SmithWriting Blog

Do you suffer from paraskavedekatriaphobia? If so, then today is not your day.

For those of you unfamiliar with this 11-syllable word that sounds like some intestinal disease you’d get from drinking bad water, paraskavedekatriaphobia is fear of Friday the 13th—not to be confused with triskaidekaphobia, which is simply fear of the number 13.

That’s my vocabulary lesson for the day.

Happy Friday the 13th, everyone. Watch out for black cats.

Filed by rebecca at 7:56 am under For the love of words
7 Comments

The talented (and hilarious) Deep Friar wrote a post a few weeks ago that included the word “kerfuffle.” We all got a big kick out of his word choice, and it got me thinking about other old timey words that have fallen out of use in today’s lexicon.

Here’s a list of outmoded words and phrases that I think we should bring back:

• Pull yourself up by your bootstraps.
• ragamuffin
• nincompoop
• Heavens to Murgatroyd!
• dunderpate (a favorite of C. Montgomery Burns)
• mosey along
• bumfuzzled
• kerfuffle
• the bees knees
• diddley-squat
• rapscallion
• ruckus
• If I had my druthers …

Please share your favorite old-fashioned words and phrases as a comment. I have a hankerin’ to read what you have to write!

Filed by rebecca at 11:53 am under For the love of words
10 Comments

Pulitzer Prize-winning author David McCullough gave the commencement address at Boston College earlier this week.

I admire McCullough and his work very much. I just read “1776” earlier this year and I loved it. So I was very interested to hear what he had to say to this crop of talented graduates.

I was not disappointed—in fact, I felt vindicated. You see, McCullough’s advice to young men and women entering the real world was this: Speak better.

Specifically, he wants people to stop using such words and phrases as “like,” “actually,” and “you know” so prevalently. As in: “I’m, like, an awesome candidate for the job, you know, because I have the right experience, actually.”

Would you hire someone who talks like that? Would you want someone whose every other word is “like” to represent your organization? I know I wouldn’t.

The notion of the deterioration of the English language—in conversation as well as in print—is a very real one with serious repercussions in business and society.

I think we should all listen to McCullough and start speaking properly. Together, we can set a good example for future generations.

Like, you know?

Filed by rebecca at 12:01 pm under For the love of words
No Comments

Like most writers I know, I’m a passionate reader. I read to relax, to learn, and to be inspired. And I believe that every book I’ve ever read has in some way made me a better copywriter.

I’ve put together a list of some of my favorite titles. I hope you’ll share yours as a comment (below).

“The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson”

edited by Thomas H. Johnson
This was my textbook from an Emily Dickinson seminar I took in college. Its pages are yellowed and riddled with notes, and the binding is broken from so much use. I take something different away from every reading, but what moves me most is Dickinson’s veneration for flowers, gardening, and all things botanical.

“Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation”

by Lynne Truss
My friend Jayne loaned me this book back when we were creating and editing Web site copy together. The entire time I was reading it, I remember thinking to myself, “So I’m not the only one who feels this way about commas.” It emboldened my love of grammar and inspired me to become a copywriter. And it made me laugh. A lot.

“A Prayer for Owen Meany”

by John Irving
I first read this novel in 1999, and I’ve read it pretty much every year since. It’s forever changed the way I interpret dreams (and act at baseball games when there’s a pop-up foul). Owen Meany is my all-time favorite literary character, and, in spite of myself, I have to give props to Irving for his ingenious use of the Caps Lock key.

“A Child’s Garden of Verses”

by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by Tasha Tudor
My dad gave me this book when I was 7 years old. After reading it at bedtime, I’d fall asleep and dream of fairies and wildflowers. From the moment I saw it, I was mesmerized by its fanciful poems and exquisite illustrations—and I still am today.

What about you? What are your favorite books?

Filed by rebecca at 9:19 am under Copywriting, For the love of words
13 Comments

Love word games? Want to help end hunger? Got a minute?

Well then surf on over to FreeRice.com.

Developed by a computer programmer as a means to help his child study for the SAT, FreeRice is an online vocabulary game with a mission.

Here’s how it works:
The site gives you a word and four multiple choice options for its definition. You click on the one you think is correct. For each one you get right, FreeRice donates 20 grains of rice to the United Nations World Food Program; the rice is paid for by the site’s advertisers.

