The box below works just like Google, except that you may search just the Grammarmudge site by selecting (placing a dot in) the circle on the right, before the Grammarmudge URL. Then enter the word or phrase you want to locate within the Grammarmudge site and click on Google Search. Because the search is rather thorough, you may receive many hits – but it's a start. Better results may be achieved by entering a phrase in quotation marks. If you dot the circle on the left, you launch a standard search of the entire Internet via Google.
Like all search engines, Google uses "bots" to crawl through the source pages (i.e., to scan them) for information. For that reason, recently posted material may not show up in the search. You may also encounter some dead links – you'll be told that the page does not exist. These are pages that have been removed (usually outdated Message Board entries). In most cases, you may still view these pages by clicking on the word "cached" in the description, but these pages are no longer a part of the active site.
If your search fails to discover something that you think it should, please let me know via the Message Board.
TIPS
For those who are new to Google, here are a few tips:
> Narrow the search as far as you can. For example, entering comma splice rather than just comma will be more likely to call up the appropriate page(s) covering that error.
> To locate a specific phrase, enter the exact phrase in quotation marks. For example, entering "punctuation with closing quotation marks" (with the quotation marks) should lead you straight to a link to the page that discusses this issue. The phrase must be exact; also, if the phrase is used in more than one place, you will get more than one link.
> Try entering random words to locate topics I've covered in essays or elsewhere. For example, if you enter agnostic or agnosticism, you'll get links to my essay on this subject. (You'll also get links to other places where I use these words.)
Be aware that, as noted above, the search may not be completely up-to-date. It may be necessary for Google's "bot" to scan this site for periodic updates. For example, recent Message Board entries may take some time to enter Google's database.
