Editor’s note: June Casagrande’s column on language and usage ran in the Daily Pilot until 2005. We’re pleased to welcome her back. Her column will run Saturdays. If you’ve ever watched a man eating ...

Which is right: a backup plan, a back-up plan or a back up plan? How about a cutoff date, a cut-off date or a cut off date? A takeout menu, a take-out menu or a take out menu? The answer: There is no ...

You know how grammar buffs can be a little, well, difficult to be around? Judgmental? Quick to correct? And you know how even when they're being quiet you can almost hear the unspoken criticisms ...

Don't read this column. Really. It's not like the other articles out there that impart knowledge. Instead, this one could leave you feeling like you know less than you did before you started reading.

Hyphens [also known as dashes or minus signs] are simple on a typewriter. There is one type of hyphen. Need a longer dash, then type two or three hyphens. Microsoft Word has six forms of hyphens, not ...