Archive - No-nonsense words

Writing, science and the law of levity

Why do writers and broadcasters think they have to present science in a 'lighthearted' way? The YouTubers and conspiracy theorists don’t

Jul 31 •

June 2025

Bullying nouns and sneaky adverbs – inside the Grammar Class

Wouldn't it be nice if all the parts of speech got on together? Dream on...

Jun 18 •

The Grammar Class, deconstructed

Are adverbs really sneaky? Are nouns bullies?

Jun 18 •

May 2025

Let's make punctuation fashionable again

🥺🧓🏫🤹♾️🪛

May 14 •

It’s rude not to point

In this subscriber-only blog, we look at full points, colons and one of the most controversial things on your keyboard – the exclamation mark!

May 14 •

March 2025

Everything should be shorter, Part 1

We kick off a new series on business English with some invaluable ideas for saving you and your organsation time and trouble

Mar 25 •

The golden rule: everything should be shorter

Lesson one: nouns versus verbs, verbiage versus clarity

Mar 25 •

February 2025

Here's your new job sharer

Emma is the face of AI – in German tourism circles, anyway. How does she – and it - write and sound?

Feb 6 •

January 2025

You're a writer – what have you got to smile about?

Because AI is coming for you. What hope is there?

Jan 21 •

December 2024

Trump, Gisèle and how to turn a narrative on its head

The story of 2024, as shaped by a perpetrator and a victim

Dec 30, 2024 •

January 2024

Things can only get better. That's what things (almost) always do

Let's start the new year with some cold, hard facts about the world we travel in. Warning: pessimistic readers may want to look away now

Jan 10, 2024 •

March 2023

The best proposal we've read all year

The challenge: get your parents to buy you a tortoise. The solution: a PowerPoint deck, naturally

Mar 23, 2023 •

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