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Chic, chick, Check, Cheek, chuck, chock, choc, cheque + 1

28/5/2014

6 Comments

 
Here are yet more words that can check Affa's progress through a ms. Meet the CHs.
Chic is a word meaning smart and up-to-date, usually used for females. It's pronounced SHEEK.
Sheik, on the other hand, is pronounced more like SHAKE.
Chick is a baby bird or, colloquially, a girl.
Chicken is where the fun really begins. In Australia, a chicken is a chick, or a baby bird of the hen variety. The only exceptions are when an adult hen is cooked and it mysteriously morphs into a chicken, or when we are insulting someone by implying s/he is not brave. Overseas, a chicken may be an adult hen. In Australia that is generally a chook or, if we're being "correct", a fowl or a hen. 
Check is a pattern of lines or squares, to look something over or to make sure something is correct. A check-mark is generally a cross in a square. Overseas, a check can also be what we call a bill or a cheque.
Cheque is a piece of paper carrying an official promise to pay. These are becoming less common.
Cheek is bold-faced rudeness (the cheek of her!), or the side of the face. When listening to a Russian wildlife commentator, I could swear he used it to refer to baby birds, but I think he was really saying "chick".
Chuck is to throw something or, colloquially, the throw up. It is also sometimes a nickname for someone named Charles. 
Chock is a bit or wood or rock put behind the wheels of a car to stop it rolling.
Choc is a pet name for chocolate.
Chocolholic is another word up with which Affa will not put. It is a false construction derived from the term "alcoholic" which is "alcohol + ic". Thus, clearly, the chocolate version would be either "chocolatic" or, if we're being playful, "chocic". 

 


6 Comments

Mums, Dads and Plural Surnames

23/5/2014

1 Comment

 
Mum, Dad, Grandma and Uncle, stand on notice: You do not always get a capital letter.
Here's the drill with those relative-name-substitutions that so many people get skewed.


If the word (Mum, Dad, Uncle, Granny) stands alone as a name substitute, then it gets a capital. 
I'm going with Mum.
Dad and Grandma took me to the beach.
Hey Uncle Arthur, are you really a time-traveller?


If the word (Mum, Dad, Uncle, Granny) has a personal pronoun (my, your, their, his) in front of it, then it does not get a capital. 
I'm going with my mum.
Jane's grandpa and grandma took us to the beach.
I asked my uncle if he was really a time-traveller.


If the word has a "the" in front of it, then the word does not take a capital.
I asked the mother if she wanted to come.


Now, for plural surnames.
If your name is Jones, then you and the rest of your family are the Joneses or the Jones family.
If your name is Blake, then you and the family are the Blakes or the Blake family.
If your name is Derry, then you and the family are the Derrys or the Derry family..
If your name is Odgers, then you and the gang are the Odgerses or the Odgers family.
If you want to talk about an address, you might say, we're going to the Blakes' house or the Blakes's house. You might also say you were going to the Blake house.
1 Comment

More Mistaken Words

23/5/2014

1 Comment

 
Here are some more words to look out for in your manuscripts.
Reign - to rule
Rein - a leather strap for controlling a horse
Rain - precipitation


So which is it?  "Free reign" and "to reign in" are the ones we see most often used incorrectly. The correct forms are "free rein" and "to rein in".


Sank
Sink
Sunk 
All forms of the verb "to sink".
I sank, he sank, she sank, they sank (past tense)
I sink, he sinks, she sinks, they sink (present tense)
It has sunk, he was sunk, (past participle)
Sunken eyes, sunken ships (used as an adjective)


Sink is also a basin for washing dishes or something that drains or subsides. 
A sinker is a lead weight used to keep a fishing line in place.




Lay
Lie
Laid
Lying
Laying
Verb "to lay" -  "Lay it down over there."
Verb "to lie" - "Lie down on the couch."
Verb "laid" - "She laid it aside." Or "She laid herself down"
Lying - "It is lying down"
"Laying" isn't much used, except as in "She is laying it aside" or "a laying hen".
Layby, lay-by, both terms used for a place to pull off the road to park and for paying down some money for an item that will be paid off in stages.
A lie is also an untruth.


Peak - top of a mountain or or whipped cream
Peek - A quick look
Pique - sniffy annoyance and also a kind of cloth.


Sneak - to creep or, colloquially, to tell tales. Also used as a colloquial noun for a tell-tale.
Sneaked - past tense of "sneak".
Snuck - nasty slang form up with which Affa will not put.


Creep - to sneak. Also a colloquial noun for an unpleasant,,, well, creepy... person
Crept - past tense of "creep".
Crupt - nasty slang form no one has yet used but which will not be tolerated if someone does.
1 Comment

Synonym or Not?

19/5/2014

2 Comments

 
The English language is awash (flooded, drenched, wet?) with synonyms, yet in every list of ten or twenty words supposedly meaning the same thing, you'll find variations, slight or large, in connotation and tone. It's often tempting to look for a new word for the familiar smile, walk, big, good, bad etc, but take care when you do so. Stop and visualise each word's real meaning, taking into account tone and usual use and "seeing" it in your mind. If in doubt, check it in a dictionary (not a thesaurus).

Here are some examples of supposed synonyms which have widely differing meanings in reality.

Look
Glance
Glimpse
Stare
Glare
Examine
Glower
Eye
Peer
Peep
Peek
Leer

Walk
Stroll
Shamble
Ramble
Wander
Stride
Glide
Prance
Strut

Laugh
Giggle
Snicker
Snigger
Chortle
Cackle
Chuckle
Guffaw

In each case, the first example is the mainstream word. You might call it neutral or almost invisible. Once you use one of the others, your writing takes on a specific colour or tone and if you're not careful it may be something you never meant.

2 Comments

May 16th

16/5/2014

0 Comments

 
Here are some of the words Affa finds confused quite often in the manuscripts she sees:
waste/waist, loose/lose, ancestor/descendant, to/too, tack/tact, persuade/convince, strut/walk/prance, smirk/smile, peek/peak/pique 
0 Comments

May 07th, 2014

7/5/2014

1 Comment

 
We do get some interesting jobs at Affa's place. Today Affa was editing a story written by an author aged nine. Meanwhile, another author some six decades older sent some chapters for editing. It just goes to show writing talent laughs at the calendar. 
1 Comment

Welcome to Affa's Blog

6/5/2014

0 Comments

 
Welcome to Affa's Blog, which will have short posts whenever Affa thinks of something relevant to say. 

This week... the new log/code system is working well. Not only does it help keep clients in the loop but it helps Affa plan her days.  
0 Comments

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