Contrariwise

Lemony Snicket’s Series of Unfortunate Events—the movie—holds a special place in my heart. Aunt Josephine reminds me of me; that is, the often paranoid grammar lover. Grammar isn’t the greatest joy in life, but it’s pretty darn cool. As a bonus, you look much smarter if you avoid making common mistakes (very slight language warning). My heart dies a little bit when I see an allegedly professional document with “loose” where “lose” was meant. It’s really not that difficult to understand that “could of” is always wrong.

This has been a public service announcement from your favorite unofficial Grammar Girl.

The Blasphemous Comma

In several editions of the King James Bible, Luke 23:32 is changed entirely by the absence of a comma. In the passage that describes the other men crucified with Christ, the erroneous editions read, “And there were also two other malefactors. Instead of counting Christ as a malefactor, the passage should read: “And there were also two other, malefactors.”

But shouldn’t the correct version then be, “And there were also two others, malefactors”? Check out the other two famous (secular) commas here.