Dave Nelsen
@thegrammargeek.bsky.social
Copy editor, proofreader, deputy editorial manager at Dragonfly Editorial. Oxford comma agnostic. What you learned in ninth-grade English might be wrong. He/him.
I’m not a millennial myself, but I must say I do enjoy the millennial pause.
November 11, 2025 at 3:04 AM
I’m not a millennial myself, but I must say I do enjoy the millennial pause.
M-W spent that extra hour getting feisty.
You can curse daylight saving time, daylight saving, daylight savings, daylight savings time, and/or daylight time.
All are considered acceptable so go off.
All are considered acceptable so go off.
November 2, 2025 at 5:00 PM
M-W spent that extra hour getting feisty.
My 16-year-old was telling me about one of his favorite YouTubers. Instead of releasing short videos every few days, this guy releases one two-hour video every couple of years. I said, “Son, back in my day, we called such videos ‘movies.’”
Everything old is new again.
Everything old is new again.
November 1, 2025 at 5:41 PM
My 16-year-old was telling me about one of his favorite YouTubers. Instead of releasing short videos every few days, this guy releases one two-hour video every couple of years. I said, “Son, back in my day, we called such videos ‘movies.’”
Everything old is new again.
Everything old is new again.
Grammarly is changing its name to Superhuman, apparently in a move to rebrand itself as a multipurpose AI-powered all-in-one solution, not just a mostly useless editing tool.
October 30, 2025 at 9:45 PM
Grammarly is changing its name to Superhuman, apparently in a move to rebrand itself as a multipurpose AI-powered all-in-one solution, not just a mostly useless editing tool.
I wish not to offend anyone, but I dislike the word “hubby.” I take no issue with those who use it. I just don’t like it.
October 30, 2025 at 6:38 PM
I wish not to offend anyone, but I dislike the word “hubby.” I take no issue with those who use it. I just don’t like it.
About once a month for the last 20 years, someone has asked me, “Hey, are you a cop?” It must be the bald head and the stern look. Sometimes I reply, “No, I’m a cop ... eee editor!” No one ever gets it. Ever.
October 26, 2025 at 1:33 AM
About once a month for the last 20 years, someone has asked me, “Hey, are you a cop?” It must be the bald head and the stern look. Sometimes I reply, “No, I’m a cop ... eee editor!” No one ever gets it. Ever.
Reposted by Dave Nelsen
Parents, please check your kids’ candy this Halloween. I’ve just found an ancient metal whistle with the inscription “QUIS EST ISTE QUI VENIT" inside a Snickers bar. I blew it and heard a note of infinite distance, and now I’m haunted by a figure in pale, fluttering draperies. Be safe.
October 22, 2025 at 8:13 PM
Parents, please check your kids’ candy this Halloween. I’ve just found an ancient metal whistle with the inscription “QUIS EST ISTE QUI VENIT" inside a Snickers bar. I blew it and heard a note of infinite distance, and now I’m haunted by a figure in pale, fluttering draperies. Be safe.
So there are currently … seven and a half?
October 22, 2025 at 1:09 AM
So there are currently … seven and a half?
Ignore the adorable cat for a moment, and answer me this: Have you heard people use this phrasal template in face-to-face conversation—as opposed to only seeing it in memes? Because I know I have.
I’m reading “Algospeak” by @etymologynerd.bsky.social, and I’m high alert for this kind of stuff.
I’m reading “Algospeak” by @etymologynerd.bsky.social, and I’m high alert for this kind of stuff.
October 19, 2025 at 10:49 PM
Ignore the adorable cat for a moment, and answer me this: Have you heard people use this phrasal template in face-to-face conversation—as opposed to only seeing it in memes? Because I know I have.
I’m reading “Algospeak” by @etymologynerd.bsky.social, and I’m high alert for this kind of stuff.
I’m reading “Algospeak” by @etymologynerd.bsky.social, and I’m high alert for this kind of stuff.
Me, a copy editor, scouring the web to figure out what all these abbreviations mean when the author could have taken the few extra seconds necessary to fully spell the words.
a man sitting at a table with an apple laptop
Alt: A very frustrated man sitting at a table, working on a laptop.
media.tenor.com
October 19, 2025 at 7:16 PM
Me, a copy editor, scouring the web to figure out what all these abbreviations mean when the author could have taken the few extra seconds necessary to fully spell the words.
Took my 3-year-old niece out to lunch. She said she wanted a cheeseburger. When her cheeseburger arrived, she was like, “WTF? I didn’t want meat.” Turns out she wanted a grilled cheese, which her parents have been letting her call a cheeseburger her whole life. SMH, what’s this world coming to?
October 18, 2025 at 7:25 PM
Took my 3-year-old niece out to lunch. She said she wanted a cheeseburger. When her cheeseburger arrived, she was like, “WTF? I didn’t want meat.” Turns out she wanted a grilled cheese, which her parents have been letting her call a cheeseburger her whole life. SMH, what’s this world coming to?
