WRITE IT RIGHT
_A LITTLE BLACKLIST OF LITERARY FAULTS_
BY AMBROSE BIERCE
1909
AIMS AND THE PLAN
The author's main purpose in this book is to teach precision in
writing; and of good writing (which, essentially, is clear thinking
made visible) precision is the point of capital concern. It is
attained by choice of the word that accurately and adequately
expresses what the writer has in mind, and by exclusion of that which
either denotes or connotes something else. As Quintilian puts it, the
writer should so write that his reader not only may, but must,
understand.
Few words have more than one literal and serviceable meaning, however
many metaphorical, derivative, related, or even unrelated, meanings
lexicographers may think it worth while to gather from all sorts and
conditions of men, with which to bloat their absurd and misleading
dictionaries. This actual and serviceable meaning--not always
determined by derivation, and seldom by popular usage--is the one
affirmed, according to his light, by the author of this little manual
of solecisms. Narrow etymons of the mere scholar and loose locutions
of the ignorant are alike denied a standing.
The plan of the book is more illustrative than expository, the aim
being to use the terms of etymology and syntax as little as is
compatible with clarity, familiar example being more easily
apprehended than technical precept. When both are employed the precept
is commonly given after the example has prepared the student to apply
it, not only to the matter in mind, but to similar matters not
mentioned. Everything in quotation marks is to be understood as
disapproved.
Not all locutions blacklisted herein are always to be reprobated
as universal outlaws. Excepting in the case of capital
offenders--expressions ancestrally vulgar or irreclaimably
degenerate--absolute proscription is possible as to serious
composition only; in other forms the writer must rely on his sense of
values and the fitness of things. While it is true that some
colloquialisms and, with less of license, even some slang, may be
sparingly employed in light literature, for point, piquancy or any of
the purposes of the skilled writer sensible to the necessity and charm
of keeping at least one foot on the ground, to others the virtue of
restraint may be commended as distinctly superior to the joy of
indulgence.
Precision is much, but not all; some words and phrases are disallowed
on the ground of taste. As there are neither standards nor arbiters of
taste, the book can do little more than reflect that of its author,
who is far indeed from professing impeccability. In neither taste nor
precision is any man's practice a court of last appeal, for writers
all, both great and small, are habitual sinners against the light; and
their accuser is cheerfully aware that his own work will supply (as in
making this book it has supplied) many "awful examples"--his later
work less abundantly, he hopes, than his earlier. He nevertheless
believes that this does not disqualify him for showing by other
instances than his own how not to write. The infallible teacher is
still in the forest primeval, throwing seeds to the white blackbirds.
A.B.
THE BLACKLIST
_A_ for _An_. "A hotel." "A heroic man." Before an unaccented aspirate
use an. The contrary usage in this country comes of too strongly
stressing our aspirates.
_Action_ for _Act_. "In wrestling, a blow is a reprehensible action."
A blow is not an action but an act. An action may consist of many
acts.
_Admission_ for _Admittance_. "The price of admission is one dollar."
_Admit_ for _Confess_. To admit is to concede something affirmed. An
unaccused offender cannot admit his guilt.
_Adopt_. "He adopted a disguise." One may adopt a child, or an
opinion, but a disguise is assumed.
_Advisedly_ for _Advertently_, _Intentionally_. "It was done
advisedly" should mean that it was done after advice.
_Afford_. It is not well to say "the fact affords a reasonable
presumption"; "the house afforded ample accommodation." The fact
supplies a reasonable presumption. The house offered, or gave, ample
accommodation.
_Afraid_. Do not say, "I am afraid it will rain." Say, I fear that it
will rain.
_Afterwards_ for _Afterward_.
_Aggravate_ for _Irritate_. "He aggravated me by his insolence." To
aggravate is to augment the disagreeableness of something already
disagreeable, or the badness of something bad. But a person cannot be
aggravated, even if disagreeable or bad. Women are singularly prone to
misuse of this word.
_All of_. "He gave all of his property." The words are contradictory:
an entire thing cannot be of itself. Omit the preposition.
