Ethan F. Becker and Laurie Schloff discuss the issue of talking about politics at work. What are the considerations surrounding the issue? Why does it matter? What should you do about it?
Ponderous Prepositions and Prefixes
Nothing is more symptomatic of our declining language skills than the increased misuse of prepositions and prefixes. People today feel compelled to tinker with proper word usage in speech by adding those handy prepositions and prefixes. Take traffic reports, for instance. Traffic on Route 1 is “easing up,” “easing down,” “easing off,” or “easing out,” but never just “easing.” What is “easing up” traffic? Is that when cars levitate? Levitating cars certainly would ease traffic.