Grammar Police Monday - A Grisly Lesson

First, some announcements!

Today is release day for Cally Jackson's debut novel, The Big Smoke. Woohoo! :D  

I'll be launching a special post this Friday about the book, including an interview with Cally.

Peter Cruikshank over at It Is What It Is tagged me in The Next Big Thing blog hop with questions about my current WIP.  Thanks, Peter! :) 

Since I participated in the Be Inspired meme this summer, answering virtually the same questions, I decided to spare you a repeat and simply link the post. If you haven't seen it yet, click here. 

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Now for GPM...



Today I have another lesson on usage.  I promise to break these up soon with different grammar topics, but life has been too busy for me to do the research. 

In keeping with that promise, I'm currently putting together a GPM post in which I address visitor requests. So, if you have some nagging PUGS question you'd like answered, now's the time to speak up. 

(PUGS = Punctuation, Usage, Grammar, Spelling)

Poisonous vs Venomous

Poisonous (adj.) means full of or containing poison; harmful; malevolent.

Some houseplants are poisonous.

Venomous (adj.) describes animals that have glands which secrete venom and are able to inflict a poisonous bite or sting; can mean full of or containing venom; spiteful.

Milk snakes are harmless but rattlesnakes are venomous.
(*It is also correct to say venomous snakes are poisonous.)

Fearful vs Fearsome

Fearful is an adjective that means causing, feeling or showing fear.

The teens screamed and ran when the saw a fearful apparition in the woods.

Although timid/afraid is given as one meaning of fearsome (adj.), it is typically used to mean causing fear or inspiring awe or respect.

Campers cowered at the fearsome noise echoing through the hills.

Grisly vs Grizzly

Grisly is an adjective that means terrifying, ghastly.

The room where the murders occurred was a grisly scene.

Grizzly is a noun—a large brown bear found in North America. It’s also the another form of the word grizzled, which means gray or streaked with gray.

I hope you don't encounter a grizzly on your hike.

Thanks for visiting. 

Hope to see you Wednesday & Friday. :)