1. A jocose person is playful, joking, fun-loving (from Latin jocosus, filled with joking, jesting, and so forth).
2. A universal joint is a coupling between two rotating shafts (like the drive shaft and rear axle of some cars) that allows some freedom of movement in any direction.
3. Narcolepsy (from Greek narke, numbness, stupor) is a condition characterized by uncontrolled episodes of deep sleep.
4. If something’s insatiable (from Latin in, not, and satiare, to fill or satisfy), you can’t satisfy it—he had an insatiable thirst for adventure, knowledge, women, and wine.
5. In medieval folklore, Oberon was king of the fairies. It’s also the name of one of the five moons of Uranus.

1. A macula (Latin for spot or stain) is a discolored spot on the skin or in the retina or cornea of the eye.
2. A davit is a crane-like device used to move cargo around ships. It comes from a French form of the name David, apparently from the practice of giving common names to useful devices (jack, jenny, jimmy).
3. An aphorism (via French from Greek aphor, to define) is a short and witty saying: Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely (Lord Acton, historian).
4. On many charts and graphs (like those used in algebra), the y axis is vertical, the one going up and down. The other is the x axis.
5. Salmagundi is a salad of mixed stuff—chopped meat, anchovies, eggs, onions. The origin’s uncertain—maybe from old French salmigondis, seasoned, salty meats.

1. Crudites (from French crudite, rawness) are bite-sized vegetable strips, often served as appetizers with a dip. Either a plural or singular verb works with this noun.
2. A raptor (Latin, one who seizes by force) is a bird of prey—e.g., a hawk, owl, or erne.
3. Urbanity (from Latin urbānus, of a city) means elegant, refined, polite. She said I don’t got much urbanity, which clearly ain’t so.
4. A demitasse (French, literally a half-cup) is a small cup, usually for serving strong black coffee or espresso after dinner.
5. An etude (via French, from Latin studium, to study) is a musical composition, usually written for students to practice on.

For example, we repeatedly get questions like this one: Should I say “My family is coming to dinner Friday” or “My family are coming to dinner Friday”?

Grammatically, either can be considered correct. It depends on whether you think of the collective noun family as singular or plural—“notional agreement,” as it’s sometimes called.

But by itself, that answer doesn’t solve the problem. No matter which version you choose, some people will think it sounds a little off. So don’t limit yourself to those two choices. Take a step back for a wider view, and consider other options.

One of the most useful solutions is simply to add a word—usually a helping verb. When we use a single, one-word verb, we have to worry about agreement with its subject—she is, they are, he was, they were, and so on.

But look what happens when we shift to a two-word verb. Now we can say things like she will be, they will be, or he might be, they might be. Using a verb phrase can free us from worrying about whether the subject is singular or plural.

Circling back and applying this idea to our original question, we now have some new options, including perfectly acceptable sentences like “My family will be coming to dinner Friday night.”

The problem’s gone, and the extra word doesn’t hurt a thing. So don’t fall into the “false-dichotomy” trap, the idea that you have to choose between the first two choices that occur to you.

In language, there are almost always other possibilities.

And don’t think it’s always a good idea to eliminate every word you can. Shorter isn’t always better.

1. Thomas R. Malthus, British economist, theorized that population increases at a faster rate than food supply, with eventual disastrous results, unless population growth is checked by war, disease, etc. No optimist, that one.
2. To die intestate (from Latin testārī, to witness, make a will) means without having made a will.
3. A creche (from Old French kripja, crib) is a representation of the Bethlehem stable scene, with Mary, Joseph, and others around the manger.
4. Estrus (from Greek oistros, frenzy, passion) is the period of highest female fertility in most mammals. It’s also called heat or rut.
5. A solidus (from Latin) is what we commonly call a slash mark, slant mark, or (less commonly) a virgule.

Here’s a tricky little communication problem.

We received an email asking this question:

Could you please help me to clarify a grammar dispute? Many people frequently use the phrase “I’m done” when they have completed a task. This never seems correct to me since it is the task which is done and not the person. Surely they should say either “It’s done” or “I’m finished.” Could you please tell if “I’m done” is correct and, if not, could you please explain clearly how the rules of grammar are broken by this phrase?

