Don’t get all historical about the meaning of historic

Today’s question: What is the difference between historic and historical? So what did you think of the big eclipse? I envy those people who got to see it in person in totality. That must have really been something. It was a pretty amazing sort of thing, but seeing it on TV doesn’t quite cut it.

Anyway, historic or historical? I think if any of you people actually read this column regularly and carefully you wouldn’t be asking me questions about grammar or usage, just like you should know better than to ask questions involving numbers.

I shall, however, give it my bestest shot. I’m plucky that way.

But before I forget, I have to tell you the winner of the annual Great Big and Wonderfully Wonderful Valley 101 Hot Weather Limerick contest will be announced Wednesday, giving me just enough time to do a few columns in advance and then get out of town until you people get over it. Some of you people tend to get upset about this every year, which is sort of odd because most of you obviously couldn’t write a limerick if your life depended on it.

So anyway, here’s the deal with historic and historical: Historic is an adjective used for something important or influential in history. Historical just means any old thing that happened in the past.

The World Series is a historical event. When the Diamondbacks won the Series it was a historic event.

Or should it be “an” historic event and “an’’ historical event? It’s “a.” Unless you think it should be “an.” You really should ask a grammarian.