Hi, my name is Noun Marie Noun

As a professional word geek, I really dig stories like this one, even though I have heard many of the examples before: There Once Was a Man Named Leotard: People Who Became Nouns Not that I harbor any illusions that anything will be named after me for any reason, mostly because it’s quite the other way around. My first name is the Irish word for girl, so across the pond, my name is a noun,...
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Why normal people hate grammar people

OK, see? This is why normal people hate grammar people. This is why I cringed throughout most of the research for my Modern English class in grad school. “Don’t kill the Oxford comma!” over at salon.com. Christ, calm down. The Oxford comma – or serial comma – is the comma before the “and” in a series: I bought eggs, milk, and bacon. I don’t use the serial comma unless...
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This, next, last?

My friend Patrick called me this morning, irate and needing clarification (well, needing confirmation that he was right to be irate). Someone at his work asked for a part to be available “next Monday.” He placed this request today, a Thursday. Patrick was convinced that he should have said “this Monday,” as in the next possible Monday, and that “next Monday” really means June 13, not...
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