WHEN IN DOUBT, REPHRASE -- Or, when all else fails, read the directions. For writers, that means consulting a stylebook. You remember, the book you had to buy for Freshman Comp 101 but never read? The all-time best for brevity and wit is Strunk & White, The Elements of Style, still in print after more than 100 years. (My copy cost 75 cents.) Those of a certain age will remember A Writer's Reference by Diana Hacker. There are many others. Use them.
GLEANINGS of an ITINERANT SPELLER -- "Fishing poll" can only be a survey of haddock. "Hard road to hoe" would need a very strong worker to cut through the pavement with only a hand tool. Try "hard row to hoe." Hint: "Accomodate" needs two C's and two M's.
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