troublesome. So here’s a quick […]
Continuing my series of blog posts on idioms, this latest one unwraps a few of the most popular Christmas idioms and other holiday-related phrases and sayings. For those of you interested in word origins, I’ve also included links to extra information where I could find it. ‘Tis the season to feast on Christmas idioms Bah! Humbug! = […]
On the eve of Wimbledon – my favourite sporting event of the year – it seems fitting to write a blog about tennis. Like any sport, tennis has its own lingo but rather than focus on the common terminology, I thought I’d dig around a bit to find some of the lesser-known terms associated with the […]
Every now and then I undertake a large proofreading job, such as a manual or an annual report. The most recent was a meaty 90,000-word operations manual. What I’ve noticed is that the same writing mistakes crop up time and… As writers we’re often encouraged to keep things short and to the point. After all, […]
Home › Posts tagged celebrities I’ve blogged on the subject of names a few times. But thus far I’ve neglected to cover the singular most important one to me: my own. So this post aims to put that right. Even if it is a little indulgent. In… Have you ever met someone whose surname was a perfect […]
Like many others, I turned to various creative pursuits for a welcome distraction during lockdown. One of these was rediscovering a favourite childhood pastime: jigsaws. Not only has this helped take my mind off other things these past few months, but you could even say I’ve become a bit of a jigsaw addict. More than […]
Hot on the tails of my recent post on idioms about mums for Mother’s Day, this week’s blog takes a look at popular phrases and sayings related to Easter. Not surprisingly, most Easter idioms in English are associated with rabbits, chickens, eggs and…
As seems customary at this time of year, I’m taking the easy option this week and doing a blog review to see what worked and what didn’t. But instead of having to trawl through my blog’s stats for 2015, the kind people… As yet another year draws to a close, it seems to be customary for bloggers […]
Since writing my previous blog post containing 20 titbits of word trivia I’ve been on the hunt for more weird and wonderful word facts to share with you. All of these facts are about words in the English language, so… Posted in Language, Lists Tagged with: facts, words Today is International Left-Handers Day, which was […]
Like the majority of people, I take reading and writing for granted – whether that’s jotting down a shopping list, filling out a form, sending a text, browsing the newspaper or surfing online. Yet 1 in 5 adults don’t enjoy…