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Madam Grammar

@madamgrammar.bsky.social
1.2K followers 449 following 263 posts

Professor, editor, grammar evangelist in the Sunflower State. Finding the joy in language and walking the fine red line between prescriptivism and descriptivism. She/her.

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Reposted by Madam Grammar
EditorMark @editormark.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
When we stop by a bookstore I tell my wife I’m going to go check on friends. Today it was fun to find @madamgrammar.bsky.social among a bunch of @merriam-webster.com titles.
A copy of the perfect English Grammar Workbook, in turquoise with the first four words in white and the last in yellow, and with the name, McLlendon, stands among a slew of dictionaries, mostly Merriam-Webster titles, but also some Oxfords.
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Madam Grammar @madamgrammar.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
I asked my students on the first day of our introductory editing class what they thought of when they thought of editing. I'm going to do this exercise at the end of the semester and see how much the words change. 😀
Word cloud with the largest words being correcting, grammar, better and mistake
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Madam Grammar @madamgrammar.bsky.social · 04/06/2026
The new stylebooks are here! The new stylebooks are here! @apstylebook.com
AP Stylebook, 58th edition, a spiral-bound book with a red and black cover
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Merriam-Webster @merriam-webster.com · 29/04/2026
This is coming from a place of warmth and acceptance… -It’s ‘sleight of hand’ -It’s ‘bated breath’ -It’s ‘lo and behold’ -It’s ‘one fell swoop’ -It’s ‘brass tacks’ -It’s ‘free rein’
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Elizabeth Spiers @espiers.bsky.social · 28/04/2026
NYT renewed my contract and there’s a new little clause where I have to agree to not enter NYT journalism in draft form into AI. Which is funny because they would have to basically pay me to do that. I’d rather write my columns in my own blood than use AI to write or edit
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Madam Grammar @madamgrammar.bsky.social · 09/03/2026
This is so shady.
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Madam Grammar @madamgrammar.bsky.social · 11/12/2025
If you’re peeved that em dashes are now being associated with AI writing — you’re not alone. 🙂 em-dash-appreciation.org
em-dash-appreciation.org
Em Dash Appreciation Society
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Madam Grammar @madamgrammar.bsky.social · 29/11/2025
It's not even December and I've already lost Whamageddon...
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Madam Grammar @madamgrammar.bsky.social · 11/11/2025
Only a few days left to apply for @ACESediting scholarships! If you are – or you know – students who are interested in editing, check it out! aceseditors.org/awards/schol...
Graphic with editing marks saying "ACES: The Society for Editing offers six scholarships for students pursuing a career in editing the written word. Deadline is Nov. 15. aceseditors.org/awards/scholarships"
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Madam Grammar @madamgrammar.bsky.social · 22/10/2025
Another reason not to believe the hype: Four common AI tools misrepresent news content almost half the time. www.dw.com/en/artificia...
dw.com
AI chatbots fail at accurate news, major study reveals – DW – 10/22/2025
AI chatbots such as ChatGPT and Copilot routinely distort the news and struggle to distinguish facts from opinion. That's according to a major new study from 22 international public broadcasters, incl...
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Madam Grammar @madamgrammar.bsky.social · 03/10/2025
As a linguist, an interesting phenomenon I’ve noticed is a flurry of new coinages based on the new meaning of “slop” – unwanted, usually low-quality, AI-generated content.
madamgrammar.com
AI is spawning – but not generating – new words based on ‘slop’
As an editor and educator, I read a LOT about generative AI these days, and I have some feelings on the matter. I’m not completely anti-AI, but I’m far more skeptical than the hypesters and the boosters want people to be, for several reasons beyond the rampant mistakes and vapid copy. Ethical concerns around generative AI abound, and the environmental impacts are significant.
