Why the Phrase “If Not” Is Ambiguous

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Why the Phrase "If Not" Is Ambiguous One day, Squiggly and Aardvark were talking, and Aardvark told Squiggly, “Squiggly, you’re one of my best friends, if not my best friend!” Naturally, Squiggly was touched. He said, “Aww, Aardvark! You’re my best friend, too!” Now, though, imagine if the conversation had gone differently. Imagine if Aardvark had said, "Squiggly, you're one of my best friends, if not my best friend." ...Read More 12/08/2016 9:35pm View           Anxious or Eager? Anxious means "worried or uneasy." It's often confused with the word eager, which means "full of keen desire." To some, anxious has more of a negative connotation than eager. You're eager for your long-distance boyfriend's plane to arrive, unless you're going to break up with him. Then you're more likely to be anxious about his arrival because you're dreading a confrontation. Anxious is evolving, though. ...Read More 12/08/2016 9:27am View               FROM QUICK AND DIRTY TIPS Get More Grammar Girl Visit the website. Subscribe to the Grammar Girl podcast at iTunes or via RSS. Find Grammar Girl books, gear, and more at the Quick and Dirty Tips store. Have Questions? Search the Quick and Dirty Tips website. We have more than 600 articles about grammar and language. There's a good chance your question has already been covered.                 Best wishes, (and the Quick and Dirty Tips Team)                 Want more tips? If this was forwarded to you by a friend and you'd like to receive future tips, you can sign up here. Please don't use the subscribe/unsubscribe link at the bottom of the page because this will overwrite your friend's subscription. (If this came directly to you, you can use the subscribe/unsubscribe link below to manage your subscription.)                 FOLLOW ME

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