language

Archived Posts from this Category

Friday, January 6, 2012

2011 Adventures at The Patch

Posted by erinstraza under culture, faith, language | Tags: , , |
Leave a Comment 

Writing a recap post each year gives me a chance to review my blog and remember what I wrote about and what my life was like during the past twelve months. The words I would use to describe 2011 are travel, running, and writing. The three are connected: I traveled a lot, some because of running, and wrote about both.

WordPress sent me the following fun fact about my blogging life in 2011:

The concert hall at the Sydney Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 12,000 times in 2011. If it were a concert at Sydney Opera House, it would take about 4 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.

Thanks for attending at least one of the four sold-out performances! Who knew that so many would sit through random musings about travel, running, and writing?! If you are an infographic fan, you can read the complete WordPress report for my blog here. I hope you will visit again in the New Year!

_______________________

Picks of the Patch 2011

As usual, I’ve pulled some of my favorite posts from 2011 as a reading sampler. If you are new to The Patch, you will get a good taste of what I tend to write about here.

faith
A Case for Mealtime Grace
Mega Memory Month Wrap-Up: Linear Thinking Would Be Helpful
Spring Cleaning
How to Wait for a Spiritual Sunrise

language
It’s a Grammar Party! Dullards and Pendants Welcome
Which Word Wednesday: Flair vs. Flare
Which Word Wednesday: Height vs. Heighth
Resting in Common Words

culture
Recovering Life’s Margin
Enchantment Leads to Great Delight
Snap Judgments of the Positive Kind
Overcoming Evil with Good

Stats from The Patch

All-Time Views: 50,346
Total Views in 2011: 12,336
Average Daily Views in 2011: 34
Total Posts in 2011: 96

Most Popular Posts in 2011

#1: Gifts from My Mother
#2: Which Word Wednesday: Hoedown vs. Hootenanny
#3: How I Won the 24th Erin Award at the Hot Chocolate 15K

2011 Blog Adventures

Some space at The Patch was reserved for The High Calling book club commentary. We read and discussed The Spirit of Food (a collection of essays) and Enchantment written by Guy Kawasaki.

In April, Christ and Pop Culture added me to their writing team. Mixed Signals is my weekly musing about marketing miscellany in advertising, branding, and messaging and how Christians can navigate all that. Among other things, I’ve written about the marketing of Sharpie pens, the American Heritage Dictionary, the Obama brand, Ikea, The Fresh Market, and Nutella.

In May, I was asked to write a guest post for Revive Our Hearts. I love that ministry and the people I’ve gotten to know! What a blessing to be connected to them.

 

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Which Word Wednesday: Epee vs. Foil

Posted by erinstraza under language | Tags: , , , , |
Leave a Comment 

Over the Christmas holiday, I got to visit with my honorary niece (hey Miss Hannah!) who is home from college. She mentioned that she is giving the fencing team a go, and that led to a discussion about the swords. Both épée and foil are common crossword puzzle answers, so I was familiar with the terms and asked which she was using . . . but neither of us knew the difference, so I said I would have to look them up.

Hence, today’s Which Word Wednesday duel (pun intended), the match up between épée and foil. Here are the definitions from The Oxford American Dictionary:

épée :: noun
a sharp-pointed dueling sword, designed for thrusting and used, with the end blunted, in fencing

foil :: noun
a light fencing sword without cutting edges but with a button on its point

Ron Evans gives us more detail in his The Artful Nuance: “An épée is a fencing or dueling sword having a bowl-shaped guard (to protect the hand), a rigid thirty-five-inch blade” and a foil is a weapon “resembling an épée but weighing less and having a flat guard and a more flexible blade.”1

From these sources we can summarize the differences as follows: The épée has a rigid blade with a bowl-shaped guard whereas the foil has a flexible blade with a flat guard.

What’s my WWW verdict? Whether it’s an épée or a foil . . . on guard!

What’s your verdict? Did you know the difference between an épée and a foil? Have you ever participated in a fencing match? Do share in the comments.

_______________

Check out previous Which Word Wednesday verdicts here.

_______________
Sources
1. Ron Evans, The Artful Nuance: A Refined Guide to Imperfectly Understood Words in the English Language (New York, NY: Penguin Group, 2009), 87.

