Sheeple people. It’s a word. At least US dictionary company Merriam-Webster says so. Don’t believe me? Check it out:

sheeple

(plural noun)

shee·ple | \ ˈshē-pəl  \

informal

sheeple: people who are docile, compliant, or easily influenced : people likened to sheep

The Merriam-Webster dictionary is the official dictionary for (US) Scrabble and just yesterday they released their latest US Scrabble dictionary. The new dictionary includes 300 new words, including ‘sheeple’ and wait for it… ‘twerk’.

Merriam-Webster’s first US Scrabble dictionary was published in 1976; before that, the rules allowed any dictionary to be used in the game.

But purists, don’t fret – these changes do not (yet) apply to the UK game. Collins’ Official Scrabble Words is currently being updated in time for release next year.

Written by Melissa Fagan, freelance content writer and editor

I help traditional and digital publishers deliver engaging and informative content that resonates with their readers. Internationally qualified writer and editor with 13 years’ publishing experience.

Email me: melissa.fagan@mfedit.com

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The other day someone tagged me in one of those awful Grammar Nazi posts on Facebook. You know the kind I mean – a meme about the stupidity of people who don’t know their there’s from their theirs or some such.

I was highly offended. Because contrary to popular belief, an editor or a proofreader does not a Grammar Nazi make.

These pedants come in many guises – there’s the person who gleefully (and self-righteously) spots a typo in the restaurant menu or those who respond to your messages and Facebook posts by pointing out your incorrect use of who versus whom or too versus to.

Don’t get me wrong, I love the English language with all its nuances and exceptions to the rules and I get great satisfaction from helping publishers polish their copy, but that is precisely why I can’t bear Grammar Nazis.

So why as an editor do I not count myself among them? Because English is alive and always changing. What was supposedly an incorrect use of the language two decades ago may be perfectly passable now. As Harvard linguist Steven Pinker wrote in his book, The Sense of Style: “The rules of Standard English are not legislated by a tribunal of lexicographers but emerge as an implicit consensus within a virtual community of writers, readers, and editors.” 

So not only are Grammar Nazis highly annoying, but they’re often blatantly wrong. Their devotion to unchanging grammar and spelling is misplaced in a language like English, which is constantly changing.

And finally, there’s another thing about these pedants that really gets my goat. They’re downright arrogant – a word that comes from the Latin verb arrogare meaning to claim for oneself – which is not an option with something like the English language. No one person is its custodian, not even the world’s best lexicographers, as Pinker says. It’s a language in flux which belongs to us all.  

Written by Melissa Fagan, freelance non-fiction editor

I help non-fiction publishers deliver award-winning content using a creative and flawless approach to editing. Internationally qualified non-fiction editor with 11 years’ publishing experience.

Email me: melissa.fagan@mfedit.com

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© 2017 Zapiro (All Rights Reserved) Used with permission from www.zapiro.com

With the South African government in a complete twist about the recent release of Jacques Pauw’s book, The President’s Keepers (with its damning allegations about President’s Zuma’s misconduct) my word for today is muckraker. 

From the word, muckrake

/ˈmʌkˌreɪk/

(n) an agricultural rake for spreading manure

(v) to seek out and expose scandal, especially concerning public figures

The word first came into use in 1684 when John Bunyan used it in The Pilgrim’s Progress. He wrote about the man “with a muckrake in his hand” who “could look no way but downwards” – a representation of man’s preoccupation with earthly things.

The word was then popularised by President Teddy Roosevelt in his 1906 speech which criticised journalists who focused too much on exposing corruption in government. “The men with the muckrakes,” he said, “are often indispensable to the well-being of society, but only if they know when to stop raking the muck.”

Rather than feeling insulted by this description, investigative reporters adopted the term muckraker as a badge of honour. And the verb muckraking is now used in British English to describe the practice of exposing misconduct.

Example sentence: Jacques Pauw has written a muckraking book about Jacob Zuma’s corrupt governance.

Go on, get yourself a (legal) copy and read it today!

Written by Melissa Fagan, freelance content writer and editor

I help traditional and digital publishers deliver engaging and informative content that resonates with their readers. Internationally qualified writer and editor with 13 years’ publishing experience.

Email me: melissa.fagan@mfedit.com

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If you liked this post (or even if you didn’t) and you’re passionate about publishing, let’s schedule a meeting to discuss the industry.