Weird Word of the Week

I chose Thursdays as my "Weird Word of the Week" day (better than Mondays!); it's a chance to help others apprecite the English language, add to their vocabulary or, more likely, try to get their tongue around a word they will unlikely never use or see again.

For this week, I found a word that describes something we might all be guilty of doing:

pleonasm \ PLEE-un-naz-uhm \ noun:

The use of more words than necessary to express your idea; redundant word usage.

Some examples include:

1. Absolutely essential
2. Advance warning
3. Basic fundamentals
4. Classic traditions
5. Completely (or totally) deaf (blind; empty; full: these things can be partially, but the use of the word 'completely' is redundant)
6. Constant nagging (we all know nagging is constant!)
7. Empty hole
8. Free gift
9. Foreign imports
10. Invited guests
11. Individual person
12. Join together
13. Joint collaboration
14. New discovery
15. Overused cliche
16. Past experience
17. PIN number (personal identification number number; same for ATM machine)
18. Return back (retreat back, revert back).
19. Safe haven
20. Unsolved mystery

Now that I have made you aware of these, I am sure you will appreciate that there are loads more pleonasms in everyday language. See if you can pick up the next time someone uses one!

Happy writing!

"Retired" in tired Melbourne traffic

I was stuck in Melbourne traffic for about an hour this morning, and for much of it I was following this truck with a mammoth sticker that read: "RETIRED". I guess he is pretty proud of this to display a sticker so prominently on his rear window. I stared at word for a while, and it began to lose its meaning; I started to think about the word "TIRED" and how "re-" as a prefix can be confusing.

For many words, the prefix "re-" is used with stress, with the sense of "again". "Redo", "rewrite", "remake", "realign" etc. Interestingly, even "repeat" derives from the same pattern, stemming from the word "re + petition" and "repetitive" meaning tiresomely iterative. While its true, you are likely to be "tired" when you "retire to bed" or "retire from your job", the prefix "re-" doesn't seem to reflect a state of  "doing tired again".

My big etymology book failed me on this, and I turned to the trusty Google to sift out the answer:

"Retire" comes from re- "back" + old French (written and spoken c. 900-1400)  tirer "draw out, endure, suffer".

In contrast, the origin of the word "tire" is a little shaky. It stems from the old English (written and spoken c. 450-1100) ateorian "to be weary".

Sometimes more confusing when we write, is remembering when the "re-" takes a hyphen or not: for instance, re-cover (to cover again) versus recover (to have something returned); re-call (such as call out a number again) versus recall (remember).

And, of course, "re" is not always a prefix; plenty of words begin with "re", such as "really": it's not re-ally.

I am in awe of everyone who studies English as a second language...keep it up -- and thanks for letting us get away with these inconsistencies!

Happy writing!

Eat Ray Love - the importance of proofreading your work!

My friend, Emma, sent me this the other day.  I am sure Rachel Ray doesn't really want to cook her family and her dog.....
When it comes to proofreading your work, it is so easy to miss punctuation marks. Take the example here from "Tails" Magazine. It should read: "Rachel Ray finds inspiration in cooking, her family and her dog." The editor claims that the comma was there before they went to print, but somewhere along the way, it was lost!

This is just one of the many examples of why it is so important to have your work proofread by someone other than yourself...like Expedite Publishing!

If you have any pictures, please drop me a line!

Happy Writing!

New Definitions

As I was trawling through various websites yesterday, I stumbled on this one, detailing some new definitions of commonly used words. Here are my favourites:

Inkling: A baby fountain pen
Coffee: The person upon whom one coughs
Flabbergasted: Appalled over how much weight you have gained
Balderdash: A rapidly receding hairline

And the winner:
Lymph: To walk with a lisp

Happy writing!

Source: http://www.seiyaku.com/humour/english/new-words.html

Welcome

This is the first blog from Expedite Publishing.
Welcome to Erroneous English!

I am a scientist turned editor. After many years on the bench - yes, I was one of those people pipetting in white lab coats that you often see on the news - I decided that my love of English could be put to good use: and so Expedite Publishing was born. I offer scientific editing for academics and students; however, Expedite Publishing has helped many other people achieve their writing goals (businesses, individuals and those who have English as a second lanuage), and I hope that this continues! Jump on my website if you would like more information www.expeditepublishing.com.au

I am not a writer - and most people assume that editors are. Instead, my hope is that this blog will offer advice about the mis-use, overuse or underuse of certain words, offer tidbits on how to write well and, from time-to-time, highlight interesting science feature articles and news.

I also welcome any photos of Erroneous English (to which I dedicate this site), from signs, billboards, flyers etc. If you stumble upon any photos that fit the bill, please share them with me.

Happy writing!