Gems of Language Archives

graphic with title "inanimate object personification: the dandelions danced" showing dandelions swaying with music

Inanimate Object and Expressive Writing

The English language, the language of Shakespeare, can be very expressive and flexible in communicating thoughts and ideas. For instance, we might write or say something like: “that guitar has been lounging in my living-room corner since Bush was president.” Most of us may understand what… continue reading

Graphic with a greasy burger and the word "Unctuous"

Gems of Language

Unctuous: The Word We Love to Hate

One reader alerted us to a new use of the word unctuous that we hadn’t previously been aware of. Recently, unctuous has begun to take on more of a positive connotation. If you watch cooking shows, you may have heard celebrity chefs describing dishes as unctuous when they mean rich,… continue reading

Is It A While or Awhile? Learn the Difference!

Awhile is an adverb, meaning “for a period of time.” A while is a noun phrase, meaning “a period of time.” In 2001, American band Staind released a song called “It’s Been Awhile” as a single from their album Break the Cycle. Even today, it’s still one of the… continue reading

Reinventing the phrase: “As Per Our Conversation”

Nobody wants to be known as a boring conversationalist, and one way to avoid that reputation is to steer clear of predictable speech patterns. Do you overuse the phrase “per our conversation?” Here are five less frequently-used variations to try out! As mentioned As agreed… continue reading

Copacetic – Definition and Use

Updated 23 November, 2021 – Copacetic, which is pronounced koh-puh-seh-tik, is an adjective. It means “okay,” “fine,” or “satisfactory.” In some cases, you might see the word copacetic spelled as copasetic or copesetic. It’s always nice to have plenty of words to express the idea that everything is… continue reading

Featured image for empathic vs. empathetic.

Empathic Vs. Empathetic: Which is Correct?

One of our readers recently wrote in with a question about the difference between the words empathic and empathetic. They mentioned that they recently read a book where the adjective empathic was frequently used to describe people who possess empathy. However, they were used to using the word empathetic,… continue reading

Judgment Vs. Judgement: Which Spelling Is Correct?

Many of our readers are curious about the spellings judgment and judgement. Judgement is typically flagged by word processors as an incorrect spelling, but online, you can find both spellings with nearly equal frequency. There are number of instances such as this with debated spelling of various words (which… continue reading

What is Albeit and How To Use It

Updated 31 August, 2021. Albeit is an interesting word that can be heard today from time to time. If you wish to add a bit of colour and flair to your writing or speech, adding it could certainly do that. But first, let’s learn a few facts about… continue reading

Graphic of a man pointing to the definition of the expression "moot point"

What Does The Expression “Moot Point” Mean?

A moot point is an irrelevant fact because it does not pertain to the current situation. The phrase “mute point” does not exist; it’s a mistake since the word mute means silent. Moot rhymes with “root” while mute rhymes with “beaut.” The Definition of Moot… continue reading

Gems of Language

Thou vs. Thee: Learn The Difference

Thou vs. Thee If Shakespeare was a standard part of your English literature class, it’s likely that you’ve run into some unique words, such as “thou” and “thee”’ While they were commonly used way back when, the emergence of Standard English meant that they were… continue reading