Click on the player to hear the entire interview.

Paula Brackston writes a successful book series that started with the New York Times bestseller “The Witch’s Daughter,” and now she’s embarking on another series with her new book, “The Little Shop of Found Things.” The new series is set in Wiltshire country in England and follows the story of Xanthe as she uses her gift for connecting with the history of objects to travel through time. In this first book, Xanthe travels back to 1605 to solve a mystery that involves a chatelaine.

Despite the fact that the books have fantasy elements, Brackston says she still does a lot of research to make sure all the historical elements are accurate, and she talks about using language stragetically to set a tone for her books. “When I’m writing 1605,” she says, “obviously, people speak very differently. I can’t have them speaking exactly as they would have because it would be hard work for the reader, so I have a stylized version, and it’s the same when I’m doing the descriptive writing whether it’s in the present day or the past. I’m trying to give a flavor of that time, a sense of something other, something historical, something different, and I think you can’t really do that using everyday words too much.”

Here’s an example from the first paragraph of the book:

It’s a commonly held belief that the most likely place to find a ghost is beneath a shadowy moon, among the ruins of a castle, or perhaps an abandoned house where the living have fled leaving only spirits to drift from room to room. To believe so is to acknowledge but half a truth, for there is a connection with those passed over to be found much nearer home. Every soul that once trod this brutal earth leaves their imprint upon the things that mattered to them.

Brackston’s characters’ names also lend a mysterious feel to the book. For example, the main character, Xanthe, gets her name from a Greek word that means “the golden one” or “fair haired.” Brackston says, “I like the sound of it. I like the look of it on the page. I liked the fact that it wasn’t going to get muddled up with anybody else.” She adds, “To see the shape of the word is quite interesting to me. I like that.”

Brackston laughed as she described her career and getting her first novel published. “I was one of those overnight successes that takes about 10 years.” “The Witch’s Daughter” was first picked up by a small British publisher and then discovered by Peter Wolverton, an editor at Thomas Dunne at St….

Keep reading on Quick and Dirty Tips

Click on the player to hear the entire interview.

Paula Brackston writes a successful book series that started with the New York Times bestseller “The Witch’s Daughter,” and now she’s embarking on another series with her new book, “The Little Shop of Found Things.” The new series is set in Wiltshire country in England and follows the story of Xanthe as she uses her gift for connecting with the history of objects to travel through time. In this first book, Xanthe travels back to 1605 to solve a mystery that involves a chatelaine.

Despite the fact that the books have fantasy elements, Brackston says she still does a lot of research to make sure all the historical elements are accurate, and she talks about using language stragetically to set a tone for her books. “When I’m writing 1605,” she says, “obviously, people speak very differently. I can’t have them speaking exactly as they would have because it would be hard work for the reader, so I have a stylized version, and it’s the same when I’m doing the descriptive writing whether it’s in the present day or the past. I’m trying to give a flavor of that time, a sense of something other, something historical, something different, and I think you can’t really do that using everyday words too much.”

Here’s an example from the first paragraph of the book:

It’s a commonly held belief that the most likely place to find a ghost is beneath a shadowy moon, among the ruins of a castle, or perhaps an abandoned house where the living have fled leaving only spirits to drift from room to room. To believe so is to acknowledge but half a truth, for there is a connection with those passed over to be found much nearer home. Every soul that once trod this brutal earth leaves their imprint upon the things that mattered to them.

Brackston’s characters’ names also lend a mysterious feel to the book. For example, the main character, Xanthe, gets her name from a Greek word that means “the golden one” or “fair haired.” Brackston says, “I like the sound of it. I like the look of it on the page. I liked the fact that it wasn’t going to get muddled up with anybody else.” She adds, “To see the shape of the word is quite interesting to me. I like that.”

Brackston laughed as she described her career and getting her first novel published. “I was one of those overnight successes that takes about 10 years.” “The Witch’s Daughter” was first picked up by a small British publisher and then discovered by Peter Wolverton, an editor at Thomas Dunne at St….

Keep reading on Quick and Dirty Tips

Click on the player to hear the entire interview.

