When I saw “men’s’ clothing” with two apostrophes, I figured it must be a typo. I was editing a professional writer who’s been on the job for years, and I know from experience that writers make typos, ...

Have you ever corrected someone mid-conversation because what he said just didn't sound right? What I'm talking about is words that sound like plurals and possessives but shouldn't be and vice versa.

When I saw “men’s’ clothing” with two apostrophes, I figured it must be a typo. I was editing a professional writer who’s been on the job for years, and I know from experience that writers make typos, ...

Last week, in an only moderately snarky post, I wrote: “I have come across a writer who knows how to form the plural possessive of a name ending in ‘s.’ Unicorns are real.” Someone commented: “I wish ...

Let's talk about the plurals of compound nouns. I submit to you: passers-by, hangers-on, attorneys general, brothers-in-law, and culs-de-sac. What about "month end" how would that be pluralized?

In my career as a journalist and scholar I have written about sex – a lot. I have written about religion and politics. I have written about the millennium and the Holocaust. I wrote a 29-part series ...