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• English Grammar Gone Awry: A Guide to the Most Common Errors in the Usage of the English Language

  (Grammar)
  
  Less and fewer have essentially the same meaning, but they are used differently according to what they modify. Less is used with mass nouns, which are nouns that do not have plural forms (e.g., milk, money). These nouns cannot be counted, as in one milk, two milks, etc. (Although money may seem like a countable object, remember that we cannot say one money. We can, however, say one dollar or one cent). Fewer is used with count nouns, which have plural forms and can be counted (e.g., car, dollar). Look at the following example:
  
  Example (less-correct usage): There is less milk than juice in the refrigerator. In the example sentence above, milk does not consist of an amount that can actually be counted, so less is the appropriate word to use. This type of sentence rarely causes any problems for English speakers. However, in a sentence such as, "There are fewer people in class today than there were yesterday," a great deal of confusion arises over what is correct. Many people would be tempted to say, "There are less people in class today than there were yesterday." But remember that if the objects can be counted, always use fewer, not less. People in a class can be counted, so fewer is the correct choice for this sentence.
  
  (extract from the "English Grammar Gone Awry" site)
  
  http://grammarguide.port5.com/

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• The Grammar Lady

  (Grammar)
  
  The purposes of the site are to be helpful, to raise consciousness about correct language use, and to remind everyone of the ways to have fun with language. I hope you will take the time to explore the different sections of the site and come back often to see what's new.
  
  The Grammar Hotline/Web site is a one-woman, free service, which I operate at considerable expense (currently without outside support). The purpose is to answer quick grammar, punctuation, spelling, and other points about language.
  
  If you need proofreading and editing help, I will be happy to quote you my rates.
  
  There are several ways to contact me. During hours of operation noted in the left margin, you can call me on the Hotline number. Please check the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) before calling.
  
  (extract from the "Grammar Lady" site)
  
  http://www.grammarlady.com/

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• Hypertext Guide to English Grammar, Mechanics, and Usage Rules

  (Grammar)
  
  Participle: "a word having the characteristics of both verb and adjective; an English verbal form that has the function of an adjective and at the same time shows such verbal features as tense and voice and capacity to take an object" [Webster Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary]
  
  Gerund: "the English verbal noun in -ing that has the function of a [noun] and at the same time shows the verbal features of tense, voice, and capacity to take adverbial qualifiers and to govern objects" [Webster Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary]
  
  Infinitive: "a verb form normally identical in English with the first person singular that performs some functions of a noun and at the same time displays some characteristics of a verb and that is used with to (as in ``I asked him to go'') except with auxiliary and various other verbs (as in ``no one saw him leave'')" [Webster Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary]
  
  (extract from the Virginia Tech/Norfolk State University site)
  
  http://ei.cs.vt.edu/~cs5014/courseNotes/5.TechnicalCommunication/tc_2_Usage.html

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• Improve your English grammar by improving your vocabulary.

  (Grammar)
  
  Expand your vocabulary and improve your English grammar. The proper use of vocabulary is one of the most important skills in developing a strong English grammar. By appropriately using vocabulary words taught in the Executive Vocabulary program you will greatly improve your mastery of English grammar.
  
  If you are looking to improve your English grammar to advance your career, you need Executive Vocabulary. No other program is more focused on teaching you the right words and their proper usage for your success. Executive Vocabulary is the best vocabulary program for improving your English grammar because we only focus on teaching you the proper usage of what we call Power Words.
  
  (extract from the "Executive Vocabulary" site)
  
  http://www.grammar-grammar.com/english%5fgrammar/

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• Dr. NAD's Prig Page

  (Grammar)
  
  Are you an editor, author, journalist, verbivore, English major, English professor, English student, English teacher, grammarian? Assembling a style manual, writing manual? Dr. NAD's Prig Page features contest challenge quiz tests of grammar, usage, spelling, punctuation, and style in the English language. Submit future items. Contributors publicized. Answers are annotated. Answer by E-Z form. An interactive collection of submitted pet peeves and related links is maintained as well.
  
  (extract from Dr. NAD's Prig Page)
  
  http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/5229/p_.htm

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• Slang words for getting drunk

  (Definitions)
  
  

  Trollied
  Muntered
  Klangered
  Steaming
  Lashed
  Gazumped
  Bladdered
  Bazeracked
  Kettled
  Mashed
  Hammered
  Wombled
  Blatted
  Mullered
  Get messy
  Willied
  Klangered 
  

  
  
  (extract from the BBC site)
  
  http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/1060952.stm

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• Let's face it - English is a crazy language.

  (Recreation/puzzles/offbeat)
  
  

  There is no egg in eggplant nor ham in hamburger; neither apple 
  nor pine in pineapple.
  
  English muffins weren't invented in England or French fries in France.
  
  Sweetmeats are candies while sweetbreads, which aren't sweet, are meat.
  
  We take English for granted. But if we explore its paradoxes, we find 
  that quicksand can work slowly, boxing rings are square and a guinea pig 
  is neither from Guinea nor is it a pig. 
  
  And why is it that writers write but fingers don't fing, grocers don't 
  groce and hammers don't ham?
  
  If the plural of tooth is teeth, why isn't the plural of booth beeth?
  
  One goose, 2 geese. So one moose, 2 meese?
  
  One index, 2 indices? Doesn't it seem crazy that you can make amends, 
  but not one amend.
  
  If you have a bunch of odds and ends and get rid of all but one of them, 
  what do you call it?
  
  If teachers taught, why didn't preachers praught?
  
  If a vegetarian eats vegetables, what does a humanitarian eat?
  
  Sometimes I think all the English speakers should be committed to an 
  asylum for the verbally insane. In what language do people recite at a 
  play and play at a recital?
  
