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.
Reposted by Jonathon Owen
Merriam Christmas
December 25, 2025 at 2:50 PM
Merriam Christmas
Merry Christmas from Zelda, who is very pleased with her present of an empty box.
December 25, 2025 at 6:42 PM
Merry Christmas from Zelda, who is very pleased with her present of an empty box.
Why did no one ever tell me that eggnog in French is chicken milk?
Inspired by and on the recommendation of @ryannorth.ca , the experiment begins… 👀
December 20, 2025 at 6:16 PM
Why did no one ever tell me that eggnog in French is chicken milk?
What's wrong, Babe? You've barely touched your eggnog puke cake.
December 19, 2025 at 2:23 AM
What's wrong, Babe? You've barely touched your eggnog puke cake.
Reposted by Jonathon Owen
My response to anything over the next two weeks
December 18, 2025 at 6:10 PM
My response to anything over the next two weeks
Hot writing/editing take of the day: When you're doing a find and replace in Word, the Find and Replace dialogue box should *stay in one place* so that you can easily click through all the results. #AmEditing
December 18, 2025 at 7:47 PM
Hot writing/editing take of the day: When you're doing a find and replace in Word, the Find and Replace dialogue box should *stay in one place* so that you can easily click through all the results. #AmEditing
Reposted by Jonathon Owen
You'd better believe that if I worked for @merriam-webster.com I'd be voting for "dictionary" every year too. theonion.com/merriam-webs...
Merriam-Webster Accused Of Bias After ‘Dictionary’ Named Word Of The Year
SPRINGFIELD, MA—Facing intense backlash and scrutiny from critics who say the reference book publisher had failed to take all words into consideration, Merriam-Webster was accused of bias Monday after...
theonion.com
December 15, 2025 at 6:38 PM
You'd better believe that if I worked for @merriam-webster.com I'd be voting for "dictionary" every year too. theonion.com/merriam-webs...
Reposted by Jonathon Owen
Merriam-Webster’s human editors have chosen ‘slop’ as the 2025 Word of the Year.
December 15, 2025 at 2:07 PM
Merriam-Webster’s human editors have chosen ‘slop’ as the 2025 Word of the Year.
Reposted by Jonathon Owen
Learned today that “Galápagos” comes from a Spanish word for tortoise, meaning that “Galápagos Tortoise” is,
in fact,
a tortology
in fact,
a tortology
December 13, 2025 at 9:49 PM
Learned today that “Galápagos” comes from a Spanish word for tortoise, meaning that “Galápagos Tortoise” is,
in fact,
a tortology
in fact,
a tortology
I've got the CSI: Miami meme in Scrabble.
December 12, 2025 at 4:55 PM
I've got the CSI: Miami meme in Scrabble.
December 11, 2025 at 8:57 PM
Reposted by Jonathon Owen
The most compelling argument for this is that Sam was once a baby raised without ChatGPT, and look how he turned out.
FALLON: “And do you use ChatGPT when raising your baby?"
ALTMAN: "I cannot imagine figuring out how to raise a newborn without ChatGPT."
@moreperfectunion.bsky.social
ALTMAN: "I cannot imagine figuring out how to raise a newborn without ChatGPT."
@moreperfectunion.bsky.social
December 10, 2025 at 2:00 AM
The most compelling argument for this is that Sam was once a baby raised without ChatGPT, and look how he turned out.
Reposted by Jonathon Owen
Nothing worse than signing an email "warm regards" and getting a reply with "warmest regards". Oh, now it's ON.
"kindest regards" alright alright calm down
December 9, 2025 at 2:55 PM
Nothing worse than signing an email "warm regards" and getting a reply with "warmest regards". Oh, now it's ON.
Can you resign from a job you don't lawfully hold? apnews.com/article/alin...
Trump's former lawyer Alina Habba resigning as top federal prosecutor in New Jersey
President Donald Trump’s former personal attorney, Alina Habba, announced her resignation as acting U.S. attorney in New Jersey.
apnews.com
December 8, 2025 at 7:34 PM
Can you resign from a job you don't lawfully hold? apnews.com/article/alin...
