Humour

What is plain English? What it is not is only too obvious, and can be read in all British bureaucratic communication, business letters, government departments, and sadly, much of modern English journalism – anywhere where there is linguistic contact with the public. Applications, safety instructions, official letters, licences, applications for licences or passports, insurance policies, hire-purchase documents, guarantees, instruction booklets for use of electric or other machinery etc. should be presented clearly, using language that people are certain to understand. With few exceptions, they are not:

Take, for instance, this real letter about house rents:- (more…)

I am greatly indebted to Dr. M, an acquaintance, for using his eagle eye to spot a superfluous ‘of’’ in a line occurring in one of my posts. I suspect it was an impertinent and ambitious ‘of’, escaped from an English lexicon, and managing to insert itself, like a leech, beneath the skin of my article. (more…)

I apologise to this website’s watchers for the fact that I have not posted anything for a couple of days. I and my family have been struck down by Madame Grippe, a tenacious and painful lady whom nobody wants to sleep with, though anyone struck by her – must. Today I hope to write about a lady who must be a relative of La Grippe, in that both females are extremely disagreeable, though myths about both have been around for centuries. Today or tomorrow I write about Elizabeth Báthory, Countess (or ‘Blood Countess’) of Nádasdy. (more…)