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STAFF/STAFFS

4/27/2022

When the word staff refers to a group, the word for more than one such group—plural—is staffs. However, each staff may have multiple members, and those members are called staff—the plural—rather than staffs. Just as curious, perhaps, is the British tendency to not have the verb agree with the singular subject staff when it signifies a group. In the following illustration, the American perspective comes first:

While staffing here, across the pond,
The staff was clearly seen as one.
Returning home, despite such bond,
The tone was that of separation.

The staff were welcomed home with cheer,
Reception steeped in beer and rum.
Where’er such staffs may find their fare,
Their worth is greater than their sum.

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HOMOPHONES

4/20/2022

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Homophones are words that are pronounced the same while differing in derivation, meaning, or spelling. They belong to the larger group of homonyms, some pairs of which have both pronunciation and spelling in common.

Two homophones will speak alike,
To qualify as homonyms.
Some words may simply dress as twins--
Let people hail them “homonyms.”

These quiet ones are “heteronyms,”
Not speaking up or sharing laughs.
They may indulge in similar trims,
And even pose with matching scarves.

Some homonyms share sound and look
And mirror clear for eye and ear.
'Tis meaning where these words unhook,
Still homophones to those who hear.

Thus pike are fish not fished with pike;
No seed you sow will grow to sow;
Beware the bear that's bare of hair;
Mistake it not for milking cow.

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ANTIBIOTICS AT RISK

4/13/2022

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Antibiotic resistance often occurs when populations of bacteria change enough to resist previously effective antibiotics. Using antibiotics unwisely or too frequently can cause the issue. And people who insist on trying this type of medicine to treat their viral illnesses are courting disaster:

So wondrous the promise of medical advances
That salve the ills of everyday man,
We grasp with hope beyond all chances
At last a glimpse of panacea land.

And so it's been with antibiotics,
Which now too often taken are.
Spectacular success against bacteria
Must surely mean that none shall bar.

Yet viruses block these perfect marvels
Of modern treatment proudly shared.
Like magical shield that shifts and baffles,
They dazzle the foe as long as dared.

The same is true with illnesses viral,
Like common colds and runny nose,
And sore throat standard, not streptococcal,
Most coughs, most flu, including flows.

To antibiotics, this war is loathsome,
Collateral damage their only whip.
They clear away bacteria welcome,
Leave space for others, re-equip.

The virus runs its course no matter,
Bacteria—only the fittest survive.
Bacterial resistance advances, gets fatter,
If antibiotic misusage we drive.

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ITALICIZATION

4/7/2022

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Italicized text with its quick-looking forward slant came into use more recently than quotation marks, which were ancient by comparison. Based on CMOS guidelines, one way to think of italicization of titles is as follows:

Periodicals, books, not chapters,
Take speedy new italics.
Play titles, too, are faster,
But shorter poems get relics.

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Amusing verses that shine a light on mostly medical and grammatical topics

STAFF/STAFFS

HOMOPHONES

ANTIBIOTICS AT RISK

ITALICIZATION

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