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Madam Grammar @madamgrammar.bsky.social · 30/09/2025
A common guideline for professional AI use that I’ve seen is “Human first, human last.” That last human? It should be an editor.
poynter.org
AI is everywhere. Editors should be, too. - Poynter
Human oversight is the only safeguard against AI’s errors, blind spots and fabrications reaching the public
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Madam Grammar @madamgrammar.bsky.social · 29/09/2025
I do love semicolons; I know not everyone does. www.usatoday.com/story/news/w...
usatoday.com
The semicolon, 'the most feared punctuation on Earth,' is in decline; does it matter?
Semicolon use by Americans has dropped by 51% since the early 2000s to once every 378 words; younger Americans say they still value it.
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Madam Grammar @madamgrammar.bsky.social · 28/09/2025
Excited to see the @grammartable.bsky.social movie in a theater, with people!
Grammar quiz and flyer for the "Rebel with a Clause" movie
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Reposted by Madam Grammar
404 Media @404media.co · 23/09/2025
A new study, based on a survey of 1,150 workers suggests that the injection of AI tools into the workplace has not resulted in a magic productivity boom and instead increased the amount of time that workers say they spend fixing low-quality AI-generated “work.” 🔗 www.404media.co/ai-workslop-...
404media.co
AI ‘Workslop’ Is Killing Productivity and Making Workers Miserable
AI slop is taking over workplaces. Workers said that they thought of their colleagues who filed low-quality AI work as "less creative, capable, and reliable than they did before receiving the output."
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Madam Grammar @madamgrammar.bsky.social · 23/09/2025
I was moving my "bad examples" file and this one fell out. Channel your inner Beavis, headline writers!
Newspaper headline that says "Four butt heads in Gladstone race"
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Madam Grammar @madamgrammar.bsky.social · 03/09/2025
"This isn’t a question about whether AI will continue shaping how we speak — because it will — but whether we’ll actively choose to preserve space for the verbal quirks and emotional messiness that make communication recognizably, irreplaceably human." @theverge.com www.theverge.com/openai/68674...
theverge.com
You sound like ChatGPT
AI isn’t just impacting how we write — it’s changing how we speak and interact with others. And there’s only more to come.
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Madam Grammar @madamgrammar.bsky.social · 27/08/2025
This thread on AI-generated writing feedback is worth a read:
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Madam Grammar @madamgrammar.bsky.social · 02/07/2025
I'd like to think they did this on purpose to get clicks, but I'd bet it was automated with no human in the loop. 🤦‍♀️
Job ad that says "We're hiring a English instructor"
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Madam Grammar @madamgrammar.bsky.social · 02/07/2025
Having a much-needed clear-out in my office and I ran across a college notebook (don't judge) that included notes from a class on the modern Russian novel. Friends, I read NINE WHOLE novels that semester in one class, including a doorstop by Solzhenitsyn.
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Madam Grammar @madamgrammar.bsky.social · 01/07/2025
The semicolon is having a moment – and getting some love! www.rd.com/article/punc...
rd.com
Here’s the Punctuation Mark Gen Z Wants You to Stop Using—And It’s Not What You Think
There's one punctuation mark Gen Z wants you to stop using. Here's what it is—and why it's falling out of favor.
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Madam Grammar @madamgrammar.bsky.social · 25/06/2025
Is a language being used? Then it's changing. Grammar rules and guidelines change too, whether we like it or not. www.rd.com/list/grammar...
rd.com
12 Grammar Rules That Have Changed in the Last Decade
Go ahead and split that infinitive! Writing is getting easier, thanks to these grammar rules that have changed with the times.
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Madam Grammar @madamgrammar.bsky.social · 25/06/2025
Let's not write the obituary for the semicolon just yet.
madamgrammar.com
tl;dr: Semicolons aren’t dead
Some recent number-crunching and survey results from Babbel, a language-learning site, found that the use of semicolons in writing has dropped precipitously since 1781, that more than half of British college students say they don't know how to use a semicolon, and that two-thirds of those students rarely or never use semicolons. This news prompted a flurry of headlines that the semicolon is on its deathbed:
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Madam Grammar @madamgrammar.bsky.social · 23/06/2025
"Remember: having a strong opinion about something isn’t the same as knowing something." —Tom Nichols, “The Death of Expertise”
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Madam Grammar @madamgrammar.bsky.social · 18/06/2025
"AI development begins to resemble a maximalist game of telephone in which not only is the quality of the content being produced diminished, resembling less and less what it's originally supposed to be replacing, but in which the participants actively become stupider."
