The Clog has much respect for the English language and grammar. However, it never fails to amuse us when the use of certain words become really unnecessary hyperboles, so natural that the words’ definitions start morphing to mean the complete opposite. An example would be the word “literally.” BuzzFeed brought Read More…
“Mean Girls” is an excellent movie in my book. And Gretchen Wieners is one smart gal. She understands that you can’t just ask people why they’re white, she knows that cousins and first cousins are the same thing and she will never forget that in girl world, you can only Read More…
Vladimir Nabokov, a lepidopterist, composer of chess strategies, lecturer at Wellesley, professor at Cornell and Russian-American novelist, was born 114 years ago today. So imagine my disappointment when, upon receiving my copy of Nabokov’s “Lolita” in the mail, I found this: Read More…
In early December 2012, I awoke to a phone call informing me I would be working on the Washington Post’s copy desk in the summer. I was elated. I had wanted to intern for a major newspaper for years, and, with the Post’s offer, my dream appeared to finally be Read More…
Ah, election season. The atmosphere and energy surrounding the ASUC elections pale in comparison to those of any school election I have yet lived through, and for good reason. Qualified candidates scatter themselves across campus, asking for votes and explaining their platforms to the lucky few of us plucked from Read More…
In the fifth season of NBC’s “30 Rock,” Liz Lemon recounts the one time she went to Los Angeles. She asked a passer-by, “How do I get to 10?,” at which he, a rioter for Rodney King, interrupted his hell-raising to deliver this disdainful line: “It’s the 10.” Every city Read More…
Upon returning to Berkeley after spring break, I came to an unfortunate realization: that it was that time of the semester again. Perhaps I’d survived the first two months of this term, but somehow, April still managed to loom ahead of me. That couldn’t be a good sign — in Read More…
Can we just agree that capitalization, like the rest of English grammar, is a fickle mistress? Yes? Good. To list things we should capitalize would be almost as complex as naming past participles (see my rant on this subject, as posted previously). Instead, I have compiled a partial list of Read More…
If the distinction between two words is clear, why is there confusion about such words’ use? While editing, I often ask myself this question, as writers often seem uncertain about whether to use “if” or “whether” in sentences. Admittedly, this mistake is somewhat understandable: The words’ usages are somewhat similar Read More…
As I write this, my friend Evelyn and I are supposed to be studying political science. But grammar nerds never rest, so Congress will just have to put its problems on hold while I address a more local issue. (From what I have heard about Congress, though, I don’t think Read More…
