Jonathon Owen
@arrantpedantry.com
Editor • Writer • Linguist • Ironic meta-pedant • Villain • Cat person
Blog: https://www.arrantpedantry.com
Merch: https://arrantpedantry.myspreadshop.com
Blog: https://www.arrantpedantry.com
Merch: https://arrantpedantry.myspreadshop.com
Pinned
Jonathon Owen
@arrantpedantry.com
· Jan 29
Hey, check it out! I've joined the cool kids who use their own domain as their handle. You can now find me at @arrantpedantry.com.
Let's all make "perbe" happen! #linguistics #perbe
@arrantpedantry.com I curated this from Tumblr for you.
November 11, 2025 at 3:21 AM
Let's all make "perbe" happen! #linguistics #perbe
Reposted by Jonathon Owen
Gotta say, I’m not so confident that you do
November 7, 2025 at 9:44 PM
Gotta say, I’m not so confident that you do
Print Shop Deluxe–ass sign
November 5, 2025 at 10:52 PM
Print Shop Deluxe–ass sign
Reposted by Jonathon Owen
FinalDraft.pdf
FinalDraft_1.pdf
FinalDraft_1_Send_This_One.pdf
FinalDraft_1_No_Actually_Send_This_One.pdf
FinalFinalDraft_1_This_Draft_Is_Correct.pdf
FinalDraft_1.pdf
FinalDraft_1_Send_This_One.pdf
FinalDraft_1_No_Actually_Send_This_One.pdf
FinalFinalDraft_1_This_Draft_Is_Correct.pdf
I’m Not Sure Which, But One of These Fifteen PDF Files Is the Final Draft
FinalDraft.pdf FinalDraft_1.pdf FinalDraft_1_Send_This_One.pdf FinalDraft_1_No_Actually_Send_This_One.pdf FinalFinalDraft_1_This_Draft_Is_Correct.p...
buff.ly
November 5, 2025 at 2:20 AM
FinalDraft.pdf
FinalDraft_1.pdf
FinalDraft_1_Send_This_One.pdf
FinalDraft_1_No_Actually_Send_This_One.pdf
FinalFinalDraft_1_This_Draft_Is_Correct.pdf
FinalDraft_1.pdf
FinalDraft_1_Send_This_One.pdf
FinalDraft_1_No_Actually_Send_This_One.pdf
FinalFinalDraft_1_This_Draft_Is_Correct.pdf
Word just crashed and didn't restore any of the formatting changes I'd made to a 26-page document when I reopened it. #AmEditing
November 4, 2025 at 8:35 PM
Word just crashed and didn't restore any of the formatting changes I'd made to a 26-page document when I reopened it. #AmEditing
Reposted by Jonathon Owen
"Don't do it with publication in mind, don't do it for posterity, don't do it for the likes…Just write for the sake of it. Write to see what your own thoughts look like when you force them into sentences"
Joan Westenberg on how regular writing debugs cognition www.joanwestenberg.com/p/why-you-sh...
Joan Westenberg on how regular writing debugs cognition www.joanwestenberg.com/p/why-you-sh...
Why You Should Write Every Day (Even if You’re Not a Writer)
Writing Is Thinking With the Training Wheels Off
www.joanwestenberg.com
October 30, 2025 at 2:12 PM
"Don't do it with publication in mind, don't do it for posterity, don't do it for the likes…Just write for the sake of it. Write to see what your own thoughts look like when you force them into sentences"
Joan Westenberg on how regular writing debugs cognition www.joanwestenberg.com/p/why-you-sh...
Joan Westenberg on how regular writing debugs cognition www.joanwestenberg.com/p/why-you-sh...
Reposted by Jonathon Owen
Picard: there ARE FOUR GUYS! FOUR
November 3, 2025 at 4:48 PM
Picard: there ARE FOUR GUYS! FOUR
Reposted by Jonathon Owen
"Gary? Yes... that was what they used to call me. Dark Gary. That was my name.
I am Light Gary, and I come back to you now at the turn of the tide."
I am Light Gary, and I come back to you now at the turn of the tide."
October 26, 2025 at 1:56 PM
"Gary? Yes... that was what they used to call me. Dark Gary. That was my name.
I am Light Gary, and I come back to you now at the turn of the tide."
I am Light Gary, and I come back to you now at the turn of the tide."
