Hobson's Editing and Copyediting Blog

Word of the Week

2011-12-05T06:18:00.000-08:00

frondescence

1. Leafage; foliage.

2. The process or period of putting forth leaves, as a tree, plant, or the like.

Catch of the Week

2011-12-05T06:16:00.000-08:00

That seems to make sense to me!!

Word of the Week

2011-10-09T22:12:00.001-07:00

Pother
noun: 1. A commotion or fuss. 2. Mental turmoil. 3. A smothering cloud of dust or smoke.
verb tr.: To confuse or worry someone.
verb intr.: To worry or fuss.

Catch of the Week

2011-10-09T22:02:00.000-07:00

On Oct. 9, the Danbury Patch website ran an article called "Danbury Police Log: Shots Fired, Felon With a Dangerous Weapon."

From what I have learned about internet writing, the subheading shouldn't be a legal disclaimer, but a quick synopsis of the article. The disclaimer could still be placed at the bottom, but the subheading should be a basic "Report of gun shots leads to arrest of convicted felon."

Word of the Week 9/30

2011-09-28T06:05:00.000-07:00

Juxtaposition - an act or instance of placing close together or side by side, especially for comparison or contrast.

There was another word Dr. Briggs threw around that I had no idea about, so I decided to share it.

Catch of the Week 9/23/11

2011-09-23T05:59:00.000-07:00

This wasn't really a catch, but I meant to write about this last week. A women was detained and strip searched on 9/11 after being pulled off her plane because of "suspicious behavior." The government was allowed to do that because of the Patriot Act. I found it disgusting that we are allowed to behave this way, but it is for our own safety.

Interview with Shoshana Hebshi

Word of the Week 9/23

2011-09-23T05:53:00.001-07:00

Sanguine

a. Of the color of blood; red.

b. Of a healthy reddish color; ruddy

Word of the Week 9/16/11

2011-09-15T12:46:00.000-07:00

Didactic

1. Intended to instruct.

2. Morally instructive.

3. Inclined to teach or moralize excessively.

I heard this word in my writer's aesthetics course, and wasn't 100% sure about if I had the correct definition in my head. Turns out, I did.

Catch of the Week 9/16/11

2011-09-13T10:13:00.000-07:00

While most people attempt to be politically correct now-a-days, The News-Times decided to take a shot at being risque with one of their Twitter posts.

"Western Connecticut State University gets its first black provost."

When you click the link, the title reads "Women's group welcomes WestConn's African-American provost," which seems like a better way of selling the article to their readers. I know something like this may not be considered offensive, but it's something that still needs to be watched.

Passage of the Week 9/9/11

2011-09-12T06:03:00.000-07:00

"In the long run, all wrongs are righted, every minus is equalized with a plus, the columns are totaled and the totals are found correct. But that's in the long run. We must live in the short run and matters are often unjust there. The compensating for us of the universe makes all the accounts come out even, but they grind down the good as well as the wicked in the process."

This quote is from The Poet, written by my favorite author, Michael Connelly. There is just something about this passage that I liked so I decided to share it.

Catch of the Week for 9/9/11

2011-09-09T05:58:00.000-07:00

During a NBC News video regarding the power outage in the Southwest, a man being interviewed said the greatest line of the week, "It could be worser than this."

I have been victim to making up words in the past, or even using incorrect words to make myself sound dumb, but this was just horrible.

Word of the Week 9/9/11

2011-09-08T19:54:00.000-07:00

Ambivalence
"uncertainty or fluctuation, especially when caused by inability to make a choice or by a simultaneous desire to say or do two opposite or conflicting things."

In my Writer's Aesthetics class with Dr. Briggs, we are discussing the importance of ambivalence in our writing, and for the class, the meaning isn't 100% known or understood.