A Flare for the Language

Found this in my tote bag; I ripped it out of my daily newspaper back on September 12, and intended to post it. Here it is--later, and more rumpled.

On the celebrity-news paper, an item about Kanye West's arrest in L.A. Airport after an altercation w/ paparazzi; West was accused of smashing a camera on the floor.

The line in question:

The singer has a history of flaring his temper.

A temper is not like a ruff--you can't flare it. It flares itself.

Comma, No Comma

a single, working mom

I vote for the comma, since "single" *could* mean "only one of them."

But, if it is:

a working single mom

(for that matter, if you left out "working," I'd still assume she was employed--I don't imagine many single moms get to stay home w/ their kids)

Grammar Cake

Speaking of square fondant-covered cakes:

National Grammar Day is coming up, and I'm planning a party.

I want to make a cake. A grammar cake.

But I have only two ideas, so I'm trolling for more.

My two ideas are:

--a basic rectangle, w/ fondant cut into letters that say: Grammar Are Great.

And then I'll use a piping tip and buttercream to draw editing marks that fix the grammar

--a series of cupcakes, each labeled w/ the name of a part of speech: (transitive verb, preposition, pronoun, appositive, etc.). 

I'll make the labels either out of something edible (writing w/ frosting, maybe), or print them onto pieces of paper, cut out, and tape to a toothpick.

My husband suggested creating a sentence in which the grammar is wrong because of the word order, and making a mini loaf of cake for each word.

Any other ideas?

(I have a cake idea for National Punctuation Day, but I'm saving it.)

Comma, No Comma

a square, fondant-covered cake

or

a square fondant-covered cake