Moxie (and other words to love and live by)

Moxie, chutzpah, verve, spunk, vigor, zest.

It's no coincidence that many of my favorite words are synonyms for each other. These words have it all: They're fun to write, they're even more fun to say and hear, and they offer a good way to approach life and work.

Other words that delight include the following: dash, noodle, nosh, schmaltzy, hoopla, noob (if you're gonna be a noob, just go at it with some moxie and you'll be fine), spoonerism (transposing sounds in wair of pords), woozy, and frolic (anytime you can frolic, I say go for it).

The ones I'm not especially fond of include chunk (and by extension, chunky and chunkster); stew; moist; plop; snout; and all words that describe the act or the end product of vomiting.

Plop a moist pig snout in my chunky stew. Go ahead, say it out loud. I dare you. I just did. Now I'm going to go blow chunks.

Any delightful/repulsive words you want to add to list?

Save the Apostrophe!

As you know, the war on the apostrophe in Britain has forced many innocent apostrophes into hiding. As a result of a dwindling population, the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to the English Language (SPoCttEL) declared the apostrophe an endangered species in 2008.

Lab studies show that this sharp decline disrupts the fragile balance of the English language. If ignored, the apostrophe will be extinct by 2020. Grammarians predict a subsequent breakdown of the entire language structure.

SPoCttEL has formed a coalition with concerned speakers, readers and writers of America to prevent the same fate here while there is still time.

With your help, the pro-apostrophe campaign can make a difference.

This disturbing image shows the apostrophe blatantly missing from its natural habitat (between the h and the s on healths).

Missing apostrophes such as these are forced into dangerous territory in such plural words as pea's, carrot's, shoe's and water's. There, they disrupt the homeostasis of the environment before withering and dying.

What can you do?

We at SPoCttEL encourage concerned citizens to save such apostrophes from certain death and reintroduce them into their natural habitats. Spread the word--be a voice for the voiceless!

Please do your part in protecting the apostrophe--for the children.

Take action today, for apostrophe's sake.