THE COMMA CHAMELEON SPEAKS - TIP #1

Periodically, the Comma Chameleon will use this space to offer tips on style and usage that you should diligently note and add to your writerly skill set (if for no other reason than the Comma Chameleon's alter-ego - that is, your instructor - will be on the hawk-eyed lookout for these sorts of style issues in your writing and put the hasty smack down on them when they occur).

TIP #1: MYRIAD
Note in the Ullman piece, p32: "the services formerly performed by myriad intermediaries ..."

NOT "myriad OF." Never, in fact, "myriad of." This is one of the most common stylistic blunders people make when they want to sound intelligent but don't know how (see also improper uses of "you and I" when "you and me" is actually correct ... do you know which is which and why? If not, consult your Transitive Vampire).

BONUS TIP: COMPRISE. See Strunk and White, p43, for the correct use of COMPRISE. It is one of the Comma Chameleon's most loathed misuses, and he will be no less forgiving of incorrect “comprises” than he will be of misused “myriads.” (One bonus point for the first person who spots an incorrect comprise in an edited publication and posts about here.)

Remember: Blogging is an informal, pop-culture discourse. But that doesn’t mean it’s a space where you get out of style and usage jail free.