 

Friday, December 30, 2011

For the Tomorrows of 2012

Posted by erinstraza under culture, faith, language | Tags: , , , , |
1 Comment 

How grateful I am to have a few days this week to decompress! I get to read, rest, reflect—three of my favorite R-word activities! It seems that 2011 was in short supply of all these, although some changes throughout the year just may be culminating into a fresh New Year. Let me explain.

Last year, I was blessed with too much work. So blessed, in fact, that the first four months consisted of regular all-nighters. Something had to go . . . but what? After much prayer, I decided to remove my editing/proofreading contract with a communications agency. It was one of those sad but good decisions. But it still took me months to feel like I was digging myself out of the hole I had gotten into. The months of irregular sleep, household neglect, and responsibility shirking towered and took its toll.

Let me stress: God has been good to me. He held me steady through my emotional ups-and-downs and has taught me more about who He is and my need for His grace and love and mercy. My life with the Hubster is sweet, more than I could ever have imagined. I have dear friends who know me through and through, who pray for me, cry with me, laugh at me (in love, of course). I have work that is of the pinch-me-I-must-be-dreaming nature.

Life is good and sweet. I am grateful. But some stretches are rougher than others, and 2011 was rough in the work-and-responsibility sense. But now that I’ve had some time for the three Rs, I feel mentally ready, able, and excited to meet my life in the days of 2012. I think they call this hope. And hope makes me dreamy! This is why I love the start of something new—a new day, new week, new month, new year. New makes me dream of what could be.

In all this hopes-and-dreams discourse, did any of you think of the Walt Disney Carousel of Progress theme song, “There’s a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow”?!

(Well, that may be a bit too sunshiny. Let’s move on.) Here are my hopes and dreams for the big bright beautiful tomorrows of 2012.

_______________

1. For the Love of God
Fill & Empty is what I’ve been calling my morning check-in with the Lord. Basically, it’s getting more of who Jesus is (His Spirit, His power, His Truth—Him!) in me as I empty my soul in prayer and worship. Each month I plan to take a morning retreat to rest and rejoice in God’s grand rescue of me, a sinner. Both of these (the daily time and the monthly retreat) were spotty during 2011, and I’d like 2012 to be more consistent so that I do not let spiritual drift set in.

2. For the Love of Reading
Reading is a true joy for me, and it was in short supply in 2011. When I had time to sit still to read, I was often too tired to do so. For 2012, I have several reading challenges and goals set. These are, of course, in addition to the other books I am reading . . . :

The High Calling Book Club: We’ll be reading David Brooks’s The Social Animal: The Hidden Sources of Love, Character, and Achievement. It kicks off Monday, January 9 with chapters 1–3 and will last a few months.

Bible Reading Challenge: This a challenge of my own making, so we’ll see how it goes! It’s a two-parter. Part 1 is the Daily Drink (reading some Scripture every day). Part 2 is the Sabbath Soak (taking a deeper look at a particular book or passage each Sunday for a month). I’ll write more on this is a separate post in an effort to encourage others to join me.

Classics Challenge: Years ago I started reading some classic literature and decided I would select books according to author’s last name. I’ve read books by Austen, Bronte, Carroll, and Dostoyevsky, crossing off the first five letters of the alphabet. I’ve read other classics covering letters I, L, O, and S. Needless to say, I have plenty more letters to cover. I’d like to read four more in 2012: The Great Gatsby, The Picture of Dorian Gray, The Scarlet Letter, and The Fountainhead.

3. For the Love of Writing 
A positive for 2011 is that my work shifted primarily to writing projects. Most of my time is spent writing, rewriting, and thinking about writing. [joy!] I started a weekly column called Mixed Signals for Christ and Pop Culture, which has stretched me in many good and painful ways. Which Word Wednesday is still going strong right here at The Patch. But generally speaking, my blog was neglected in 2011. In the year ahead, I would like to spend more writing time here and possibly give the site a facelift.

_______________

So that does it! Three resolution-like visions for 2012.

What sorts of resolutions are you making for the year ahead? I’d love to hear all about it! And watch for more information about my Bible Reading Challenge—I’d love to have your company.

