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• Post #4344554

  @Sunny Thanks! We have our first real doctor's appointment tomorrow, so I'll ask.

• Post #4344553

  An f’d up tale of the U.S. healthcare system: Pat needs an MRI, and the orthopedic surgeon wrote the order Friday morning for a local hospital, because it’s somewhat urgent, and he thought we’d be able to get in same day. But insurance didn’t approve it until Monday, and we couldn’t get an appt until Wednesday. And they just called, and we have to pay $2,200 on arrival because we haven’t met our deductible. 1/x

• Post #4344552

  I get to listen to this parody of Alanis Morissette's "Ironic" for work today. :) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EwIB51mGil8

• Post #4149439

  So two friends also had parents die suddenly, and Pat blew out his Achilles tendon (probably -- we're still waiting for an MRI), and one of my siblings was just in the ICU for three days, so I'm feeling REALLY fragile and mortal. Middle age sucks. Caregiving is also not for the weak. I'm still so thankful that Pat is strong and hasn't lost his sense of humor. This is hard, but it could be a lot harder.

• Post #3969407

  "So, what's your book about?" Authors and readers struggle with this question because they *describe* instead of *sell*. Describing says what. Selling says why. Communication coach Joel Schwartzberg shares his formulas for nonfiction and fiction pitches — plus, when (and where) to add a personal anecdote. WATCH: https://youtu.be/kznR2cZ0XYw READ: https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/articles/how-to-answer-the-question-whats-your-book-about/ LISTEN: https://pod.link/173429229 #Gra...

• Post #3732471

  Did you know that many people make a distinction between being eager and being anxious? "Anxious" comes from Latin meaning worried or uneasy. "Eager" goes back through French and once carried plenty of negative meanings — "fierce," "savage," and even "sour." Over time, English softened "eager" into pure enthusiasm. 1/2

• Post #3732470

  Make art.

• Post #3732469

  If you read nothing about a post except that it "went viral," would you interpret that as the post being well received or poorly received?

• Post #3732468

  New grads always ask me how to find freelance work, so I put together my best tips. → Here's just one: Find local events a national publication might want to cover. An editor may be more willing to take a chance on a new writer to save money on travel. I got gigs this way as a new science writer by offering to cover conferences. Share this with people you know who are looking for freelance work! WATCH:https://youtu.be/N7BCrTCVqz4 READ: https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/transcripts/gr...

• Post #3732467

  OK, here's some stupid fun: I like to put an emoji before links to my podcast. Which do you think is better to represent YouTube?

• Post #3732466

  My camera doesn't do it justice, but I feel like I could sit and stare at this ocean forevermore.

• Post #3732465

  Ginger mint lemonade at the parade. Highly re!

• Post #3732464

  Pat does not eat cheese on his burgers, but when someone asked who wants cheddar and who wants Swiss, Pat asked, “Why not both?” Pat is now the hero of dinner.

• Post #3419721

  Sharing my best (US-based) money-saving tip again: Pirate Ship. I just mailed a big box of papers that would have been ~$19 if I had taken it to the post office. It was only $10.30 with Pirate Ship. I printed out the label at home and still dropped it off at the same post office. https://pirateship.com

• Post #3154140

  I've never been opposed to the word "hallucinating" for describing how AI makes mistakes ... until now. I just talked to someone who thought AI hallucinations would be obvious because it would be obvious if you talked to a *person* who was hallucinating. In other words, they equated "hallucination" with "sounds wacko" and accepted AI output as true because it sounded level headed. 1/2

• Post #2425083

  Have you intentionally included typos in your work? Last week, I talked with Reader's Digest about whether typos are — get this — the new status symbol. 😱 I'd heard of people doing it to "prove" they aren't AI (which I think is a bad idea), but I hadn't heard of the new "status symbol" idea. It's wild! https://www.rd.com/article/typos-status-symbol/

• Post #2206053

  AP style lovers: You're going to devour this week's podcast with Anna Jo Bratton, the AP Stylebook editor! We talked about why they finally made "healthcare" one word, how the six-person committee makes decisions, new AI guidance including "AI slop" and "vibe coding," and Anna Jo's pet peeve that made it into the Stylebook: "petted" is the past tense of "pet" (not "pet&...

• Post #1954438

  I made a calendar outline on a watercolor note card, and now I'm doing a tiny drawing each day. * Friday's highlight was a delicious burrito. * Saturday, I read part of a book about cake. * Today was gray and drizzly. Make art.

