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Wednesday, January 9, 2008

Usage Goofs--Stationary What?

I recently changed the background color and theme for my personal e-mail, and yesterday I received a reply from someone who wrote:

I like your stationary.

Although I was pleased that this person liked the change, my first reaction was to think--you liked my stationary what? There was a usage goof here.

STATIONARY (with an "a") means NOT MOVING, as in:

As my New Year's resolution, I will ride the STATIONARY bicycle 30 minutes a day.

STATIONERY (with an "e") means PAPER YOU CHOOSE FOR LETTERS (or today, the background style for your e-mail), as in:

I bought new STATIONERY for my Christmas thank you notes.

My New Year's wish for all of you is that 2008 will not be a STATIONARY year in your life--keep moving forward--and maybe brighten your outlook by choosing a new style of STATIONERY for your correspondence, whether handwritten or e-mail.

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