Like
In the latest “After Deadline” blog entry, Philip Corbett encourages editors to avoid the misuse of “like” as a conjunction (where “as though” or “as if” or “such as,” or something similar, would work better).

It’s an issue I had mostly overlooked while editing. But I agree. Using “like” as a conjunction, or worse, as an interjection (Do you, like, want to go to a movie?), is only for informal use, if that, and tends to spoil what may otherwise be good writing.

False Ranges
The previous blog entry from “After Deadline” dealt with false ranges. A true range would be something such as, “everything from A to Z.” A false range would be something such as, “everything from cows to chickens.” (How would you know where that range truly starts or ends?)

I started seeing false ranges everywhere in our newspapers’ local copy and in Associated Press copy. Here’s an example from an AP story:

“The reasons range from the sour economy, to Mexican violence and increased U.S. enforcement that has made it harder to sneak across the border.”

I corrected it:

“The reasons include the sour economy, Mexican violence and increased U.S. enforcement that has made it harder to sneak across the border.”
 
Mother's Day 05/06/2010
 
It's Mother's Day, not Mothers' Day. It's the second Sunday in May.
 
 
A friend and fellow editor who works at the New York Times News Service (across the hall from where I work) sent me this problematic sentence that was being debated among editors in his department:

Among the enduring images left by car bombings, overseas or in the United States, is investigators on their hands and knees, crawling through the wreckage searching for clues: a blasting cap or a timing device, a piece of the explosive’s casing or a trace of the chemicals used.

He told me that three layers of editing at the New York Times left the verb as the singular "is" before the sentence came to him. Several of the editors who worked with him wanted to change it to the plural "are." But, my friend was right for arguing that it should stay singular.

The problem with the sentence is that you must imply that the noun should be a singular "image" instead of the plural "images." Those who imply the plural are seeing "image" in a more particular way, and are making an "image" nearly synonymous with a "picture." Those who imply the singular see "image" in a more abstract way and see a bigger divide between a "picture" and an "image."

Here is part of my argument, which my friend for the most part agreed with: If the sentence said "picture" instead of "image," then I could see why it could be equally implied to be either plural or singular. But because the word "image" is used, I'd lean more toward singular. Still, the sentence could use a rewrite. In other words, to argue my point further, there may be several pictures of investigators in that pose -- crawling on their hands and knees -- but they make up one singular image in the mind. And it is that image, among the other enduring images, that is being talked about.

To clarify the idea of a singular image implied in the sentence, I would suggest the following simple rewrite:

Among the enduring images left by car bombings, overseas or in the United States, is one of investigators on their hands and knees, crawling through the wreckage searching for clues: a blasting cap or a timing device, a piece of the explosive’s casing or a trace of the chemicals used.
 
Earth Day 04/21/2010
 
A few days ago, I mistakenly changed an "Earth Day" kicker headline by putting the "D" in lowercase. One of the fundamental rules of being a copy editor is to not edit in mistakes, but I did. So now I've learned that lesson. Even though it's not included in the 2009 AP Stylebook, make a note: Earth Day is uppercase.
 
Welcome website 04/18/2010
 
The Associated Press Stylebook announced this weekend that "Web site" will now be "website." The reactions have been mixed.
 
 
Only use hyphens in dimensions, such as square feet, if the phrase is used as a compound modifier: The 3,000-square-foot home.

Don't use hyphens if the dimension isn't used as a compound modifier: The home is 3,000 square feet.
 
 
It's been a while since I posted, but this fun video goes with my last entry. Enjoy.
 
 
Here's a game I play when I go grocery shopping: I look at the sign above the checkout counters and see if it is grammatically correct. Usually it will say something like, "20 items or less." Then, I tell the clerk, "Your sign is wrong, and I demand it get fixed immediately."

The sign should say "20 items or fewer," or perhaps "fewer than 20 items."

Here's a copy editing fact: "Less" refers to amounts that cannot be counted (water, fuel, air, money). "Fewer" refers to a quantity that can be counted (people, rocks, dollars, grocery items). So next time, play the game and see if the clerk is impressed, or gives you an apathetic look before telling you that she earns the minimum wage and could not care less.

Extra fact: Publix grocery stores get it right.
 
 
Should you capitalize the first word that comes after a colon? Consider the examples:
  1. She loved her favorite snack: pudding.
  2. There is one reason why I am innocent: We loved each other, and I would never hurt her.
  3. There were three things to do in the cell: sleep, shit, and cry.
The simple rule: If the sentence following a colon is a complete sentence, then it is capitalized; if it is a word, fragment, or dependent clause, then it is lowercase. Hence, all three examples above are correct. Sentence Two gets a capitalization on "we," because what follows the colon is a complete, independent sentence.

However, not all style guides are in complete uniformity on this point, and some of them have a few more-specific rules when to capitalize. This site gives a more nuanced explanation of some of those rules. It's important to note that the Chicago Manual of Style requires capitalization only when the colon introduces two or more complete sentences. Otherwise, it calls for lowercase in all instances, except where a proper noun or direct quote follows the colon.
 
Like vs. as 02/10/2010
 
Which should it be?
    "It's like I'm swimming upstream."
    "It's as if I'm swimming upstream."

These days in informal speech or writing, you could use either example and most people wouldn't get mad at you (or know that maybe they should get mad at you). But, if you want to be technical and formal about it, the first example is incorrect.

"Like" should be used as a preposition for simple comparisons: "That sounds like fun"; "She sings like a bird."

"As" should be used as a conjunction to introduce a clause that includes a verb: "He acted as if he were crazy"; She performed as I expected she would."

The key is that "as" introduces a clause with a verb ("It tastes good as a cigarette should"), and "like" introduces a noun or noun phrase used for comparison ("It tastes like a cigarette").