 

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Which Word Wednesday: Tetchy vs. Touchy

Posted by erinstraza under language | Tags: , , , , |
Leave a Comment 

I got a new word for Christmas. It came to me while playing Cranium with the family. A trivia question presented to the guys’ team asked for the proper definition of the word tetchy. I had never seen that one before, and I wondered if the more commonly used touchy had usurped it. That was enough to give me today’s Which Word Wednesday duel (weapon-free, of course—it’s Christmas).

Definitions from The Oxford American Dictionary:

tetchy :: adjective
bad-tempered and irritable

touchy :: adjective
(of a person) oversensitive and irritable

The words are very similar: adjectives describing temperament or an emotional display. Although I could find no basis for this conclusion, it seems that a tetchy person is grouchy due to anger whereas a touchy person is grouchy because he is overly sensitive to the perceived slights of others.

As for the connection between the two words, Julia Cresswell tells us (in The Insect That Stole the Butter? Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins) that “touchy, ‘easily upset or offended,’ . . . was probably originally an alliteration of tetchy.”1

The OAD tells us that usage of tetchy can be traced from the late 16th century, whereas touchy is a bit newer, from the “early 17th cent.: perhaps an alteration of tetchy.” So the connection between the two words is likely! Good enough for me. Another word mystery put to rest.

What’s my WWW verdict? Some words stick better than others. Why does touchy get more use than tetchy? I think it’s because we the root, touch, is in regular use (tetchy has no familiar root).

What’s your verdict? Why do we use touchy more than tetchy? Did you get any new words for Christmas? Do share in the comments.

_______________
Check out previous Which Word Wednesday verdicts here.

_______________
Sources
1. Julia Cresswell, The Insect That Stole the Butter? Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins (New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2002), 452.

 

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Which Word Wednesday: Imply vs. Infer

Posted by erinstraza under language | Tags: , , , , |
Leave a Comment 

As much as I enjoy learning about words and communicating through writing and speaking, I can’t call myself an expert communicator. Too often I choose the wrong word and send the wrong message . . . and once it’s out there, it’s difficult to adjust (unless I have lots of grace in the bank with the audience!).

But even the most carefully crafted message can be improperly decoded. In the end, both the sender and the receiver must work together for good communication and understanding. That’s what makes relationship so wonderfully unpredictable!

Today’s Which Word Wednesday match up is all about communication. Let’s start with the definitions from The Oxford American Dictionary:

imply :: verb
strongly suggest the truth or existence of (something not expressly stated)

infer :: verb
deduce or conclude (information) from evidence and reasoning rather than from explicit statements

Here we have two actions related to the communication and processing of information. I think of imply as something I do when I communicate and infer as something I take in when others communicate. Ron Evans says the same in his The Artful Nuance: “Roughly, speakers imply, but hearers infer.”1

In both of cases, communication can be either helped or hindered. If I am implying something without saying it outright, a deeper communication can be reached, if the receiver actually catches what I mean. This is the classic “beating around the bush” form of communication. But if the recipient doesn’t catch what I’m implying, I may assume understanding where there is none.

Likewise, if I correctly infer that someone is implying something to me beyond what the words state, I can gain deeper insight. But if I infer something the sender never intended, the result could be disastrous.

What’s my WWW verdict? Straightforward communication is best, but not always easy.

What’s your verdict? Do you have regular communication blunders? When is the last time you infer something that wasn’t implied? Do share in the comments.

_______________

Check out previous Which Word Wednesday verdicts here.

_______________
Sources
1. Ron Evans, The Artful Nuance: A Refined Guide to Imperfectly Understood Words in the English Language (New York, NY: Penguin Group, 2009), 126.

 

Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Which Word Wednesday: Despise vs. Hate

Posted by erinstraza under language | Tags: , , , , |
1 Comment 

I know, I know. It’s Christmas. The season of love and joy. So this week’s Which Word Wednesday match up is not a good fit for the intended mood of the season.

But the entry caught my eye as I flipped through one of my word resource books today. And after reading the definitions for these two words, I found that I was using despise improperly. eek!! Certainly I can’t be the only one (?). Consider this my Christmas gift to you, that I would care enough to set us all straight. (ahem.)

Here are the definitions from The Oxford American Dictionary:

despise :: verb
feel contempt or a deep repugnance for

hate :: verb
feel intense or passionate dislike for (someone)

It seems that despise is more about scorn and disapproval. I guess that could lead to the emotion of hate, but not necessarily. It may be that you despise something (disapprove of it) but you aren’t a complete hater. It’s also possible that you hate something but aren’t bitter toward it.

