Can You Correct These 16 Basic Grammar Mistakes?

Limericks: The Lowest Form of Poetry?

There is a well-known line, often attributed to Samuel Johnson, but preceded and followed by myriad others, that the pun is the lowest form of humor. If so, the limerick, a form of verse that depends on clever assonance and double entendre, is certainly the lowest form of poetry. In this post, we will shine a spotlight on the limerick, and see if the cockroaches scurry.

To the best of anyone’s knowledge, the limerick originated in England sometime before the fifteenth century. Early in the life of this form of poetry, limericks were created primarily for children.

Here’s an oldie, but goodie:

Hickory Dickory Dock A mouse ran up the clock The clock struck one And down he run Hickory Dickory Dock

Limericks began to gain widespread popularity in the mid-to-late eighteen-hundreds with the publication of Edward Lear’s Book of Nonsense in 1845 and 1872. Lear’s verses centered on nonsensical themes, and he violated every law in the “poetic rulebook” by using a word to “rhyme” with itself and occasionally destroying the anapestic foot.

For this reader, seven hundred years of poetic tradition has trained my ears to flinch when I hear someone waste words within a rigid form. With the vantage of history, we moderns can rise up in our highfalutin’ indignation at offenses like this one:

There was an old person whose habits

Induced him to feed upon rabits When he’d eaten eighteen he turned perfectly green Upon which he relinquished those habits

Here, Lear rhymed “habits” with “habits,” and actually dropped the doubled “b” in “rabits.” Ouch.

Dictionary.com gives the origin of the term “limerick” as a reference in a popular drinking song, in which the refrain, “Will you come up to Limerick?” follows an extemporized verse. You can imagine the verses of the poem growing increasingly ribald as the beer flowed freely. In fact, given its tame domestic origins, the limerick has gained a unique reputation for bawdy subject matter and salty language.

The science-fiction icon, Isaac Asimov, along with John Ciardi, penned one of the seminal works in the study of the limerick. He captured the essence of the limerick with nuggets like these:

39. Fit for a Marathon

To the ancient Greek writer Herodotus,

Said a pretty young thing, “My, how hard it is!”

Said he, “Do you fear

I will hurt you, my dear?”

And she said, “Are you crazy? Thank God it is!”

Asimov and Ciardi do not source each of the limericks included their book. It is safe to say that many of these little gems had been passed down orally for generations until someone inscribed them for safekeeping. A more contemporary limerick demonstrates how the form is used in a more modern context:

126. Comic Strip

A well-known reporter, Clark Kent

Had a simpering, mild-mannered bent.

But he grabbed Lois Lane,

And he made it quite plain

What his cognomen Superman meant.

Poetic forms closely connected with the limerick can be found as early as fourteenth century England — quite a bit before the town of Limerick staked its claim. And while our language has evolved over the centuries, the English language, with its plethora of conjunctions and articles, provides humorists with a host of tools to fit the rhythm of the form.

Anyone can write a limerick. All you have to do is read some of the examples here, which will refresh your ear to the meter, and then give yourself a character (first line) and a situation (second line). Find a surprise ending, and away you go!

e.g. There once was a (person) from (place),

Who (action) to (something) his face,

When (something) (occurred),

(Inserting a word),

To (person) comes certain disgrace.

In honor of Limerick Day today, surprise us! Are you game? What is your favorite limerick – we’re waiting to smirk, chuckle, or ROFL at your responses.

Grammar Skills Test: Starter

Do You Play Word Games?

Knowledge is Power: Using Idioms To Give Power To Your Writing

Some writers use idioms to “add color” to their writing, while others are adamant about keeping their text as simple as possible. While idioms can certainly clutter your work with unnecessary detail, they may also introduce powerful imagery into your text. Since “knowledge is power,” let’s take a look at the best way to accomplish this.

First, what is an idiom? An idiom is an expression with a figurative meaning that differs from the literal meaning. We hear idioms every day – both in conversation and in the media. Used correctly, idioms can amplify messages in a way that draws readers in and helps to awaken their senses. But, how?

