It’s not just odd that people read this blog; some actually write to it. Here are some reader responses from several weeks’ worth, my smartass remarks appended. (Webster’s New World College Dictionary lists both "smartass" and "smart-ass." Don’t bother writing to express a preference.)

Tom writes that "I think the ‘podium’ battle has already been lost ... how many people actually know that the podium is what the lectern stands upon? I'm guessing about 1 out of a thousand."

Then let’s write for the one. The nine hundred and ninety-nine won’t notice.

Tom also recommends his Banned For Life list at

.

I heartily recommend it. Much, much spleen.

MJM asks, "Since, as you say, ‘an e-mail’ seems to have become accepted, could you address the inevitable outcome: that people then refer to the plural ‘he sent e-mails to the others’ rather than the collective ‘he sent e-mail to the others’? Is ‘e-mails’ also becoming acceptable?"

Once we have swallowed the camel, it’s pointless to strain at the gnat.

Mike Livingston weighed in to say, "I give up on ‘an e-mail,’ but the distinction between ‘accident’ and ‘collision’ is not trivial. ‘Accident’ implies that the event could not have been foreseen or prevented, and that's rarely the case. ‘Collision’ is objective; ‘accident’ is always debatable."

An apt point.

Kate G. asks, "Oh, I *like* ‘sic.’ Does that make me a nerd?"

I’m afraid so.

Lisa complains, "You say ‘nerds’ like it's a bad thing ..."

I was a bookish kid with thick eyeglasses who despised all known forms of sport. I majored in English. I write a blog on English usage and teach copy editing. I have a daughter who is on the point of graduating from Swarthmore with a double major in Latin and Greek. When I use "nerd," I speak with authority.