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Watch Yer Language
Just for fun
Thursday July 2, 2009
Posted by: Craig Lancaster at 3:23PM MT on July 2, 2009
When it comes to print, writing a headline is an art of word choice and economy. Somehow, you have to boil a story that has nuance into a finite space. Most headline writers do this by punctuating keywords and main ideas, then letting the story take care of the finer points of context. And then there are stories like this. The story headline is enough of a grabber: "Midget wrestlers dead after hooker romp." I mean, I see that, and I'm reading the story that follows. The Web headline is even better: "Mexican wrestling midget brothers found dead after hooker romp." With that much context, heck, you might not need to read the story. What more need be said? Finally, this dispatch would not be complete without a nod to the great Dave Barry, in the form of this observation: Hooker Romp would be a great name for a rock band. Monday May 11, 2009
Posted by: Craig Lancaster at 9:21PM MT on May 11, 2009
You might recall Ralph Keyes and his zeal for ridding journalism of retro references. Gene Weingarten of the Washington Post has a fitting response.
Saturday April 4, 2009
Posted by: Craig Lancaster at 10:37PM MT on April 4, 2009
I think we can all agree that a solid grounding in the principles of grammar is essential to good writing. Still, one can never discount the effect of dialect, particularly in the cutthroat world of sales. Consider this classified ad, which ran in The Billings Gazette this past week:
Let me be the first to say that I'm sorry Grandma can't drive no more. I'm even more sorry that I'm not in the market for a car; Delta 88s are sweet rides. When I was 18, I drove one from North Richland Hills, Texas, to Kit Carson, Colo., and that's a long damned way. * -- Phone number redacted to keep self-important grammar scolds from bothering grandma and the kinfolk. Saturday March 28, 2009
Posted by: Craig Lancaster at 10:41AM MT on March 28, 2009
My apologies for the prolonged quiet since we migrated over here to MyBillingsGazette.com. There's a good reason for it: I'm neck-deep in producing the commemorative book on Rocky's basketball championship. (Want one? Call 406-657-1241.) Nonetheless, we do need to keep the chains moving around here, so I offer this for your consideration: Our friend JD, the proprietor of the Engine Room blog, has started a Flickr group just for editors and lovers of language. Cruise around and see all the ways in which the language can be fractured in print. And, please, post your own. I'll be back sometime next week.
Sunday March 22, 2009
Posted by: Craig Lancaster at 12:58PM MT on March 22, 2009
There’s a reason we - and I’m using the royal we here - don’t like to play gotcha games, even if our business is finding and correcting mistakes. Jon Stewart’s bust of the finger-wagging crew over at Fox News illustrates that reason. We’re not sure how this evaded our attention for nearly three weeks*, but we’re grateful to Editrix for pointing it out. * - Slothfulness, probably. |
About This Blog
Watch Yer Language is a clearinghouse for style and usage tips that emanate from my workaday life as an editor at The Billings Gazette — plus the occasional detour into pop culture and other corners where language is wielded. The material is pulled from all sorts of sources — the Associated Press stylebook, dictionaries, various usage manuals, the kindness of strangers and the keen observations of colleagues and friends. The goofy sense of humor is mine alone.
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