Dictionary Diving

I had this wrong! If I'd actually *studied* Latin along w/ The Girl, I'd know, right?

We were using the Latin term "cum," and I wanted to suggest not using it. i was going to argue, "it means 'turned into,' and our bride is still a blogger."

So, I looked it up. And it means "with," of course. (Duh!)

I've interpreted it wrong, all along. Or, people have been using it wrong. In "model cum actress," I've always assumed (or perhaps it has been the case, in instances I've paid attention to) that the "model" identity was left behind (model-cum-actress Farrah Fawcett may still have modeled, but that was now subservient to her actress role).

What did you use wrong, all along?

Today's Cool Dictionary  Fact

I'm looking up the phrase "to a T." It appears in all caps, in a head so no period at the end. Put those together, and it's really hard to read:

FITS YOU TO A T

See what I mean?

Trying to find a solution that wouldn't involve rewriting on the editor's part, I was thinking, "tee" is OK for "T-shirt," but why do I think it's a bad substitute here?

So, I looked up "T."  Natch.  And found this:

short for "to a tittle"

A few thoughts surface. The first is that "tee" is not really commonly used to substitute for the alphabet letter, and I don't like it here. We've already shortened "tittle" to "T"; shortening it yet again is annoying to me.  However, when you look up "tee," you find: "to a tee."

So, a minor poll: which would you do--change to "tee"? Or ask for a rewrite?

And, "tittle." Yay!

We have an album at home w/ the score for the Syracuse University production of "Wind in the Willows," on which the judge thunders that Toad will be in jail "until the last jot and tittle of his sentence" is fulfilled.

Here's the definition: a point or small sign used as a diacritical mark in writing or printing. Its second meaning, which is the one I had thought of always is "a very small part."

(its original meaning makes "the last jot and tittle of his sentence" a pun!!!)

I wonder whether it meant a *specific* shape, and if so, which one?

Don't you think you can start using this word? When you're routing proofs, and talking about proofreaders' marks?

What fun thing have you found in the dictionary lately?

Comma, No Comma

Here's today's, from copy describing dresses:

in simple, floor-skimming styles

Your vote?

Comma, No Comma?

Karen brought me an entire set. 

And apparently, I'm being wishy-washy, for one thing, and for another, she doesn't quite agree w/ me.

Here's what I apparently signed off on, after reading the proof (and adding a couple of commas):

 

a soft, French washed-rind cheese

a buttery, French washed-rind [cheese]

a hard Dutch Gouda

a crumbly, French goat cheese

So why didn't I put a comma after hard? That's completely parallel to the others.

And, I think the comma after crumbly is stupid.

So what was I thinking w/ the comma after soft and buttery?

Karen says: no commas on any of them; Morgan routed it w/o commas.

I apparently put them in. Inconsistently.

Perhaps the presence of the "washed-rind" is affecting me?

[washed-rind cheese] and [Dutch Gouda] and [French {goat cheese}] all equal one base noun (cheese/Gouda/goat cheese) plus one descriptor (washed-rind, Dutch, French).

No, that's not making any sense--not unless I make [Dutch Gouda] the base noun. Then, each base noun gets "one free adjective," and any extras require a comma to join the party?

I don't know.  Like I said the first time I ever did a "Comma, No Comma" post, sometimes I wonder if I know what I'm doing w/ these commas. Or I worry that I'm crazy.

What do you think?

(I think I'm going to bow to Karen's wisdom and tell her to take them back out. Two of them are really stupid w/ commas, even to me, and so since the others are parallel, I'm going to blindly trust the "math.")

Comma, No Comma

a bouquet of ruffly, white hellebores 

I took it out.

Your vote?

Fixed That for You

A headline in my daily paper (Newsday):

City jails rabbi quits

I saw it at an angle, and couldn't figure out who the city was arresting.

Hyphen, anybody?

City-jails rabbi quits

Seen any really confusing headlines lately?

Adding "Color" and Personality--Offensively

Today, a colleague pointed us all to a story in the New York Times about trends in weddings.

On the 2nd page of the online version, there is this story (please note the bolded word):

Last September, Scott Sanders, a producer of the Broadway musical “The Color Purple,” decided to have his rehearsal dinner for 40 at a friend’s house near Beverly Hills. Both he and his partner, Brad Lamm, were meeting some of each other’s family members for the first time, so they wanted to put people at ease.

“We wanted to do something that felt like a party, something casual,” he said.

Casual indeed. “We did tequila shots,” Mr. Sanders said with a giggle.

OK, he's gay--we figured that out in the graph where we're introduced to his partner. But it's not until the writer adds the evocative verb giggle that we find out: "he's not just gay; he's fey!" Serious people don't giggle; girly girls giggle.

That's patronizing and snide. Ick. Was it necessary? Even if he did, literally, giggle--do you need to tell me that? Do I even need to know that he laughed in *any*  manner?

I can't imagine they'd use the word "giggle," even for a woman.

I was *going* to say that I can't imagine they'd bother noting any laugh at all, but then I spotted this at the end of the story (Ms. Weiss is a wedding planner):

At many weddings, the bride “has dieted for months, and there she is on the floor,” Ms. Weiss said with a husky laugh, “pigging out, a Krispy Kreme doughnut shoved in her mouth.

But at least that's a slightly humorous comment, and if you leave out the laugh, it might really change the meaning, making Ms. Weiss look rude (though honestly, it's not that necessary of an aside).

But tequila shots aren't inherently humorous, and there's no need to give me all the "color." And particularly not with that word, with its very weighted connotation.

Ick. Just--totally unnecessary.