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Get to the Point

Invisible Syllables

A television commercial for Butterfinger candy bars brags that they are “crispety.” Another advertisement claims they are “crunchety.” These descriptions are not words, and Nestle should not be trying to persuade us otherwise. One would think ...

Theda C. Snyder - March 6, 2017
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Elegant Insults

When your brain knows just the right word, you can be more concise. And sometimes you can slip in the verbal dagger without the victim understanding what you’ve done.

Theda C. Snyder - February 13, 2017
About Your Love Affair with the Hyphen

Some writers feel compelled to insert extra hyphens. Often they do it when they think they spot an adverb. Sometimes the offending word isn’t even functioning as an adverb; it’s part of a compound verb. Either way, put away the hyphen and step ...

Theda C. Snyder - January 11, 2017
Attorneys, Don’t Bury the Lede

Attorneys frequently ignore this basic journalism rule: Start with your strongest point. Your lead or “lede” should entice the reader to continue reading. The phrase “bury the lede” appears to be the only use of this alternate spelling. Perhaps ...

Theda C. Snyder - December 5, 2016
To Comma, Or Not to Comma: You May Be Getting It Wrong

Comma placement can cause a big effect in legal documents. (See "What Broadway's Hamilton Teaches About Legal Interpretation.") In ...

Theda C. Snyder - November 9, 2016
What Broadway’s Hamilton Teaches about Legal Interpretation

Comma placement matters. Broadway musical Hamilton’s Angelica Schuyler sings in “Take a Break”: In a letter I received from you two weeks ago I noticed a comma in the middle of a phrase It changed the meaning. Did you intend this? One ...

Theda C. Snyder - October 11, 2016
Ryan Lochte’s Vocabulary Lesson for All of Us

“I over-exaggerated.” It was impossible to miss the world’s derision for Ryan Lochte’s poor word choice. The Olympian was trying to explain his lies about how he found himself at the wrong end of a gun after a night of partying in ...

Theda C. Snyder - September 15, 2016
If You Are Reading This … Oh, Wait, You Are!

Perhaps the most ridiculous construct I see and hear regularly is the conditional introductory phrase that prefaces content in documents with, “If you are reading this,” or that starts voicemail greetings with, “If you are hearing this message.”

Theda C. Snyder - August 18, 2016
Talk Like You Drive — With Care

Nothing draws a smirk or an arched eyebrow in certain circles as quickly as mispronunciation of the brand name of an automobile. This faux pas is especially damning when entertaining clients in businesses related to the auto industry, but ...

Theda C. Snyder - July 25, 2016
To Infinitive and Beyond

An infinitive is the barest form of a verb. Usually, we refer to a verb form as an infinitive when we use “to”: to go, to run, to think. If you studied a foreign language, you probably learned the infinitive form of verbs and then how to ...

Theda C. Snyder - June 30, 2016
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