If, like me, you’re a word nerd (or perhaps you prefer the more appealing appellation of “linguistics lover”), this article from the Washington Post is a must-read. It’s about how — and why — the WaPo is changing their official abbreviation for microphone from “mike” to “mic” and how they’re ditching the hyphen in e-mail. Fascinating stuff about how our living, breathing language evolves over time.
I’ve been using ‘mic’ for years — as does the Mister. And we know he knows his stuff when it comes to microphones. Does this mean we are trendsetters?
You are definitely trendsetters for reasons well beyond using “mic”. But doing that certainly helps your street cred. Mic drop. Wait, don’t drop that, it’s expensive!
Word nerds unite. I still pine for Bill Safire’s On Language column.
Same here, Andrea! The guy who wrote the Washington Post article, Bill Walsh, has 3 language usage/style books out, “Lapsing Into a Comma,” “The Elephants of Style” and “Yes, I Could Care Less.” I’ll have to check those out.