That that is is that that is not is not is that it it is
That that is is that that is not is not is that it it is is an English word sequence demonstrating syntactic ambiguity. It is used as an example illustrating the importance of proper punctuation.
The sequence can be understood as either of two sequences, each with four discrete sentences, by adding punctuation:
That that is, is. That that is not, is not. Is that it? It is.
Seven Tips for Communicating Data
Written by Lynn Gaertner-Johnston, Syntax Training
After you have worked hard to collect meaningful data, the big challenges are how and how much to communicate. Consider these tips when you work on your next report or presentation that includes data.
- Focus first on your message, not on the numbers.
When planning your communication, focus first on the big idea or points you want to make. Then incorporate the data that will help your audience understand and appreciate your points. Be sure your big idea gets center stage, not the numbers. - Explain the data.
Numbers mean nothing on their own. They need interpretation. Avoid asking readers or your audience to “review the attached spreadsheets.” Why should they review them? Which numbers should they pay attention to and why? What do the numbers indicate? - Put data in context.
Make it clear whether numbers are positive, negative, or neutral. If you tell a sales rep that she visited an average of six prospects per day, compare that number to the goal number of prospects. If a client walks 5500 steps in a day, state whether 5500 is the magic healthy number or only halfway there. If expenses are 18 percent over income, say why the reader should care. Explain that the account balance will be €0 by 2018 if nothing changes. - Paint a picture with your numbers so people can see them.
Even simple expressions like “a tenfold increase” or “a 30 percent drop” can seem vague unless your audience can see them. If numbers have decreased dramatically over a decade, do not use words and numbers alone. In a bold-colored graph, show the deep drop year by year, month by month over 10 years.
If your numbers are so large as to be abstract, paint them in recognizable mental pictures such as an area as large as Italy or a distance of 100 Greyhound buses. (Think of your audience when you choose the image.) How hot is 158 degrees Fahrenheit? Hot enough to fry an egg on the sidewalk.
Or show the numbers reduced to their essence. Jack Hagley’s graphic “The World as 100 People” (www.jackhagley.com/The-World-as-100-People) presents the world as though it were only 100 people. For instance, 83 of the world’s 100 people are able to read and write; 17 are not.
- Highlight important numbers.
A wall of numbers is as intimidating as a wall of text. Pull out essential numbers and focus on them. If you are presenting financial data, show just a small portion of it at a time on a slide or a page–just the portion you are discussing now. If you refer to and show just a small part, your audience will not say, “Where are you?” and “What are you talking about?” And always render numbers in a large enough font that you do not have to apologize for it.
Make it easy for your readers to find important numbers. If a client has asked for your fee, for example, don’t bury the number in a paragraph. Instead, render the number alone on a line or as part of a short heading, like this:
Your investment: US$19,000
- Prominently display the legends for tables and charts of numbers.
Ensure that your audience will know instantly that 3000 indicates 3,000,000 and that your balance is positive rather than negative. Use abbreviations such as K and M only if you are certain your readers understand them. (To some people, M means thousand; to others, it means million.) - Use only the essential, compelling numbers in the body of your document.
If numbers weigh down your document, your readers may forget your main point. So move most of the supporting tables, lists, charts, and graphs to the appendices. In a presentation, hold back some slides of data, and show them only upon request. Remember: The numbers are not the message; they serve the message.
If you think of your communication as music, your most important message comes through the soloist. The numbers are the accompanists. They play an essential role, but they should never drown out the soloist. If they do, your communication will not reach and change your audience.
