The comma, if it's left out, sometimes can be a problem. There's a slogan on a T-shirt going around that "Let's Eat, Grandma," and "Let's Eat Grandma." — Mary Norris Copy Share Image
One of the things I like about my job is that it draws on the entire person: not just your knowledge of grammar and… — Mary Norris Copy Share Image
Punctuation is a deeply conservative club. It hardly ever admits a new member. — Mary Norris Copy Share Image
There is a phase in the life of every copy editor when she is obsessed with hyphens. — Mary Norris Copy Share Image
Back in the twentieth century, we thought that robots would have taken over by this time, and, in a way, they have. But robots as a race have proved disappointing. Instead of getting to boss around underlings made of steel and plastic with circuitry and blinking lights and tank treads, like Rosie the maid on The Jetsons, we humans have… — Mary Norris Copy Share
The English language is full of words that are just waiting to be misspelled, and the world is full of sticklers, ready to pounce. — Mary Norris Copy Share Image
“I always wanted to write a book, but it looked really hard: how did you get all the lines to come out even on… — Mary Norris Copy Share Image
Everybody is a writer. Everybody uses e-mail and has Facebook pages and tweets. — Mary Norris Copy Share Image
“I always forget that, in the popular imagination, the copy editor is a bit of a witch, and it surprises me when someone is… — Mary Norris Copy Share Image
The dictionary is a wonderful thing, but you can't let it push you around. — Mary Norris Copy Share Image
