In Tuesday’s podcast, we look at the meanings of the word "board," including the differences between board games, table games, and table-top games. We also look at the punctuation of participial phrases, helping you understand when to use commas in sentences like "She yelled at me, making me cry" versus "She is the lady making me cry."
On Thursday, Jonathan Small, author of "Write About Now," shared what he's learned about the common struggles writers face throughout their careers. His book highlights stories from bestselling authors about their beginnings, the risks they took, and how they handled early rejection. If you've ever wondered how authors get a foot in the door or get through failure, this episode is for you.
From the Archives: 'Alternate' Versus 'Alternative'
Although some style guides try to make a distinction, most concede that the adjectives "alternate" and "alternative" are both acceptable when you mean “substitute”:
Find an alternate route.
Find an alternative route.
Don’t fret about the difference between these adjectives when they mean "substitute."
On the other hand, when people or events are taking turns, the only correct choice is "alternate": "Mr. Brown has his son on alternate Saturdays." "Alternate" is also the only correct choice when you’re using the word as a noun: "He was an alternate on the jury."
The scenic road that saved Europe's banned language
From 1865 to 1904, the Lithuanian language was banned by Russian rule, including printing or distribution of anything written in the language. In the face of the ban, a network of smugglers and distributors emerged. They passed more than 40,000 Lithuanian-language publications into the country each year of the almost 40-year embargo, using the famed Panemunė road. The connector was most known for its historic sites, castles, and romantic air, but it also served as a lifeline for Lithuanian, often considered the world’s oldest surviving Indo-European language. – BBC
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