9 Novel English neologisms
[nurd]
Yahoo
[yah-hoo, yey-, yah-hoo]
Chortle
[chawr-tl]
Quark
[kwawrk, kwahrk]
Utopia
[yoo-toh-pee-uh]
Tintinnabulation
[tin-ti-nab-yuh–ley-shuhn]
Grok
[grok]
Cyberspace
[sahy-ber-speys]
Catch-22
[kach-twen-tee-too]
SOURCE
8 Tantalizing Terms for Eating
Gobble
[gob–uhl]
There are many different ways to partake in a meal: if your appetite is slight, then you might peck and nibble, but if you’re famished, you’re more likely to gobble. This word, which means both “to eat hastily” and “to make the throaty cry of a male turkey,” is thought to be a formation from the word gob, which is slang for mouth. Both definitions could be fun to try out at the dinner table.Devour
[dih-vou–uhr, –vou-er]
Another term for the ravenous, the word devour conjures a beastly manner of eating. The word is often invoked to express a degree of barbarous consumption, as in this passage from Robinson Crusoe about men so hungry they’d lost command of themselves: “The poor Creatures rather devour’d than eat it.”Scarf
[skahrf]
More than a festive fashion accessory, scarf can also mean “to eat, especially voraciously“. It’s often paired with a helping word, such as up or down, and implies a rapid or frenzied feeding. Those who scarf up their meals are often the first ones at the table to finish, and, as a result, the first ones to nap.Grub
[gruhb]
One of the more versatile words on this list when it comes to discussing cuisine, grub can be used to refer to food itself, to the supplying of food, and to the eating of food. Needless to say, it’s a handy word to have in your back pocket at a family meal. But beware: in its noun form, this wily word can also mean “a dull, plodding person“, or the “sluggish larva, as of a scarab beetle“. Use this term wisely at the dinner table.Chow Down
[chou]
Associated more with meals of substance than snacks, the phrase chow down incorporates the word chow, which was perhaps brought to us from the Chinese pidgin English word chow-chow meaning “food.”Gorge
[gawrj]
This word, which comes to us from the Old French verb gorger, means both “to eat greedily” and “to stuff with food.” In its noun form, gorge can refer to a gluttonous meal or the throat. So remember: the next time you gorge on a gorge, be sure to wash it down with water; we wouldn’t want anything to get stuck in your gorge.Nosh
[nosh]
Unlike devour and gorge, this word for eating implies a lighter and more casual consumption. Nosh means “to snack or eat between meals” or “to snack on.” It came to English from the Yiddish nashn meaning “to nibble”.Gormandize
[v. gawr-muhn-dahyz]
Those who gormandize at the dining table eat in a particularly greedy or ravenous manner. The word comes to us from the Middle French gourmand, meaning “glutton.” In English, the noun gourmand has the slightly less pejorative sense of “a person who is fond of good eating, often indiscriminately and to excess.”SOURCE
10 Simple Rules For Good Writing
Whether you’re writing fiction or non-fiction, the rules for good writing are fundamentally the same.
1. Express, not impress.
Good writing is not about the number of words you’ve produced, the quality of the adjectives you’ve written or the size of your font–it’s about the number of lives you’ve touched! It’s whether or not your reader understands you. It’s about expression, not impression.
2. Simple sentences work best.
– The only possible option in order to accelerate the growth of the food industry is to focus on the fact that the target market of this business demands convenience, competence and cost-effectiveness.
– Better: The food industry can grow faster if food trucks focus on convenience, competence and cost-effectiveness.
3. Active, rather than passive.
– The offering price was established by the real estate vendor and the negotiation process was initiated by the real estate buyer.
– Better: The real estate vendor set the offering price, and the real estate buyer started negotiating.
4. Know who your target audience is.
Who are you writing for? Who do you expect to read your article, your book, or your blog post? Will they care about what you’re talking about? Will they understand the message that you’re trying to get across? Good writing isn’t generic; it’s specific because it’s targeted towards a group of people with something common binding them.
5. Read it aloud.
Reading your works out loud allows you to notice something that you might not have noticed if you were just reading it silently. Go on, read them out loud now. Also, try to listen to your work objectively as you read it. Are you making sense? Or are you simply stringing a couple of words together just to fill a gap?
6. Avoid using jargon as much as possible.
Not everyone in your audience will know what a “bull market” is. Not everyone knows that “pyrexia” is basically the same thing as “a fever”. And surely you can come up with a better term for high blood pressure than “hypertension”?
7. In terms of words, size matters.
Please, don’t strain yourself by browsing the Internet, looking for complicated and fancy-sounding words. Less is always more.
– The man gave a me look so sharp that I sincerely believed it could pierce my heart and see my innermost fears.
– Better: The man glared at me.
8. Being positive is better than being negative–even in writing!
– I did not think that the unbelievable would not occur.
– Better: I thought the unbelievable would happen.
9. Set aside time for revising and rewriting–after you’ve written the whole content.
I’m not suggesting that you should edit each time you’ve finished a paragraph–that would just be tedious. What I’m telling is that you should first give yourself some time to finish the content prior to editing. Write away. Don’t edit yet. Don’t focus on the grammar yet. Don’t worry about the syntax, the synonym, the antonym or the order that you’re using.
Write for yourself, but mostly, write for your target audience. Write the message clearly and don’t be afraid to express your thoughts. Don’t censor yourself yet. Let the words flow. Don’t erase what you’ve written yet.
Right now, it’s all about expression, about art and about your imagination.
All the editing and the fixing will come later.
10. Write. All the time.
Good writing is simply always writing. Write when you’re sad. Write when you’re scared. Write when you don’t feel like writing.
