surrealism [suh-REE-uh-liz-uhm] also [suh-REY-uh-liz-uhm]

[tweet] surrealism [suh-REE-uh-liz-uhm] also [suh-REY-uh-liz-uhm] http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/surrealism …

Heard today with stress on first syllable.

pronunciation respelling

The pronunciation respelling in tweets posted here closely follows the spelled pronunciation used by Dictionary.com. Differences: [dh] for [th], [uu] for [oo], [u] for [uh], [uh] for [uh], CAPS for bold.

Note: See tweets… page.

added custom Google searches to Resources sidebar

[tweet] Copyediting.com Custom Search Engine (CSE) on Google: Links now added to Resources sidebar on @notrehta Profile|Web…

See Copyediting CSE and Copyediting Reference Lib in the Resources sidebar on the left.

Note: See tweets… page.

camaïeu [ka-ma-YUH]

[tweet] camaieu [ka-ma-YUH] … @wordnik served up this FL #wotd yesterday. “ieu” rhymes with “feu” (fire). http://bit.ly/9QRIfn …

pronunciation respelling

The pronunciation respelling in tweets posted here closely follows the spelled pronunciation used by Dictionary.com. Differences: [dh] for [th], [uu] for [oo], [u] for [uh], [uh] for [uh], CAPS for bold.

Note: See tweets… page.

passe-partout [pas-pahr-TOO]

[tweet] passe-partout [pas-pahr-TOO] http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/passe-partout goes everywhere, or did, like around home-framed art …

pronunciation respelling

The pronunciation respelling in tweets posted here closely follows the spelled pronunciation used by Dictionary.com. Differences: [dh] for [th], [uu] for [oo], [u] for [uh], [uh] for [uh], CAPS for bold.

Note: See tweets… page.

gewgaw [GYOO-gaw, GOO-]

[tweet] gewgaw [GYOO-gaw, GOO-] http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gewgaw …

pronunciation respelling

The pronunciation respelling in tweets posted here closely follows the spelled pronunciation used by Dictionary.com. Differences: [dh] for [th], [uu] for [oo], [u] for [uh], [uh] for [uh], CAPS for bold.

Note: See tweets… page.

attritive [uh-TRAHY-tiv]

[tweet] attritive [uh-TRAHY-tiv] – used by Kerouac, as quoted in the Times [tahymz] http://bit.ly/917ofW NYT …

MW11 has no entry for attritive other than to say there is an entry in Merriam-Webster Unabridged.

Dictionary.com at least gives the pronunciation.

pronunciation respelling

The pronunciation respelling in tweets posted here closely follows the spelled pronunciation used by Dictionary.com. Differences: [dh] for [th], [uu] for [oo], [u] for [uh], [uh] for [uh], CAPS for bold.

Note: See tweets… page.

added OWL – Online Writing Lab – to Resources sidebar

[tweet] The Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL) is useful and free. http://owl.english.purdue.edu/ via @gooseGrade …

You can get to it from the link in the Resources sidebar on the left.

Note: See tweets… page.

earth/Earth

[tweet] … earth/Earth … lowercase except when you mean the planet we live on (sense 4 in M-W): http://bit.ly/bbUm2 …

The New York Times Manual of Style and Usage (1999) calls for “lowercase, except in the specialized context of astronomy, usually in juxtaposition with other bodies and without a preceding the: How do Mars and Earth fit into that pattern?” But even a casual look at recent copies of the paper tells you that this advice is widely ignored. The world has moved on. It is no longer 1999 … or 1988. (Do the math, M-W. That’s more than 20 years ago. M-W English Usage).

You can link to the National Geographic Society Style Manual from the Resources sidebar on the left to check the NGS take on this issue.

The Washington Post also capitalizes Earth when it means the planet we live on … and in contexts that have nothing to do with astronomy.

If you see earth and you could reasonably replace it with planet or the planet, then capitalize it.

If you see Earth (except in a name) and you couldn’t reasonably replace it with planet or the planet, then lowercase it. [M-W]

Note: See tweets… page.

added Reuters stylebook to Resources sidebar

[tweet] Thank you, @reuters, for putting your stylebook online. Link added to resource sidebar on @notrehta website. via @andybechtel …

This is seriously good. As is Andy Bechtel.

Note: See tweets… page.

commas, periods and closing quotation marks

[tweet] … commas (and periods) go inside all closing quotation marks. See last item (14) in entry on “comma”: http://bit.ly/NGS_comma …

The topic of punctuation surrounding quotation marks is well covered by Edward D. Johnson in The Handbook of Good English. See in particular his Rule 2-24. (@MaryRW reviewed the book here: http://bit.ly/D4eMb)

UK/US differences are noted here. But read to the end: “depending on the sense of the sentence.”

Note: See tweets… page.