YIPPPEEEEEE! <---Did I just say that???
Yes, I did! It seems so good to see chances of rain for a change. I'm hoping for lots of it in order to wash winter right on outta here! The streets look so dirty, the grass looks so drab and the snow that's left looks rotten. Rain will be so cathartic for so many reasons.
Punctuation Faux Pas (Faux Pas being used in the literal sense, meaning a false step with no earthly idea of it's proper grammatical usage)
I don't speak French and therefore I'm probably using the term "faux pas" wrong or in the wrong grammatical way. But I just know that I am terrible at correct punctuation and that's all I'm trying to say here! I tend to go for the dramatic, like way too many exclamation points and ellipses in place of a pregnant pause...between thoughts. I'm also guilty of murdering the proper usage of commas and question marks. I remember a favorite teacher of mine, a long time ago, saying "When in doubt, leave it out!" when talking about commas. I should have learned from that, but instead I tend to subscribe more to the "it's no sin, so put one in!" train of thought.
So for those of you who read my blog and are way, WAY smarter than me in such matters, please excuse me for my punctuational lapses in judgment. Just think of me as one of those stubborn old curmudgeons that does as she pleases while writing!
Speaking of grammar which leads to thoughts of WORDS (I love words! I use thousands of them every day. )
I learned a new one today, word that is...I'm writing about it so I have a possibility of remembering it. How many times do you need to use a word in order to remember it? Well, double that for me. The word is PORTMANTEAU which is the word formed when part of one word and part of another word are combined together. It also means a hard suitcase that opens in the middle into two equal parts. My Grandma had one of those, it was kind of an ivory-gold color, it reminded me of pulled taffy. Ahem, sorry. I guess I have other types of lapses, too. Sigh. But for this writing I'm talking about the words. I didn't even know they had a word for these. I'll bet some of you did, tho! A few of these unique portmanteaus are:
Spoon + Fork = Spork
Breakfast + Lunch = Brunch
Brad + Angelina = Brangelina
Skirt + Shorts = Skorts (you get 10 extra points if you remember them!)
Smoke + Fog = Smog
How many can you think of?
That's all...
I never notice any punctuation errors in your writing. Maybe I make the same ones! ;)
ReplyDeleteI can't think up any of those words right now - but spork is my fav. I think it's time for a nap!
Don't apologize! YOU GO, GIRL!!!
ReplyDeleteI LOVE language and vocab. When my daughter was a tot, she coined a few words like 'upcited' & 'beinhave'.
And don't worry about any faux pas you may make; who gives a flying fig! You're back!!!!
We've been rejoicing down here in So Cal with every forecast of rain -- the hills are greening up beautifully :-)
ReplyDeleteYou probably read plenty of correctly punctuated things that it must influence your writing -- I rarely see errors. Are you still writing articles?
Fiwa, I love "spork" too. That one could also be the answer to the burning question, "What kind of meat is on that BBQ sandwich?" ..."Why, 's pork and thanks fer askin'!" LOL
ReplyDeleteKathy, I love that sort of word, that little kids create...we have restaurants around the Midwest called "Maid Rite"...which is a loose meat sandwich on a bun. My son used to call them "tomato-ripes" ...not sure where he got the tomato part because I've never seen tomato on a maid-rite. And one of my granddaughters called mosquitoes "spagitoes". What pasta has to do with those nasty little biting bugs, I'll never know. Only in the mind of a child!! Haha
Anne, I am so looking forward to green hills, and yards! The only writing I've been doing lately is a work-related article or two for my boss for our department's part of the school districts website and the state's newsletter. I do it for no pay and no by-line. LOL...but I suppose the fact that I'm helping my boss has it's perks.