18 Common Words That You Should Replace in Your Writing
It’s a familiar scene: you’re slumped over your keyboard or notebook, obsessing over your character. While we tend to agonize over everything from structure to backstory, it’s important to weigh how you write something too. A perfectly constructed world is flat on the page if you use feeble, common words. When you’re finished constructing your perfectly balanced world, do your writing a favor and take another pass to weed out these 18 haggard words.
Good
High on any list of most used English words is “good.” While this word may appear to be the perfect adjective for nearly anything, that is precisely what makes it so vague. Try getting more specific. If something’s going well, try “superb,” “outstanding” or “exceptional.”
New
Another of the common words in English is “new.” “New” is an adjective that doesn’t always set off alarm bells, so it can be easy to forget about. Give your writing more punch by ditching “new” and using something like “latest” or “recent” instead.
Long
Much like “new,” “long” is spent, yet it doesn’t always register as such while you’re writing. Instead of this cliché phrase, try describing exactly how long it is: “extended,” “lingering” or “endless,” for example.
Old
“Old” is certainly one of those common words that means more to readers if you’re specific about how old a subject is. Is it “ancient,” “fossilized,” “decaying” or “decrepit”?
Right
“Right” is also among the common words that tends to slip through our writer filters. If somebody is correct, you could also say “exact” or “precise.” Don’t let habit words like “right” dampen your writing.
Different
Here’s another adjective that falls a bit flat for readers, but can also easily be improved by getting more specific. Saying something is “odd” or “uncommon” is very different than saying it is “exotic” or “striking.”
Small
“Small” is another adjective that is too generic for writing as good as yours. Use “microscopic,” “miniature” or “tiny” instead. Even using “cramped” or “compact” is more descriptive for your audience.
Large
Just like relying too much on “small,” we tend to describe large things as, well, “large.” Specificity is a big help with this one too: could your subject be “substantial,” “immense,” “enormous” or “massive”?
Next
Whenever we describe something coming “next,” we run the risk of losing our readers. Good options to make your reading more powerful include “upcoming,” “following” or “closer.”
Young
Another case of being too generic is what makes “young” a problematic adjective. If you want your writing to be more captivating, try switching “young” out for “youthful,” “naive” or “budding.”
Never
“Never” is also among common words to use sparingly. Not only is it a common, stale descriptor, it’s also usually incorrect. For something to never happen, even one instance makes this word inaccurate. Try “rarely,” “scarcely” or “occasionally” instead.
Things
“Things” is another repeat offender when it comes to worn out words. Another word where specificity is the key, try replacing “things” with “belongings,” “property” or “tools.”
All
Just like “never,” “all” is an encompassing, absolute term. Not only is “all” unoriginal, it’s not usually factual. Try using “each” and “copious” instead.
Feel
“Feel” is also in the company of common English words. Try using “sense,” or “discern” instead. You can also move your sentence into a more active tense: “I feel hungry” could become “I’m famished,” for example.
Seem
“Seem” is bad habit word we are all guilty of using. Regardless of how well you think your sentence is constructed, try switching “seem” out for “shows signs of.” “Comes across as” is another good option to give your writing more power.
Almost
Another easy adjective to let slip by, “almost” is a wasted opportunity to engage your readers. “Almost” is more interesting if you say “practically,” “nearly” or “verging on” instead.
Just
“Just making” it or “just barely” affording something isn’t very descriptive. To truly grab a reader, we must do better. Try “narrowly,” “simply” or “hardly” to give your phrasing more weight.
Went
Last but not least, avoid using the common word “went” to describe your subject. “Went” is a word that lacks traction. Try using “chose,” “decided on” or “rambled” to truly grab your readers.
SOURCE
Image courtesy
113 words for different things one could eat
These words generally end in “phagous“, from the Greek phagein, or “vorous“, from Latin vorare, both verbs meaning “to eat“. Which suffix you want to use depends on whether you feel like having souvlaki or spaghetti.