Reposted by Jonathon Owen
Maybe this would also be a good time to mention that everything in my shop is 20 percent off this weekend? I've got shirts, mugs, stickers, and much more for word nerds and grammar lovers. No coupon code needed! arrantpedantry.myspreadshop.com
October 31, 2025 at 8:08 PM
Maybe this would also be a good time to mention that everything in my shop is 20 percent off this weekend? I've got shirts, mugs, stickers, and much more for word nerds and grammar lovers. No coupon code needed! arrantpedantry.myspreadshop.com
Reposted by Jonathon Owen
I recently realized that this month is the twentieth (!) blogiversary of Arrant Pedantry. My posting frequency has been pretty bad the last few years as I've dealt with health problems, pandemic burnout, and regular burnout, but I wanted to mark the occasion by sharing some of my favorite posts.
October 31, 2025 at 7:05 PM
I recently realized that this month is the twentieth (!) blogiversary of Arrant Pedantry. My posting frequency has been pretty bad the last few years as I've dealt with health problems, pandemic burnout, and regular burnout, but I wanted to mark the occasion by sharing some of my favorite posts.
I recently realized that this month is the twentieth (!) blogiversary of Arrant Pedantry. My posting frequency has been pretty bad the last few years as I've dealt with health problems, pandemic burnout, and regular burnout, but I wanted to mark the occasion by sharing some of my favorite posts.
October 31, 2025 at 7:05 PM
I recently realized that this month is the twentieth (!) blogiversary of Arrant Pedantry. My posting frequency has been pretty bad the last few years as I've dealt with health problems, pandemic burnout, and regular burnout, but I wanted to mark the occasion by sharing some of my favorite posts.
funny you should mention a failure to take someone seriously
In Opinion
Early in Zohran Mamdani’s mayoral campaign, “it was easy to assume that failure to learn his name reflected a failure to take him seriously,” John McWhorter writes. But “as a matter of pure linguistics, it would be surprising if people didn’t have trouble with the name Mamdani.”
Early in Zohran Mamdani’s mayoral campaign, “it was easy to assume that failure to learn his name reflected a failure to take him seriously,” John McWhorter writes. But “as a matter of pure linguistics, it would be surprising if people didn’t have trouble with the name Mamdani.”
Opinion | I Now Mispronounce You the Likely Next Mayor of New York City
A lot of people seem to trip over Zohran Mamdani’s name. The reason may not be as simple as it seems.
nyti.ms
October 31, 2025 at 3:16 PM
funny you should mention a failure to take someone seriously
Hot take: Grammarly should focus on at least providing human-level editing abilities before it claims to offer better-than-human-level editing abilities.
Grammarly is changing its name to Superhuman
Grammarly is changing its name to Superhuman
So long, Grammarly. Greetings, Superhuman.
buff.ly
October 30, 2025 at 9:50 PM
Hot take: Grammarly should focus on at least providing human-level editing abilities before it claims to offer better-than-human-level editing abilities.
Reposted by Jonathon Owen
Literal perfection. ;) www.youtube.com/shorts/8-lgJ...
We Have AI Now
YouTube video by Eleanor Morton
www.youtube.com
October 30, 2025 at 12:51 PM
Literal perfection. ;) www.youtube.com/shorts/8-lgJ...
Reposted by Jonathon Owen
Reposted by Jonathon Owen
Pairs like this are common but easily missed, and often have a voiced–unvoiced distinction. Jespersen lists e.g. speech/speak, bath/bathe, batch/bake, price/prize, glass/glaze, grass/graze. "Ache" is a curious mix of the old noun's spelling and the old verb's pronunciation #etymology
Idly wondered if "stench" is related to "stink" and got my mind blown by this note in Etymonline:
"Related to stink (v.) as drench is to drink, as clench is to cling."
Oh, of course! But I never thought of it that way.
I love etymology.
"Related to stink (v.) as drench is to drink, as clench is to cling."
Oh, of course! But I never thought of it that way.
I love etymology.
Stench - Etymology, Origin & Meaning
Originating from Middle English and Old English stenc/stync, meaning "a smell or odor," stemming from Proto-Germanic *stankwiz, denoting scent, pleasant or unplea...
www.etymonline.com
October 29, 2025 at 6:16 PM
Pairs like this are common but easily missed, and often have a voiced–unvoiced distinction. Jespersen lists e.g. speech/speak, bath/bathe, batch/bake, price/prize, glass/glaze, grass/graze. "Ache" is a curious mix of the old noun's spelling and the old verb's pronunciation #etymology
Reposted by Jonathon Owen
When Tolkien wrote about Saruman and the palantir, he was referring to rich and powerful global elites whose brains got cooked by overexposure to devices that channelled and magnified evil. His yearning for a war of purifying destruction grew; but he failed, and was only ever a supporting character.
October 29, 2025 at 9:55 AM
When Tolkien wrote about Saruman and the palantir, he was referring to rich and powerful global elites whose brains got cooked by overexposure to devices that channelled and magnified evil. His yearning for a war of purifying destruction grew; but he failed, and was only ever a supporting character.
