Grammar Tip

The prefix bi- means two or every two, while semi- means half or halfway, or twice per.

Biweekly: every other week.
Bimonthly: every other month.
Biennial: every other year.

Semiweekly: twice a week.
Semimonthly: twice a month.
Semiannual: twice a year.

Do biweekly and semimonthly mean the same thing? Sometimes. Yes, for biweekly paychecks (every other week) in a month with four Fridays. July 2021, for example, has five Fridays, so there could be three paychecks instead of two.

Biennial means every other year, while biannual means twice a year (why, oh why?!). Both writer and reader can be easily confused with these timetable adjectives. As writers, let’s always provide further explanations.

Book Recs

The Way of Integrity by Martha Beck.

A few years ago, I decided that my top three values were—and still are—positivity (see also: fun, joy, optimism), equity or equal footing, and integrity. I like the word integrity, but always felt the need to add a disclaimer. “The integrity appropriate for the moment or the project, like following the tenets of journalism during interviews and then the writing of nonfiction articles.” Martha Beck has written an entire book on how to have integrity and follow it, based on its Latin root word meaning intact, whole, undivided. Structural integrity, indeed.

Sooley by John Grisham.

This is a solid John Grisham novel. He has written, what, four dozen books now? If you are a basketball fan, read it. If you care about young people and/or the state of the world, Sooley is a must-read. If you enjoy a well-written novel, the work of an author whose craft is honed, read it. Sooley is not only a good story, it’s an important one.

I puppy-sat last weekend for a little one named Orbit, whose boundless energy is surpassed only by her cuteness. She even has her own Instagram account. As sweet as she is, Orbit is fine with humanity but she is just beginning to understand there are others in the animal kingdom. She will go yippity-yappingly insane at the sight of a bird through the patio door. At first I had no idea why she was scream-barking. What kind of monster was about to attack us both? She went berserk, I tell you. All the decibels.

Oh, it’s a robin hopping on the patio? The audacity! And now a chipmunk is on the grass? The unmitigated gall! I told her over and over, “Dude, stop torturing yourself and don’t look at those who irk you so much. They’re not a threat to you; they’re just doing their thing. Let them be.”

Then I passed a mirror in the hallway and said, “Oh. Ohhhhhh. Note to self. Look away and let them be.”