Word |
Definition |
| allotriophagy | craving for strange foods |
| androphagy | cannibalism |
| anthropophaginian | cannibal |
| anthropophagous | (again) eating humans |
| aphagia | inability to eat or swallow |
| apivorous | eating bees |
| arachnivorous | feeding on spiders |
| autocoprophagy | eating one’s own feces |
| autophagy | feeding on body’s own tissues |
| baccivorous | eating berries |
| batrachivorous | frog-eating |
| bibliophagist | one who devours books, literally or figuratively |
| calcivorous | feeding on or living in limestone |
| cardophagus | donkey; something that eats thistles |
| carnivorous | eating flesh |
| carpophagous | fruit-eating |
| cepivorous | onion-eating |
| chthonophagia | eating dirt |
| comburivorous | consuming by fire |
| coprophagous | eating feces |
| creatophagous | carnivorous; flesh-eating |
| creophagous | flesh-eating; carnivorous |
| detritivore | animal that eats decomposing organic matter |
| dysphagia | pathological difficulty in swallowing |
| endophagy | cannibalism within a tribe; eating away from within |
| entomophagous | eating insects |
| equivorous | consuming horseflesh |
| exophagy | cannibalism outside one’s own group |
| foliophagous | eating leaves; eating folios of books |
| formivorous | eating ants |
| fructivorous | feeding on fruit |
| frugivorous | eating fruit |
| fucivorous | eating seaweed |
| galactophagist | milk drinker |
| gamophagia | destruction of one gamete by another |
| geophagy | practice of feeding on soil; dirt-eating |
| glossophagine | eating using the tongue |
| graminivorous | feeding on grass or cereals |
| granivorous | feeding on seeds |
| gumnivorous | feeding on tree saps |
| herbivorous | eating only plant matter |
| hippophagy | feeding on horses |
| homnivorous | eating humans |
| hylophagous | eating wood |
| hyperphagia | eating too much |
| ichthyophagous | fish-eating |
| insectivorous | eating insects |
| kreatophagia | eating of raw meat |
| larvivorous | feeding on larvae |
| lignivorous | feeding on wood |
| limivorous | eating mud |
| lithophagous | stone-swallowing; rock-boring; eating rock |
| lotophagous | feeding on lotuses; indolent; lazy; dreamy |
| mallophagous | eating wool or fleece |
| meconophagist | consumer of opium or heroin |
| meliphagous | feeding upon honey |
| mellivorous | honey-eating |
| merdivorous | dung-eating |
| microphagous | feeding on small creatures or plants |
| monophagous | feeding on only one type of food |
| mucivorous | feeding on plant juices |
| mycophagous | eating fungus |
| myristicivorous | feeding upon nutmegs |
| myrmecophagous | feeding on ants |
| necrophagous | feeding on the dead |
| nectarivorous | feeding on nectar |
| nucivorous | nut-eating |
| omnivorous | eating anything; eating both plant and animal matter |
| omophagy | eating of raw flesh as a ritual observance |
| onychophagist | nail-biter |
| ophiophagous | eating snakes |
| oryzivorous | rice-eating |
| ossivorous | feeding on bones |
| ostreophagous | oyster-eating |
| ovivorous | eating eggs |
| ovivorous | eating sheep |
| paedophage | eater of children |
| pagophagia | eating trays of ice to help offset iron deficiency |
| panivorous | bread-eating |
| pantophagy | omnivorousness |
| phthirophagous | lice-eating |
| phyllophagous | leaf-eating |
| phytivorous | feeding on plants |
| phytophagous | feeding on vegetable matter |
| piscivorous | fish-eating |
| placentophagy | eating of the placenta |
| plantivorous | plant-eating |
| plasmophagous | consuming plasma |
| poephagous | eating grass or herbs; herbivorous |
| poltophagy | prolonged chewing of food |
| polyphagous | eating many types of food |
| psomophagy | swallowing food without thorough chewing |
| radicivorous | eating roots |
| ranivorous | eating frogs |
| rhizophagous | root-eating |
| rhypophagy | eating filth |
| sanguivorous | blood-drinking |
| saprophagous | feeding on decaying material |
| sarcophagous | feeding on flesh; carnivorous |
| saurophagous | eating lizards |
| scatophagous | dung-eating |
| seminivorous | seed-eating |
| stercovorous | feeding on dung or excrement |
| thalerophagous | feeding on fresh vegetable matter |
| theophagy | sacramental consumption of a god |
| toxicophagous | eating poison |
| toxiphagous | poison-eating |
| univorous | living on only one host or source of food |
| vegetivorous | eating vegetables |
| vermivorous | eating worms |
| xerophagy | eating of dry food; fast of dry food in the week preceding Easter |
| xylophagous | wood-eating |
| zoophagy | eating animals |
SOURCE
Image source
The History of the “Dude”
Charting the evolution of a gender-hopping, meaning-changing, spelling-flexible word
People fear, loathe, and ignore change.
Avoid Gender-Based Language Traps
3. Avoid “Dear Sir” or “Dear Sirs” as a greeting. It excludes the possibility of a woman as your reader. Instead, whenever possible, learn the reader’s name and use it. If you cannot discover your reader’s name, use a generic term such as “Dear Hiring Manager” or “Dear Credit Representative,” or use “Dear Sir or Madam.”
SOURCE
Image source
AWARDS
Just English 