I need to come clean about something. I grew up referring to a woman as Aunt Donna when she was, in fact, my great aunt.
I know it will take a lot of work to regain everyone's trust, but I apologize for all the hurt I've caused by this deception.
I know it will take a lot of work to regain everyone's trust, but I apologize for all the hurt I've caused by this deception.
October 28, 2025 at 6:21 PM
I need to come clean about something. I grew up referring to a woman as Aunt Donna when she was, in fact, my great aunt.
I know it will take a lot of work to regain everyone's trust, but I apologize for all the hurt I've caused by this deception.
I know it will take a lot of work to regain everyone's trust, but I apologize for all the hurt I've caused by this deception.
Your regular reminder that using any kind of automatic find-and-replace is a bad idea.
oh my GODDDDDDDDDDD
(apologies for screenshotting the hellsite, which I no longer use; I saw the link in CNN's Reliable Sources newsletter)
(apologies for screenshotting the hellsite, which I no longer use; I saw the link in CNN's Reliable Sources newsletter)
October 27, 2025 at 3:26 PM
Your regular reminder that using any kind of automatic find-and-replace is a bad idea.
Reposted by Jonathon Owen
"Email has become a crucible. I can no longer say 'Attached is the draft.' I must instead write, 'Enclosed—though, of course, enclosure itself is a problematic modality—please locate a text-in-process, emergent rather than concluded.'”
I Got Tenure and Now I Can’t Seem to Form Simple Declarative Sentences
When I received the email, I was holding a piece of toast. Dry, no butter. I remember this vividly because it was the last thing in my life with a ...
buff.ly
October 26, 2025 at 4:35 PM
"Email has become a crucible. I can no longer say 'Attached is the draft.' I must instead write, 'Enclosed—though, of course, enclosure itself is a problematic modality—please locate a text-in-process, emergent rather than concluded.'”
no thank you
www.theverge.com/news/804106/...
www.theverge.com/news/804106/...
Meet Mico, Microsoft’s AI version of Clippy
Copilot now has its own virtual character for its voice mode.
www.theverge.com
October 23, 2025 at 6:24 PM
no thank you
www.theverge.com/news/804106/...
www.theverge.com/news/804106/...
"Somehow, Palpatine has Benjamin Buttoned."
![Comic. Scatter chart with Emperor Palpatine character age on Y axis and Ian McDiarmid age during filming on X axis. Plot with descending arrow beginning from Return of the Jedi (emperor age 90, McDiarmid age 40) → Revenge of the Sith, Attack of the Clones, and The Phantom Menace (emperor age 50-70, McDiarmid age 50-60) → The Rise of Skywalker (cloned body, undefined age) with a gradient vertical line (McDiarmid age over 70) → Now (emperor age under 10, McDiarmid age over 80). [caption] To continue the trend, they should make a Star Wars movie where 81-year-old Ian McDiarmid plays the emperor as a toddler.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:cz73r7iyiqn26upot4jtjdhk/bafkreiddygrn45rhv3aktvxlsoc5e62uxrb2fxeojgauoe5i4j52l4rn7q@jpeg)
October 22, 2025 at 8:10 PM
"Somehow, Palpatine has Benjamin Buttoned."
I'm catching up on @qwantz.com, and this one hit a little close to home. Just last week I replaced our water heater, and thing after thing went wrong! It too was a nightmare start to finish!! www.qwantz.com/index.php?co...
Dinosaur Comics!
one might even say i'm doing this simply to avoid confronting the disaster that is now my bathroom but hahaha LET'S NOT
www.qwantz.com
October 15, 2025 at 10:02 PM
I'm catching up on @qwantz.com, and this one hit a little close to home. Just last week I replaced our water heater, and thing after thing went wrong! It too was a nightmare start to finish!! www.qwantz.com/index.php?co...
My Scrabble opponent just played FURZE, and I really wish I could respond with GORSE.
October 15, 2025 at 7:38 PM
My Scrabble opponent just played FURZE, and I really wish I could respond with GORSE.
Dear author who's deleting, rewriting, and inserting whole sentences during the proofreading stage:
If you wanted the text to say something completely different, why didn't you write it that way the first time?
#AmEditing
If you wanted the text to say something completely different, why didn't you write it that way the first time?
#AmEditing
October 13, 2025 at 4:45 PM
Dear author who's deleting, rewriting, and inserting whole sentences during the proofreading stage:
If you wanted the text to say something completely different, why didn't you write it that way the first time?
#AmEditing
If you wanted the text to say something completely different, why didn't you write it that way the first time?
#AmEditing