_Alleged_. "The alleged murderer." One can allege a murder, but not a
murderer; a crime, but not a criminal. A man that is merely suspected
of crime would not, in any case, be an alleged criminal, for an
allegation is a definite and positive statement. In their tiresome
addiction to this use of alleged, the newspapers, though having mainly
in mind the danger of libel suits, can urge in further justification
the lack of any other single word that exactly expresses their
meaning; but the fact that a mud-puddle supplies the shortest route is
not a compelling reason for walking through it. One can go around.
_Allow_ for _Permit_. "I allow you to go." Precision is better
attained by saying permit, for allow has other meanings.
_Allude to_ for _Mention_. What is alluded to is not mentioned, but
referred to indirectly. Originally, the word implied a playful, or
sportive, reference. That meaning is gone out of it.
_And so_. _And yet_. "And so they were married." "And yet a woman."
Omit the conjunction.
_And which_. _And who_. These forms are incorrect unless the relative
pronoun has been used previously in the sentence. "The colt, spirited
and strong, and which was unbroken, escaped from the pasture." "John
Smith, one of our leading merchants, and who fell from a window
yesterday, died this morning." Omit the conjunction.
_Antecedents_ for _Personal History_. Antecedents are predecessors.
_Anticipate_ for _Expect_. "I anticipate trouble." To anticipate is to
act on an expectation in a way to promote or forestall the event
expected.
_Anxious_ for _Eager_. "I was anxious to go." Anxious should not be
followed by an infinitive. Anxiety is contemplative; eagerness, alert
for action.
_Appreciate_ for _Highly Value_. In the sense of value, it means value
justly, not highly. In another and preferable sense it means to
increase in value.
_Approach_. "The juror was approached"; that is, overtures were made
to him with a view to bribing him. As there is no other single word
for it, approach is made to serve, figuratively; and being graphic, it
is not altogether objectionable.
_Appropriated_ for _Took_. "He appropriated his neighbor's horse to
his own use." To appropriate is to set apart, as a sum of money, for a
special purpose.
_Approve of_ for _Approve_. There is no sense in making approve an
intransitive verb.
_Apt_ for _Likely_. "One is apt to be mistaken." Apt means facile,
felicitous, ready, and the like; but even the dictionary-makers cannot
persuade a person of discriminating taste to accept it as synonymous
with likely.
_Around_ for _About_. "The débris of battle lay around them." "The
huckster went around, crying his wares." Around carries the concept of
circularity.
_Article_. A good and useful word, but used without meaning by
shopkeepers; as, "A good article of vinegar," for a good vinegar.
_As_ for _That_, or _If_. "I do not know as he is living." This error
is not very common among those who can write at all, but one sometimes
sees it in high place.
_As--as_ for _So--as_. "He is not as good as she." Say, not so good.
In affirmative sentences the rule is different: He is as good as she.
_As for_ for _As to_. "As for me, I am well." Say, as to me.
_At Auction_ for _by Auction_. "The goods were sold at auction."
_At_ for _By_. "She was shocked at his conduct." This very common
solecism is without excuse.
_Attain_ for _Accomplish_. "By diligence we attain our purpose." A
purpose is accomplished; success is attained.
_Authoress_. A needless word--as needless as "poetess."
_Avocation_ for _Vocation_. A vocation is, literally, a calling; that
is, a trade or profession. An avocation is something that calls one
away from it. If I say that farming is some one's avocation I mean
that he practises it, not regularly, but at odd times.
_Avoid_ for _Avert_. "By displaying a light the skipper avoided a
collision." To avoid is to shun; the skipper could have avoided a
collision only by getting out of the way.
_Avoirdupois_ for _Weight_. Mere slang.
_Back of_ for _Behind_, _At the Back of_. "Back of law is force."
_Backwards_ for _Backward_.
_Badly_ for _Bad_. "I feel badly." "He looks badly." The former
sentence implies defective nerves of sensation, the latter, imperfect
vision. Use the adjective.
_Balance_ for _Remainder_. "The balance of my time is given to
recreation." In this sense balance is a commercial word, and relates
to accounting.
_Banquet_. A good enough word in its place, but its place is the
dictionary. Say, dinner.