  Ship by truck and send cargo by ship?
  
  Have noses that run and feet that smell?
  
  How can a slim chance and a fat chance be the same, while a wise man 
  and a wise guy are opposites?
  
  You have to marvel at the unique lunacy of a language in which your 
  house can burn up as it burns down, in which you fill in a form by 
  filling it out and in which, an alarm goes off by going on.
  
  English was invented by people, not computers, and it reflects the 
  creativity of the human race, which, of course, is not a race at all.
  
  That is why, when the stars are out, they are visible, but when the 
  lights are out, they are invisible.
  
  One last thought .......... Why doesn't "Buick" rhyme with "quick"?
  

  
  
  (extract from the "G Spot" site)
  
  http://www3.sympatico.ca/thegotts/

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• Gobbledygook

  (Etymology)
  
  Remember Samuel Maverick, the Texan who bequeathed his name to the type of political candidate who stands apart from the herd, as it were?
  
  His grandson, Maury Maverick, was a Texas congressman. In 1944, exasperated by his colleagues' affinity for bureaucratese, this Maverick penned a memo condemning such governmentspeak as gobbledygook. His inspiration for coining this word, he later said, was the idea of roosters "gobbledygobbling and strutting with ludicrous pomposity."
  
  "Gore said the name of the prize federal employees can win each month for writing clearly is the 'Gobbledygook Elimination Prize.' Federal employees with a knack for words will win a button with a turkey head with a slash through it." -- From an article on Govexec.com about the Vice President's attempt to follow in Maverick's footsteps.
  
  (extract from Martha Barnette's "Fun Words" site)
  
  http://www.funwords.com/library/g.htm#galoot

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• Journals with Free Archives on the Web

  (Other)
  
  Fulltext Sources Online is a directory of periodicals accessible online in full text through more than 25 aggregators. FSO is published biannually in January and July, and lists over 17,000 newspapers, journals, magazines, newsletters, newswires, and transcripts. Each issue is complete and replaces previous issues.
  
  (extract from the "Fulltext Sources Online" site)
  
  http://www.infotoday.com/fso/protected/freetitles.htm

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• Scottish Dialect

  (Current usage/news)
  
  Listening to a native Scotsman speak English should give us all a newfound appreciation for the might of the Roman Empire. That Hadrian's Walll could prevent the spread of the English language north is a true tribute to the ingenuity and skill of those Roman craftsmen. Even today some of Scotland still speaks significantly different language to English. Some of the Western Isles speak Gaelic yet, and on the East Coast Doric still has a few strongholds left.
  
  Scotland has not only different words for things, but different pronunciations for words that English speakers from around the world may not be familiar with.
  
  Pronunciation
  
  The most common pronunciation problem people visiting Scotland have is with the soft 'ch', as in loch. The English, especially, have difficulty with this. The correct sound is not made by the vocal chords, but is basically just a noisy breath, like a cat hiss. Once this basic is commanded then the rest of the quirks are easily mastered. The 'r' is normally rolled at the front of the mouth so 'car' is pronounced as carrrr, not as the Anglified ka. Some words are shortened, losing bits that slow their roll off the tongue, so 'awfully' becomes offy and 'cannot' becomes canny.
  
  The List
  
  Here are some of the more common words that may be heard when visiting Scotland. Some of the words are normally considered taboo1 in polite society, but who among us doesn't curse from time to time?
  
  Please bear in mind that for most of these words have never been written down, so spelling is done phonetically.
  
  (extract from the BBC site, article from numerous sources, edited by "Jimi X")
  
  http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/alabaster/A139033

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• What is the etymology of "vaudville"?

  (Current usage/news)
  
  According to the leading theory, vaudeville derives from vau-de-Vire (valley of Vire), in Calvados, Normandy. Vau-de-Vire was the home of Olivier Basselin, a 15th-century minstrel and writer of satirical songs. A Basselin tune, and later any light popular song, became known as a chanson du vau-de-Vire, "song of the valley of Vire," shortened to vau-de-Vire. By the mid-16th century, possibly because such tunes had become popular in Paris, the term had been corrupted to vaux de ville or voix de ville, meaning "voice of [the] city." This has a cool ring to it until you realize that the voice of the city eventually sounded a lot like Milton Berle. By the 18th century, vaudeville had entered English as a term for comic ballad, for comic stage performance, and finally, in the U.S., for variety theater in general.
  
  (extract from "The Straight Dope")
  
  http://www.straightdope.com/columns/020524.html

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• The etymology of entre

  (Etymology)
  
  As for the question ("In a word," March 16-17) of why the entre is the main course in the United States and not, as in France, the first course, the evolution of this false friend provides the answer. According to a number of French culinary sources, the entre was originally the entry not to the meal, but to the main course - coming before the roast in a formal meal, but after the hors d'oeuvre, soup and/or fish. Typical entres were substantial - meat pies, souffls, savory pastries.
  
  With people eating less elaborate dinners these days, the term evolved in opposite directions in the United States, where it became the most substantial course, and France, where it now usually refers to any first course.
  
  (extract from the "International Herald Tribune" site, article by Meg Bortin)
  
  http://www.iht.com/articles/55989.html

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• What is the etymology of "Umpdeump"? "Umptyump", "Umpteen"? "Umptieth"

  (Etymology)
  
  It is thought that the words "iddy" and "umpty" were used to verbalise the dots and dashes in Morse code. In this fashion "umpty" was the letter "t" ("umpty-umpty" was the letter "m", as in "Morse"), and the word came to be used in military slang to refer to an unknown quantity.
  
  

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• What is the etymology of "copasetic"? "copacetic"?

  (Etymology)
  
  It is unknown. But this is a test entry anyway.
  
  http://www.m-w.com

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