Reader Alexis had this to add re: the Vine letter of March 4:
 

The case of "hard to underestimate" that you discussed in The Vine recently was investigated on the linguistics blog Language Log in 2004: …

I have a usage question that occurred to me while listening to NPR recently. There was a piece full of praise for a person who has done a lot of good. The anchor used a …

My boss (who is a judge, by the way, thus the legalese) says that the following sentence is correct:
 
"A conclusion that none of Plaintiff's damages was caused by the fall is not reasonable, so …

1. Something that is built haphazardly/slapped together/makeshift is:

a) jury-rigged; b) jerry-rigged

Both appear in the 11c; "jury-rigged" is the older construction. Which do you use?
2. Something that is built hastily/built poorly/looks cheap is:

a) …

Hi Sars,
 
For one of my jobs, I need to compile a list of verbal pet peeves — the "if you will"s, "Joe and myself"s, and other grammar- and style-related mistakes that the unknowing often …

Hey Sars,
Where I work, we have bells to signal the changing of activity periods during the day. We have developed a problem, however, in that we do not know how to refer to the sound …

Sars –
I was having a discussion about grammar with one of my friends (because that's just how cool modern high school students are), and we couldn't agree on a certain point. We were hoping that …

Dear Sars,
 
If I do something with intent and forethought (like keeping an e-mail short or dressing like a nun), have I done it purposely or purposefully?Similarly, if I do something with a certain amount …

Dear Sars,
I am a book editor and have just been presented with an oddly punctuated subtitle. The subtitle has a city and state in it, and normally I would put commas after each of them. …

Hi Sars,
My younger sister recently got in a knock-down, drag-out argument with a TV journalist friend of hers regarding a phrase he used in a Facebook message. Because I am widely considered the language geek …