_Bar_ for _Bend_. "Bar sinister." There is no such thing in heraldry
as a bar sinister.
_Because_ for _For_. "I knew it was night, because it was dark." "He
will not go, because he is ill."
_Bet_ for _Betted_. The verb to bet forms its preterite regularly, as
do wet, wed, knit, quit and others that are commonly misconjugated. It
seems that we clip our short words more than we do our long.
_Body_ for _Trunk_. "The body lay here, the head there." The body is
the entire physical person (as distinguished from the soul, or mind)
and the head is a part of it. As distinguished from head, trunk may
include the limbs, but anatomically it is the torso only.
_Bogus_ for _Counterfeit_, or _False_. The word is slang; keep it out.
_Both_. This word is frequently misplaced; as, "A large mob, both of
men and women." Say, of both men and women.
_Both alike_. "They are both alike." Say, they are alike. One of them
could not be alike.
_Brainy_. Pure slang, and singularly disagreeable.
_Bug_ for _Beetle_, or for anything. Do not use it.
_Business_ for _Right_. "He has no business to go there."
_Build_ for _Make_. "Build a fire." "Build a canal." Even "build a
tunnel" is not unknown, and probably if the wood-chuck is skilled in
the American tongue he speaks of building a hole.
_But_. By many writers this word (in the sense of except) is regarded
as a preposition, to be followed by the objective case: "All went but
him." It is not a preposition and may take either the nominative or
objective case, to agree with the subject or the object of the verb.
All went but he. The natives killed all but him.
_But what_. "I did not know but what he was an enemy." Omit what. If
condemnation of this dreadful locution seem needless bear the matter
in mind in your reading and you will soon be of a different opinion.
_By_ for _Of_. "A man by the name of Brown." Say, of the name. Better
than either form is: a man named Brown.
_Calculated_ for _Likely_. "The bad weather is calculated to produce
sickness." Calculated implies calculation, design.
_Can_ for _May_. "Can I go fishing?" "He can call on me if he wishes
to."
_Candidate_ for _Aspirant_. In American politics, one is not a
candidate for an office until formally named (nominated) for it by a
convention, or otherwise, as provided by law or custom. So when a man
who is moving Heaven and Earth to procure the nomination protests that
he is "not a candidate" he tells the truth in order to deceive.
_Cannot_ for _Can_. "I cannot but go." Say, I can but go.
_Capable_. "Men are capable of being flattered." Say, susceptible to
flattery. "Capable of being refuted." Vulnerable to refutation. Unlike
capacity, capability is not passive, but active. We are capable of
doing, not of having something done to us.
_Capacity_ for _Ability_. "A great capacity for work." Capacity is
receptive; ability, potential. A sponge has capacity for water; the
hand, ability to squeeze it out.
_Casket_ for _Coffin_. A needless euphemism affected by undertakers.
_Casualties_ for _Losses_ in Battle. The essence of casualty is
accident, absence of design. Death and wounds in battle are produced
otherwise, are expectable and expected, and, by the enemy,
intentional.
_Chance_ for _Opportunity_. "He had a good chance to succeed."
_Chin Whiskers_. The whisker grows on the cheek, not the chin.
_Chivalrous_. The word is popularly used in the Southern States only,
and commonly has reference to men's manner toward women. Archaic,
stilted and fantastic.
_Citizen_ for _Civilian_. A soldier may be a citizen, but is not a
civilian.
_Claim_ for _Affirm_. "I claim that he is elected." To claim is to
assert ownership.
_Clever_ for _Obliging_. In this sense the word was once in general
use in the United States, but is now seldom heard and life here is
less insupportable.
_Climb down_. In climbing one ascends.
_Coat_ for _Coating_. "A coat of paint, or varnish." If we coat
something we produce a coating, not a coat.
_Collateral Descendant_. There can be none: a "collateral descendant"
is not a descendant.
_Colonel_, _Judge_, _Governor_, etc., for _Mister_. Give a man a title
only if it belongs to him, and only while it belongs to him.
_Combine_ for _Combination_. The word, in this sense, has something of
the meaning of conspiracy, but there is no justification for it as a
noun, in any sense.
