Readers: The concept of writing “style” often is a question not of right or wrong, but “OK” vs. “better.” It’s a method by which institutions create rules for how to say certain things so they always are consistent. It just helps. Every newspaper in America, not to mention the Associated Press, has a bible called a “stylebook.” Both Eliot and Lou Ann were on a committee that in 1993 updated the one for The Palm Beach Post.

Each of the following examples is in keeping with the AP stylebook, and those guys seem to know what they’re doing.

1. Over 100 planes flew over the city.

Over” is more about place than math. Use “More than 100” instead.

2. Fewer gas cars means less gasoline used.

This is correct. “Fewer” for objects. “Less” for volume.

3. Congressional medal of honor

Its official name doesn’t include “Congressional.”

4. The Washington Senators were a whopping 17.5 games behind the Yankees.

If you never will use 17.6 or 17.4, just use a fraction. They were 17½ games behind. And why on earth would you use 17.0? We’ve seen it.

5. The jury found the defendant innocent. 

Under the American system of justice, a jury doesn’t rule that someone was innocent. It rules that prosecutors failed to prove the person guilty. In fact, more than one jury has said it believed the person did it but the state didn’t prove it, so he/she walks. Preferred: A jury found the defendant not guilty.

6. The Democrat party

We want to be careful here, because this gets into politics. But not really. It’s not the Republic party. People on the right started a policy of not saying “Democratic Party” and instead said “Democrat Party,” for obvious optics. If you want to do it, go ahead. We will follow our style. And not because of politics.

7. Police released a report.

Who came up with the idea of agencies “releasing” a report? It conjures up images of the reporter as Oliver Twist, empty plate in hand, waiting for some bureaucrat to deign to provide information. “Please, sir. I’d like some more.” And, frankly, “release” suggests the agency is giving the information as an act of charity. This is public information to which the public is entitled, unless there's a good reason to withhold it. And the optic is of someone opening a cage door and letting something escape. Say “posted” or “provided" or "issued." Also, saying police “did not release information about how the man was killed” is woefully wordy and bureaucratic. Say, “Police did not say how the man was killed.”

8. This was the worst plane crash in U.S. history.

You can argue a plane crash that killed a lot of people was the best plane crash, and the worst crash would be a plane that didn’t crash. Daily usage probably has overruled us on this one. Maybe “most horrific plane crash.” (By the way, remember not to substitute “deadly plane crash!”)

9. It’s one thing to be a killer, but JFK’s murderer was the assassin of our time.

This sentence is correct. You can be a killer (accidental) without being a murderer. And most murderers are not assassins. An assassin is the killer of a political figure.

10. Dr. Jill Biden is not a doctor.

10. This caused a stir just before Joe Biden’s inauguration. Associated Press style is to use “Dr.” only for medical doctors, and so the wire service would not say, “Dr. Albert Einstein,” “Dr. Henry Kissinger,” or “Dr. Martin Luther King.” Some newspapers have chosen not to follow that rule. We at Horribly Wrong do follow it, and would not call Mrs. Biden “Dr. Biden” in news stories. But we note that Jill Biden does have a doctorate, and she and others can use “Dr.” in front of their names if they want.

Watch this on video! https://youtu.be/Goq4t5nC0aw

Next time: Bad geography

Readers: "Something Went Horribly Wrong," features samples of bad writing we see nearly every day. You can participate! Be our duly deputized “grammar police:” Your motto: “To protect and correct.” Send in your photos of store signs, street signs, newspaper headlines, tweets, and so on. It doesn’t have to be a grammatical error. It can be just what we call “cowardly writing.” Include your name and home town so we properly can credit you. You're free to add a comment, although we reserve the right to edit or omit. Now get out there! Send to Eliot@eliotkleinberg.com

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NOTE: Eliot and Lou Ann are available for speaking engagements, and can travel. Reach us through the comments section. Just think of all of your employees getting back to work on a Monday, their heads filled with all the ways we’ve shown them to be better communicators!