Summary of Grammar Girl #895. Widow. Blurb. Sci-Fi or Fantasy?

00:00:00 - 00:10:00

This Grammar Girl video discusses the word "widow" and how it has been used over the years to refer to both men and women whose spouses have died. She also points out that it is not uncommon for widows to outnumber widowers, and that there are other meanings for the word as well.

• 00:00:00 Grammar Girl discusses the word "widow" and how it has been used over the years to refer to both men and women whose spouses have died. She also points out that it is not uncommon for widows to outnumber widowers, and that there are other meanings for the word as well.
• 00:05:00 In this Grammar Girl video, the popular English teacher and blogger discusses the word "blurb." The word was coined in 1907 by an American humorist named Gillette Burgess, and it has since come to be used to describe the recommendations that are printed on books or included on eebooks. The Merriam-Webster website has a fantastic article on the topic which includes examples from the early 1920s. Twitter user Sarah Nicholas has a hilarious meme about fantasy and science fiction that highlights the differences in expectations readers have for these genres. Finally, Grammar Girl has a family story for you: her grandma used to use the wood from one of her wood racks to heat up the more recently stored wood.
• 00:10:00 Grammar Girl discusses how to use widow in a sentence. If you want to share a story about your family, use a dialect or a word only your family uses. You can call the voicemail line at 83321 for girl.