Category Archives: Uncategorized

Is It Worth Going to an Expensive College?

Posted on September 28, 2010 by Mignon

I had a fun surprise this morning when I saw Pandora’s Tim Westergren on CNBC. I worked a summer job with Tim many years ago when I was a graduate student at Stanford. He was running a program to encourage … Continue reading →

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BTG014 “Words Gone Wild” Interview

Posted on July 27, 2010 by Mignon

This is an audio podcast. The audio file link may be at the bottom of the post. A “Behind the Grammar” interview with Jim Bernhard, author of the new book Words Gone Wild. Sponsor: Hold your meetings online for just … Continue reading →

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Wylie and E-Books: What Am I Missing?

Posted on July 27, 2010 by Mignon

There’s hot publishing news this week, folks! I’ll talk about the details in the 8/3 Behind the Grammar podcast, but for now, here’s the rundown: Big shot agent Andrew Wylie founded a publishing company, Odyssey, to make an exclusive two-year … Continue reading →

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Top 10 Made Up Words

Posted on July 22, 2010 by Mignon

Top 10* Made Up Words Sarah Palin confusing refudiate for repudiate and then calling it a new word got me thinking about other made up words. Refudiate may not have much staying power, but most of the following 10 words … Continue reading →

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The Volume of a Drop

Posted on May 13, 2010 by Mignon

Sometimes I get a question that doesn’t have an answer. Today’s question was about the rules for using a shortened name. For example, when do you write “Truckee Meadows Community College (TMCC)” and use “TMCC” in the rest of the … Continue reading →

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March Forth: The Grammar Song

Posted on March 4, 2010 by Mignon

Martha Brockenbrough asked me to host National Grammar Day (March 4) this year, so in an irrational fit of exuberance–and with the help and patient support of Erika Paul Carlson (The Jazz Lady) and Michael Eardley (Tanglewood Productions); my husband … Continue reading →

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A Quick Message About Split Infinitives

Posted on January 24, 2010 by Mignon

People are posting messages on my Facebook page incorrectly stating that split infinitives are against the rules in English and that good writers should not split infinitives. I needed to take immediate action to dispel this myth. The authoritative Bryan … Continue reading →

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Sneaked Versus Snuck

Posted on December 9, 2009 by Mignon

If you like this video, you can subscribe at my YouTube channel so you get notified when I post a new video. You can also rate videos there and find more of my older videos.

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Consider Buying ‘Garner’s Modern American Usage’

Posted on October 22, 2009 by Mignon

People often ask me what is the one book I couldn’t live without, and the answer is Garner’s Modern American Usage, which is why I was shocked to receive the message below (which I trimmed) from the author this morning … Continue reading →

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Podcasts on an E-reader?

Posted on October 21, 2009 by Mignon

Buried near the end of an article about Barnes & Noble’s new ereader, Nook, I found this tidbit: “the device supports a user’s pictures and MP3s (it includes a speaker and headphone jack…” The Nook also supports RSS subscriptions, but … Continue reading →

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