Idioms help us “think outside the box”

Incorporating idioms into your writing is an effective way to make your work more creative. This is because an idiom can be used as an artistic expression. For example, if you’re working on an article related to financial planning you could say: “You should save your money.” Or, you could use an idiom such as “A penny saved is a penny earned.” The idiom livens up the text and prompts readers to think beyond the facts, and about saving money in a different way. By not spending money, you’re really saving money. (Go figure!)

Another example of a creative idiom that helps to expand our frame of reference is to “bite off more than you can chew.” When using this phrase in a sentence, you are essentially telling someone that perhaps they’ve taken on a bigger task than they can handle; however, the idiom gives the sentence more charm – while also providing a dynamic visual. It conveys your message well and makes it more interesting for your readers.

Idioms help us find our “sense of humor”

Idioms can also add humor to your writing in places where you may otherwise seem brash. For example, rather than writing about a character who is not smart – or at least not thinking straight – you could say “the lights are on, but nobody’s home” or he’s “not playing with a full deck.” These idioms tend to be softer and somewhat less insulting.

Similarly, “when pigs fly” is a more dynamic way to say that something is highly unlikely to occur. And rather than say that someone is not very good at something, you could say, “Don’t give up your day job.”

Idioms “dress [our writing] to impress”

There are quite a few idioms that can take dull writing and make it more impressive, which used in the right context will serve writers well. For example, using “add insult to injury” sounds just a bit more impressive than telling someone that they are making a situation worse by their mockery. Instead of telling someone that they have no manners, you can say they have “not a spark of decency.”Are you trying to convey that you agree with someone? Perhaps you could say that you “see eye to eye.” Does this happen very rarely? Maybe it happens “once in a blue moon?”

When you’re writing, keep a list of idioms handy so you can draw from that list and incorporate these sayings into your writing where appropriate. Be careful not to “go overboard”. Too many idioms can be a distraction. Also, be sure that you know the correct meaning of the idiom before you use it in your writing. Not using it in the right context can confuse readers and turn some of them off to your work.

Trust me, it is easier than you think to incorporate idioms into your writing. Once you get familiar with a list of common idioms, you’ll discover that you already know many of them – and getting them on paper will be “a piece of cake”.

You’ll Never Guess the Origins of These 3 Bizarrely Spelled English Words

English is linguistically categorized as a West Germanic language. Though it is now the most widely spoken language in the world, English actually got a pretty small start.

In the fifth century, many related Germanic dialects fused together, collectively becoming what is now known as Old English. These dialects were brought to the eastern coast of England by Germanic settlers and eventually gained a stronghold in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England in what is now southeast Scotland.

Old English eventually evolved into Middle English as a result of invasion and interaction. Beginning in the eleventh century, English was increasingly influenced by the Romance languages, so-named because they descended from Latin, the language of the Romans.

Specifically, the Norman Conquest of England in the eleventh century facilitated a heavy borrowing from Norman French. As a result, vocabulary and spelling conventions began to evolve to more closely resemble those of a Latin-derived Romance language, even though English itself is not technically considered a Romance language. Furthermore, Latin was the academic and religious lingua franca of the day, which further facilitated the integration of Latin vocabulary into English.

English has continued to be influenced by a number of different languages and is commonly known as a “borrowing language.” The bizarre spelling of these three common English words aptly illustrate this fascinating phenomena:

February

Have you ever wondered why February has that random, silent first r?

Well, February, like the names of most months, has Latin roots. It descended from Februarius, a month in the ancient Roman calendar. The name actually comes from the festival of februum, a purification ritual celebrated during the month.

The ancient Roman calendar was eventually reformed by Julius Cesar in 46 BC. This new Julian calendar, which divided the year into 365 days and twelve months, is the foundation of our current Gregorian calendar.

