¶ Field Notes

Samantha Callahan 1 min read

Apple's £1

A greengrocer's sign, seen in a window: Apple's £1. One apple. One pound. And one apostrophe doing a

Across the Pond

Roger Fielding 3 min read

Did England Have a Nightmare, or Have Themselves to Blame?

Roger: "England 1-2 Argentina." On paper, neutral. Then you reach for a verb, and the neutrality's gone.

The Rewrite

Samantha Callahan 2 min read

What Cracker Barrel's Logo U-Turn Was Really About

Okay, so — when a chain called Cracker Barrel Old Country Store retires the guy in overalls, you don't need a

"Mistakes Were Made" — and Other Ways to Say Nothing

(A composite. The lines below aren't a quotation from anyone in particular — they're stitched from the genre, because

The Ambiguity Files

Samantha Callahan 1 min read

Squad Helps Dog Bite Victim

Okay, so a headline walks into your feed and, for one beautiful second, a squad of first responders is helping a dog

Well Played

Three Words That Have Never Been Improved

"Mind the gap." You've heard it — clipped, recorded, faintly disapproving — a thousand times on the London Underground, and

The Long Look

Samantha Callahan 3 min read

How the Period Got Mean

Send a friend the word "okay." Now send them "Okay." Same word. One of them is fine. The

Groan-Up Grammar

The Seal Was Broken

Roger: "I bought a box of animal crackers yesterday but had to take them back. The seal was broken." Ah.

A Rash of Good Luck

Roger: "What happens when you cross a four-leaf clover with poison ivy? You have a rash of good luck."