Quick and Dirty Tips Podcasts

Episode Transcript

Zeroscape Versus Xeriscape
Episode 95: February 15, 2008

Grammar Girl here.

Today's topic is the word xeriscape.

This podcast is sponsored by GoToMyPC. Use GoToMyPC to take your office computer with you wherever you go. Visit http://gotomypc.com/podcast for your free 30 day trial.

This is kind of a self-indulgent podcast for me. I've been house hunting lately, and I swear if one more real estate agent tells me about a property's wonderful zeroscape, I'm going to rent for the rest of my life.

The word is xeriscape. X-E-R-I-S-C-A-P-E. It comes from a combination of the word xeric, which means "having scant moisture," and the word scape, which in this case refers to a type of land. So a xeriscape is a type of landscape where the plants don't require a lot of water, and it usually doesn't require much other maintenance either. That makes it a wonderful thing in my book, and I can see why people get confused and think the word is zeroscape, because it requires zero maintenance, but according to the Oxford English Dictionary, the word was coined by the Denver Water Department in 1981, and the word is xeriscape.

The root xeric in xeriscape come from the Greek prefix xer-, which means "dry." There aren't many English words that use the xer- prefix. Xeroderma is dry skin, xerography is a type of dry printing, xerophagy is eating dry food, and besides xeriscape there are just a few others.

Photo courtesy of Laura Herman, Tampa, Florida

Vote for Your City

It's a short episode this week, so I'd like you to take a second to vote on something. We're just starting to plan the Grammar Girl summer tour to promote my print book that is coming out in July, and I'd like to hear from you what cities you want me to visit. The coordinators have given me a list of 25 cities to choose from that I'll list on the website, and I've set up a special e-mail address for the voting.

Please look at the city list at the Grammar Girl section of QuickAndDirtyTips.com, and then send an e-mail with the city of your choice in the subject line. The e-mail address is city@quickanddirtytips.com. So here's how you do it: you go to the website, pick your city, and then if it is Seattle, for example, send an e-mail message with the subject line "Seattle" to city@quickanddirtytips.com. You can vote until March 1. And then sometime in early March I'll let you know what cities I'll be visiting this summer! I can't wait to meet a lot of you in person!

That's all. Thanks for listening.

Potential Tour Cities

Would you like to meet me this summer? Pick your city from the list below and e-mail it to city@quickanddirtytips.com.
In July and August, I'll visit the cities with the most votes!

Atlanta
Austin
Boston
Charlotte
Chicago/Milwaukee
Cincinnati
Cleveland
Columbus
Dallas
Denver
Detroit/Ann Arbor
Indianapolis
Kansas City
Los Angeles
Miami
Minneapolis
New York
Phoenix
Pittsburgh
Raleigh/Durham
San Antonio
San Diego
San Francisco
Seattle
St. Louis
Washington D.C./Baltimore

Comments (15) for Zeroscape Versus Xeriscape | Subscribe to Comment

Laura Says:
4/18/2008 12:18:36 PM

I was at Epcot in Orlando last week to enjoy the Flower & Garden Festival and thought of you, Mignon. The sign at the xeriscaping exhibit states: "Xeriscape... not 'Zero'scape" Hee. I wonder if the exhibit designers listen to Grammar Girl. I attached photos of the exhibit to my e-mail last week. I love (and need) the show! :-)

Dylan Says:
3/3/2008 1:49:05 AM

Why not visit Toronto? You have lots of listeners in Canada. It would be packed if you came. =)

Curious Boy Says:
2/25/2008 7:15:10 PM

Some people posted some requests for you to come to cities in Texas other than Dallas. Forget that. Dallas is the most worthy city in Texas. Ignore them if they whine about my saying that.

Bethany Says:
2/22/2008 4:43:03 PM

Thank you for this podcast! I live in Nevada where xeriscaping is big. And I started to think maybe I was crazy and made the word up, since all I hear is "zeroscape." It drives me crazy!

Bill Balderson Says:
2/22/2008 2:53:20 PM

Please come to Orlando. Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck use atrocious grammar. Help! Bill Balderson

Lisa Says:
2/22/2008 2:39:32 PM

Dear Grammar Girl, As a resident of the arid southwest, I listened with interest to your podcast on Zeroscape vs. Xeriscape. Around here, we use Zeroscape to refer to landscaping that does not require any watering. Xeriscaping uses plants that require very little water, but do require some water beyond what falls from the sky. Here's a website that explains the difference: http://www.abcwua.org/content/view/73/63/ Love your show! Lisa

aardvark Says:
2/21/2008 11:29:11 PM

Please come to San Francisco, GG. As your loyal aardvark, I would happily drive you to the wine country for a meal at the French Laundry. Since reservations must be made two months in advance, let me know ahead of time.

Angel Ailesnoires Says:
2/21/2008 12:59:30 PM

Rambo is right! We're all happy about grammar.

Susan Says:
2/21/2008 9:47:13 AM

Please consider coming to Houston. We care very much about grammar here, and there are some really great restaurants in town. :)

Amie Says:
2/21/2008 12:53:13 AM

You should see if Abilene, Texas is remotely possible! With three large colleges and two junior colleges, along with many many high schoolers this would be a great place to stop! :) a little advertising would help make a very amazing outcome!

Grammar Girl Says:
2/15/2008 5:47:58 PM

You're right! I accidentally left off Denver when I was alphabetizing the list; it should be there.

Dan L. Says:
2/15/2008 4:54:00 PM

Misuse of a word is bad grammar. Is mispronunciation as well? Mispronunciations seem to gain acceptability more quickly than misuses. For example, all the experts on Antiques Roadshow mispronouncing "patina" seem to have established a new norm.

hjn Says:
2/15/2008 1:58:32 PM

How can you talk about Denver and not want to come here on your book tour? Remember, it's the largest city in about a 5-state region! Please reconsider! :-)

rpmason Says:
2/15/2008 8:58:24 AM

Mongo, yes. In 1959, Haloid Xerox was the first company to use xerography to make a plain paper photocopier. They changed their name to Xerox in 1961.

Mongo Says:
2/15/2008 8:35:03 AM

An obscure (perhaps obtuse) question: Is the brand name "Xerox" derived from this same root prefix?