Patrick Neylan

Freelance writer and editor. Publisher of business reports. Professional member of @The_CIEP. Occasional actor. All opinions are now your opinions.

[Patrick Neylan @AngrySubEditor]

My daughter gave me the trilogy of @Inkyfool books for Christmas. I already had The Etymologicon so, when I visited my brother in Amsterdam last week, I took it with me to give to him.
He has a grand total of 14 books on his shelf. One of them is The Etymologicon.

[Patrick Neylan @AngrySubEditor]

@adrianmckinty I read an abridged version of Moby Dick and wondered what could have been more boring than the grindingly tedious stuff they left in.
I've just edited a book for the Royal Navy on sailmaking (don't know why they still need one) and they went into less detail than Melville.

[Patrick Neylan @AngrySubEditor]

@sciencegirl Several times I've watched artic drivers reverse into the loading bay of the Royal Opera House. Busy, narrow road in central London and a tiny entrance (the grey door on the left). They sometimes do it in one. Huge respect.

[Patrick Neylan @AngrySubEditor]

I find it amusing that Americans say "burglarizing" instead of "burgling". Peddlars peddle, burglars burgle.
It's like describing growing crops as "farmerizing".

[Patrick Neylan @AngrySubEditor]

Kurt Vonnegut said semicolons were unnecessary. But when I'm editing pieces by non-writers and I need to keep their prose as intact as possible, semicolons are a godsend.

[Patrick Neylan @AngrySubEditor]

@MerriamWebster 4th Declension Latin nouns end in -us but their plural isnt -i. The English plural of sinus is sinuses, not sini.

[Patrick Neylan @AngrySubEditor]

Irony: I've given up editing this piece on the importance of standardised English. I simply can't understand it.

[Patrick Neylan @AngrySubEditor]

Looking for the website of the International Group of P&I Clubs, I stumbled across another organisation called IGPI. Beautiful website, full of buzzwords and platitudes, which at no point explains what the organisation actually does.

[Patrick Neylan @AngrySubEditor]

"Data is plural!" says the person who presumably replies to "I've just been to the opera" with "Did you like them?"

[Patrick Neylan @AngrySubEditor]

Encountering another author who insists 'data' is plural. Presumably he's just as insistent about spaghetti, broccoli and opera.

[Patrick Neylan @AngrySubEditor]

Commentators on @bbctms keep confusing "dissect" (cut up) and "bisect" (cut in half).

[Patrick Neylan @AngrySubEditor]

@JohnRentoul On general principle, there should be no age-related restrictions on anyone old enough to vote.

[Patrick Neylan @AngrySubEditor]

@CollectPlus *till

[Patrick Neylan @AngrySubEditor]

@TheBonniePrince I see it a lot in UK media now in just the format I used. Very confusing.

[Patrick Neylan @AngrySubEditor]

Writers should stop using "drop" as a synonym for "release". The headline "BBC drops drama series" suggests that the series has been cancelled.

[Patrick Neylan @AngrySubEditor]

Sorry, this job ad actually offends me.
"Sub Editor - Maidstone ME14"
They want an editor, subeditor, writer, picture researcher, marketer, statistician, PA and receptionist. Three days a week, on-site, and you might get as much as £17pa (less if you lack experience).

[Patrick Neylan @AngrySubEditor]

It's ironic that @ReedsyHQ insists on the highest standards for editors with the stipulation: "If this criteria can’t be fulfilled…"

[Patrick Neylan @AngrySubEditor]

Every now and then I remind @AmazonUK that their listing for a book I edited shows the cover from a completely different book.
Nearly seven years on, they still haven't corrected it because their automated, human-free systems are infallible.

[Patrick Neylan @AngrySubEditor]

Another email, this time from @ebay, stating: "Ensuring your data is secure is our top priority."
It might be important to you – and I hope it is – but I very much doubt it's your top priority.

[Patrick Neylan @AngrySubEditor]

@APStylebook All right and alright are clearly different.
"He is an all-right guy": he is always correct or possibly politically right-wing in all respects.
"He is an alright guy": he's not a bad guy.