Vicarious means experiencing in your imagination what someone is actually feeling or doing.
For example, “Keith derived vicarious pleasure from the misfortune of the CFO, his office nemesis.“
Word of the Week: Nemesis
Nemesis means an enemy or long-standing rival.
For example, “Keith considered the CFO his nemesis, ever since the person disallowed half the meals on his expense report.“
Word of the Week: Bonhomie
Bonhomie means good-natured friendliness; geniality.
For example, “Keith worked hard to create a bonhomie among his sales team.“
Word of the Week: Surfeit
Surfeit means excess; overabundant supply.
For example, “The CEO presented a surfeit of ideas during the meeting, but Keith thought they were all foolish.“
Proofreading Tips
It’s National Proofreading Day on March 8th! As a gift from The Executive Writer, here is a list of proofreading tips that will ensure everything you write is clear, concise and error-free:
- Use a spell checker and grammar checker on the document as a first screening, but don’t depend on them.
- Then print out the document you need to proofread.
- Read it out loud once and then a second time silently.
- Read it backwards to focus on the spelling of words.
- As you read, use a screen (such as a blank sheet of paper) to cover the material not yet proofed.
- Point with your finger to read one word at a time.
- Don’t proof for every type of mistake at once—do one proof for spelling, another for missing/additional spaces, consistency of word usage, font sizes, etc.
- Keep a list of your most common errors and proof for those on separate “trips.”
- Ask yourself who, what, when, where, why, and how when proofreading for content. Does the text answer all the questions you think it should?
- Write at the end of the day; proofread first thing in the morning. (Usually, getting some sleep in between helps.)
- Listen to music or chew gum. Proofreading can be boring business. Anything that can relieve your mind of some of the pressure, while allowing you to still keep focused, is a benefit.
- Have others read proofread your document.
National Grammar Day
It’s National Grammar Day! But what, exactly, do we mean by the word, grammar? Most people define it very simply as “writing rules.” But grammar has a much more extensive and complex definition. What better day than today to take a closer look at the word:
Grammar is the study of words, how they are used in sentences, and how they change in different situations.The Ancient Greeks used to call it grammatikē tékhnē or “the craft of letters.” The word, however, can have any of these meanings:
- The study of a language: how it works, and everything about it. This is referred to as “background research on language.”
- The study of sentence structure. Rules and examples show how the language should be used. This is referred to as “correct usage grammar,” as in a textbook or writing guide.
- The system which people learn as they grow up. This is referred to as “native-speaker’s grammar.”
When we speak, we use the native person’s grammar, or as near as we can. When we write, we try to write with correct grammar. So, speaking and writing a language each have their own style.