Meet David
First, just what is a contrarian grammarian?
Well, a contrarian is someone who is not ruled by rules, someone who doesn’t always follow the crowd, or worry much about popular opinion.
And a grammarian is simply someone who messes about with words.
So a contrarian grammarian is someone who works and plays with words, but thinks most grammar rules can—and often should—be ignored.
Although I didn’t recognize it until recently, I’ve always been something of a contrarian grammarian.
Not that I objected to grammar rules, or refused to follow them. In fact, I was one of those um, unusual kids who enjoyed diagramming sentences.
Not because I believed it would help me write better—but just for the fun of it. There was something satisfying about taking a sentence apart and arranging the elements in an orderly way—following the rules of the game.
Blog
It seems that every week or two, I come across something in a newspaper, magazine, online source, or an overheard comment, that has an interesting way of using language. It may be an unusual word, or an unusual use of an old familiar term, or something else.
Two recent examples are woke (enlightened about current social problems and attitudes, especially regarding injustice) and ask (as a noun, meaning a request—as in “It was a heavy ask”).
We’ll be relaying some of those to you, along with suggestions, and an occasional odd-looking sentence for you to comment on or revise.
Word Quiz
Playing with words is fun, and so is testing your knowledge– and learning some new terms along the way.
Most of the words in our weekly five-item quizzes are in common use, but not so common that you won’t have to think about them.
The quizzes help build your vocabulary, and we’ve found that lots of people make a game of them—having friendly competitions among friends, family, or co-workers.
Here’s a sample:
