Although some usage guides insist that only farther should be used for physical distance (We walked farther than we planned), farther and further have been used interchangeably throughout much of their histories. However, only further should be used to mean moreover (Further, you hurt my feelings.), more extended (His further comments illuminated the meaning of the story.), or additional (Further bulletins came in).
Click here to practice your skills with other confusing words.

Brainteaser
Thanks to Nancy M. for sending this in.
Remove one letter at a time from bustling to form a new word.
The answer is at the bottom of the newsletter.

Previous Brainteaser
A few weeks ago, I gave a similar brainteaser with the starting word being created:
The answer I gave was:
created
crated
rated
rate
ate
at
a
Two e-newsletter subscribers, Grace N. and Dean S., solved the puzzle differently yet still correctly. Here is their solution:
created
create
crate
rate
ate
at
a

Editing Tip

Let’s visit the terms editing, proofreading, and formatting.
• Focus on editing first, checking the content for cohesiveness, clarity, paragraph structure, and overall structure.
• When you’re satisfied with the content, focus on proofreading, looking for consistency in formatting, margins, text styles, grammar, punctuation, and spelling.
• Lastly, focus on formatting, ensuring consistency in the document’s appearance.
Within each stage of review, plan on multiple levels of review.
• Don’t look for everything at once; pick a task. Make a list of what you know are your weaknesses. Focus on each of those areas, one at a time.
• Read out loud, slowly, and listen to how the words sound together.
• Have someone else read your document. After rereading your own work several times, it is embedded in your mind. Your brain goes on autopilot causing your eyes to just skim over what it’s seeing yet again.
A few more pointers:
• Start at the very top of the document; don’t overlook a single element. Some of the most common mistakes are in headings, addresses, salutations, etc.
• Work in a quiet place where you’ll have no distractions or interruptions. Trying to “pick up where you left off” after an interruption can set you back as you try to regain your focus.
By Linda Meehan, Editor, WebWords.biz

Wordplay
A will is a dead giveaway.

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English In A Snap: 68 One-Minute English Usage Videos
View Jane’s 68 one-minute video lessons that are available FREE. Learn all about who and whom, affect and effect, subjects and verbs, adjectives and adverbs, commas, semicolons, quotation marks, and much more by just sitting back and enjoying these easy-to-follow lessons. Tell your colleagues (and bosses), children, teachers, and friends.
Click here to view.

Valuable Link
Click here to read excerpts from Jane’s other wonderful book, Enough Is Enough! Stop Enduring and Start Living Your Extraordinary Life and listen to her podcasts. Learn more about Jane’s personal coaching work, speaking engagements, and articles that will inspire you to thrive.

Answer to Today’s Brainteaser
bustling
busting
busing
using
sing
sin
in
I

This entry was posted on Friday, July 18th, 2008 at 4:57 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.