Phill Gillespie’s Web Log at PhillG.com

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Less Isn’t Best at M&S, the Grammatically Correct Supermarket

I was in the huge Marks and Spencer’s store in The Gyle and at the checkouts I saw this wonderful sign. The word ‘less’ is used for single items, e.g. £100 or less – it’s a binary choice, yes or no; or uncountable things, e.g. less money or less hair. Fewer is to […]

I Discreetly Practise My Scales Discrete From My Piano Practice

I am very proud to add another new category to my site, “Word Play”. Although I’ve been providing little tit-bits here and there, including teaching my colleague the rarely used verb to grubble, it’s now time to give a central store to all these useful insights. I posted a comment on a BBC […]

Dear BBC, I Have A Complaint About Your Double Dutch…

Dear EBC (English Broadcasting Corporation), I have a complaint about the Dutch. No, not the new political party promoting the dropping of the age of consent to 12, either because they have a paedophile agenda as some news agencies have described or because they intend on pushing the boundaries of free speech. My […]

Proven: Three Negatives Equal A Positive!

I thought that shocking headline would wake you up out your slumber! No, I haven’t taken leave of my senses, I’m recapping the first episode of Never Mind the Full Stops, BBC4’s new grammar/linguistic based panel quiz show. I learnt some really interesting things last night. Firstly, did you know that “kicked […]

This Is Literally You’re Worst Nightmare!

Where do I stand on this title? There is the obvious mistake added for a bit of a laugh but the real crux of the matter is the third word, literally. We all know what literal means, therefore literally means “in a strict sense”. This is not however, really your worst nightmare. […]