A Stitch in Haste

"Avoid the business environment, the school environment, the work environment, etc."

In other words, just stay home.

---

If you blog or are a student, then you should definitely peruse The Economist On-Line Style Guide, especially the page "Some Dos and Don'ts."

(Keep in mind, however, that The Economist is British -- for example, I strongly disagree with the supposed impropriety of the word "retiree." What's wrong with "retiree"? Must be a British thing. And as we all know, the correct spelling is "tire" and not "tyre." Silly Brits.)

Meanwhile, here are few of the errors and inadequacies that drive me bonkers at my greedy Swiss bank job and as a blog reader:

--Using "reign" when you mean "rein" (e.g., "The company needs to reign [sic] in expenses.").

--Using "compliment / complimentary" when you mean "complement / complementary" (e.g., "The acquired brands will compliment [sic] the company's existing product lines."). But: "My hotel in Prague offers a complimentary buffet breakfast."

--Not putting periods at the end of bullet points, even when you have multiple sentences. I wonder how that started[.]

--Using a wholly extraneous "which is" or "who is" (e.g., "John Roberts, who is Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, which is the highest court in the land...")

--Using wholly extraneous adverbs, like "wholly." Unless you are trying to add a well-placed emphasis, in which case it is wholly appropriate.

--Using "like" when you mean "such as," such as I did in the previous sentence.

--If you use "if" in a sentence, then you should generally also use "then." Only computer programmers use "if" without "then."

--And, of course, confusing "its" with "it's." Its outrageous and robs your writing of it's credibility.

Now go and sin no more.

(Via Greg Mankiw.)