_Commence_ for _Begin_. This is not actually incorrect, but--well, it
is a matter of taste.
_Commencement_ for _Termination_. A contribution to our noble tongue
by its scholastic conservators, "commencement day" being their name
for the last day of the collegiate year. It is ingeniously defended on
the ground that on that day those on whom degrees are bestowed
commence to hold them. Lovely!
_Commit Suicide_. Instead of "He committed suicide," say, He killed
himself, or, He took his life. For married we do not say "committed
matrimony." Unfortunately most of us do say, "got married," which is
almost as bad. For lack of a suitable verb we just sometimes say
committed this or that, as in the instance of bigamy, for the verb to
bigam is a blessing that is still in store for us.
_Compare with_ for _Compare to_. "He had the immodesty to compare
himself with Shakespeare." Nothing necessarily immodest in that.
Comparison with may be for observing a difference; comparison to
affirms a similarity.
_Complected_. Anticipatory past participle of the verb "to complect."
Let us wait for that.
_Conclude_ for _Decide_. "I concluded to go to town." Having concluded
a course of reasoning (implied) I decided to go to town. A decision is
supposed to be made at the conclusion of a course of reasoning, but is
not the conclusion itself. Conversely, the conclusion of a syllogism
is not a decision, but an inference.
_Connection_. "In this connection I should like to say a word or two."
In connection with this matter.
_Conscious_ for _Aware_. "The King was conscious of the conspiracy."
We are conscious of what we feel; aware of what we know.
_Consent_ for _Assent_. "He consented to that opinion." To consent is
to agree to a proposal; to assent is to agree with a proposition.
_Conservative_ for _Moderate_. "A conservative estimate"; "a
conservative forecast"; "a conservative statement," and so on. These
and many other abuses of the word are of recent growth in the
newspapers and "halls of legislation." Having been found to have
several meanings, conservative seems to be thought to mean everything.
_Continually_ and _Continuously_. It seems that these words should
have the same meaning, but in their use by good writers there is a
difference. What is done continually is not done all the time, but
continuous action is without interruption. A loquacious fellow, who
nevertheless finds time to eat and sleep, is continually talking; but
a great river flows continuously.
_Convoy_ for _Escort_. "A man-of-war acted as convoy to the flotilla."
The flotilla is the convoy, the man-of-war the escort.
_Couple_ for _Two_. For two things to be a couple they must be of one
general kind, and their number unimportant to the statement made of
them. It would be weak to say, "He gave me only one, although he took
a couple for himself." Couple expresses indifference to the exact
number, as does several. That is true, even in the phrase, a married
couple, for the number is carried in the adjective and needs no
emphasis.
_Created_ for _First Performed_. Stage slang. "Burbage created the
part of Hamlet." What was it that its author did to it?
_Critically_ for _Seriously_. "He has long been critically ill." A
patient is critically ill only at the crisis of his disease.
_Criticise_ for _Condemn_, or _Disparage_. Criticism is not
necessarily censorious; it may approve.
_Cunning_ for _Amusing_. Usually said of a child, or pet. This is pure
Americanese, as is its synonym, "cute."
_Curious_ for _Odd_, or _Singular_. To be curious is to have an
inquiring mind, or mood--curiosity.
_Custom_ for _Habit_. Communities have customs; individuals,
habits--commonly bad ones.
_Decease_ for _Die_.
_Decidedly_ for _Very_, or _Certainly_. "It is decidedly cold."
_Declared_ for _Said_. To a newspaper reporter no one seems ever to
say anything; all "declare." Like "alleged" (which see) the word is
tiresome exceedingly.
_Defalcation_ for _Default_. A defalcation is a cutting off, a
subtraction; a default is a failure in duty.
_Definitely_ for _Definitively_. "It was definitely decided."
Definitely means precisely, with exactness; definitively means
finally, conclusively.
_Deliver_. "He delivered an oration," or "delivered a lecture." Say,
He made an oration, or gave a lecture.
_Demean_ for _Debase_ or _Degrade_. "He demeaned himself by accepting
charity." The word relates, not to meanness, but to demeanor, conduct,
behavior. One may demean oneself with dignity and credit.
