Category: Word lovers

Our famous Q&As!
Dean Koorey

Q&A: An awful lot to write about

Each week here at the Australian Writers’ Centre, we dissect and discuss, contort and retort, ask and gasp at the English language and all its rules, regulations and ridiculousness. It’s a celebration of language, masquerading as a passive-aggressive whinge about words and weirdness. This week we have an awful lot

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Our famous Q&As!
Dean Koorey

Q&A: Jealousy vs Envy

Each week here at the Australian Writers’ Centre, we dissect and discuss, contort and retort, ask and gasp at the English language and all its rules, regulations and ridiculousness. It’s a celebration of language, masquerading as a passive-aggressive whinge about words and weirdness. This week all of this jelly has

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Word lovers
Australian Writers' Centre Team

Word of the week: Concinnity

Concinnity (noun) [kuhn-sinuhtee] “This rare word means ‘elegance or neatness of literary style’. The Merriam Webster dictionary gives an example as ‘a choral work admired for its seamless concinnity of music and dance’. It comes from the Latin ‘concinnus’ meaning skilfully put together – a definition that has translated to

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Our famous Q&As!
Dean Koorey

Q&A: Patently vs Blatantly

Each week here at the Australian Writers’ Centre, we dissect and discuss, contort and retort, ask and gasp at the English language and all its rules, regulations and ridiculousness. It’s a celebration of language, masquerading as a passive-aggressive whinge about words and weirdness. This week, it’s all about “patently” vs

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Word lovers
Australian Writers' Centre Team

Word of the week: Enervate

Enervate (verb, adjective) [en-uh-vayt] “Although it actually sounds a bit like it might mean to energise, the opposite is true. It means to deprive of energy or vigour. So you might say: ‘The enervating atmosphere in the room made everyone lose enthusiasm.’” To hear Valerie and Allison chat more about

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Our famous Q&As!
Dean Koorey

Q&A: Adaptation or adaption?

Each week here at the Australian Writers’ Centre, we dissect and discuss, contort and retort, ask and gasp at the English language and all its rules, regulations and ridiculousness. It’s a celebration of language, masquerading as a passive-aggressive whinge about words and weirdness. This week, we’re exploring “adaptation vs adaption”… Q:

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Word lovers
Australian Writers' Centre Team

Word of the week: Metier

Metier (noun) [meteeay] “Even though many people know this word, it’s not really in common usage. I was inspired to include it when I was watching The Crown on Netflix recently. Winston Churchill was speaking to the artist painting his portrait. The artist admits that he came to painting quite

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Word lovers
Australian Writers' Centre Team

Word of the week: Neologism

Neologism (Noun) [nee’oluhgizuhm] “The Macquarie Dictionary says this is ‘a new word, meaning, usage, or phrase.’ So recent examples of this might include ‘crowdsourcing’ or ‘metrosexual’ or ‘chillax’.” To hear Valerie and Allison chat more about this and more on the world of writing, blogging and publishing, check out the

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Our famous Q&As!
Dean Koorey

Q&A: Internet terms explained

Each week here at the Australian Writers’ Centre, we dissect and discuss, contort and retort, ask and gasp at the English language and all its rules, regulations and ridiculousness. It’s a celebration of language, masquerading as a passive-aggressive whinge about words and weirdness. This week, we’re asking wwwhat’s the preferred

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Word lovers
Australian Writers' Centre Team

Word of the week: Syzygy

Syzygy  (noun) [sizz-err-jee] “Yes, this is a real word – and it doesn’t contain a single vowel. Admittedly, you might not use it very often because it refers to a very specific thing. Wikipedia says that it is: ‘a straight-line configuration of three celestial bodies in a gravitational system’. And

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Our famous Q&As!
Dean Koorey

Q&A: Coronated vs Crowned

Each week here at the Australian Writers’ Centre, we dissect and discuss, contort and retort, ask and gasp at the English language and all its rules, regulations and ridiculousness. It’s a celebration of language, masquerading as a passive-aggressive whinge about words and weirdness. This week, we’re sending in the crowns…

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Word lovers
Australian Writers' Centre Team

Word of the week: Inamorata

Inamorata (Noun) [in-amuh’rahtuh] “It is a fancy way of saying ‘a woman with whom you are in love’ or ‘the woman you love’. So you might say: ‘His inamorata is Maria, a 30-year-old school teacher from Brisbane’. It’s the feminine of ‘inamorato’, which, unsurprisingly, is a person’s male lover.” To hear

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Our famous Q&As!
Dean Koorey

Q&A: Defining penultimate

Each week here at the Australian Writers’ Centre, we dissect and discuss, contort and retort, ask and gasp at the English language and all its rules, regulations and ridiculousness. It’s a celebration of language, masquerading as a passive-aggressive whinge about words and weirdness. This week, we want the final word on

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Grammar and Punctuation
Dean Koorey

Q&A: The ellipsis … explained

Each week here at the Australian Writers’ Centre, we dissect and discuss, contort and retort, ask and gasp at the English language and all its rules, regulations and ridiculousness. It’s a celebration of language, masquerading as a passive-aggressive whinge about words and weirdness. This week, our ellipsis are sealed … Q:

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Word lovers
Australian Writers' Centre Team

Word of the week: Dinosaur

Dinosaur (noun) [dī-nə-ˌsȯr] “Where does the word dinosaur come from? It was actually coined by the scientist Sir Richard Owen, who had been studying various fossils found of these creatures and he came to the conclusion that they were from a group of large extinct reptiles. So he classified them

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Our famous Q&As!
Dean Koorey

Q&A: Pleaded or Pled?

Q: Hi there AWC, what grammar topic are we exploring today? A: Wait, first – what’s with the grass clippings? Q: Ah, it’s my new gardening business, Lawn Order. DUN DUN A: What was that? Q: Not sure, so anyway, with Lawn Order I’m— DUN DUN A: Ah, we know

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Our famous Q&As!
Dean Koorey

Q&A: Eat your words

Each week here at the Australian Writers’ Centre, we dissect and discuss, contort and retort, ask and gasp at the English language and all its rules, regulations and ridiculousness. It’s a celebration of language, masquerading as a passive-aggressive whinge about words and weirdness. This week, we’re digging into some food…

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Our famous Q&As!
Dean Koorey

Q&A: Brace for impact

Each week here at the Australian Writers’ Centre, we dissect and discuss, contort and retort, ask and gasp at the English language and all its rules, regulations and ridiculousness. It’s a celebration of language, masquerading as a passive-aggressive whinge about words and weirdness. This week, we’re bracing for impact… Q:

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Our famous Q&As!
Dean Koorey

Q&A: The mysteries of the orient…

Each week here at the Australian Writers’ Centre, we dissect and discuss, contort and retort, ask and gasp at the English language and all its rules, regulations and ridiculousness. It’s a celebration of language, masquerading as a passive-aggressive whinge about words and weirdness. This week, we orient ourselves with “orientate”…

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Our famous Q&As!
Dean Koorey

Q&A: Literally, explained.

Each week here at the Australian Writers’ Centre, we dissect and discuss, contort and retort, ask and gasp at the English language and all its rules, regulations and ridiculousness. It’s a celebration of language, masquerading as a passive-aggressive whinge about words and weirdness. This week, we explain “literally”, literally… Q: I

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