Paula Brackston writes a successful book series that started with the New York Times bestseller “The Witch’s Daughter,” and now she’s embarking on another series with her new book, “The Little Shop of Found Things.” The new series is set in Wiltshire country in England and follows the story of Xanthe as she uses her gift for connecting with the history of objects to travel through time. In this first book, Xanthe travels back to 1605 to solve a mystery that involves a chatelaine.

Despite the fact that the books have fantasy elements, Brackston says she still does a lot of research to make sure all the historical elements are accurate, and she talks about using language stragetically to set a tone for her books. “When I’m writing 1605,” she says, “obviously, people speak very differently. I can’t have them speaking exactly as they would have because it would be hard work for the reader, so I have a stylized version, and it’s the same when I’m doing the descriptive writing whether it’s in the present day or the past. I’m trying to give a flavor of that time, a sense of something other, something historical, something different, and I think you can’t really do that using everyday words too much.”

Here’s an example from the first paragraph of the book:

It’s a commonly held belief that the most likely place to find a ghost is beneath a shadowy moon, among the ruins of a castle, or perhaps an abandoned house where the living have fled leaving only spirits to drift from room to room. To believe so is to acknowledge but half a truth, for there is a connection with those passed over to be found much nearer home. Every soul that once trod this brutal earth leaves their imprint upon the things that mattered to them.

Brackston’s characters’ names also lend a mysterious feel to the book. For example, the main character, Xanthe, gets her name from a Greek word that means “the golden one” or “fair haired.” Brackston says, “I like the sound of it. I like the look of it on the page. I liked the fact that it wasn’t going to get muddled up with anybody else.” She adds, “To see the shape of the word is quite interesting to me. I like that.”

Brackston laughed as she described her career and getting her first novel published. “I was one of those overnight successes that takes about 10 years.” “The Witch’s Daughter” was first picked up by a small British publisher and then discovered by Peter Wolverton, an editor at Thomas Dunne at St….

Keep reading on Quick and Dirty Tips

Click on the player to hear the entire interview.

Paula Brackston writes a successful book series that started with the New York Times bestseller “The Witch’s Daughter,” and now she’s embarking on another series with her new book, “The Little Shop of Found Things.” The new series is set in Wiltshire country in England and follows the story of Xanthe as she uses her gift for connecting with the history of objects to travel through time. In this first book, Xanthe travels back to 1605 to solve a mystery that involves a chatelaine.

Despite the fact that the books have fantasy elements, Brackston says she still does a lot of research to make sure all the historical elements are accurate, and she talks about using language stragetically to set a tone for her books. “When I’m writing 1605,” she says, “obviously, people speak very differently. I can’t have them speaking exactly as they would have because it would be hard work for the reader, so I have a stylized version, and it’s the same when I’m doing the descriptive writing whether it’s in the present day or the past. I’m trying to give a flavor of that time, a sense of something other, something historical, something different, and I think you can’t really do that using everyday words too much.”

Here’s an example from the first paragraph of the book:

It’s a commonly held belief that the most likely place to find a ghost is beneath a shadowy moon, among the ruins of a castle, or perhaps an abandoned house where the living have fled leaving only spirits to drift from room to room. To believe so is to acknowledge but half a truth, for there is a connection with those passed over to be found much nearer home. Every soul that once trod this brutal earth leaves their imprint upon the things that mattered to them.

Brackston’s characters’ names also lend a mysterious feel to the book. For example, the main character, Xanthe, gets her name from a Greek word that means “the golden one” or “fair haired.” Brackston says, “I like the sound of it. I like the look of it on the page. I liked the fact that it wasn’t going to get muddled up with anybody else.” She adds, “To see the shape of the word is quite interesting to me. I like that.”

Brackston laughed as she described her career and getting her first novel published. “I was one of those overnight successes that takes about 10 years.” “The Witch’s Daughter” was first picked up by a small British publisher and then discovered by Peter Wolverton, an editor at Thomas Dunne at St….

Keep reading on Quick and Dirty Tips

Click on the player to hear the entire interview.

Paula Brackston writes a successful book series that started with the New York Times bestseller “The Witch’s Daughter,” and now she’s embarking on another series with her new book, “The Little Shop of Found Things.” The new series is set in Wiltshire country in England and follows the story of Xanthe as she uses her gift for connecting with the history of objects to travel through time. In this first book, Xanthe travels back to 1605 to solve a mystery that involves a chatelaine.