Reposted by Jonathon Owen
*presses record*
Idea for movie: a maverick proofreader breaks all the rules & defies his bosses by making er, clear & concise corrections, wait a minute, delete
Idea for movie: a maverick proofreader breaks all the rules & defies his bosses by making er, clear & concise corrections, wait a minute, delete
December 8, 2025 at 6:29 PM
*presses record*
Idea for movie: a maverick proofreader breaks all the rules & defies his bosses by making er, clear & concise corrections, wait a minute, delete
Idea for movie: a maverick proofreader breaks all the rules & defies his bosses by making er, clear & concise corrections, wait a minute, delete
Reposted by Jonathon Owen
Bread guard of the Rings
It's a great word fact that English 'lord' comes from a compound meaning 'bread guard', which fused into one word: Old English hlāford.
There's evidence from Norway that the concept was an old one, as the Tune runestone (c. 400 AD) mentions the role of "witadahalaiban" – 'the one watching bread'.
There's evidence from Norway that the concept was an old one, as the Tune runestone (c. 400 AD) mentions the role of "witadahalaiban" – 'the one watching bread'.
December 4, 2025 at 7:56 PM
Bread guard of the Rings
Reposted by Jonathon Owen
I don't think hold any belief more strongly than the belief that "Paste & Match Formatting" should be DEFAULT.
December 3, 2025 at 9:50 PM
I don't think hold any belief more strongly than the belief that "Paste & Match Formatting" should be DEFAULT.
Once again debating whether and how to correct someone who consistently spells my name Jonathan. www.arrantpedantry.com/2019/04/24/t...
That’s My Name; Please Wear It Out
Regular readers of this blog have probably noticed that my name has a slightly unusual spelling: it’s Jonathon rather than Jonathan. If you’ve ever been tempted to joke that my parents …
www.arrantpedantry.com
December 3, 2025 at 7:06 PM
Once again debating whether and how to correct someone who consistently spells my name Jonathan. www.arrantpedantry.com/2019/04/24/t...
Tired: AI will write your boring emails for you
Wired: A hand-cranked machine will write your boring emails for you
www.instagram.com/reel/DRmPFQs...
Wired: A hand-cranked machine will write your boring emails for you
www.instagram.com/reel/DRmPFQs...
Amedeo Capelli on Instagram: "Fake courtesy machine."
256K likes, 1,906 comments - stoccafisso_design on November 28, 2025: "Fake courtesy machine.".
www.instagram.com
December 2, 2025 at 9:10 PM
Tired: AI will write your boring emails for you
Wired: A hand-cranked machine will write your boring emails for you
www.instagram.com/reel/DRmPFQs...
Wired: A hand-cranked machine will write your boring emails for you
www.instagram.com/reel/DRmPFQs...
It is a truth universally acknowledged that the sun is always rising.
hands down my favorite line from a book that provides no value add to the written word besides being, possibly, the most narcissistic memoir ever put to paper.
December 2, 2025 at 4:48 PM
It is a truth universally acknowledged that the sun is always rising.
Reposted by Jonathon Owen
DECEMBER CARTOON: ivacheung.com/2025/12/crow... #AmEditing
Crowd work - Iva Cheung
For the holidays, why not treat yourself to After the Feast, my little cookbook for turkey dinner leftovers? The PDF is free to download, and print copies raise money for the Qajuqturvik Community Foo...
ivacheung.com
December 1, 2025 at 2:31 PM
DECEMBER CARTOON: ivacheung.com/2025/12/crow... #AmEditing
I think this is a record. We have twenty-two pies for eighteen people.
November 28, 2025 at 1:01 AM
I think this is a record. We have twenty-two pies for eighteen people.
Reposted by Jonathon Owen
It's an archipelago off the north-east tip of Scotland, but that's not important right now.
November 27, 2025 at 1:06 PM
It's an archipelago off the north-east tip of Scotland, but that's not important right now.