For the harried headline writer, certain tried-and-true devices can seem almost irresistible.…

We spelled the word "indispensable" correctly 161 times in the last year. Unfortunately, we spelled it incorrectly, as "indispensible," 17 times, an error rate of nearly 10 percent.…

Everyone loves to quote Shakespeare. "To be or not to be" may be the weariest of clichés, but no one will give it the rest it has earned.…

There are many ways to misuse "like," and we do so, repeatedly.…

Here's a year-end sampling of one of our most common grammatical errors. Remember that when a participle construction, appositive or other modifying phrase starts a sentence, the person or thing being described should generally come directly after the modifying phrase.…

AfterDeadlineThis is a well-worn topic in After Deadline. But it never takes long to refill the file of sound-alike mix-ups. Here are a few of the latest examples - add them to your checklist.…

We make a lot of mistakes in English - but then, we publish a lot of words in English.We publish far fewer words in French, Latin and other foreign languages. Good thing, too, because our error rate when we venture…

We never say "one" if we really mean "a thousand." So why, oh why do we so often say "million" when we mean "billion"? The magnitude of the error is the same - we're off not by one consonant, but…

Enlivening otherwise dry or somber topics, from Wall Street to Pakistan, is an admirable goal. But tossing in slang or colloquial expressions, a faddish buzzword or some hip lingo from a bygone era is seldom the best solution. Many colloquialisms…

Times readers are sophisticated and don't expect "Run, Spot, run" syntax. But news is read in a hurry, and we should strive for clear, sharp prose that aids rapid comprehension. Long, complex sentences slow readers down and can lead our…

The latest subjective sampling of sparkling prose from recent pages. Read 'em and weep, or laugh, or cheer.…

Sharp-eyed readers found some new cases where a modifying phrase comes at the wrong point in a sentence, potentially leading to momentary confusion or unintended comedy.…

Getting people's names right is one of the most basic tasks of reporting and editing. Of course, it's not as easy as it may seem to outsiders - scores of stories, hundreds or thousands of names, every day, all day…

It's been only six weeks or so since our last installment of sound-alike mix-ups, but the file is already starting to fill up again. Here's the latest batch - all repeat offenses - including one in a headline.…

"Awhile" is an adverb. It modifies a verb and means "for a short time": He chatted awhile and then left. "Awhile" should not be used as the object of a preposition, so constructions like "for awhile" or "in awhile" are…

Another small sampling of sparkling prose from recent editions.…

As many dismayed readers would attest, agreement problems are probably our most common grammatical fault - subject and verb, subject and predicate noun, pronoun and antecedent.…

Times readers expect nothing but the best in our writing and editing. Too often, they're disappointed. My colleague Patrick LaForge, who oversees our copy desks, described their dismay and offered some suggestions in this memo to editors:…

Who or whom? It should be easy. Use "who" for the subject in a relative clause, "whom" for a direct object or object of a preposition. And yet, problems arise constantly.…

September is shaping up as a refresher course in some of our most popular lapses. Last week, homophone mix-ups. This week, the dreaded dangler. And next week - will it be who/whom problems or subject-verb agreement? Stay tuned.…

A few new problems involving words that sound alike, or nearly so.…

As has been explained ad nauseum, the threat of defense cuts is supposed to give the Republicans an incentive to play fair with the Democrats in the negotiations.…

Here's another small and subjective sampling of deft phrases, sharp images and other sparkling prose from the past few weeks. Nominations are always welcome.…

The good news is that Times writers don't feel the need to use the words panegyric, immiscible or Manichaean very often. That's fortunate because the bad news is, when we do use them, a lot of readers don't know what…

My regular diatribes notwithstanding, misuse of the adjective "eponymous" is so widespread, in The Times and elsewhere, that continued resistance may be futile.…

The problem comes in many guises, but the basic formula is familiar. When a modifying phrase precedes the main clause of a sentence, the person or thing being described should come right after that phrase.…

AfterDeadlineCommas are small things, easily overlooked in writing, editing and proofing. But nothing makes an otherwise well-wrought sentence look amateurish as quickly as a comma that appears where it has no business, or the lack of one where it's needed.…

Every couple of months I find myself writing a new admonition about subject-verb agreement. The rules of grammar haven't changed since the last time, nor have the typical causes of our agreement problems.…

After Deadline: We stumble repeatedly over the syntax of either/or and neither/nor constructions, which shouldn't really be such a challenge.…

Here's another small and subjective sampling of sparkling prose from recent editions. Nominations are always welcome.…

In most cases, we simply chose the wrong one from a pair of words that sound alike but have completely different meanings. The last example may suggest a misunderstanding of the nuances of similar words.…