Category: Word lovers

Our famous Q&As!
Dean Koorey

Q&A: Comparing notes

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 comparing comparisons… Q: It’s

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Our famous Q&As!
Dean Koorey

Q&A: Trademark my 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 trademark our words… Q:

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Word lovers
Australian Writers' Centre Team

Word of the week: Graphophobia

Graphophobia (noun) “Did you know that graphophobia is an overwhelming or irrational fear of writing or handwriting? According to Phobia Source: ‘Sufferers may doubt their ability to write well and experience intense fear that they will fail in writing. Most people with this fear might have experienced a traumatic event

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Our famous Q&As!
Dean Koorey

Q&A: Fill in vs fill out

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 get our fill of

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Word lovers
Australian Writers' Centre Team

Word of the week: Ineluctable

Ineluctable (adjective) “This means impossible to avoid or inescapable. It comes from the Latin ‘to struggle’. So you might say that it reached an ineluctable conclusion. Or that it is ineluctable that my cat Rexy is going to land a modelling deal one day soon because of his amazing beauty…”

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Our famous Q&As!
Dean Koorey

Q&A: Coming vs Upcoming

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, in an upcoming Q&A… Q:

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Word lovers
Australian Writers' Centre Team

Word of the week: Stentorian

Stentorian (adjective) “Do you know what stentorian means? It actually comes from Greek mythology. A stentor was a herald with a loud voice. So the word stentorian is used to describe a loud voice or sound. So you might say that when Darth Vader was angry he expressed this in stentorian

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Our famous Q&As!
Dean Koorey

Q&A: Harry Potter and the Protagonist’s Stone

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 casting a protagonist spell…

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Word lovers
Australian Writers' Centre Team

Word of the week: Bombastic

Bombastic (adjective) “I know it sounds like an explosion, but actually ‘bombast’ is an old word meaning material used for padding. These days, it often refers to pompous speech. Like ‘he had a bombastic way of talking’.” And to hear Valerie and Allison chat more about this and more on

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Our famous Q&As!
Dean Koorey

Q&A: Among vs Amid

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 amid the action… Q:

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Word lovers
Australian Writers' Centre Team

Words of the week: Predilection and Propensity

Predilection and Propensity (noun) “Predilection is almost the same as preference. So you have a predilection for wearing black. Or a predilection for peanut butter on Cruskits. Propensity, on the other hand, is an inclination or tendency. Like someone might have a propensity to blame people for his mistakes. Or

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Our famous Q&As!
Dean Koorey

Q&A: A matter of principle

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 a matter of principle…

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Word lovers
Australian Writers' Centre Team

Word of the week: Soporific

Soporific (adjective) “I love this word. According to the Macquarie Dictionary, it means ‘causing or tending to cause sleep’. So you might say that someone’s voice is soporific. Or a particularly boring television show is soporific. Or, for me, listening to my cat purr late at night while he’s cuddling

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Our famous Q&As!
Dean Koorey

Q&A: What does MOOT actually mean?

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 moot is on point…

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Word lovers
Australian Writers' Centre Team

Word of the week: Nicotine

Before this week’s word, a special mention to the Build Your Author Platform graduate Facebook group, who each week have been trying their best to incorporate Valerie’s word of the week (mentioned on podcast and here) into something they write that week. Some very creative uses so far! Nicotine (noun)

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Our famous Q&As!
Dean Koorey

Q&A: Pronunciation vs Enunciation vs Elocution

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 charged up as we

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Grammar and Punctuation
Dean Koorey

Q&A: Understanding bullet lists

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 time to bite the

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Word lovers
Australian Writers' Centre Team

Word of the week: Milquetoast

Milquetoast (noun) “I first heard this word when my friend referred to someone by saying: “She’s milquetoast”. At first, I thought she was saying milk (as in the white stuff you drink) and “toast” and was thinking it was some kind of breakfast thing! But it’s milquetoast and it means

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Our famous Q&As!
Dean Koorey

Q&A: It’s all gone pear-shaped

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 pare back the pair vs

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Word lovers
Australian Writers' Centre Team

Word of the week: Bucolic

Bucolic (adjective) “As AWC team member Dean pointed out, this words sounds unpleasant – and almost sounds like bubonic (as in the plague) – but is actually an adjective describing a lovely scene, usually in a rustic or rural settings. So you might say ‘The country house had a bucolic

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