It’s great being a pedant. Many professional writers love nothing more than gleefully pouncing on a wayward apostrophe the way a predator picks off a limping herbivore. The bestselling 2003 book “Eats, Shoots & Leaves” played to this pleasure, offering delicious catharsis to all those who had secretly fumed for years about the “grocer’s apostrophe” […]
Grammar
‘Concision’ doesn’t pass Mr Gove’s plain English test
Education Secretary Michael Gove has published a 10-point plan for plain English at the education department. Some advice is unsurprising (cut out unnecessary words); others a little more questionable (his list of ‘great writers’ may raise some eyebrows). Here’s his manifesto for effective writing: If in doubt, cut it out. Read it out loud – […]
The Waterstone’s apostrophe. Who care’s?
Some apostrophes matter. Others – why not forget them?