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April 4, 2002: Issue 17

SIM STYLE: Is there a difference between “marbled” and “marbleized”?
Yes and no. “Marbled” and “marbleized” are both past-tense verb forms, but “marbled” is also an adjective. “Marbleize” is only a verb, a synonym of “to marble.”

Because it’s SIM style to use the first listing in Webster’s 10th, the
verb “marble” and the adjective “marbled” are almost always the preferred terms. “To marble” means to cover something in marble or to give it a marblelike look. The adjective “marbled” describes something made of marble, covered with marble, made to look like marble, or given a mottled look in general.
correct: She marbled the cake batter (to give a marblelike look)
correct: The marbled vanity (covered in marble)
incorrect: The marbleized solid-surfacing (the adjective “marbled” would be correct)

GRAMMAR: Is there a difference between “awhile” and “a while”?
Yes. Let the presence of a preposition tip you off. Without one, you probably mean “awhile,” which is an adverb meaning “for a while.” With a preposition,” while” is the object, so “a while” is correct.
incorrect: Why don’t you stay for awhile?
correct: Why don’t you stay awhile? (or for a while)
incorrect I’ll see you in awhile.
correct: I’ll see you in a while.

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February 15, 2007: Issue 177

Wikipedia can be a great help when you run across a name, place, or term you’ve never heard before. It can give 

Wikipedia can be a great help when you run across a name, place, or term you’ve never heard before. It can give you enough information to lead you to a definitive source—but don’t rely on Wikipedia as your primary source. Anyone can write and edit these entries, so mistakes do show up.

A recent Wikipedia search for Consuelo Bailey, for instance, told us that she was the first woman lieutenant governor in the United States, serving in that office in Vermont from 1955 to 1959. A visit to Vermont’s official Web site confirmed that fact—but Wikipedia listed her middle name as Northrop, while the Vermont site said Northrup.

The Wikipedia entry for Sharpie used to say that “Magic Marker and Sharpie are both generic brand names used for medium-tip markers.” Wrong. They’re both trademarks. (That entry has since been updated.)

In short, use Wikipedia as a starting point, but check your facts with a more reliable reference.

And about that name: Wiki means fast in Hawaiian, so Wikipedia was coined to mean fast encyclopedia. According to Wikipedia itself, wiki is acceptable as a generic term for a collaborative reference source or for the software that helps compile it: a wiki site, a wiki engine. But then again, we have no idea who wrote that.

Fun download: To hear Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales answer questions about odd, obscure information on his Web site (and to hear him promise that the name has nothing to do with polytheistic religions), click here and download Wait Wait … Don’t Tell Me! from November 4, 2006.

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April 11, 2002: Issue 18

SIM STYLE: Should I capitalize words that Webster’s 11th notes as “often cap”?
Yes, almost always.* And lowercase words Web notes as “often not cap” or “not cap.” It’s important to read the definitions, however; capitalization rules often apply only in certain usages.
• Check out “Down East” and “Jacquard” for examples of “often cap words.
• Check out “Shetland” and “Spartan” for “often not cap” examples that depend on usage.

*Two notable exceptions: We do not cap “mecca” or “nirvana” when used generically.

For more information see Issue 48.

GRAMMAR: Didn’t James Brown mean to sing “I feel well”?
Nope. He meant “I feel good,” and rightly so. Saying that you feel well may seem grammatically correct, but it’s right only if you mean there’s nothing wrong with your sense of touch. If all is right in your world, you’re feeling good. If you’re sick or in a sour mood, you’re not feeling good (unless your fingertips are also numb, but let’s not muddy the waters).

Why? When you describe a state of being—not an action—the adjective (good), not the adverb (well), is correct. If that doesn’t quite make sense, try substituting another adjective for “good”: I feel sleepy (not sleepily); I feel happy (not happily).

Got it? Good, because this next part can be confusing. Applying the same logic, “I am good” works only if you mean to convey that you’re a good person. “I am well” is correct if you’re feeling good. Why? It’s the adjective/adverb thing again. An action is implied (“I am [doing] well”). If you get confused, just say everything is well and good and leave it at that.

