Help Tip of the Day

Thanks Benny, but I'm not sure if that's the kind of help I need.

Literal Tip of the Day

Remember, if you use the word "literally," it means that whatever crazy thing you are about to say actually happened exactly as you are describing it.

In the grand tradition of the Blog of Unnecessary Quotation Marks, there is also Literally, A Web Log, which tracks and documents the misuse of the word. Some choice examples:

"We had 300 people outside, literally freezing to death."
- Senator Hillary Clinton

"[Britney Spears is] literally on a roller coaster to hell."
- Dr. Timothy Brantley, PhD

"If you and I do not speak up now, this homosexual steamroller will literally crush all decent men, women, and children who get in its way."
- Rev. Jerry Falwell

"It’s literally raining cats in the Puget Sound area..."
- from an article about stray cats in NW Washington

Grammer Tip of the Day

If something grabs your attention it doesn't peak your interest, it piques your interest.

Save the World Tip of the Day

Solving world hunger is one thing to strive for, but enhancing America's vocabulary is another! A website, FreeRice.com is singlehandedly attempting to change the world! On the site, you''ll be asked vocabulary questions, and for each correct answer, they'll donate 10 grains of rice to a developing country! The result? Full bellies and full minds. It's pretty addictive, and you'll learn some great new words like "patois" and "hawser." It also keeps track of your vocab level. Mine's 37--I don't know if that's good or bad!

Quotation Tip of the Day

One of my biggest pet peeves is "incorrect" usage of quotation marks. It's really "annoying," and makes people seem like total "toolfaces." Fortunately, I found this "blog" that helps bring "shame" to people who use them incorrectly.

Memorial Tip of the Day

Impress your friends with the simple fact that Memorial Day was originally called Decoration Day. Or better yet, impress the people you don't know at the party you're headed to today, because you're friends will know you're not that smart.

Submarine Tip of the Day II

If you've chosen the naval career or find yourself in any water-laden occupation, it's a good idea to quickly get over the humor in the word "seamen." Try your best not to snicker or smirk when the word is said, because chances are, you'll hear it a lot. And it's probably best just to think about a puppy dying when you hear that word. After all, you wouldn't want to be the crew's target of the next prank.

Biconfusing Tip of the Day

Biannually and Semiannually both mean twice a year, biennialy mines every two years, and it just gets more confusing after that:

biannually and semiyearly

occurring twice a year

semiannually

occurring every six months or twice a year

biennially and biyearly

occurring every two years

semimonthly

occuring twice a month

Now comes the fun part!

bimonthly

occurring every two months

occurring twice a month

semiweekly

occurring twice a week

biweekly

occurring twice a week

occurring every two weeks

Yes, Bimonthly and Biweekly mean two completely different similar things. So my only question left is what does "ennial" mean?

Its, or is it It's, Tip of the Day

"Many people just don't realize (like I didn't not too long ago) that the only time "it's" is needed is when the words "it" and "is" (or "has") are being contracted. ("It's" = "It is" or "It has." But I could never remember this until I learned the following: The word "its" signifies possession, and needs no apostrophe. Just like the words: yours, his, hers, theirs, and ours don't have apostrophes. Now doesn't that make sense?

More info about Its vs It's for you to read or listen to.
(Just to make sure I wasn't going to get too grammatically correct, I decided to end my sentence with a preposition.)

Word Tip of the Day

New Mac OS X users may not have noticed that when you right click on almost any word that you are typing, in the menu that comes up there are 3 really handy dandy features. "Search in Spotlight", Spotlight is their fancy term for basically just search your computer. "Seach in Google" self explanatory and cool. And "Look Up In Dictionary". Mac OS X also has a Microsoft Word like spell checker that works in almost any program. Just right click for suggestions, they will appear above the three other commands I just mentioned.

Women-Word Tips of the Week

This week the publishers of Pete & Jay's TodD bring you a delightful series: "Words Not to Call Girls." The following five tips will be simply one word apiece, each a word you should never use when referring to a woman. Now, you'll probably notice that it's perfectly acceptable, in fact, possibly complimentary, to use these words to refer to a man. But, the same sentiment is NOT portrayed to any woman. So erase these words from your feminine vernacular. You'll be glad you did. What does happen, we've noted, is that if you use one of these words to a woman, they will turn into the word you use. For example, try using Wednesday's word to a girl. She'll become one.

Words Not to Call Women I:

"Brute"

Words Not to Call Women II
Words Not to Call Women III
Words Not to Call Women IV
Words Not to Call Women V

Football Tip of the Day

Everyone watches the "big game", even those like Jay who haven't watched a single sporting event since last years "big game". To avoid sounding like a complete newbie here is a list of terms that have nothing to do with football: Home Run, Derby, Match, Inning, Wheel, Court, Net, Goalie, Mallet, Pit Crew, Puck, Spoiler, Forward, Jockey, and Power Play.

And remember kids:
"Even a fool is thought wise if he keeps silent" Proverbs 17:28a

Grammer Tip of the Day

Punjab
Usage: geographical name
1: region NW Indian subcontinent in Pakistan & NW India occupying valleys of the Indus & its five tributaries; formerly a province of British India capital Lahore

Function: bad joke
2: the almost humorous use of a word in such a way as to suggest multiple meanings while attempting to be harsh or "cut-down" another individual.

Language Tip of the Day

"Dude, it says: 'Besucherstatistik für den Benutzer - u.a. petervcook.com'"

-Jay

"Ya, I think my host may be German"

-Pete