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Least Surprising Photo Ever? Tim Rogers Lectures the Staff About Word Usage

Posted on October 30th, 2009 1:42pm by Zac Crain
Filed under Education, Media

The topic: "blond" vs. "blonde." The book: Garner's Modern American Usage, a copy of which was recently purchased for the office for just such an occasion. The pedantic person reading from it, and thus extending the conversation for far too long: Tim Rogers.

13 Comments to “Least Surprising Photo Ever? Tim Rogers Lectures the Staff About Word Usage”

willard spiegelman @ October 30th, 2009 at 1:54 pm

As a gentleman, of course, Mr. Rogers probably prefers blondes, except in the case of His Fair (Brunette) Lady. The final “e” gives a zesty bounce to the noun, whereas we reserve the five-letter word for adjectival status. But Tim has probably already figured this out for himself.
MP @ October 30th, 2009 at 1:58 pm

could you look up draft v. draught real quick?
PatentLawya @ October 30th, 2009 at 2:11 pm

Tim must have gotten a healthy dosage of BG from yesterday’s Think! – Bryan was yesterday’s guest. What a snoot!
TLS @ October 30th, 2009 at 2:21 pm

I still don’t get when to use lie and when to use lay.
fruitdog @ October 30th, 2009 at 2:23 pm

or how about grey and gray?
copy editor @ October 30th, 2009 at 2:41 pm

@patentlawya: I heard the same show… and yes, he seemed a bit uptight. But such is the fate of grammar nerds.

On a side note, the distinction is also found in the (notably less hefty) AP stylebook. IJS.
Darren @ October 30th, 2009 at 2:45 pm

@fruitdog: You beat me to it!
Tom @ October 30th, 2009 at 3:02 pm

@TLS: I use this trick: People have the ability to lie. Things do not.
MP @ October 30th, 2009 at 3:15 pm

Tom – so how do you insruct your dog to make himself prone?
RAB @ October 30th, 2009 at 3:30 pm

@Williard Spiegelman: Tim Rogers prefers blondes; Anderson Cooper prefers blonds.

@Tom: “Now I lay me down to sleep.” And now I’m lying here wondering how the rest of the prayer goes.
MP @ October 30th, 2009 at 3:44 pm

isn’t that the prayer where the kid dies in his sleep?
ap @ October 30th, 2009 at 5:27 pm

This is a simple AP Style question that professional reporters don’t have to spend time debating. A blonde is a female with blond hair.
kma @ October 30th, 2009 at 7:51 pm

Of course reporters don’t have to spend time debating it. They let the copy editors know their stuff and fix the mistakes.