Greetings,

For the past couple of weeks I've been trying to find photos that were printed in our local paper of some amazing surfing feats  - they showed Aussie surfer girl, Layne Beachley mixing it with the Big Waves at Sunset Beach. Of course I haven't been able to find them, but I did find this short video that shows Layne riding some of the "smaller" waves ... that means they're not the 25 metre ones she likes ... egad! I get nervous in the surf when the waves get to a metre!

The point?

Umm ... I just thought it was time the girls got a mention ...

This week it's time to address some of those teeth-gnashing errors that proliferate in writing these days, so gird up your loins, we have alot to get through.

I know, I know - that was just to see if you were awake.

This would have to be the most commonly misused example of what I'm talking about. There are two words (count 'em ... 1 ....2 ...) in a lot. You wouldn't dream of writing, 'I'm just going for alittle walk," so it's a constant source of mystery to me why so many people insist on writing, "I've got alot to do today."

Another term that suffers the same fate is all right; it's not alright. Things are never alwrong, why should they be alright? You will find alright listed in dictionaries, but this is the usage note at dictionary.com: 

Usage Note: All right, usually pronounced as if it were a single word, probably should have followed the same orthographic development as already and altogether. But despite its use by a number of reputable authors, the spelling alright has never been accepted as a standard variant, and the writer who chooses to risk that spelling had best be confident that readers will acknowledge it as a token of willful unconventionality rather than as a mark of ignorance.

See?

We discussed anyways some time ago, and its close mate, irregardless - all old favourites in the "what-really-peeves-me stakes."

My ramblings last week confused Larry: 

"Here in Music City we never use such terms as -- possies, -- cricket stumps, -- totem tennis, -- wind igloos -- and -- eskies.       ????? What in tarnation are they? ?????" (Larry Lowrance, Nashville)

So, in case anyone else needs a translation, here's my reply:

Cricket stumps: the three sticks that are in the ground behind the batter. The bails (two little pieces of wood) are balanced delicately along the top - if they're knocked off while the batter is outside the crease (on the other side of the white line near the stumps), he's out. In the absence of regulation stumps, garbage bins, fold up chairs, trees etc make a satisfactory substitute ... it rather depends on the amount of the amber fluid that has been consumed (...beer, before you ask). 

Totem tennis: a tennis ball on a rope, attached to a stick in the ground ... yes, I know, we're a sophisticated lot out here. This version of the game has the considerable advantage of time saved in chasing the ball - you just hit it and it spins around on its pole.

Wind igloos: canvas wind shelters that are a bit like a half-igloo - necessary for when the southerly blows up in the summer afternoon. 

Eskies: portable coolers ... used for holding the aforementioned amber fluid. 

So ... now you know :)

This week's quiz:

Some more words to test your vocab, match the word with its meaning:

Here's a terrific little piece that Leo sent:

If you can start the day without caffeine, if you can get along without
pep pills, if you can always be cheerful, ignoring aches and pains, if
you can resist complaining and boring people with your troubles,

If you can eat the same food every day and be grateful for it, if you
can understand when your loved ones are too busy to give you any time,
if you can overlook it when those you love take it out on you when,
though no fault of yours, something goes wrong,

If you can take criticism and blame without resentment, if you can
ignore a friend's limited education and never correct him/her, if you
can resist treating a rich friend better than a poor friend,

If you can face the world without lies and deceit, if you can conquer
tension without medical help, if you can relax without liquor, if you
can sleep without the aid of drugs,

If you can honestly say that deep in your heart you have no prejudice
against creed, color, religion or politics,

Then, my friend, you are ALMOST as good as your dog.

... Isn't that priceless?

And here's a great line from one of my favourite actors:

You can say any foolish thing to a dog, and the dog will give you a look that says, "My God, you're right! I never would've thought of that!" (Sean Connery)

Last week's quiz:

obstreperous: noisy, loud

contumacious: insubordinate, rebellious

mettlesome: courageous, high-spirited. Don't confuse with "meddlesome," meaning inclined to interfere.

cadge: to beg, to get by begging

pith: heart of the matter, basic trait. Also force, strength, or vigour

supine: lying on the back. Also slow to act, passive.

remonstrate: to protest, object

inveigh: to attack verbally, denounce, deprecate

precepts: rules establishing standards of conduct

impute: to attribute to a cause or source, ascribe

Privacy Policy.