_Demise_ for _Death_. Usually said of a person of note. Demise means
the lapse, as by death, of some authority, distinction or privilege,
which passes to another than the one that held it; as the demise of
the Crown.
_Democracy_ for _Democratic Party_. One could as properly call the
Christian Church "the Christianity."
_Dépôt_ for _Station_. "Railroad dépôt." A dépôt is a place of
deposit; as, a dépôt of supply for an army.
_Deprivation_ for _Privation_. "The mendicant showed the effects of
deprivation." Deprivation refers to the act of depriving, taking away
from; privation is the state of destitution, of not having.
_Dilapidated_ for _Ruined_. Said of a building, or other structure.
But the word is from the Latin _lapis_, a stone, and cannot properly
be used of any but a stone structure.
_Directly_ for _Immediately_. "I will come directly" means that I will
come by the most direct route.
_Dirt_ for _Earth_, _Soil_, or _Gravel_. A most disagreeable
Americanism, discredited by general (and Presidential) use. "Make the
dirt fly." Dirt means filth.
_Distinctly_ for _Distinctively_. "The custom is distinctly Oriental."
Distinctly is plainly; distinctively, in a way to distinguish one
thing from others.
_Donate_ for _Give_. Good American, but not good English.
_Doubtlessly_. A doubly adverbial form, like "illy."
_Dress_ for _Gown_. Not so common as it was a few years ago. Dress
means the entire costume.
_Each Other_ for _One Another_. "The three looked at each other." That
is, each looked at the other. But there were more than one other; so
we should say they looked at one another, which means that each looked
at another. Of two, say each other; of more than two, one another.
_Edify_ for _Please_, or _Entertain_. Edify means to build; it has,
therefore, the sense of uplift, improvement--usually moral, or
spiritual.
_Electrocution_. To one having even an elementary knowledge of Latin
grammar this word is no less than disgusting, and the thing meant by
it is felt to be altogether too good for the word's inventor.
_Empty_ for _Vacant_. Say, an empty bottle; but, a vacant house.
_Employé_. Good French, but bad English. Say, employee.
_Endorse_ for _Approve_. To endorse is to write upon the back of, or
to sign the promissory note of another. It is a commercial word,
having insufficient dignity for literary use. You may endorse a check,
but you approve a policy, or statement.
_Endways_. A corruption of endwise.
_Entitled_ for _Authorized_, _Privileged._ "The man is not entitled to
draw rations." Say, entitled to rations. Entitled is not to be
followed by an infinitive.
_Episode_ for _Occurrence_, _Event_, etc. Properly, an episode is a
narrative that is a subordinate part of another narrative. An
occurrence considered by itself is not an episode.
_Equally as_ for _Equally_. "This is equally as good." Omit as. "He
was of the same age, and equally as tall." Say, equally tall.
_Equivalent_ for _Equal_. "My salary is equivalent to yours."
_Essential_ for _Necessary_. This solecism is common among the best
writers of this country and England. "It is essential to go early";
"Irrigation is essential to cultivation of arid lands," and so forth.
One thing is essential to another thing only if it is of the essence
of it--an important and indispensable part of it, determining its
nature; the soul of it.
_Even_ for _Exact_. "An even dozen."
_Every_ for _Entire_, _Full_. "The president had every confidence in
him."
_Every_ for _Ever_. "Every now and then." This is nonsense: there can
be no such thing as a now and then, nor, of course, a number of now
and thens. Now and then is itself bad enough, reversing as it does the
sequence of things, but it is idiomatic and there is no quarreling
with it. But "every" is here a corruption of ever, meaning repeatedly,
continually.
_Ex_. "Ex-President," "an ex-convict," and the like. Say, former. In
England one may say, Mr. Roosevelt, sometime President; though the
usage is a trifle archaic.
_Example_ for _Problem_. A heritage from the text-books. "An example
in arithmetic." An equally bad word for the same thing is "sum": "Do
the sum," for Solve the problem.
_Excessively_ for _Exceedingly_. "The disease is excessively painful."
