Everyday Canvas

A Couple of Sunday Zappers

I can zap and carp today since it is Sunday and it is raining outside.


Why we (wrongly) omit the article the :

This is a mistake that I always make, so I thought admitting to it could be a cure. I don’t do this alone either. Newspapers do it as well as just about most anyone, especially before a proper name.
For example:
The doctor sent me to a specialist in University of Maryland Medical Center.
The article ‘the’ is missing here after the word in. Yet, the sentence makes sense and some people do make the same mistake.
The cure: Think of the proper name in generic terms, and you cannot say or write it, then, without the article.
The doctor sent me to a specialist in the center.

The only places where we can get away with not using the article the is when the proper noun is a plural one such as Everly Brothers made beautiful music or in the headlines where the reference is to a group rather than a single entity. Cosmic Cult is to blame for the vandalism with toilet tissues.

My guess for this grammatical booboo is that, at least in my case, it probably sprung from writing poetry.


Criticism and Critique:

Not one of my booboos but rather one of my pet peeves because I have seen these two words mixed with each other, misused, and abused right here in the sacred site of WdC.

Critique: a detailed and thoughtful analysis or review. It could be positive or negative. A critique always has a line of reasoning to it, be it positive or negative.

Criticism: finding fault with negative intent

Alternate words for criticism can be:
attack
condemnation
stricture
recrimination
denunciation
disapproval
disparagement
opprobrium
censure
scorn