Rather learn it yourself? Be an autodidact!

These tips attempt to be didactic but not pedantic. (A fine line, sometimes.)

From the Greek didaktikos, to teach, the adjective "didactic" means
1 a: designed or intended to teach, b: intended to convey instruction and information as well as pleasure and entertainment
2: making moral observations.
An autobiography is a biography one writes about oneself. An autodidact is a self-taught person. [A terydactyl was a flying lizard, not a dinosaur. Maybe he taught himself to fly.]

For the SAT Question of the Day below, we also need to know that a --

1) "pedant" is a scholarly bore -- that is a: one who parades his learning b: one who is unimaginative or who unduly emphasizes minutiae in the presentation or use of knowledge [It comes from the Italian word pedante, for male schoolteacher.]

2) "demagogue" is a leader who makes use of popular prejudices and false claims and promises in order to gain power [Coming from Greek demos (people) and agogos (leader), in ancient times it meant a leader who championed the the cause of the common people, but nowadays it is exemplified in Marc Antony's funeral speech in Julius Caesar, the tactics of Adolf Hitler, and other leaders who rile up the mobs by using hate and emotion.

SAT Question of the Day:
The CEO of the computer company, who had quit school at the age of 15, was a noted -------, having taught himself everything he needed to know about computers and business, in addition to working to gain proficiency in such subjects as international copyright law.

a) pedant
b) autodidact
c) demagogue
d) ambassador
e) disputant

When to capitalize points of the compass

from Ruge Rules

The Rule: When points of the compass refer to specific geographical areas or parts of the country, they become proper nouns and are capitalized.

I'm headed east. (a direction, not capitalized)

I'm headed home to the South, where the cotton blooms and blows.

Welcome to East Tennessee, home of the Vols.

Rasputin -- an evil eponym for the ages

(from www.wordsmith.org)

Rasputin (ra-SPYOO-tin) noun
A person who holds great but corrupting influence on another.
[After Rasputin, the nickname of Grigori Yefimovich Novykh (c.1871-1916), a Siberian peasant. Rasputin gained entrance into the court of Russian Czar Nikolai II and his wife, the Czarina Alexandra, by improving the condition of their hemophiliac son. Over the years, Rasputin's influence over the Czarina, and the court, increased tremendously. He was notorious for his debauchery and was later assassinated by Russian noblemen.]

"It was immediately apparent that she (Luisa P. Ejercito-Estrada) had not yet fallen under the spell of a Rasputin or a self-appointed guru with fantastic ideas about holes in the sky and the Philippines being the center of the universe."
-- AdLib: The New First Lady; BusinessWorld (Manila, Philippines); Dec 2, 1998.

"The other major force in Earnhardt's life dominates the second half of the movie. His third wife and widow, Teresa (Elizabeth Mitchell), is almost a benevolent Rasputin."
-- Brant James; Earnhardt's Fans Will Want More; St. Petersburg Times (Florida) Dec 11, 2004.

eponym -- from a person's name

from www@wordsmith.org

eponym (EH-po-nym), a word made from a person's name. From the Greek, meaning "upon a name." For example --

Rip Van Winkle (rip van WING-kuhl) noun -- One who fails to keep up with the times.
[After Rip Van Winkle, a character in a story by Washington Irving (1783-1859). Rip falls asleep for 20 years in the Catskill mountains and wakes up to discover the world around him has changed. He finds that the American Revolutionary war has taken place and instead of being a subject of His Majesty George the Third, he is now a free citizen of the United States.]

Want points on the SAT? Fix those unclear antecedents!

Want ten easy points on the SAT grammar section? Fix those pronouns with vague antecedents! After the SAT Question of the Day below, you'll find the "Pronoun Problems" section of the Hamilton College Writing Center website's Seven Deadly Sins of Bad Writing.

Although campaign consultants have long known that scare tactics can win votes, only recently have psychologists and political scientists devised studies to find out whose votes they win and why.
a) they win
b) they can win
c) this wins
d) tactics like this wins
e) such tactics win

From Hamilton College Seven Deadly Sins of Bad Writing
The Sixth Deadly Sin: Pronoun Problems

Pronouns are useful as substitutes for nouns, but a poorly chosen pronoun can obscure the meaning of a sentence. Common pronoun errors include:

Unclear Pronoun Reference
A pronoun must refer to a specific noun (the antecedent). Ambiguous pronoun reference creates confusing sentences.

Writers should spend time thinking about their arguments to make sure they are not superficial. (Unclear antecedent: who or what are superficial?)

A key difference between banking crises of today and of yesterday is that they have greater global impact. (Which crises have more impact?)

If a whiff of ambiguity exists, use a noun: A key difference between banking crises of today and yesterday is that today’s crises have greater global impact.

Vague Subject Pronoun
Pronouns such as it, there, and this often make weak subjects.

Pope Gregory VII forced Emperor Henry IV to wait three days in the snow at Canossa before granting him an audience. It was a symbolic act.
To what does it refer? Forcing the Emperor to wait? The waiting? The granting of the audience? The audience? The entire sentence?

Use a pronoun as subject only when its antecedent is crystal clear.
Agreement Error
A pronoun must agree in gender and number with its antecedent. A common error is the use of the plural pronoun they to refer to a singular noun.

In the original state constitution, they allowed polygamy. They (plural) refers to constitution (singular).
revised:The original state constitution allowed polygamy.

It is often better to use a plural noun and pronoun than to use a singular noun and pronoun.
Note that indefinite pronouns such as each and everyone are singular. Each student must meet his or her advisor. (correct but awkward)

Each student must meet with their advisor. (incorrect: singular noun, plural pronoun)
Students must meet with their advisors. (correct: plural noun and pronoun)

Senator George Norris tells how he helped create TVA

In the 1930s, Sen. George Norris (R-Nebraska) worked side by side with President Franklin D. Roosevelt to make the idea of the Tennessee Valley Authority a reality.

For years David Landis, a former state senator from Nebraska and an accomplished actor, has performed a one-man show as Norris (right). In honor of TVA’s 75th anniversary, a shortened version of Landis’ performance is available on tvakids.com. Click here to view the video.

solipsistic -- it's all about me

From Maureen Dowd's column in yesterday's Times:
"In two days worth of solipsistic rants, the man of faith committed at least four of the seven deadly sins — wrath, envy, pride and greed (book and lecture fees?) — while grandiosely claiming he was defending the black church."

solipsistic adj. [from the Latin solus alone + ipse self]
of or pertaining to a theory holding that the self can know nothing but its own modifications and that the self is the only existent thing