Kristin Whittlesey
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kawhittlesey.bsky.social
Kristin Whittlesey
@kawhittlesey.bsky.social
340 followers 250 following 1.6K posts
Nashville's grammar cartoonist. When in doubt, trust Merriam-Webster. I like live music, baking cookies, and armadillos. And pretty much anything sparkly.
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WOTD “Christmas Creep” edition. Festoon. The coffee chain unveiled its holiday menu today, and the festive holiday to-go cups are coming next week. So, I’m giving in. Forget about Thanksgiving, we’re going straight to holly jolly. Happy holidays, you filthy animals.
Looked at Waylon just now and said, “You’re a good boy. Even though you yell at me all the time at the top of your lungs, I know you’re really a good good boy.” So, um. Am I in an emotionally abusive relationship with my cat?
It's "insensate." Just rendered in my illegible chicken-scratches....
Similarly, if you’re unwell, or if you wish to express sympathy for an unfortunate friend, you feel “bad.” If you “feel badly,” you’re either numb or just not very good at touching things.
WOTD “what ails you” edition. Feel Bad vs. Feel Badly. Too frequently, I see well-meaning people wrongly use “badly” in place of “bad,” thinking it’s the correct thing to do. You wouldn’t say a pie smells “deliciously.” Nor would you say “I feel sadly” if you’re distraught. 1/2
WOTD - Tennessee Tuesday. If It Was A Snake….. A favorite phrase among frustrated parents and spouses who think their loved ones maybe aren’t so very good at looking for things.
WOTD “movin’ to the country” edition. Superb vs. Suburb. I will charitably assume this was the result of an autocorrect error, but I did see them confused in the wild recently. “Suburb” is a place that you probably have to drive to. “Superb” is an adjective, and high praise. Is your suburb superb?
The Preds made SNL, you say? Oh! (Watches sketch) …….oh.
My much-loved @merriam-webster.com has a whole series today about names that are also verbs, and I am KICKING MYSELF for not thinking of it first. Josh. Carol. Ken. Sue. Chip. Mark. Peter.
WOTD “trick or treat” edition. Sweetmeat. Even vegetarian friends can partake of this “meat,” because a sweetmeat is a food rich in sugar - candy or confections. Happy Halloween!
WOTD “and what are YOU supposed to be?” edition. Vizard. An essential part of many Halloween costumes. Bonus points if you don the vizard of a wizard.
(whispers) Milky Wad? Ew, no. Never mind.
Yeah, no, as a once-upon-a-time French major, I definitely got that, lol! But also, "That's my cousin, Jumpier. We called him 'Jumpy' til he got busted for cooking meth. Now he's Jumpier."
It's a very Tennessee nickname, a la Rabbit, Twitchy, etc.
WOTD “the bones of the argument” edition. Flesh Out vs. Flush Out. If you’re trying to put some meat on the bones of an outline or explain something in greater depth, use the first. If you’re looking for someone or something that doesn’t want to be found, use the second.
My working theory, after watching the first three eps of Nashville 9-1-1: I think it's camp. I think Ryan Murphy intentionally made it as bad and cliche and over-the-top as he was possibly able to do, and he's trolling all of us.
It was Youth Sunday, so we heard it preached earnestly and inclusively.
Reposted by Kristin Whittlesey
The Power Fantasy of Superman is you still have a staff job on a newspaper.
WOTD “Vanderbilt - we’re a football school” edition. Flabbergasted. We who attended Vandy in the early 90s got to see a lot of good football get perpetrated against us. We are understandably befuddled at the current state of affairs. Sorry if we’re obnoxious about it for a while - this is new for us
This explanation never even occurred to me. But in a part of the country where we shop at the Krogers and/or the Wallmarks, it makes perfect sense.
A schlocky made-for-tv thing from the ‘70s called “Bad Ronald.”
Hi I am very smol and scrunched down and you can’t see me no really
German-speaking friends, if I'm writing a letter welcoming people to an event, is "Herzlich willkomen" the best way to say that? Or is there something more correct/gracious/etc.? (Viennese-inspired evening, so I'm looking to add a few German grace notes.)
They were superb. They’ll remember tonight for the rest of their lives, whether they pursue music or not. They were superstars. (Also, the crowd most definitely understood the assignment!!)