Wednesday 

Most Americans don’t pronounce the d in Wednesday. But just because you can’t hear it doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. So where did this d come from? And why don’t we pronounce it?

As it turns out, Wednesday actually has Germanic linguistic origins. It is derived from the Old English word, Wōdnesdæg, which honors the Germanic god Wodan.

Wodan was one of the most important deities of Anglo-Saxon and Continental Germanic polytheism and was especially prominent in England during the fifth and sixth centuries, before Christianity fully took root. This explains the development of the word in Old English. Wodan corresponds to the ancient Roman deity of Mercury, for whom Wednesday is named in many Romance languages, including French (Mercredi), Italian (Mercoledì), and Spanish (Miércoles).

Interestingly, Wōdnesdæg evolved to Wednesdei in the transition from Old English to Middle English, possibly because of the increased linguistic influence from French. Anyway, considering that there has been a d in Wednesday for roughly the past two thousand years, it probably isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. Furthermore, most Brits actually do pronounce the d in Wednesday. 

Pterodactyl

The name of an ancient flying reptile, this might just be the weirdest spelling in the entire English language. This word is actually of Greek origin, coming from pteron (wing) and daktylos (finger).

So why the references to wings and fingers? Well, the name actually refers to the unique way in which this reptile’s wings are supported by its fingers. Go figure!

What are your favorite bizarrely spelled words in the English language?

Does Cursive Still Matter for Children?

By Laura Wallis for The Stir by CafeMom

When I was a kid my family moved a few times. Once, I had just started the third grade, and my class was beginning the cursive writing unit. When I arrived at my new school, that lesson was already done. So I was left to teach the skill to myself, by following the letter charts above the blackboard.

To this day, my handwriting is atrocious. But does it really matter? Do kids even need to learn cursive in school anymore? Almost all communication is digital these days, and schoolwork and note-taking are largely done on laptops after the early grades. Because federal common core standards don’t include cursive writing, and because test prep is taking up an increasing chunk of classroom time, many states have let it fall off the curriculum.

But personally, I’d rather see a little less test prep and a little more of the nearly lost art of good handwriting. Cursive is still taught at my kids’ elementary school, and I was delighted when my third grader came home with his newfound ability to write his name in script. Here’s why:

If you can’t write cursive, you may not be able to read it either.

My husband recently came upon a stack of letters his dad wrote to his mom when they were first courting, about fifty years ago. They were good old-fashioned love letters, and each was written in the nicest penmanship I’d ever seen. I want to save these and pass them on to our kids one day. I’d like them to be able to decipher them. Same goes for letters from grandparents and other older relatives and pen pals, as well as old documents that have historical value. For kids who have never been introduced to script, some of these may as well be in a foreign language.

Writing longhand still happens in the adult world.

I was famous around my old office for my chicken-scratch on editorial proofs and other documents that required handwritten comments. It’s not a good thing to be famous for. It’s also a great way to ensure mistakes get made. And while neat printing solves that problem, when you’re in a rush, neat printing can fall by the wayside. Clear cursive is faster to write and easier to read than printed chicken-scratch.

Writing by hand can help with learning.

Some studies in the last few years have found that when students take notes by hand rather than typing on a laptop, they retain more information. What’s more, an article earlier this year in Psychology Today pointed out that writing in script can help with cognitive development, fine motor skills, and hand-eye coordination—much like learning to play a musical instrument does. That seems worth the time spent on handwriting lessons to me.

It’s worth taking the time to make things beautiful.

This one is harder to argue when it comes to scarce classroom time, but there is something very beautiful in a hand-written letter, in a unique and ornate signature, in a place card made out by hand. My kids are proud of their ability to write sophisticated cursive letters, and it’s a skill that, even now, so many years after elementary school, I wish I’d had the chance to master.

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Laura Wallis is a freelance writer and editor specializing in all things family, home, food, and health. She currently lives in New Jersey with her husband, two children, and dog—none of whom take grammar as seriously as they should. She writes for The Stir by CafeMom.