Thanks for any help you are able to offer.

I replied, but my message was bounced as spam (several times, several ways). I’m printing my answer here, hoping the writer will read it (and that others will be interested):

Your question gets into one of the many gray areas of our language.

The older I get, and the more I work with language, the less inclined I am to use the words “correct” or “incorrect.” Instead, I’m more likely to use words like “standard” and “nonstandard,” or “appropriate” and “inappropriate,” with lots of room for personal and regional preferences.

Additionally (and this is closer to your question), there are “levels of usage,” which include vulgar, slang, colloquial, obsolete, dialect, old-fashioned, rare, and so on. My Webster’s New World Dictionary lists a few more, and includes this useful note: “None of the modes of using language in the cases cited is in an absolute sense more correct than any of the others. Each is right for its occasion and any attempt to interchange styles can result in inappropriate language.”

That’s the gray area you hit upon—just what is “inappropriate” language?

Now for my opinion—Saying “I’m done” is not incorrect, but it could be considered slang (it’s certainly informal), and would likely be thought inappropriate in almost any formal exchange. To me, the words connote not only informality, but exasperation or impatience—as in “I’ve tried many times to convince him to do that, and he absolutely refuses. Now I’m done.”

Hope this helps.

P.S. One of my favorite books for questions like yours—Webster’s Dictionary of American Usage. has almost a full page on done, and the ruling on the usage you asked about can be summed up in one sentence: “The construction is standard.” The writer notes that Theodore Bernstein objected to it in 1958, but by 1971 and 1977 was on the way to accepting it. The comments include quotes from Mark Twain (“I am done with official life…”), William Faulkner (“…that character is not done”) and a writer for Cosmopolitan (“…as soon as she is done”). See why I like the book? It’s thorough.

1. It’s an urgent call for help (from the French), often used by ships and planes in trouble. The air traffic controllers were astounded when maydays came in from four planes within a short period.
2.  Eye-doctors. Amblyopia (from Greek amblus, dim, and op, eye) is a condition marked by decreased vision, especially when occurring in one eye, without apparent physical cause. Also called lazy eye.
3. Yerba buena (from Spanish yerba, herb, and buena, good) is a trailing vine of the mint family. It was formerly used in medicine.
4. Blessed are they who chose answer 4. The Beatitudes (from Latin beatus, meaning "blessed" or "happy") are declarations of blessedness, from the biblical account of the Sermon on the Mount.
5. Exogamous (from Greek exo, outside, and gamos, marriage) means marriage (or such) outside the tribe or group. He defended his dalliance by saying geneticists claim exogamy is good for the gene pool.

One person said it should be “… than I”; the other said it was okay as written. So to paraphrase, here’s the question: “Is A wrong, or is B wrong?”

And here’s our answer: “No.”

The email was signed “Confused foreigner,” but native speakers don’t always agree on an answer. Some consider “than” a conjunction, and might say that the sentence is a shortened form of one that would read something like “She is smarter than [I am].” We use lots of such elliptical sentences, leaving out parts we don’t consider necessary.

But those who say “than” is a preposition would argue that “me” would be needed (as its object). Of course the wisest people (those who agree with us) take the middle ground.

Here’s what Webster's Dictionary of English Usage says: “A dispute over whether ‘than’ is a preposition or a conjunction has been going on now for more than two centuries.”

And after about a page of other comments and examples, it adds this: “To conclude: William Ward had it right in 1765. ‘Than’ is both a preposition and a conjunction. In spite of much opinion to the contrary, the preposition has never been wrong.”

So as we told our confused friend, either is correct—you do it your way, let others do it their way. Or, if you're working in an organization that puts a high value on consistency, choose one way—arbitrarily, if necessary—and stick with it.

We signed it “Lots of luck, and welcome to the world of never-ending arguments over English usage.” And a fun place it can be, unless you take such disputes too seriously. Remember, it ain’t world peace.