"The weather is excessively cold." Anything that is painful at all is
excessively so. Even a slight degree or small amount of what is
disagreeable or injurious is excessive--that is to say, redundant,
superfluous, not required.
_Executed_. "The condemned man was executed." He was hanged, or
otherwise put to death; it is the sentence that is executed.
_Executive_ for _Secret_. An executive session of a deliberative body
is a session for executive business, as distinguished from
legislative. It is commonly secret, but a secret session is not
necessarily executive.
_Expect_ for _Believe_, or _Suppose_. "I expect he will go." Say, I
believe (suppose or think) he will go; or, I expect him to go.
_Expectorate_ for _Spit_. The former word is frequently used, even in
laws and ordinances, as a euphemism for the latter. It not only means
something entirely different, but to one with a Latin ear is far more
offensive.
_Experience_ for _Suffer_, or _Undergo_. "The sinner experienced a
change of heart." This will do if said lightly or mockingly. It does
not indicate a serious frame of mind in the speaker.
_Extend_ for _Proffer_. "He extended an invitation." One does not
always hold out an invitation in one's hand; it may be spoken or sent.
_Fail_. "He failed to note the hour." That implies that he tried to
note it, but did not succeed. Failure carries always the sense of
endeavor; when there has been no endeavor there is no failure. A
falling stone cannot fail to strike you, for it does not try; but a
marksman firing at you may fail to hit you; and I hope he always will.
_Favor_ for _Resemble_. "The child favors its father."
_Feel of_ for _Feel_. "The doctor felt of the patient's head." "Smell
of" and "taste of" are incorrect too.
_Feminine_ for _Female_. "A feminine member of the club." Feminine
refers, not to sex proper, but to gender, which may be defined as the
sex of words. The same is true of masculine.
_Fetch_ for _Bring_. Fetching includes, not only bringing, but going
to get--going for and returning with. You may bring what you did not
go for.
_Finances_ for _Wealth_, or _Pecuniary Resources_.
_Financial_ for _Pecuniary_. "His financial reward"; "he is
financially responsible," and so forth.
_Firstly_. If this word could mean anything it would mean firstlike,
whatever that might mean. The ordinal numbers should have no adverbial
form: "firstly," "secondly," and the rest are words without meaning.
_Fix_. This is, in America, a word-of-all-work, most frequently
meaning repair, or prepare. Do not so use it.
_Forebears_ for _Ancestors_. The word is sometimes spelled forbears, a
worse spelling than the other, but not much. If used at all it should
be spelled _forebeers_, for it means those who have _been_ before. A
forebe-er is one who fore-was. Considered in any way, it is a
senseless word.
_Forecasted_. For this abominable word we are indebted to the weather
bureau--at least it was not sent upon us until that affliction was
with us. Let us hope that it may some day be losted from the language.
_Former_ and _Latter_. Indicating the first and the second of things
previously named, these words are unobjectionable if not too far
removed from the names that they stand for. If they are they confuse,
for the reader has to look back to the names. Use them sparingly.
_Funeral Obsequies_. Tautological. Say, obsequies; the word is now
used in none but a funereal sense.
_Fully_ for _Definitively_, or _Finally_. "After many preliminary
examinations he was fully committed for trial." The adverb is
meaningless: a defendant is never partly committed for trial. This is
a solecism to which lawyers are addicted. And sometimes they have been
heard to say "fullied."
_Funds_ for _Money_. "He was out of funds." Funds are not money in
general, but sums of money or credit available for particular
purposes.
_Furnish_ for _Provide_, or _Supply_. "Taxation furnished the money."
A pauper may furnish a house if some one will provide the furniture,
or the money to buy it. "His flight furnishes a presumption of guilt."
It supplies it.
_Generally_ for _Usually_. "The winds are generally high." "A fool is
generally vain." This misuse of the word appears to come of
abbreviating: Generally speaking, the weather is bad. A fool, to speak
generally, is vain.
_Gent_ for _Gentleman_. Vulgar exceedingly.
