Faithful reader Leo Rockas rocked me recently when he emailed me three challenging questions: When did "under way" become one word? When did "media" become singular? When did "all right" become "alright"?

—underway/under way: Traditionally, usage authorities have insisted on a distinction between these two forms, claiming that "underway" should be used only as an adjective to describe something in motion — e.g., "an underway ship," "an underway project" — and that "under way" should be used as an adverb, e.g., "the ship got under way," "the project is under way."

But a major shift on this issue is clearly underway. During the past decade, most usage guides, including The Associated Press Stylebook, have shifted their position and now endorse using "underway" as one word in all contexts.

(By the way, even though ships do "weigh anchor" when they depart, don't ever substitute "under weigh" for "underway.")

—media: The Latin word "media" is indeed a plural form of the singular "medium," e.g., "the news media are covering the story." But people use "media" so often as a mass noun, e.g., "the media is overreacting," that this can no longer be considered an error.

"Media" is one of several Latin plurals that are now treated as singular nouns, e.g., "data," "agenda," "insignia." Try using their singular forms — "datum," "agendum" and "insigne" — and you'll get some funny looks.

People often use the Latin plurals "phenomena" and "criteria" as singulars, as well, replacing "phenomenon" and "criterion," respectively, though such usage has not reached the level of acceptance that the singular "media" has.

—alright: Several years ago, I described "alright" as a cute little lost puppy who's pawing at the backdoor of standard English, begging to be let in, and that pretty much still holds true.

Though some mainstream publications, like sympathetic children, occasionally let him in, as Time magazine did when it headlined a cover story "The Kids Are Alright," most editors have slammed the door in his face.

The Associated Press Stylebook, for instance, decrees simply "Never 'alright,'" while usage expert Bryan Garner advises that "alright" cannot be considered good usage — or even colloquially all right.

That little puppy is cute, and my guess is that we're eventually going to break down and let him in. But for now, "alright" should give us paws ... er, pause.

Rob Kyff, a teacher and writer in West Hartford, Connecticut, invites your language sightings. Send your reports of misuse and abuse, as well as examples of good writing, via email to wordguy@aol.com or by regular mail to Rob Kyff, Creators Syndicate, 737 3rd Street, Hermosa Beach, CA 90254.