Not fancypants.
not chocolately or chocolate-y
Avoid. Nothing against the Brits, but I don’t want to see colour, flavour, favourite, defence or any other British spellings—unless you’re British and have special permission.
Not BBQ. Not bar-be-que. Not bar-b-que. It is always barbecue, unless it is in the context of a restaurant name, in which case we should honor that spelling.
Barbecue vs. grilling
Barbecue and grilling are not interchangeable. As ‘cue heads are quick to point out, “barbecue is a noun.” Barbecue is slow-cooked, smoked meat. Grilling involves cooking food on a grate over direct or indirect heat.
Avoid using barbecue when you mean grilling.
Avoid using barbecue as a catch-phrase for an outdoor party that involves grilling; use cookout instead.
Use among. (Refrain from using longer words when shorter ones will do. Plus, it’s pretentious.)
Use amid. (Refrain from using longer words when shorter ones will do. Plus, it’s pretentious.)
Use plurals. And make sure to capitalize proper nouns. Ex.: wedding cakes, not wedding cake; Japan, not japan.
I want those apples, oranges, and pears.
I want mushrooms, onions, and sausage on my pizza.
I want to see you all using the serial comma. Your English teacher may have beaten into you that you drop the comma before the and. S/he wasn’t necessarily wrong. You can drop it or use it. I think it adds clarity to a sentence, and we should employ it.
Commas and periods go inside the quotation marks. [This SB was previously covered in the 6/1/2008 and 5/25/2008 editions.]
“I eat like a pig,” Joey Chestnut said. Not “I eat like a pig”, Joey Chestnut said.
Joey Chestnut said, “I eat like a pig.” Not Joey Chestnut said, “I eat like a pig”.
DO NOT USE double quotes in headlines or post titles. USE SINGLE QUOTES.
No: “Crazy Legs” Conti Eats a Hot Dog
Yes: ‘Crazy Legs’ Conti Eats a Hot Dog
No: Jersey “Food Court” Dispatch: Mitsuwa Marketplace
Yes: Jersey ‘Food Court’ Dispatch: Mitsuwa Marketplace
No: Australian Senate: Ramsay Fills TV with “Astounding Volume of Foul Language”
Yes: Australian Senate: Ramsay Fills TV with ‘Astounding Volume of Foul Language’