•September 22, 2021•
By Jim Baumann
NP Guest Writer

Tired of my blathering?
Well, you’re in luck.
My mailbag is in serious need of a fall purging, so here are some quick hits as short and sweet as anything you’ll find in the back of the TV Guide:

Pled
Susan Biskner wrote to me: “When I said he ‘pled guilty’ during a conversation with a friend, she replied, ‘I am so glad you didn’t use the word “pleaded.” I think “pleaded” is used too much when speaking of guilt or innocence.’ I had to agree. What do you think?”
I probably spent as much time punctuating Susan’s quote within a quote within a quote as I spent on coming up with a response.
The good old (new) Associated Press Stylebook urges us to use plead/pleaded/pleading and not to use the colloquial past tense form “pled.”     Login or Subscribe to read the rest of this story.