_Genteel_. This word, meaning polite, or well mannered, was once in
better repute than it is now, and its noun, gentility, is still not
infrequently found in the work of good writers. Genteel is most often
used by those who write, as the Scotchman of the anecdote joked--wi'
deeficulty.
_Gentleman_. It is not possible to teach the correct use of this
overworked word: one must be bred to it. Everybody knows that it is
not synonymous with man, but among the "genteel" and those ambitious
to be thought "genteel" it is commonly so used in discourse too formal
for the word "gent." To use the word gentleman correctly, be one.
_Genuine_ for _Authentic_, or _Veritable._ "A genuine document," "a
genuine surprise," and the like.
_Given_. "The soldier was given a rifle." What was given is the rifle,
not the soldier. "The house was given a coat (coating) of paint."
Nothing can be "given" anything.
_Goatee_. In this country goatee is frequently used for a tuft of
beard on the point of the chin--what is sometimes called "an
imperial," apparently because the late Emperor Napoleon III wore his
beard so. His Majesty the Goat is graciously pleased to wear his
beneath the chin.
_Got Married_ for _Married_. If this is correct we should say, also,
"got dead" for died; one expression is as good as the other.
_Gotten_ for _Got_. This has gone out of good use, though in such
compounded words as begotten and misbegotten it persists respectably.
_Graduated_ for _Was Graduated_.
_Gratuitous_ for _Unwarranted_. "A gratuitous assertion." Gratuitous
means without cost.
_Grueling_. Used chiefly by newspaper reporters; as, "He was subjected
to a grueling cross-examination." "It was grueling weather." Probably
a corruption of grilling.
_Gubernatorial_. Eschew it; it is not English, is needless and
bombastic. Leave it to those who call a political office a "chair."
"Gubernatorial chair" is good enough for them. So is hanging.
_Had Better_ for _Would Better_. This is not defensible as an idiom,
as those who always used it before their attention was directed to it
take the trouble to point out. It comes of such contractions as he'd
for he would, I'd for I would. These clipped words are erroneously
restored as "he had," "I had." So we have such monstrosities as "He
had better beware," "I had better go."
_Hail_ for _Come_. "He hails from Chicago." This is sea speech, and
comes from the custom of hailing passing ships. It will not do for
serious discourse.
_Have Got_ for _Have_. "I have got a good horse" directs attention
rather to the act of getting than to the state of having, and
represents the capture as recently completed.
_Head over Heels_. A transposition of words hardly less surprising
than (to the person most concerned) the mischance that it fails to
describe. What is meant is heels over head.
_Healthy_ for _Wholesome_. "A healthy climate." "A healthy
occupation." Only a living thing can be healthy.
_Helpmeet_ for _Helpmate_. In Genesis Adam's wife is called "an help
meet for him," that is, fit for him. The ridiculous word appears to
have had no other origin.
_Hereafter_ for _Henceforth_. Hereafter means at some time in the
future; henceforth, always in the future. The penitent who promises to
be good hereafter commits himself to the performance of a single good
act, not to a course of good conduct.
_Honeymoon_. Moon here means month, so it is incorrect to say, "a
week's honeymoon," or, "Their honeymoon lasted a year."
_Horseflesh_ for _Horses_. A singularly senseless and disagreeable
word which, when used, as it commonly is, with reference to
hippophilism, savors rather more of the spit than of the spirit.
_Humans_ as a Noun. We have no single word having the general yet
limited meaning that this is sometimes used to express--a meaning
corresponding to that of the word animals, as the word men would if it
included women and children. But there is time enough to use two
words.
_Hung_ for _Hanged_. A bell, or a curtain, is hung, but a man is
hanged. Hung is the junior form of the participle, and is now used for
everything but man. Perhaps it is our reverence for the custom of
hanging men that sacredly preserves the elder form--as some, even, of
the most zealous American spelling reformers still respect the u in
Saviour.
_Hurry_ for _Haste_ and _Hasten_. To hurry is to hasten in a more or
less disorderly manner. Hurry is misused, also, in another sense:
"There is no hurry"--meaning, There is no reason for haste.
_Hurt_ for _Harm_. "It does no hurt." To be hurt is to feel pain, but
one may be harmed without knowing it. To spank a child, or flout a
fool, hurts without harming.