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Madam Grammar @madamgrammar.bsky.social · 09/06/2025
TIL (thanks to @mikecaulfield.bsky.social) that a phenomenon many of us in journalism have long observed has a name: Brandolini's Law, which states that "The amount of energy needed to refute bullshit is an order of magnitude bigger than that needed to produce it." en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brandol...
en.wikipedia.org
Brandolini's law - Wikipedia
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Madam Grammar @madamgrammar.bsky.social · 28/05/2025
I was preparing a presentation this morning; one of the phrases in it was “not to put too fine a point on it,” and a Certain Song has been stuck in my head all day. You’re welcome. #IYKYK
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Madam Grammar @madamgrammar.bsky.social · 19/05/2025
Ouch! (Thanks, Michael!) #SpellCheckCannotSaveYou
Line in Chicago Sun-Times email newsletter referencing the "Chicago-porn pope"
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Madam Grammar @madamgrammar.bsky.social · 19/05/2025
Count me in Team Semicolon. www.theguardian.com/science/2025...
theguardian.com
Marked decline in semicolons in English books, study suggests
Usage of punctuation down almost half in two decades as further research finds 67% of British students rarely use it
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Reposted by Madam Grammar
Mignon Fogarty @grammargirl.bsky.social · 14/05/2025
I'm taking a screenshot for the next time I talk about hyphens! (This reminds me of all the great #whyhyphensmatter posts by @madamgrammar.bsky.social on Twitter in days of yore.)
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Madam Grammar @madamgrammar.bsky.social · 13/05/2025
Journalists: Honor a mentor who has made a difference in your life.
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Madam Grammar @madamgrammar.bsky.social · 06/05/2025
Check out this interesting interview with @karenyin.bsky.social about her Conscious Style Guide, an essential resource for communicators. ethics.journalism.wisc.edu/2025/05/01/w...
ethics.journalism.wisc.edu
“Words have power”: Author and editor Karen Yin discusses importance of inclusive language in new book “The Conscious Style Guide”
By Sophia Scolman In the first weeks of his second term, President Donald Trump issued multiple executive orders vowing to terminate diversity, equity and inclusion practices and programs within the f...
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Madam Grammar @madamgrammar.bsky.social · 04/05/2025
Happy Star Wars Day to all who celebrate!
Graphic with Star Wars characters saying “May the 4th be with you”
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Madam Grammar @madamgrammar.bsky.social · 02/05/2025
What could possibly go wrong? 🤦‍♀️
NYT headline: Google Plans to Roll Out Its A.I. Chatbot to Children Under 13
The tech giant said it would make its Gemini chatbot available to children next week, and warned families in an email about the changes.
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Madam Grammar @madamgrammar.bsky.social · 17/04/2025
Dying = leaving a state of life Dyeing = making something a different color #SpellCheckCannotSaveYou
Photo of potatoes in green and red egg-dyeing cups, with a caption that says "Dying potatoes as an alternative to eggs"
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Madam Grammar @madamgrammar.bsky.social · 10/04/2025
"The most powerful response to attacks on our integrity is truth. ... Journalism is still a noble profession." --Lester Holt, receiving the 2025 William Allen White Citation
Lester Holt speaking at a lectern
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Madam Grammar @madamgrammar.bsky.social · 07/04/2025
persimmon --> permission #AmEditing #AutocorrectStrikesAgain
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Madam Grammar @madamgrammar.bsky.social · 04/04/2025
No bombshells from @apstylebook.com at #ACES2025, but a great discussion with some of the current stylebook editors about entries and standards.
