Does chicken noodle soup help get rid of coals or colds? Would you store your valuables in a coffer or in a cougher? Is a football game played in a coliseum or a Colosseum? coalition, collation A coalition is a union or temporary alliance between persons, groups, factions, etc. A coalition between the two teams was needed…
The day is dull, dark, and soundless. That is a perfect beginning for a book inspired by any tale of Edgar Allen Poe. In this tale of three little ravens, Edgar decides on this boring gray day to go and see his friend Roderick in his tree house. Of course, his little sister wants to…
Are you guilty of using as many of these redundant expressions as I am? Until I began looking at these expressions, I had no clue how many of them I had been speaking and writing. Once you look at the expression and explore what it really means, you will see that a redundant expression is…
Reading was a huge part of schooling my children, and we read many books by Mark Twain: Puddn’head Wilson, Tom Sawyer, Huckleberry Finn, The Prince and the Pauper, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court, and Life on the Mississippi. His life was something we didn’t study though. I knew that he didn’t like people…
No matter where in the United States you live, chances are that will hear Spanish as well as English being spoken. So wouldn’t it be a great idea to start your little ones off learning the Spanish language along with English? Many items, like toilet paper and paper towels, have written on the packaging in…
Arsenic, cyanide, and strychnine are the classic poisons. The seemingly innocent little old ladies in Arsenic and Old Lace, one of my favorite movies, used these three poisons in their deadly elderberry wine. One gallon of this toxic wine contained one teaspoon of arsenic, half a teaspoon of strychnine, and just a pinch of cyanide. Unsuspecting…
Does a bear have clause or claws? Would a scene in a book be climacteric, climactic, or climatic? Would you climb or clime a mountain? Should you heat your home with coal or with cole? Are snowy winter nights coaled or cold? cited, sighted, sited Cited is the past tense of cite. The attorney cited the…
Where did the word “monkey” originate from? Adam is supposed to have named all the animals while he was in the Garden of Eden, but there is some speculation about how the monkey got its name. Moneke is the name of the son of Martin the Ape in a medieval animal story. That is one…
Monkshood, the queen of poisons, is known by many names: wolfsbane, aconite, leopard’s bane, women’s bane, devil’s helmet, blue rocket, and friar’s cap. Her beauty is astounding, but her flowers of white, cream, yellow, blue, or purple are deadly. The Plant and its Poison Each part of this gorgeous flower, especially the leaves and roots,…
When you read, the words should magically teleport you to another land, time, or universe filled with other people, animals, or creatures. You lose yourself in a fantasy world and live vicariously through someone, maybe even something, else. The enchanting art of teleportation needs to be used as you write. Put yourself in the place…
