Week 820: Be Mister Language Person

(Bob Staake for The Washington Post)

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Saturday, June 6, 2009

Dear Mister Language Person: At restaurants, I often order the soup du jour.

My question is, what is "jour"?

A. It is a French word meaning "bat spleens."

Q. Please explain the correct usage of the phrase "real good success."

A. It is used in sports broadcasting to connote that somebody has had an unusual amount of good success, and it should always be followed by the phrase "Boy, I'll say." For example:

Announcer: This Gomez has had real good success hitting the ball.

Color Person: Boy, I'll say.

Q. What is the function of parentheses?

A. Parentheses are used to include information that helps the reader understand the sentence better:

Confusing: "Former president Nixon says he feels 'no bitterness' toward his former political enemies."

Clearer: "Former president Nixon says he feels 'no bitterness' toward his former political enemies.

(What a liar!)"

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