To Grammar's House

A regular column by the Boston Globe copy desk on the style and language used in the newspaper

To Grammar’s House

Hopefully, we’ll see it rarely

While the Associated Press recently updated its style guidelines on the word “hopefully,” the Globe still prefers to keep its use at a minimum.

To Grammar’s House

Yesterday’s gone

For the first time in more than four decades, Globe articles do not employ “yesterday, “today,” and “tomorrow.”

A cleaning service

To Grammar’s House

Spring cleaning for grammar rules

Grammar’s House can get a bit cluttered sometimes, often with rules that are capricious, spurious, or flat-out erroneous.

Louise White went to the store in search of rainbow sherbet and wound up buying a lottery ticket worth $336.4 million -- and put her winnings into an account labeled The Rainbow Sherbert Trust.

Globe Insiders | To Grammar’s House

The scoop on labels

Copy editors were thrown askew when Louise White, the $336.4 million lottery winner, placed her winnings in a trust that misspelled “sherbet.”

New York Knicks point guard Jeremy Lin looks on against the New Jersey Nets in the first half of their NBA basketball game at Madison Square Garden in New York, February 20, 2012. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz (UNITED STATES - Tags: SPORT BASKETBALL)

To Grammar’s House

Clanging off the rim

Should headline writers give in to the temptation of terms like “Linsanity”? Or should they stick with words that actually exist?

Gamblers play roulette inside the Mohegan Sun Casino in Connecticut.

To Grammar’s House

Rolling the dice on casino headlines

The idea for Massachusetts casinos began in 2007. After a tide of gambling expressions in headlines, they no longer feel like a winning hand.

Attempts at writing colorful prose often clutter the narrative more than they enhance the story, leaving the reader bobbing and churning as if stuck at sea on a small boat.

To Grammar’s House

Swept away by colorful writing

Attempts at writing colorful prose often clutter the narrative more than they enhance the story, leaving the reader bobbing and churning as if stuck at sea on a small boat.

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie answers a question in Trenton, N.J., Monday, Jan. 30, 2012, about gay marriage issues being considered by the legislature. Christie says that he is personally opposed to same sex marriage and the issue should be decided by voters, not the legislature. (AP Photo/Mel Evans)

To Grammar’s House

In their own words

Newspapers, and their copy editors, usually draw a line against obscenities and crude language, but what about when a public official calls a legislator “numbnuts?”

Cartman, a character on “South Park.”

To Grammar’s House

The dirty little secret

There is a secret that no one warns us about. But all copy editors eventually learn this cardinal rule: It takes a dirty mind to put out a clean newspaper.

Watch Past Globe Talks

Video

Globe Talk: Boston, a Comedy Capital

Watch the video of this Globe Talk event, featuring local comedians Dave Russo, Anthony Scibelli, Tony V, Jimmy Tingle, and Lenny Clarke sharing stories about the Boston comedy scene. Laughs guaranteed. (Editor’s note: This video contains strong language.)

17book

Globe Insiders Video

The Back Story: Behind ‘The Real Romney’

Boston Globe reporters Michael Kranish and Scott Helman talk about their new biography of GOP presidential candidate and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney.

Globe Insiders Video: The Back Story

Video

Dina Rudick

Globe Insiders video: The Back Story

The Back Story is a new video series where Globe journalists tell the stories behind their stories. Exclusively on BostonGlobe.com, it is hosted by photographer and multimedia journalist Dina Rudick.

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