I’m not saying em dashes are good or bad or a sign of AI or whatever. I’m just saying you don’t need an em dash in every sentence. You certainly don’t need three in one sentence. I mean, really.
October 13, 2025 at 5:02 PM
I’m not saying em dashes are good or bad or a sign of AI or whatever. I’m just saying you don’t need an em dash in every sentence. You certainly don’t need three in one sentence. I mean, really.
I keep getting notifications from the Starbucks app announcing new secret menu drinks, and I don’t think they understand how secrets work.
October 13, 2025 at 3:10 PM
I keep getting notifications from the Starbucks app announcing new secret menu drinks, and I don’t think they understand how secrets work.
Hey, if you’re embedding a link on a webpage or in an email or in a document (so, anywhere), make the link longer than one word. “Click here for more information” should be hyperlinked — not just the word “here.” This works better for people with small screens, low vision, or imprecise hands.
October 10, 2025 at 4:11 PM
Hey, if you’re embedding a link on a webpage or in an email or in a document (so, anywhere), make the link longer than one word. “Click here for more information” should be hyperlinked — not just the word “here.” This works better for people with small screens, low vision, or imprecise hands.
Yesterday’s NYT Spelling Bee didn’t accept “gyat.” SMDH.
October 8, 2025 at 12:41 PM
Yesterday’s NYT Spelling Bee didn’t accept “gyat.” SMDH.
I’ve encountered many semicolons today, and not a single one was used correctly.
October 6, 2025 at 9:27 PM
I’ve encountered many semicolons today, and not a single one was used correctly.
I was listening to a podcast, and the host was talking about boiled eggs. Because of his accent (Southern US), his pronunciation of “boiled” sounds like “bold,” and I love it. I shall now always refer to boiled eggs as bold eggs.
October 6, 2025 at 2:16 PM
I was listening to a podcast, and the host was talking about boiled eggs. Because of his accent (Southern US), his pronunciation of “boiled” sounds like “bold,” and I love it. I shall now always refer to boiled eggs as bold eggs.
September 27, 2025 at 1:42 PM
Just came across “leverage” and “utilizing” IN THE SAME SENTENCE. #AmEditing
September 23, 2025 at 8:51 PM
Just came across “leverage” and “utilizing” IN THE SAME SENTENCE. #AmEditing
The 2018 firing of ABC employee Roseanne Barr was a personnel decision made by ABC.
The 2025 suspension of ABC employee Jimmy Kimmel was a personnel decision made by the federal government.
If you don’t understand the difference, go back and read that slowly or ask a friend to read it to you.
The 2025 suspension of ABC employee Jimmy Kimmel was a personnel decision made by the federal government.
If you don’t understand the difference, go back and read that slowly or ask a friend to read it to you.
September 20, 2025 at 3:22 PM
The 2018 firing of ABC employee Roseanne Barr was a personnel decision made by ABC.
The 2025 suspension of ABC employee Jimmy Kimmel was a personnel decision made by the federal government.
If you don’t understand the difference, go back and read that slowly or ask a friend to read it to you.
The 2025 suspension of ABC employee Jimmy Kimmel was a personnel decision made by the federal government.
If you don’t understand the difference, go back and read that slowly or ask a friend to read it to you.
I hope Nate Bargatze’s Boys and Girls Club stunt at the Emmys is the beginning of the end of this nation’s love of Nate Bargatze. Shortening speeches, making room for more bits, and putting a charity in the middle is a trifecta of bad decisions.
September 15, 2025 at 2:51 AM
I hope Nate Bargatze’s Boys and Girls Club stunt at the Emmys is the beginning of the end of this nation’s love of Nate Bargatze. Shortening speeches, making room for more bits, and putting a charity in the middle is a trifecta of bad decisions.
September 7, 2025 at 4:55 PM
August 19, 2025 at 10:00 PM
The Cambridge Dictionary has added an entry for “skibidi.” To paraphrase a post I saw a decade ago regarding “twerk”: If you think your opposition to a dictionary recognizing “skibidi” makes you a defender of the English language, you don’t understand how the English language or dictionaries work.
August 19, 2025 at 5:16 PM
The Cambridge Dictionary has added an entry for “skibidi.” To paraphrase a post I saw a decade ago regarding “twerk”: If you think your opposition to a dictionary recognizing “skibidi” makes you a defender of the English language, you don’t understand how the English language or dictionaries work.
While editing, I accidentally changed “Sodium reduction” to “Sodium Seduction.” I immediately corrected it, but now I can’t stop imagining what sodium seduction would look like.
August 11, 2025 at 12:01 AM
While editing, I accidentally changed “Sodium reduction” to “Sodium Seduction.” I immediately corrected it, but now I can’t stop imagining what sodium seduction would look like.