Alpha Course
I am occasionally pulled up on the spelling errors and typos that crop up in Shooting Parrots and that is how it should be. If it wasn’t for the metaphorical blue pencil, where would the language be?
And because I’m prone to a gaffe or two myself, I’m loath to point the grammatical finger, but I can’t help myself when they happen in the ‘real world’.
Furthermore
I like to think that I’m not too much of a language snob, but suspect that I am really. I certainly feel my hackles rise when words are used incorrectly, but especially by people who should know better.
I was in our local supermarket this morning and decided to browse the paperbacks, picking up The Map by T S Learner. It looked like the typical conspiracy thriller that I enjoy, but I nearly didn’t buy it after reading the blurb on the back cover.
By and Large
One of the things that has struck me watching the US primaries and caucuses is the way the word ‘republican’ has different connotations on either side of the Atlantic.
If you’re a US Republican with a capital R, it means that you are rather conservative, religious and believe in traditional values (click the graphic), whereas in the UK, being a republican with a lower case R marks you as a lefty liberal rebel.
Nightmare
It’s a while since I wrote a book review which isn’t surprising as I haven’t read much of late, but one title very much on my pre-order from Amazon list was Nightmare, the third in Stephen Leather’s Jack Nightingale series.
I’ve written about the previous two novels here and here, so I’ll make my precis of the story so far as brief as I can.
Jack Nightingale is a former police negotiator whose life changes when he fails to prevent a nine year old girl from committing suicide.
Bonfire of Inanities
My following is obviously growing. After I wrote about the Banished Words list the other day, the BBC followed in my wake when the issue was included on 7 Day Sunday on Radio Five yesterday.
Okay, so they might have read about it on the Hot Word Blog which is where I stole the idea from in the first place, but a boy can dream.
Ginormous Trickeration
Pretty well everyone I know has a pet hate about the use and misuse of the English language. (I can’t speak, or speak for, other languages, but I suspect the same annoyance will apply.)
I have lots. For example, using the word ‘gate’ as a suffix to indicate some level of conspiracy, as in Camillagate, Svengate, Climategate, Shilpagate and even Nipplegate.
Normal Service Resumed
It is good to be back after my sojourn in Cleckhuddersfax. Apologies to anyone confused by the parochial surrealism of my Maurice Wilson posts and thanks to those who joined in via the comments.
The exciting news while I’ve been away is that Shooting Parrots was awarded the gold medal in the Laughing Horse Blog Awards for 2011.
The award was particularly appreciated as the committee is chaired by Yorkshire Pudding, illustrating that the Lancashire/Yorkshire rivalry bark is worse than its bite.
Haberdashery
We risked the Christmas shopping crowds yesterday to take a trip into Stockport to buy a few gifts.
Actually, it isn’t the queues at the tills that are the problem in our nearest town — we didn’t have to wait more than a few minutes to be served — but finding a place to park your car can be a nightmare at this time of year.
Tergiversate
The Hot Word blog has nominated the above as their word of the year, one that sums up the mood of 2011, and I have to say I agree with them.
It means: ‘to change repeatedly one’s attitude or opinions with respect to a cause, subject, etc.; equivocate‘.
This seems about right where our bankers, economists and politicians are concerned, particularly the latter.
The Accident
Linwood Barclay is one of my favourite writers of fiction and each of his novels that I’ve read has been better than the last. The Accident continues that trend.
Barclay’s stock-in-trade is small-town America, the secrets behind the facade of respectability and the seemingly harmless vices that can lead his cast of characters down paths that are unforeseen.
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