Dear Grammar Goddess,I recently heard someone use the phrase “endless ago,” in the sentence “I
wanted it endless ago.” I guessed that the sentence meant either “I’ve
wanted it for a very long time,” or possibly “I used to want it, but that
was a long time ago,” but I wasn’t sure. Either way, the phrase sounds
completely ungrammatical to my ear.

It’s probably just one of those expressions that, no, you’re not going to use it in a piece of formal writing, but as a colloquialism it’s perfectly acceptable — “might could,” “…or no,” “I went up Macy’s for the white sale,” same general idea. You wouldn’t use those phrases in a paper or a print article, but in everyday speech, they’re okay, and in fact they lend the language a little flavor.

It probably means the same thing as “ages ago,” and strictly speaking, yes, you need a time-period noun for “ago” to modify, but again, it’s a colloquialism, kind of like “ass o’clock.”

While my fiance and I were watching the World Series, we
were talking about the story surrounding when Chicago
threw the World
Series. He’s seen Eight Men Out. I haven’t. We
decided we needed a
good
book that told the story without Hollywood
editorializing. I said that
I
knew just the person to ask if such a book existed.
So, to your
knowledge,
does it?Thanks a lot.

You could try the book of the same name, on which the movie was based, but as you can see in my write-up, I’m not a huge fan; it’s just not very well written. You’d get the same overview with less confusion and fewer misspellings in Dan Gutman’s Baseball Babylon, which is a lot of fun anyway.

I have not read any other books on the scandal; there just aren’t that many, which is unbelievable to me, really, but I guess the Asinof is considered the gold standard. An Amazon search under “Black Sox” doesn’t turn up much else, and the Carney, Burying the Black Sox, might be good, but it sounds like it focuses more on the scandal’s effect on, and reflection of, baseball as a whole at that time.

My advice: Snag a copy of Baseball Babylon on Half.com, and rent Ken Burns’s Baseball miniseries; the 1910-1920 chapter will give you a good overview.

Dear Sars —I’ve been reading your column for some time and I enjoy your advice very much. I have what I hope will be an easy problem for you to solve.

Assuming that having a dermatologist or cosmetic surgeon take care of the extra skin is not an option…are you sure your bras “fit perfectly”? Because I had strap problems with a 38C…which stemmed from the fact that I’m actually a 34DD, and once I started wearing the correct size, the strap issue evaporated.

If your band fits correctly, the straps should more or less stay where they’re supposed to if they’re tightened properly, so you might consider going to a “real” lingerie shop and getting re-measured (do not trust VS staff to do this, trust me).

If that’s not the issue, lingerie stores often sell a little widget that attaches to both straps in the back and sort of pulls them together; it’s for petite or “short-shouldered” women. There’s another widget that lets you fold and pin the straps to shorten them up, so one of those might do the trick.

Dear Sars:I have recently found out that I am pregnant. My first doctor’s appointment isn’t until next week, when I will be 11 weeks along. I have taken four pregnancy tests to help my paranoid self through this as well as poked my breasts repeatedly to make sure they are still tender. I am currently not experiencing any morning sickness or nausea of any kind. While many people tell me to be excited about this, it makes me worried that it is a sign of a miscarriage. My question is, how can I settle down and enjoy this time instead of being completely paranoid and Googling “avoiding a miscarriage” daily?

Not every woman gets traditional morning sickness. My mother didn’t, with me or my brother; my friend who’s pregnant right now hasn’t felt sick, just tired and very very into peanut butter; another friend of mine felt queasy, like, once, and then fine for the rest of her pregnancy.

No doubt you’ve done enough Googling and WebMDing to have figured this out for yourself by now, but until you’ve met with your doctor and asked her some questions (and perhaps suggested some non-frightening reading for you), try to relax. You’ll feel much better once you’ve had a chance to discuss things and get checked out by your OB.

Two other things to remember: 1) everyone freaks out about their pregnancies in various ways, so let yourself feel a little anxious — it’s appropriate; and 2) everyone’s got an opinion on your pregnancy. Everyone. On every aspect of it. What it means that you don’t have morning sickness, how you’re carrying, whether you should eat fish, labor horror stories — everyone is going to want to share. Try not to let it get to you; every woman’s body is different, every woman’s pregnancy is different, and if your doctor says you’re good? You’re good.

Things will settle down in your head in time, but not everyone’s pregnancies are cinematically magical times. If you’re not feeling all overjoyed and at peace, that’s okay.

Hi Sars,This isn’t relationship- or grammar-related. My boyfriend and I are doing fine (yay) and my mother was an English teacher so I’ve got that down.

It depends on who you ask. I would say that “seeing someone” is slightly less serious than “dating someone,” but it’s sort of like “hooking up” in that it really depends on where in the country you’re from (and/or went to college) — some people think “hooking up” includes sex, others say it’s everything but, blah blah blah.

So, let’s take a poll and see what the readership says.

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