Blog: Wordsmithery
News and views from me, Charlie Hobson, about all things Wordsmithy-related.
From copywriting and comms trends to grammar pedantry, things I’ve learned from our latest client projects to inspiring people and resources, I’ll share it here in my fairly frequent, shortish blog posts. I hope they help you get to know me better.
Mornings look different these days
Yesterday I stumbled over this poem (enlarged text below!) about the tyranny of mornings. In the winter darkness that's descending as we head to the shortest day, much of it feels relatable as I write at 7am! But some aspects are less familiar. Briefcase? Commute?...
A word in support of Refuge
The Wordsmithy has made a Christmas contribution to Refuge in lieu of sending corporate Christmas cards.With lockdown constraining people's movements so much in 2020 and confining couples and families to a single space, life has become more difficult and dangerous for...
My 2020 thesaurus overload is “unprecedented”
My 2020 thesaurus overload is “unprecedented” Words of the year and what they mean to me It has been a joy for me to read Words of an Unprecedented Year, the Oxford Languages lexical round-up of 2020. Usually, this would guide us to a single Word of the Year. But...
What do you make of cryptic crosswords?
What do you make of cryptic crosswords? Amundsen’s forwarding address* or a big heart?** I love cryptic crosswords. In my early teens, my mum often used to encourage me to help her tackle the Observer Everyman crossword on a Sunday. Initially I was baffled and...
A cheeky lorry slogan interrupts motorway monotiny
It may not be elegant, but it makes you look twice and raises a smile! Driving up the motorway the other day, I found myself behind a Davies International trailer like the one above. I was spellbound by their slogan - SuperCalibreFrigoLogisticsImportExportDavies. I'd...
Crafting Covid-19 communications
Finding a voice that’s clear, responsible and reassuring It’s good to see so many organisations in all sectors making a big effort to keep customers, employees and the community informed about their plans and activities during the current Covid-19 outbreak. Every...
12 Words of Christmas
Wassail and belly-cheer! As a lover of words, I’ve been keeping my eyes open for unusual Christmas vocabulary and found some proper festive treats! Belly-cheer – Gluttonous eating or feasting. May include raising a toast in festive manner by calling out...
What do you think of my new website?
Procrastination, collaboration and the art of brevity. It was time for a redesign. The old, brochure-style version of my website dated back to 2013: six years of solid service is pretty good going in the digital world. In all honesty, I would have advised clients to...
Grammarly: what’s the verdict?
Grammarly’s wide-ranging digital and broadcast campaign is almost impossible to ignore. In the end I followed a link to find out what it was all about. I had a feeling that I was not going to like it. Grammarly is an online tool that checks grammar, punctuation...