Despite the fact that the books have fantasy elements, Brackston says she still does a lot of research to make sure all the historical elements are accurate, and she talks about using language stragetically to set a tone for her books. “When I’m writing 1605,” she says, “obviously, people speak very differently. I can’t have them speaking exactly as they would have because it would be hard work for the reader, so I have a stylized version, and it’s the same when I’m doing the descriptive writing whether it’s in the present day or the past. I’m trying to give a flavor of that time, a sense of something other, something historical, something different, and I think you can’t really do that using everyday words too much.”

Here’s an example from the first paragraph of the book:

It’s a commonly held belief that the most likely place to find a ghost is beneath a shadowy moon, among the ruins of a castle, or perhaps an abandoned house where the living have fled leaving only spirits to drift from room to room. To believe so is to acknowledge but half a truth, for there is a connection with those passed over to be found much nearer home. Every soul that once trod this brutal earth leaves their imprint upon the things that mattered to them.

Brackston’s characters’ names also lend a mysterious feel to the book. For example, the main character, Xanthe, gets her name from a Greek word that means “the golden one” or “fair haired.” Brackston says, “I like the sound of it. I like the look of it on the page. I liked the fact that it wasn’t going to get muddled up with anybody else.” She adds, “To see the shape of the word is quite interesting to me. I like that.”

Brackston laughed as she described her career and getting her first novel published. “I was one of those overnight successes that takes about 10 years.” “The Witch’s Daughter” was first picked up by a small British publisher and then discovered by Peter Wolverton, an editor at Thomas Dunne at St….

Keep reading on Quick and Dirty Tips

Click on the player to hear the entire interview.

Paula Brackston writes a successful book series that started with the New York Times bestseller “The Witch’s Daughter,” and now she’s embarking on another series with her new book, “The Little Shop of Found Things.” The new series is set in Wiltshire country in England and follows the story of Xanthe as she uses her gift for connecting with the history of objects to travel through time. In this first book, Xanthe travels back to 1605 to solve a mystery that involves a chatelaine.

Despite the fact that the books have fantasy elements, Brackston says she still does a lot of research to make sure all the historical elements are accurate, and she talks about using language stragetically to set a tone for her books. “When I’m writing 1605,” she says, “obviously, people speak very differently. I can’t have them speaking exactly as they would have because it would be hard work for the reader, so I have a stylized version, and it’s the same when I’m doing the descriptive writing whether it’s in the present day or the past. I’m trying to give a flavor of that time, a sense of something other, something historical, something different, and I think you can’t really do that using everyday words too much.”

Here’s an example from the first paragraph of the book:

It’s a commonly held belief that the most likely place to find a ghost is beneath a shadowy moon, among the ruins of a castle, or perhaps an abandoned house where the living have fled leaving only spirits to drift from room to room. To believe so is to acknowledge but half a truth, for there is a connection with those passed over to be found much nearer home. Every soul that once trod this brutal earth leaves their imprint upon the things that mattered to them.

Brackston’s characters’ names also lend a mysterious feel to the book. For example, the main character, Xanthe, gets her name from a Greek word that means “the golden one” or “fair haired.” Brackston says, “I like the sound of it. I like the look of it on the page. I liked the fact that it wasn’t going to get muddled up with anybody else.” She adds, “To see the shape of the word is quite interesting to me. I like that.”

Brackston laughed as she described her career and getting her first novel published. “I was one of those overnight successes that takes about 10 years.” “The Witch’s Daughter” was first picked up by a small British publisher and then discovered by Peter Wolverton, an editor at Thomas Dunne at St….

Keep reading on Quick and Dirty Tips

Today’s topic is “irregardless.”

Hi, Grammar Girl. I’m an English teacher in Boston, Massachusetts, and I am freaking out. One of my students tells me that “irregardless” is now a word, and apparently it’s been added to some dictionaries. Can you clear this up for me? This is serious panic time.

In the immortal words of “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy“: Don’t panic. “Irregardless” is a word, but it’s not a proper word, and your student’s assertion that it’s in some dictionaries is a great opportunity to talk about the different kinds of entries in dictionaries.

