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Intercalary day is coming up
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Every four years, we add a day to our shortest month to make up for the fact that it really takes Earth a little more than 365 days to orbit the sun. The year is, of course, called leap year, with February 29 being leap day. But what, exactly, is leaping? It would be more accurate to call February 29 “intercalary day,” but that doesn’t quite have the same ring to it. The name is likely inspired by the effect of leap day on the months that follow: It means that dates on the calendar leap ahead two days of the week instead of one. So if your birthday is March 1 or later and was on a Friday last year, it will be on a Sunday instead of a Saturday this year. Maybe it should be called “skip day” instead? 🤔 Whether or not the names “leap day” and “leap year” resonate with you, they shouldn't be capitalized. What are you doing with your extra day this year? Hit reply and let us know. ❤ Team Stylebot
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Hone your writing skills and never use "hone in" again. Get writing tips, have fun with words and learn something new in a one-minute read each week by signing up for Stylebot’s newsletter.
What a week! People celebrated Presidents' Day, Mardi Gras and Lunar New Year this week, all while the Olympics were happening and Ramadan began. To top it off, there was a solar eclipse on Tuesday. To mark this week, we have some event- and holiday-themed writing tips that you can use through the rest of the week and month: The Olympics closing ceremony is on Sunday. Just like "opening ceremony," "closing ceremony" is not capitalized. Remember, Team USA is an exception to the rule about...
We're going further than we've ever gone before into the difference between farther and further. Many of you have requested that we cover this commonly confused pair of words, and with good reason: "Further" is used a lot when language sticklers would use "farther." OK, so what's the difference? "Farther" is for references to physical distance, while "further" is for figurative descriptions. So to further your fitness goals, you might run farther than you did yesterday. Here are a couple of...
An historical event is taking place today: For the first time, Olympic Torches will light two cauldrons during the Opening Ceremony of the 2026 games. How many errors do you spot in that sentence? The 2026 Olympics kick off today in Italy today, and yes, in a first, two Olympic cauldrons will be lit in the two host cities: Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo. That much we know. What's less clear is exactly how to write about it. We count five errors in the opening sentence of this newsletter. We'll...