• Post #1912781

  People have been asking about the "unavailable" meaning of "out of pocket" for decades, but there's also an "inappropriate" meaning that is spreading. https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/articles/3-meanings-of-out-of-pocket/

• Post #1871635

  Ever wonder why your accent sounds the way it does — or why people judge you based on how you talk? Valerie Fridland's new book looks at the social power of accents. We talked about why regional accents have been dying out since Gen X, how we actually *hallucinate* accents based on someone's face, and more. Check it out! WATCH: https://youtu.be/xhXeipYt5C0 READ: https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/transcripts/1179/ LISTEN: https://pod.link/173429229 #GrammarGirl #podcast

• Post #1731943

  I wrote a book with 101 tips about misused words, and here’s just one great reason to buy it: it's on sale right now! Find the ebook at Bookshop and Barnes & Noble for only $2.99. These deals don’t last long, so grab your copy while you can! 📕 https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/grammar-girls-101-misused-words-youll-never-confuse-again-mignon-fogarty/1100563171?ean=9781429940573 https://bookshop.org/p/books/grammar-girl-s-101-misused-words-you-ll-never-confuse-again-mignon-fog...

• Post #1685516

  The extra fun thing about my interview this week with @overholt is that he answers a lot of questions asked by YOU (my friends on Mastodon)! Plus, you get to hear about snippy comments from George Washington in the margins of an old manuscript. :) WATCH: https://youtu.be/wnR57OO94Iw READ: https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/transcripts/grammar-girl/1177/ LISTEN: https://pod.link/173429229

• Post #1633213

  Did you know George Washington's copy of James Monroe's scathing memoir still exists—complete with Washington's passive-aggressive margin notes? This week, I talked with Mastodon's very own @overholt, who oversees Harvard's Samuel Johnson collection (and more). We covered books that travel first class, why white gloves damage rare manuscripts, and more. Check it out! WATCH: https://youtu.be/wnR57OO94Iw READ: https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/transcript...

• Post #1619569

  I gave an interview this morning to Readers Digest about people introducing typos in their writing to prove they are human in this age of AI. I just don't believe this is a widespread thing. I think people occasionally post about it, and those posts go viral because it's such an outrageous idea. And if you want to "prove" your writing isn't AI, adding typos has got to be the laziest possible way to do it, so you're just proving you don&#39...

• Post #1424063

  This beast joined us on our walk tonight. The turkeys don't usually get agitated by our presence, but this guy definitely wanted us to know he is B.I.G.

• Post #1176162

  It's tax day in the U.S., so let's talk abut the word: "tax" dates to the 1300s, from the Latin "taxāre" — "to charge or valuate." But taxation is way older than the word. In ancient Egypt, governors just walked through your fields and took a portion of your crops. Before money even existed. This piece has all kinds of fun slang terms for money (and why taxidermy has nothing to do with money): https://www.quickanddirtytips.c...

• Post #1140003

  I just noticed the Kindle version of my book THE ULTIMATE WRITING GUIDE FOR STUDENTS is on sale for only $2.99! I updated the book in 2023 too, so it's still quite fresh. Get it while it's cheap. :) https://www.amazon.com/Grammar-Presents-Ultimate-Writing-Students-ebook/dp/B005EYXBFS?ref_=ast_author_mpb

• Post #1040380

  I just moved to a new instance, so here's a new #introduction I'm the host of the Grammar Girl #podcast. You may have hit my website searching for something like "semicolons." I love #writing books, #teaching online courses, and I founded the Quick and Dirty Tips podcast network. I post about #usage, #editing, #etymology, #books, and other #wordnerd stuff. I'm a fan of #linguistics, #librarians, #podcasting, #journalism, #scifi, #fiction in general,...

• Post #1004921

  🥤What do you call a fizzy drink: soda, pop, or coke? In this week's podcast, we look at why this drink has different names in different parts of the country. It goes all the way back to the 1800s when carbonated water was considered a health drink, which is why it was first sold at soda fountains ... in pharmacies. Watch: https://youtu.be/vvOiMd3OUuk Read: https://grammar-girl.simplecast.com/episodes/pop-soda-coke Listen: https://pod.link/173429229 #GrammarGirl

• Post #964558

  Would you use "hopefully" like this in a sentence: Hopefully, the treaty will be ratified. (I'm going to compare how people feel about this sentence today to an older survey that used the same sentence.)