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Madam Grammar @madamgrammar.bsky.social · 26/03/2025
Home, home on the range
madamgrammar.com
Home, home on the range
Originally posted on Grammar Monkeys on May 20, 2010. Often when writers are trying to illustrate the varied nature of a set of items, they use what’s called a “false range.” This is the construction “everything from … to” or “ranging from … to” that throws in a couple of items to show diversity. The problem is that most of these items don’t fall along a real continuum, a Point-A-to-Point-B line, hence the appellation “false” for the range.
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Madam Grammar @madamgrammar.bsky.social · 25/03/2025
I do appreciate a good punny business name
Green dumpster with a label on the side saying "Bin there, dump that"
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Madam Grammar @madamgrammar.bsky.social · 25/03/2025
Getting excited about #ACES2025 next week! So much to learn, so many friends to see, so much word-nerdiness!
Graphic for "Sweat This, Not That: Real Rules vs. Grammar Myths" session at the upcoming ACES conference
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Madam Grammar @madamgrammar.bsky.social · 04/03/2025
On this #NationalGrammarDay, help support the next generation of grammar aficionados with a Grammar Day donation to the ACES Education Fund: copydesk.networkforgood.com
copydesk.networkforgood.com
ACES EDUCATION FUND
Help ACES offer scholarships and present awards by giving to the ACES Education Fund. The ACES Education Fund awards six scholarships each year and two additional awards, the Richard S. Holden Divers...
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ACES: The Society for Editing @acesediting.bsky.social · 04/03/2025
The first-place winner of the ACES National Grammar Day Poetry Contest: Salma Amanda Latifa for "Language in Order" about structural elements of English — which is not her first language. Meet the poet and read her poem and the runners up. tinyurl.com/bvbrv3t4 #GrammarDay @grammargirl.bsky.social
aceseditors.org
Announcing the winner of the 2025 National Grammar Day Poetry Contest
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Madam Grammar @madamgrammar.bsky.social · 04/03/2025
It's a great day for grammar! March forth for language! #NationalGrammarDay
Blue and red graphic saying Grammar is for everyone! Happy National Grammar Day!
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Madam Grammar @madamgrammar.bsky.social · 14/02/2025
Not sure about that one in the middle...
Colorful grammar-themed conversation hearts that say things like "semicolons are sexy," "you had me at you're" and hiding in the middle, "whom do you love"
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Madam Grammar @madamgrammar.bsky.social · 11/02/2025
I just had to laugh when I saw this headline. So typical – create a problem and then be surprised when it comes back to bite YOU. (And FYI, @404media.co is doing great work on tech and its intersection with government – worth a subscription.)
404media.co
AI Company Asks Job Applicants Not to Use AI in Job Applications
Anthropic, the developer of the conversational AI assistant Claude, doesn’t want prospective new hires using AI assistants in their applications, regardless of whether they’re in marketing or engineer...
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Madam Grammar @madamgrammar.bsky.social · 09/02/2025
rein = straps used to control a horse reign = rule or authority of a monarch It's "free rein" and "take the reins," but "reigns supreme." Trick to remember: a kinG reiGns; both have a G #SpellCheckCannotSaveYou
Graphic with a picture of a horse and the word REIN, and a picture of a queen and the word REIGN
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Madam Grammar @madamgrammar.bsky.social · 07/02/2025
Ingenious --> Indigenous #AutocorrectStrikesAgain #AlwaysProofread
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Madam Grammar @madamgrammar.bsky.social · 06/02/2025
#LanguageHumor #StuffEditorsLike
Comic with defenders of a castle shouting Boom! Bang! Pow and the attackers thinking they have no weapons, captioned "The fall of the Onomatopeian Empire"
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Madam Grammar @madamgrammar.bsky.social · 04/02/2025
discrete = separate, delineated discreet = understated, discerning, circumspect The one you want when you're talking about keeping a secret is "discreet." #SpellCheckCannotSaveYou
Graphic with photo of individual recycling bins and the word discrete, and photo of woman making the "shh" gesture and the word discreet
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