‘Irregardless’ Versus ‘Regardless’

First, let’s talk about “irregardless.” Some people mistakenly use “irregardless” when they mean “regardless,” and that’s considered to be an error. “Regardless” means “regard less,” “without regard,” or “despite something.” For example, Squiggly will eat chocolate regardless of the consequences (meaning Squiggly will eat chocolate without regard for the consequences, despite the consequences, and so on).

The prefix “ir-“ is a negative prefix, so if you add the prefix “ir-” to a word that’s already negative like “regardless,” you’re making a double-negative that means literally “without without regard.”

The first example the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) shows for “irregardless” is from another dictionary: Harold Wentworth’s American Dialect Dictionary from 1912, which places the origin of the word in western Indiana. Other words from the American Dialect Dictionary include “doodad,” “dojigger,” “finagle,” “fuddy-duddy,” and “nummies” to describe delicious food. We definitely know how to make up silly words.

But I have good news…

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Today’s topic is “irregardless.”

Hi, Grammar Girl. I’m an English teacher in Boston, Massachusetts, and I am freaking out. One of my students tells me that “irregardless” is now a word, and apparently it’s been added to some dictionaries. Can you clear this up for me? This is serious panic time.

In the immortal words of “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy“: Don’t panic. “Irregardless” is a word, but it’s not a proper word, and your student’s assertion that it’s in some dictionaries is a great opportunity to talk about the different kinds of entries in dictionaries.

‘Irregardless’ Versus ‘Regardless’

First, let’s talk about “irregardless.” Some people mistakenly use “irregardless” when they mean “regardless,” and that’s considered to be an error. “Regardless” means “regard less,” “without regard,” or “despite something.” For example, Squiggly will eat chocolate regardless of the consequences (meaning Squiggly will eat chocolate without regard for the consequences, despite the consequences, and so on).

The prefix “ir-“ is a negative prefix, so if you add the prefix “ir-” to a word that’s already negative like “regardless,” you’re making a double-negative that means literally “without without regard.”

The first example the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) shows for “irregardless” is from another dictionary: Harold Wentworth’s American Dialect Dictionary from 1912, which places the origin of the word in western Indiana. Other words from the American Dialect Dictionary include “doodad,” “dojigger,” “finagle,” “fuddy-duddy,” and “nummies” to describe delicious food. We definitely know how to make up silly words.

But I have good news…

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I often gather and answer listener questions on Twitter, and a couple of months ago, A.L. Wicks asked, “What’s the connection between ‘wage’ and ‘wager’?” I’m answering this question today, in my Super Bowl episode, because I live in Nevada, so I see what a big gambling weekend, a wagering weekend, this is every year.

‘Wage’ and ‘Wager’

“Wage” and “wager” both came into English in the early 1300s from an Old North French word “wage” that means “to pay, pledge, or reward,” and was spelled “gage” in Old French. The words are closely related, your wages being money pledged to you for work you do, and a wager being an amount you pledge when gambling.

A secondary meaning of the verb “wage”—“to carry out something,” like when we talk about “waging war”—developed in the mid-1500s, probably from the idea of pledging yourself to a battle or campaign.

The Oxford English Dictionary lists ‘wages’ as both singular and plural.

‘Mortgage’

The same root gives us the word “mortgage” with that “gage” spelling at the end from Old French instead of the “wage” spelling. “Mortgage” literally means “dead pledge,” the “mort-” meaning “dead” and coming from the same root that gives us the word “mortal.” The Online Etymology Dictionary says that a mortgage was called a dead pledge because “the deal dies when the debt is paid or when payment fails.”

‘Engage’

The “gage” root also gives us the word “engage.” When you engage people in a project, they are pledged to you, and in a more metaphorical sense, when you’re deeply engaged in a book or story or conversation, you are in a sense, pledged to it. Finally, when you become engaged to marry, you’re making a pledge.

‘Wed’

In fact, if you go much farther back, to Proto-Germanic languages, “wage” comes from the same root as the verb “wed,” as in “to marry,” because back then, a man would make a pledge, often of money, to take a wife.

So if you’re wagering on the big game this Sunday, don’t go wild and bet your house or your mortgage, and when you look at your spouse and think of your…

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Although the website for the American Kennel Club and dog-specific publications such as Bark magazine and Dogster seem to capitalize all the words in breed names, the Associated Press’s rule for dog (and cat) breeds is to capitalize the part of the name derived from a proper noun and lowercase the part of the name derived from a common noun.

