Hello, again

Sorry, I got lost somewhere along the campaign trail, and am just finding my way back.

Our president-elect has a reputation for using the language well, so we may not have as much fun with him as with some of his predecessors. In informal speech, he seems to have occasional verb trouble, but no more than most of us. Editorland will stay on watch.

Sarah Palin (aka Tina Fey) might have provided a better target for grammarians and word mavens. In her (so far) brief appearance on the national scene, she did start a vogue for "shout-out" as a noun, which is being picked up and misused freely. A local TV weatherperson reported during this morning's snow flurry that "we'll have reporters all over, giving shout-outs on road conditions." Just tell me, please---no need to shout.

Somewhere along the trail, a headline writer said Palin was "laying low." It wasn't reported what she was laying low---her enemies, maybe?

But all this pales beside the ad in the margin of my computer screen today: "Book Printing in China. Half cost, Very High Qaulity. Quick Delivery than You Thought."
Umm, yes.