From this month’s Q&A from the Chicago Manual of Style:

Q. I am confused about the capitalization of giclée, which is a type of computer-generated art print. I see it both ways. It isn’t a proper noun or anyone’s name, so I don’t see why anyone would capitalize it. Can you weigh in? It is not in my dictionary.

A. People probably cap giclée for the same reason they cap president, chapter, or impressionism. We don’t know what that reason would be, so we lowercase it.

I am delighted to learn that if you search for is french drain capitalized? on Google, my blog entry on the subject is the first one listed.

Thank you, unknown netsurfer!

I just came across a new (to me, anyway) irritating misuse of language. Until such time as I discover an earlier name for it, I’m calling it the Pointless Passive.

Here is the sentence (slightly modified to protect the guilty) that set my teeth on edge:

The association requires candidates to have attained a certain level of professional experience before being permitted to apply for membership.

The passive being permitted lets you omit the subject of the verb, and yet the subject, the association, is already right there in the freaking sentence, so what’s the point? Change being permitted to permitting them.

And now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to have a cup of coffee before work is returned to.

From the back of a package of raisins:

For generations, Sun-Maid has been America’s favorite raisin. That’s because we are committed to bringing you the best that nature has to offer. They’re 100% natural.

What plural noun does they refer back to, exactly?

Fortunately, in the very next line there are not one but two clues:

Just grapes and sunshine is all we put in them.

One clue is the ingredient list; the other is the choice of verb, which nobody involved in the writing, editing, or approval of this copy had a problem with.

In a chapter I am currently editing, which discusses how to solve various kinds of examination problems about economics and investments, a particular sort of problem is described as being distinguished by, and I quote, “the nonexistence of interest in the problem at all”.

From a book (about preparing for a professional licensing examination) that I’m typesetting today:

Each exercise is scored by two official graders. If one gives the exercise a passing score and the other gives it a failing score, a third grader will review the exercise.

I’m editing a list of variables and their definitions in a book on structural engineering. f_pj is defined as “stress in prestressing tendon due to jacking force”.

Later in the chapter, we learn that the tendon may be stressed by means of a jack or by tightening a nut. A gauge is then used to measure the resulting load.

Sentence from a section I’m editing on testing for phosphorus in the water supply:

The total bioavailable P in the pond is 18.4 × 10⁵ mg.

Ew!