Ron Evans clarifies in his The Artful Nuance: “To hate is to dislike intensely but needn’t imply ‘looking down on’: ‘A man may hate another man for running away with his wife without despising him.’ ”1 And Dave Dowling gives us this example in The Wrong Word Dictionary: It seems people either love or hate mayonnaise on sandwiches.”2

My error is in using despise as a fancy form of hate. For example, I would say that people either love or despise mayonnaise on sandwiches, but this usage implies that people may feel scorn toward mayonnaise . . . which seems unlikely. (I’ve never heard anyone admit to bitterness toward mayonnaise.)

What’s my WWW verdict? Despise and hate are not interchangeable. Especially when it comes to sandwiches.

What’s your verdict? Do you think despise and hate are interchangeable? Are you bitter toward sandwich condiments? Do share in the comments.

_______________

Check out previous Which Word Wednesday verdicts here.

_______________
Sources
1. Ron Evans, The Artful Nuance: A Refined Guide to Imperfectly Understood Words in the English Language (New York, NY: Penguin Group, 2009), 71.
2. Dave Dowling, The Wrong Word Dictionary (Oak Park, IL: Marion Street Press, 2005), 79.

 

Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Which Word Wednesday: Frog vs. Toad

Posted by erinstraza under language | Tags: , , , , , , |
Leave a Comment 

Are you familiar with the Frog and Toad children’s books? I read them back in the day and was reminded of them in an article by Erin Newcomb posted at Christ and Pop Culture on Monday. The best books present characters so real that readers consider them friends. Frog is the sort of guy who is friendly and easy going. Toad is more serious and pensive. Their differences do not prohibit them from being friends, however (a lesson we all need, whatever our age).

But Frog and Toad are not people; they are creatures. So I began to consider the differences between actual frogs and toads . . . which landed me on the topic for this week’s Which Word Wednesday.

Let’s dig in with the definitions from The Oxford American Dictionary:

frog :: noun
a tailless amphibian with a short squat body, moist smooth skin, and very long hind legs for leaping

toad :: noun
a tailless amphibian with a short stout body and short legs, typically having dry warty skin that can exude poison

Both are tailless with short bodies. But frogs get the long legs and moist skin while the toads have short legs and dry skin with warts and poison.

Ron Evans gives us further insight from his The Artful Nuance: “They differ in at least four obvious respects. Frogs like water, are smooth skinned, leap, and have teeth. Toads, except when breeding, aren’t aquatic; are dry, rough skinned, and warty (though they don’t cause warts); and are toothless.”1

What’s my WWW verdict? When you come across a stout, tailless amphibian, and you aren’t sure if it’s a frog or a toad, just ask it to smile. The presence or absence of teeth will solve it.

What’s your verdict? Do you the Frog and Toad adventure stories? Were you aware that frogs have teeth but toads go gummy? Do share in the comments.

_______________
Check out previous Which Word Wednesday verdicts here.

_______________
Sources
1. Ron Evans, The Artful Nuance: A Refined Guide to Imperfectly Understood Words in the English Language (New York, NY: Penguin Group, 2009), 104.

 

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Which Word Wednesday: Healthful vs. Healthy

Posted by erinstraza under language | Tags: , , , , , , , |
[2] Comments 

A few months ago, as I was editing content for a client, I came across the word healthful. I don’t see that word very often, and I wondered how it differed from healthy, so I decided to do a check on it.

Since then, I’ve known the difference between the two, but I have a hard time training my tongue to use them properly. Perhaps a feature on Which Word Wednesday will get my tongue to cooperate with my brain? Here are the definitions from The Oxford American Dictionary:

healthful :: adjective
having or conducive to good health

healthy :: adjective
in good health

So far we’ve learned that both words are adjectives and both describe the state of health. This doesn’t help with usage though. David Dowling helps in his The Wrong Word Dictionary: “Healthful means conducive to good health” while “healthy means possessing good health.”1

Ron Evans agrees in The Artful Nuance, adding, “What is healthy enjoys good health.”2

Based on these definitions, food would be described as healthful, not healthy, because food contributes to our health either positively or negatively. Food does not enjoy good health. (Unless you live in VeggieTale World.)

