Lawyering Through Life

Today's Lessons in Grammar and Vocabulary

The first is courtesy of my good friend, the Editrix. She works at a conservative publishing house here in D.C. and her company hires summer interns. While reviewing resumes, she expressed frustration to me that she couldn't possibly have an intern who was unfamiliar with the concept of the serial comma. Commas have always been a source of confusion for me (I rarely use them and when I decide to try out a comma, it is inevitably misplaced) so I inquired as to what the fuss was about regarding serial commas. Her explanation made me laugh out loud:

the serial comma, also known as the oxford comma, is the last comma in a series of more than two objects. it greatly reduces confusion. my favorite example is:

"i'd like to thank my parents, mother teresa and the pope."

just see how ridiculous that looks. like the pope could possibly be mother T's baby daddy.

the correct way is "i'd like to thank my parents, mother teresa, and the pope." much better.

The vocabulary lesson comes from my new friends in New Haven, CT. I visited two friends this past weekend and my friend, EDW, decided to hold a dinner party in my honor...well, she also is a newlywed and had been searching for an occasion to break out her china. So, the party functioned to honor both me and the gifts she received at her wedding. I have no problem sharing the spotlight with a nice piece of Lenox. EDW's husband attends Divinity School at Yale and most of their friends have some affiliation with the university (read: they are all smart). For example, one of the guests, who received his undergraduate degree from Yale, succeeded in exuding intelligence but not arrogance, despite his being dressed like an Ivy League professor in a gray wool blazer on a Saturday night. Don't misunderstand me, I had a great time and all the guests were friendly, engaging and fun. But I consider the Northeast a rather intellectual place and at times at the dinner party, I felt out of my element intellectually. The guests discussed a few movies (I think they called them *films* actually) I had never heard of before and debated freedom of the press in the context of the Danish cartoons.

As we worked our way through the wine, the conversation become more relaxed and jovial. At one point, the Professor, posed a question to group that sprung out of a discussion amongst his friends at a recent bachelor party. I thought to myself, "YES! Even freakishly smart people tell inappropriate stories! It is NOT just me!" He asked us if we had an opinion on how to pronounce the word *detritus*. I stared blankly at the Professor, not only because I was disappointed he had transitioned away so quickly from bachelor party stories, but because I had never in my life heard the word *detritus*. And, suddenly, other guests were jumping in to offer alternate pronunciations. I finally interjected, asking rather crudely, "What the heck is *detritus*?". I then received a handful of definitions [official dictionary.com definition: 1: the remains of something that has been destroyed or broken up 2: loose material (stone fragments and silt etc) that is worn away from rocks] and one guest kindly placed the word in context for me by giving this example:

You know, when you make a powdered drink, you get to the bottom and there are things floating in it? That is when you would say "What is this detritus at the bottom of my cup?"

To which, I responded: Gotcha. I would probably just say "What is this crap at the bottom of my cup?"

I was SO right about being out of my element. And, yes, that was the story the Professor told about the bachelor party. So funny.

posted by jersey @ 8:30 AM