It’s wonderfully addictive and I don’t even consider it a distraction from work because it helps me become a better writer – and perhaps more importantly, a better world citizen.

Check it out for yourself at www.freerice.com.

Filed by rebecca at 1:13 pm under For the love of words
1 Comment

Have you read your favorite poem recently?

Well, today’s the day to do it!

Established in 1999 by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, World Poetry Day exists to promote the reading, writing, publishing, and teaching of poetry throughout the world.

In honor of this special day, I’d like to share an excerpt from the poem Days by my favorite poet, Billy Collins, former Poet Laureate of the United States:

Each one is a gift, no doubt
mysteriously placed in your waking hand
or set upon your forehead
moments before you open your eyes.

Treat today like the gift it is and celebrate World Poetry Day!

Filed by rebecca at 5:09 am under For the love of words
5 Comments

At some point in our lives, we all encounter that one teacher who inspires us.

For me, it was the fourth grade and he was Mr. Donahue. He taught me to love words.

Mr. Donahue was witty, smart, and quick-tempered. He had a thick mustache and a deep voice. And he had the driest sense of humor of anyone I ever met. Who knows how many of his jokes were lost on us, his preadolescent audience.

He was a week-long champion on Jeopardy!, and he always quizzed us kids with fun trivia. I owe my lifelong obsession with that show to Mr. Donahue. At the time I remember thinking that he must be the smartest man in the world (in comparison, I was averaging about one correct answer per game).

Mr. Donahue had us do the newspaper Jumble every morning. Not the Junior Jumble, either. I mean the real deal. He’d print the puzzle on the board and have whoever finished it first walk up to solve it. I made it my 9-year-old life’s mission to get to that board as often as possible.

I’ll never forget the morning he walked in—very dramatically—and proceeded to the leftmost point on the board, where he slowly wrote the lowercase letter “a.” Then, in complete silence, he walked to the far right side of the board and wrote the word “lot.” I don’t think he ever actually said, “‘A lot’ is two words, not one.” But he didn’t have to. It was the best grammar lesson I’ve ever received.

Mr. Donahue passed away two years ago. After he retired from teaching, he spent his time volunteering at the local hospital, putting a smile on the faces of people who really needed one.

Why he devoted the bulk of his life to teaching fourth graders, I’ll never know, but there are hundreds of graduates of George J. Peters Elementary School who are glad he did. I know I’m one of them. Thanks, Mr. Donahue. Thanks a lot.

Filed by rebecca at 8:34 am under For the love of words
4 Comments

As a writer, I’m constantly trying to improve the quality of my work. I find that one of the easiest—and most enjoyable—ways to become a better writer is to expand one’s lexicon. Here are some of the ways to do just that:

1. Read

Newspapers, memoirs, how-to books. No matter what the genre, all written works have the power to increase our vocabulary. Next time you pick up a book, take note of the terms you don’t recognize and look them up in a dictionary. Then make it a point to use those new words every day for a week. You’ll be surprised how quickly they become part of your lexicon.

2. Watch Jeopardy!

I learn at least one new word every time I watch Jeopardy! And it’s not only the vocabulary-related categories that are informative; I learn just as much about words from “Amphibious Invasions” as I do from “‘Homophonic Pairs.” Hey, if I can’t win $50,000, at least I can walk away with an enriched vocabulary!

3. Subscribe to the Word of the Day

Most online dictionaries offer free email delivery of their Word of the Day. I use The Free Dictionary by Farlex. I like it because it gives more than a simple definition; it provides synonyms and uses the new word in a sentence. I love it because I don’t have to do anything: My vocabulary lesson is sitting in my inbox every morning when I log on.

4. Do crossword puzzles

I am a Sunday morning crossword puzzle junkie. Pencil in one hand, coffee in the other, I relish in the challenge of filling in those tiny squares. And despite my occasional frustration, it’s all worth it for that glorious moment when that obscure word I learned while prepping for the SATs comes back to me—and fits.

5. Play word games

There are lots of great word games available online. Me, I prefer working with something tangible, like those wooden letter blocks in Scrabble. But if no one’s up for a board game, I’m just as happy unscrambling the newspaper’s Jumble puzzle.

Filed by rebecca at 9:45 am under Copywriting, For the love of words
No Comments