What’s my WWW verdict? People are healthy; food, exercise, and rest are healthful. Proper grammar, punctuation, and words are also healthful.

What’s your verdict? Do you use healthy to describe food, exercise, and rest? Will you be able to train your tongue to use healthful instead? Do share in the comments.

_______________
Check out previous Which Word Wednesday verdicts here.

_______________
Sources
1. Dave Dowling, The Wrong Word Dictionary (Oak Park, IL: Marion Street Press, 2005), 122.
2. Ron Evans, The Artful Nuance: A Refined Guide to Imperfectly Understood Words in the English Language (New York, NY: Penguin Group, 2009), 115.

 

Thursday, November 3, 2011

Words Matter

Posted by erinstraza under culture, faith, language | Tags: , , , , , , |
1 Comment 

Dictionaries are fairly utilitarian. Most people own one, and an old one at that. Some people appreciate them enough to collect them—like the guy who read through the entire Oxford English Dictionary in a year. Few people get excited over the release of a new edition.

I’m one of the few.

The American Heritage Dictionary released its Fifth Edition just yesterday—and did so with great élan.

There’s the interactive Web site, where visitors can upload a personal photo and some meaningful words to create a photographic word image that is included in its gallery. Mine is featured to the right, customized with some of my favorite verses from Romans 5.

Then there is the AHD Twitter frenzy. AHD is giving away one copy of its Fifth Edition each day to one lucky word lover who Tweets about the campaign using “an interesting word” and including the “@ahdictionary” Twitter handle and the “#youareyourwords” hashtag. (I. know.) If I receive one, I’ll be sure to let you all know.

These are tied together with a fantastic campaign titled “You Are Your Words.” Pop over to read my marketing analysis of AHD’s creative at Christ and Pop Culture:

Mixed Signals: The American Heritage Dictionary Says Words Still Matter

Enjoy!

_______________
Mixed Signals is my weekly musing about marketing miscellany in advertising, branding, and messaging hosted each Thursday at Christ and Pop Culture.

 

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Which Word Wednesday: Prim vs. Prissy

Posted by erinstraza under language | Tags: , , , , , |
Leave a Comment 

Selections for Which Word Wednesday typically are chosen from a language debacle or mystery that I simply must put to rest. I must be in a language slump, because this week, I couldn’t think of even one example to draw upon.

Good thing we have The Artful Nuance: A Refined Guide to Imperfectly Understood Words in the English Language by Ron Evans. He provides a whole book full of examples. I flipped through the pages until this entry caught my eye: PRIM/PRISSY (ADJ.). That sounded interesting to me, so here we go, fellow language lovers!

We’ll start with the definitions from The Oxford American Dictionary:

prim :: adjective
stiffly formal and respectable; feeling or showing disapproval of anything regarded as improper

prissy :: adjective
(of a person or their manner) fussily and excessively respectable

When I hear the word prim, I immediately think of proper, as in “prim and proper.” I’m not sure why I always yoke those two together. It also makes me think of someone who is British. I have no explanation for that.

As for prissy, I think of someone who would never go camping (unless it was glamping) because of the outdoorsy bathroom situation. (Interesting side note: OAD says that prissy has been around since the late 19th century, “perhaps a blend of prim and sissy.”)

I do not consider either prim or prissy to be complimentary. Evans supports this in The Artful Nuance:

A prim person is affectedly precise or proper, stiffly formal, and so fastidious in manners and morals as to displease observers.

Prissy . . . means “fussily prim” and connotes sassiness, suggesting an exaggerated sense of what is proper or precise.1

So prim people displease others with their stiff disregard for anything that doesn’t meet their standards for propriety. Prissy people are prim people who get sassy about it.

What’s my WWW verdict? If you want to insult someone, use prim or prissy to describe her. But only if it is true—it wouldn’t be proper otherwise. (In no way am I being prim or prissy about this standard.)

What’s your verdict? Do you use prim or prissy to describe people? Are those descriptors properly applied now that you know the definitions and nuances? Do share in the comments.

_______________

Check out previous Which Word Wednesday verdicts here.

_______________
Sources
1. Ron Evans, The Artful Nuance: A Refined Guide to Imperfectly Understood Words in the English Language (New York, NY: Penguin Group, 2009), 163.

 

« Previous Page — Next Page »

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 71 other followers