The Editors' Weekly
Official blog of Canada's national editorial association
The Editors' Weekly
Navigation
  • About the Blog
  • Contact Us
  • Articles en français
  • editors.ca
  • reviseurs.ca
You are here: Home › Karen Virag
Currently browsing category

Karen Virag

Revisiting Karen Virag: I Are Confused

January 8, 2019 | Filed under: Karen Virag

In memory of Karen Virag, who passed away on Jan. 11, 2014, we are pleased to republish one of her popular blog posts from February 2013. I are confused, aren’t I? Have you ever wondered why we say, “He is, isn’t he?” and “She is, isn’t she?” but we don’t …

Revisiting Verbal Boobery

January 9, 2018 | Filed under: Karen Virag

In memory of Karen Virag, who passed away Jan. 11, 2014, we are pleased to republish one of her popular blog posts from November 2013. Verbal whatery? Not long ago in the Air Canada Lounge at Toronto Pearson Airport I noticed a small sign beside a tray of freshly baked …

Karen Virag

In Memoriam

January 20, 2014 | Filed under: Anna Williams, Karen Virag

The Editors’ Weekly mourns the loss of a loved and valued contributor, Karen Virag, who passed away on Jan. 11 following a brief illness. From the EAC’s national office: A longtime member of EAC’s Prairie Provinces branch, Karen was the association’s director of publications. She co-chaired EAC’s successful 2008 national …

Plate of peanut butter cookies, with accompanied by caption with awkward wording quoted from an Air Canada lounge.

GETTABLE GRAMMAR: Verbal Boobery (VB)

November 19, 2013 | Filed under: Karen Virag

Verbal whatery? Not long ago in the Air Canada Lounge at Toronto Pearson Airport I noticed a small sign beside a tray of freshly baked cookies. It said:             Now, I have to say, I don’t know why so many people complain about Air Canada. …

Literally is not The word “literally” is the topic of this week’s blog, "English Can Be So Two-faced," by Karen Virag for The Editors' Weekly, EAC, Sept. 17, 2013. only word in this crazy language of ours that has opposing definitions. But it's the topic of this blog post, "English Can Be So Two-faced," by Karen Virag. The Editors' Weekly, EAC, Sept. 17, 2013.

English can be so two-faced

September 17, 2013 | Filed under: Karen Virag

My head literally exploded when I read it! What text, you are wondering, could have caused such a messy and bloody scene? (And if my head literally exploded, shouldn’t I be dead?) Well, the text in question was from an article in Salon magazine (August 22, 2013) decrying the Merriam-Webster (MW) Dictionary definition …

Close-up profile of a white llama’s head, outdoors.

GETTABLE GRAMMAR: I come to praise typos, not to bury them

August 15, 2013 | Filed under: Karen Virag

Summer is often called the silly season—it is, after all, generally a time of cheap escapist paperbacks and brainless blockbuster movies (Sharknado, anyone?). So, in honour of that most thought-free, indolence-inspiring and cogitation-challenged of seasons, for this posting I will neither opine nor berate; instead, I will celebrate the little …

Golf balls and stones on sand under water.

GETTABLE GRAMMAR: Taking issue with “issues”

July 11, 2013 | Filed under: Karen Virag

I think I remember the first time I heard the word issues used as a synonym for problems. I was watching a long-forgotten television sitcom, and one character commented on another’s weird behaviour by saying, “She has issues.” She overenunciated the word issues and at the same time made little …

Mr T gazes and points with both hands directly at the camera. His sleeveless arms betray rippling biceps. This black, muscled icon stands silhouetted against a bright green back ground.

GETTABLE GRAMMAR: Whom—don’t leave us! We hardly knew ye!

May 14, 2013 | Filed under: Karen Virag

In the April 2013 Atlantic magazine, writer Megan Garber gleefully wrote: “Whom, I am thrilled to inform you, is dying.” And though I agree that whom seems to be going the way of the floppy disk, I don’t share Garber’s glee. Perhaps it’s because I think that grammatical inflection (when …

Colour portrait of Dr. Edwin Battistella, dressed in a shirt and sports jacket with arms open, likely delivering a lecture.

GETTABLE GRAMMAR: Learning to like “like”

April 9, 2013 | Filed under: Karen Virag

One often hears complaints about how some people litter their sentences with the word like—not as a noun, verb, preposition or conjunction, but as, like, an interjection. Like that. Now I know that Canadians like to blame Americans for all the world’s ills, but we can’t really lay this verbal …

Torso of a nude man, from neck to waist, holding a nude baby.

GETTABLE GRAMMAR: Things that dangle

March 12, 2013 | Filed under: Karen Virag

Things that dangle in the night. And in the day. Hours before giving birth, a woman’s boyfriend leaves her for her best friend and quits the talent agency they run together to start his own competing business. Now that is one amazing—and appalling!—boyfriend. First he gives birth, then he betrays …

Next Page →

What we’re talking about

Aaron Dalton author-editor relationship authors book editors book publishing communication copy editing editing editing tools editor editor's role editor advice editorial skills editors editors at work Editors Canada conference français freelance editing freelance editors freelancing French grammar interview James Harbeck language letter from the editor linguistics Linguistics Frankly Marianne Grier marketing networking plain language professional development proofreading publishing Rosemary Shipton révision style translation usage Wasted Words Wilf Popoff word choice writers writing

Email subscriptions

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 1,055 other subscribers

Most recent posts

  • Editing Indigenous Writing: A Nuanced Partnership
  • Encouraging Coworkers to See the Benefits of Editing
  • Meeting “In Real Life”: Conference 2023
  • The Editors’ Weekly en français
  • Editing for Authors on a Budget

Archives by month

By author

Follow Us Online

Facebook  Twitter  Flickr  RSS Feed

www.editors.ca

The Editors' Weekly is the blog of Editors Canada.

Report an error or a typo

Email us at blog [at] editors.ca

© 2023 The Editors' Weekly

Powered by One Designs