Rookie reporters and even seasoned pros can make writing mistakes—catching those is one of the roles of editors. When I worked at the...

A Prescription for Good English Language Usage John’s detective protagonist Harry Stark considers himself one of the last defenders of...

Following on the thrill of my first ride–the ’54 Pontiac– (and for those of you who read the first installment, I apologize for being so...

One of the most irritating words in common use is “earlier.” It’s a junk word that almost always adds nothing but seven useless letters...

I hope you don’t get nonplussed by this. I wouldn’t want that to happen. Oh, but wait. Maybe you think that being nonplussed means, you...

A recent New York Times crossword had “Target’s target” as a clue. The word it was meant to represent was “logo,” which was...

The depreciation of the language is a sad thing. Words that once had rich and powerful meaning are diminished through abuse and...

I know we all encounter situations in life that get under our skin. Here, by way of venting, are some of my most aggravating peeves,...

It’s the wrong time of the year to be doing a Christmas-tree story, but I’m going to go for it anyway, because last Christmas reminded me...