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March 8, 2007: Issue 180

Here are some important distinctions to keep in mind when you describe appliances:

Use commercial or restaurant to describe an appliance designed specifically for restaurant use. Commercial ranges are generally not appropriate for residential use and are rarely shown in our magazines. Refrigerators, such as the Traulsen brand, are more common.

Combine commercial or professional with grade, duty, quality, or caliber to describe a high-performance appliance designed specifically for residential use: a commercial-grade range, a professional-caliber refrigerator.

Use pro-look or pro-style to describe an appliance that is designed to look high-performance but isn’t. Many stainless-steel models fall in this category.

Get the picture? Speaking of appliances, flat-screen and flat-panel televisions are not the same. Flat-screen TVs can be big and bulky; they simply have flat screens for a crisp picture. Flat-panel TVs are only inches thick. If a television is hanging on a wall, it’s a flat-panel.

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June 21, 2007: Issue 193

To cinch is to fasten tightly:
Pull the shoulder strap through the loop to cinch the bag shut.

To clinch is to settle or to make final:
They were already considering a move to a bigger home. News that a third child was on the way clinched their decision.

If you have trouble remembering this one, think of Chris Farley, Adam Sandler, and David Spade as Gap clerks dispensing repetitive fashion advice on Saturday Night Live in the ’90s. (“Did you cinch it? You have to cinch it!”) Check them out. (We’re going to rate this clip TVPG. And let us know if you spot the typos on the “Gapardy” board.)

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September 27, 2007: Issue 206

In general, lowercase professional designations:
certified kitchen designer
certified diabetes educator
certified public accountant

However, capitalize the associated acronyms:
CKD
CDE
CPA

Exceptions to the lowercase rule:
Realtor (because the term is trademarked)
Master Gardener (to avoid confusion with master as an adjective meaning skilled)

A blog after our own hearts: Check out Bethany Keeley, who chronicles the gratuitous use of quotation marks. Her collection of passive-aggressive notes is fun, too.

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May 2, 2002: Issue 21

SIM STYLE: Why do noun-verb contractions often get written out by copy editors?
Because such a construction can be misread as a possessive, especially if it comes at the beginning of a sentence and the context is not yet clear. In most cases, ditch the contraction and write out both words.
incorrect: The coffee’s ready.
correct: The coffee is ready.

Like every good rule, however, this one has a time and a place to be broken. If a contraction is well-established and the reader won’t be confused, leave it. Changing “Soup’s on!” to “The soup is on!” is just plain silly.

GRAMMAR: What should I call the tall polelike objects at the corners of a bed?
They’re posts. The bed itself may be called a “four-poster,” “six-poster,” or perhaps even the oh-so-snappy “poster bed,” but the poles are always posts, never posters.

Consider a similar example: Your 8-year-old may be a “third-grader,” but the class level is a “grade.” It wouldn’t make sense to say, “Which grader is your child in?”

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November 8, 2007: Issue 212

Be very careful how you use the words win and winner. No one wins anything unless we’re running a sweepstakes.

A reader who submits a question might receive a book. A website visitor who shares a great idea might get a tiara. But nobody wins anything except in a sweepstakes—in which case we must get legal approval and run all that fine print.

How time flies: We still have 47 shopping days until Christmas, but remember that the magazines we’re closing now will publish next year. Make sure covers, folios, and copyright statements say 2008.

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November 29, 2007: Issue 215

In English, a word’s pronunciation determines its indefinite article.

Words that begin with a consonant sound take the article a, regardless of the actual first letter:
a cutlet
a pillow
a historic building
a euphemism

Words that begin with a vowel sound always take the article an:
an igloo
an ornament
an homage

When a word has more than one pronunciation, go by the first one listed in Web 11.

In the case of large numbers, assume that a reader will use the shortest possible pronunciation. For instance, treat 1,800 as “eighteen hundred,” not “one thousand eight hundred”:
an 1,800-square-foot house

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December 20, 2007: Issue 218

Open this PDF for a Christmas poem. Our thanks to Katie Beckman, and our apologies to Clement C. Moore.

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