Pain in the English
Pain in the English

Unpacking English, Bit by Bit

A community for questioning, nitpicking, and debating the quirks and rules of the English language.

Pain in the English
Pain in the English

Unpacking English, Bit by Bit

A community for questioning, nitpicking, and debating the quirks and rules of the English language.

Proofreading Services Retired

We’ve officially closed our proofreading services. You can probably guess why. With AI tools like ChatGPT now doing the job for free (and instantly), the demand for human proofreaders has all but vanished. If you still prefer a human touch, you're part of a rare—and shrinking—breed. We're now back to our roots: a forum for nitpicking the finer points of the English language. Thanks for your past support. We appreciate it.

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Latest Posts : Style

Hi, I’m editing a brochure and know Internet is in caps, but is Web for Web site? and is Website one or two words? I’ve seen it both ways.

The brochure is speaking about a specific government website, but says “the county web site”.

Thanks, Freezing on the Hill

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1)”They were all trying to figure out which theoretical trend would be fashionable by the time they would attend postgraduate school, and scheming career plans.”

Is the tenses coordination ok? and the words appropriate?

2) “Most sold out in time and made a career of denouncing what they had worshipped.”

Does “sold out” sound very weird? Is there a better idiom to describe with contempt the way leftists-turned-capitalist-champions betrayed the ideals of their youth?

And, am I intruding here?

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When fine artists say their work is “multi-disciplinary”, what would a discipline mean in this context?

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