If you’ve ever watched a fourth grader write “b/c” instead of “because,” welcome to my circus. I’ve spent more than a decade teaching kids (and a few adults who should know better) how to shorten words without turning their writing into alphabet soup. Today I’m talking about elementary abbreviation—yes, that exact phrase—because people keep asking…
I’ve spent more than ten years wrangling things we don’t know. Names that are missing. Dates that are fuzzy. Data cells that stare back at me, blank and a little smug. So yeah, I have opinions on the abbreviation for unknown. In my experience, the right shorthand saves you time, saves your team’s sanity, and…
Let’s get this out in the open: if you’re googling chieves or chiefs, you’re probably wrestling with spelling, plural rules, or maybe a loud NFL fan at a bar. I’ve been the person correcting this for over a decade (unpaid, sadly). The short version: it’s “chiefs,” not “chieves.” But I know that’s not the whole…
If you’ve ever hesitated over chosing or choosing, welcome to my small corner of the spelling trenches. I’ve been doing this for more than ten years—editing, proofreading, fixing typos, muttering at screens. In my experience, English spelling rules feel like they were written by a committee that never met. And yet, I care. I really…
As a copy editor and writing coach who has fixed 10,000+ sentences over 12 years, here’s the quick take: say “simpler” most of the time. “More simple” is fine for emphasis or rhythm. Yes, both work. The whole “simpler or more simple” debate lives inside basic comparative adjectives, grammar rules, and plain English. And no,…
As a language coach and editor who’s profiled 300+ people over the last decade, here’s the fast answer: if you’re hunting for y words to describe someone personality, you’ll use simple y adjectives like youthful, yielding, yappy, and yeasty to nail clear personality traits. In my experience, these positive and negative descriptors make writing profiles…
As a grammar coach who’s marked up thousands of drafts over 12+ years, here’s the no-drama answer you want: the past tense of “swing” is “swung.” If you’re wondering about “swinged or swung,” pick “swung.” It’s an irregular verb. The past participle is also “swung.” Easy. Breathe. Quick answer, since you’re busy If you write…
As a language nerd who’s argued about the plural of rhinoceros for 12 years, here’s the quick take: the standard is “rhinoceroses,” the unchanged “rhinoceros” is also accepted in modern usage, and “rhinoceri” is a fake-Latin crowd-pleaser that raises my blood pressure. Irregular plural, Latin vs. Greek roots, and basic grammar collide here. Fun, right?…
The quick answer, from a tired editor who fixes this daily As a copy editor and English coach who’s corrected thousands of essays over 12+ years, here’s the blunt truth: it’s “written,” not “writen.” If you’re searching “written or writen,” you’re dealing with the past participle of write, an irregular verb, and a super common…
As a copy editor who has cleaned up 3,000+ typos in the last decade, here’s the quick take you actually want on forest vs forrest: one “r” is the real pile of trees (common noun), two “r”s is usually a person’s name (proper noun). That’s it. Spelling difference. Common misspelling. English usage. And yes, I’ve…
As a copy editor-turned-blogger who’s cleaned up 2,000+ typos over the last decade, here’s the quick answer you want: for the question “hardwork one or two words,” it’s two words as a noun—“hard work”—and one word as an adjective—“hardworking.” I’ve tested this in résumés, brand guidelines, and yes, embarrassing email signatures. LSI bits for folks…
People ask me all the time about the abbreviation for coordinator. Yes, really. I live this stuff. In my experience, the short form is simple, but folks mix it up with acronyms and initialisms and then it all gets spicy. I’ll keep it plain. And fun. Promise. I’ve always found that if you know the…
I get asked about the abbreviation for payment a lot. Short forms like Net 30, ACH, EFT, COD, even PIF. You see them on an invoice or a receipt and your brain just goes, “Huh?” Been there. I work with payment terms and billing codes every day, and yes—these little letters matter. They tell you…
I keep getting asked, what is the meaning of let them tattoo, and honestly, it sounds simple but it’s layered. It touches memes, TikTok slang, real-life boundaries, and body art culture. I’ll keep this easy, like I’m talking to my cousin who’s into trends but also wants something meaningful. Let me start with the obvious…
