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.
Not so well known
|
Happy Friday! Our writing quiz is back from summer break this week. And we don't know if we would go so far as to describe it as famous (😜), but would you call it infamous? You almost certainly know what "famous" means. But can you pinpoint "infamous"? Here's your shot:
Oh, and we heard from some of you after last week's newsletter with more examples of acronyms-turned-words. One is snafu. Do you know what it stands for? Hit reply and let us know. ❤ Team Stylebot
💌 A tip a weekIf someone forwarded you this email, subscribe here to get one writing tip a week in your inbox. 💬 Get reliable, ethical writing advice at your fingertipsImproving your writing means making better choices every day. Stylebot makes it easy with our Slack, Teams and Google Chrome extensions. Try Stylebot for free today. 📝 About StylebotStylebot helps media professionals save time without sacrificing quality by answering editing questions on Slack, Microsoft Teams and Google Chrome. We're on a mission to make editing faster, easier and more fun ✨ Learn more about Stylebot or follow us Instagram, X or LinkedIn.
|
Stylebot
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.
Most of you didn't fall for it in last week's quiz, but you might say "infamous" is infamous for being misused. Or it might just be famous. Either way, we were impressed with last week's quiz results, with more than 63% of you answering correctly: So if the words famous and infamous aren't interchangeable, what's the difference? "Famous" simply means widely known, while "infamous" means being known for something bad (aka, famous with a bad rap). However, a lot of people seem to use "infamous"...
If you thought we only started using slang abbreviations on the internet, think again. You might use "lol" mostly in text messages now, but if the history of "OK" is any lesson, one day it might not be a KG to use it in more formal writing. Confused? We'll explain, but first we'll note that many of you seem to be familiar with OK's origin. It's not a typo: "OK" evolved from the phrase "all correct." In late 1830s slang, it was fashionable to misspell common phrases and use those...
If you've mowed the lawn this summer, you've cut swaths of grass. If you injured yourself while doing it (and we hope you didn't!), you might use a swathe in your recovery. So, apply this logic to last week's quiz, and the answer becomes clear: The storm pummeled large swaths of the state. But it looks like most of you didn't need that help: In American English, "swath" describes a broad strip (usually of land), while "swathe" is a strip of cloth. And that brings us to the little hint in the...