In the following examples, “English,” “Yorkshire,” “Norwegian,” and “Bernese”  are all derived from proper nouns—the names of places—so they are capitalized in these breed names:

• English mastiff
• Yorkshire terrier
• Norwegian elkhound
• Bernese mountain dog

On the other hand, “mastiff” is derived from the Latin “mansuétus” for “tame or mild,” “terrier” is derived from Old French “chien terrier” for “dog of the earth, land, or ground,” and “elkhound” is descriptive as is “mountain dog”—so those are all common nouns, which means those parts aren’t capitalized. 

And for some breeds, all the words in the name are all lowercase, such as “basset hound.” These hunting dogs were initially bred in France and Belgium, and “basset” means “low” in French, describing their lowness to the ground because of their short little legs. All the better to sniff for prey!

The Chicago Manual of Style doesn’t give instructions that are as specific as those from the Associated Press, but refers writers to Merriam-Webster dictionaries, which appear to follow the same guidelines. 

Since styles seem to vary, if you’re writing about the Puppy Bowl, the best advice I can give you is to check the style guide for your publication, or if you’re writing for yourself, check a dictionary or choose a style you like and simply use it consistently. 

Get more…

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Nobody wants a disease to recur and nobody who has had a disease want a relapse—both cases are usually bad—but let’s think about how these two words differ.

People relapse and diseases recur.

‘Recur’

“Recur” comes from Latin that means “to run back again,” so when something recurs, it happens again. A disease recurs. 

• David worried that his cancer would recur.
• Lila’s recurring back injuries make it hard for her to work.

‘Relapse’

“Relapse” also comes from Latin, this time from a word that means “to slip or slide back.” When you relapse, you slip back to a previous state. A person relapses.

• Sarah’s family did all they could to keep her from having a relapse.
• Horatio’s doctor attributed his asthma relapse to air pollution.

Noun or Verb?

Also, “relapse” can be both a noun and a verb, but “recur” is only a verb. If you want to use “recur” as a noun, you need to use “recurrence.” Here are some more examples:

First, we’ll do “relapse.” The last two examples were “relapse” as a noun, and here’s another one:

Lauren worries a lot about having a relapse.

Here’s how you’d use it as a verb:

After Mom relapsed, we needed to hire in-home help.

Next, here’s “recur.” It’s a verb.

After Mom’s cancer recurred, we needed to hire in-home help.

And although “recur” often refers to diseases or conditions, you can also use it more broadly:

You’ll notice that nature themes recur in her writing.

If you want to use it as a noun, use “recurrence”:

Nature themes are a recurrence in her writing.

Garner’s Modern English Usage says that saying a disease relapses is an error. So remember that people relapse and diseases recur.

Mignon Fogarty is Grammar Girl and the founder of Quick and Dirty Tips. Check out her New York Times best-seller, “Grammar Girl’s Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing.”

Quiz

…

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Joshua asked, “Is there *really* no difference between “kneeled” and “knelt”? I want to say that “knelt” is more British, but I can’t find anything to back that up. Are there really just two words with the same definition that you can use interchangeably depending on which you think looks or sounds nicer?”

Yes, it appears the two words are interchangeable. A small number of verbs are currently making the transition from irregular verb to regular verb and have two coexisting past-tense forms. Sometimes the distinction is British versus American because the British held on to the irregular form more strongly than we Americans did. The verb “dream” is one example: “dreamt” is considered more British, and “dreamed” is considered more American.

Irregular verbs tend to become regular over time. For example, “chide” (meaning something similar to “to scold”) is a verb whose past tense shifted to the regular form relatively recently. The past tense used to be “chid,” but now we’re more likely to say “chided,” as you can see in this Google Ngram search result.

Sometimes the distinction between two past-tense forms is a matter of where you live—London or New York—but sometimes the two forms exist simply because a word is transitioning, which seems to be the case with “kneel.” A Google Ngram search shows that “knelt” is still more common in both British and American English. Eventually, everyone will probably forget about the irregular form (“knelt”), and the past tense of “kneel” will…

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