I strolled away from Google Plus to visit Twitter a few moments ago, and I pointed out that “for free” is criticized because “free” often...

You are free to parade, grill, engage in pyrotechnics, and otherwise celebrate Independence Day, but don’t feel it necessary to call it...

The best written works contain clarity, consistency and elegance. These are the goals of style books. My first AP Stylebook was a 1976...

This list of links was presented as a handout at the “Freelancers Forum” session at the American Copy Editors Society conference in...

The “ou” spelling (loud, gout, rough) is more common than “uo,” especially when the combination forms just one syllable. Where this...

The word “fulsome” presents a problem that usage and etymology fail to sort out. It either means “abundant,” “offensive” or, perhaps as a...

If you missed the exciting celebrations of National Grammar Day on Friday, I urge you to   postpone any morning meetings and spend some...

Below are 176 entries into the National Grammar Day Tweeted Haiku Contest. Look through them and you will see how difficult it was to...

Along with the Grammarian Court of our five winning National Grammar Day haiku, there are many entries that deserve mention. Here, then,...

After hours of discussion about the finer points of haiku, grammar and gamma radiation, the six judges and the sponsor of the National...

Keep your browser open to http://twitter.com/search/grammarday so you can keep up with the wonderful haiku from the National Grammar Day...

Dozens of 17-syllable poems have already been submitted for The National Grammar Day Tweeted Haiku Contest. Follow the Twitter hashtag...

Grammar, usage and style are what we use to hold language together so it appears with a sense of order and fulfills its basic function....

Winston Churchill said that democracy is the worst form of government except all the other forms. Languages are produced democratically,...

I started an almost-daily offering of a grammar, usage or style tip in April, 2009, and last week I tweeted my 500th tip. Here is my...

This column appeared in the September-October newsletter of the American Copy Editors Society. I visited a transferring co-worker to wish...

Here is part two of my column on finding work as a freelancer, written several months after the first. It appeared in the American Copy...

This column appeared in newsletter of the American Copy Editors Society in early April. In the months after I wrote it, I’ve become more...

I was asked recently whether “digitization” or “digitalization” is correct. It strikes me that “digitalization” is growing, but that’s...

I noticed a couple of Twitter friends lamenting their inability to spell certain words on the first go. This led to a question from me...

In a year of discovery on Twitter, I have acquainted myself with an amazing group of editors, linguists, lexicographers and other word...

Note: If you read to the end, there is an appeal for money. After a year away from the desk — a tumultuous year for newspaper copy desks...

My seemingly innocent retweet of Grammar Girl this morning gave rise to a lengthy discussion of personal preference regarding the...

Wendalyn Nichols wrote an awesome post yesterday for the Web site Visual Thesaurus. As an aside, the Copyediting newsletter editor...