_Idea_ for _Thought_, _Purpose_, _Expectation_, etc. "I had no idea
that it was so cold." "When he went abroad it was with no idea of
remaining."
_Identified with_. "He is closely identified with the temperance
movement." Say, connected.
_Ilk_ for _Kind_. "Men of that ilk." This Scotch word has a narrowly
limited and specific meaning. It relates to an ancestral estate having
the same name as the person spoken of. Macdonald of that ilk means,
Macdonald of Macdonald. The phrase quoted above is without meaning.
_Illy_ for _Ill_. There is no such word as illy, for ill itself is an
adverb.
_Imaginary Line_. The adjective is needless. Geometrically, every line
is imaginary; its graphic representation is a mark. True the
text-books say, draw a line, but in a mathematical sense the line
already exists; the drawing only makes its course visible.
_In_ for _Into_. "He was put in jail." "He went in the house." A man
may be in jail, or be in a house, but when the act of entrance--the
movement of something from the outside to the inside of another
thing--is related the correct word is into if the latter thing is
named.
_Inaugurate_ for _Begin_, _Establish_, etc. Inauguration implies some
degree of formality and ceremony.
_Incumbent_ for _Obligatory_. "It was incumbent upon me to relieve
him." Infelicitous and work-worn. Say, It was my duty, or, if enamored
of that particular metaphor, It lay upon me.
_Individual_. As a noun, this word means something that cannot be
considered as divided, a unit. But it is incorrect to call a man,
woman or child an individual, except with reference to mankind, to
society or to a class of persons. It will not do to say, "An
individual stood in the street," when no mention nor allusion has been
made, nor is going to be made, to some aggregate of individuals
considered as a whole.
_Indorse_. See _Endorse_.
_Insane Asylum_. Obviously an asylum cannot be unsound in mind. Say,
asylum for the insane.
_In Spite of_. In most instances it is better to say despite.
_Inside of_. Omit the preposition.
_Insignificant_ for _Trivial_, or _Small_. Insignificant means not
signifying anything, and should be used only in contrast, expressed or
implied, with something that is important for what it implies. The
bear's tail may be insignificant to a naturalist tracing the animal's
descent from an earlier species, but to the rest of us, not concerned
with the matter, it is merely small.
_Insoluble_ for _Unsolvable_. Use the former word for material
substances, the latter for problems.
_Inst._, _Prox._, _Ult._ These abbreviations of _instante mense_ (in
the present month), _proximo mense_ (in the next month) and _ultimo
mense_ (in the last month), are serviceable enough in commercial
correspondence, but, like A.M., P.M. and many other contractions of
Latin words, could profitably be spared from literature.
_Integrity_ for _Honesty_. The word means entireness, wholeness. It
may be rightly used to affirm possession of all the virtues, that is,
unity of moral character.
_Involve_ for _Entail_. "Proof of the charges will involve his
dismissal." Not at all; it will entail it. To involve is, literally,
to infold, not to bring about, nor cause to ensue. An unofficial
investigation, for example, may involve character and reputation, but
the ultimate consequence is entailed. A question, in the parliamentary
sense, may involve a principle; its settlement one way or another may
entail expense, or injury to interests. An act may involve one's honor
and entail disgrace.
_It_ for _So_. "Going into the lion's cage is dangerous; you should
not do it." Do so is the better expression, as a rule, for the word it
is a pronoun, meaning a thing, or object, and therefore incapable of
being done. Colloquially we may say do it, or do this, or do that, but
in serious written discourse greater precision is desirable, and is
better obtained, in most cases, by use of the adverb.
_Item_ for _Brief Article_. Commonly used of a narrative in a
newspaper. Item connotes an aggregate of which it is a unit--one thing
of many. Hence it suggests more than we may wish to direct attention
to.
_Jackies_ for _Sailors_. Vulgar, and especially offensive to seamen.
_Jeopardize_ for _Imperil_, or _Endanger_. The correct word is
jeopard, but in any case there is no need for anything so farfetched
and stilted.
_Juncture_. Juncture means a joining, a junction; its use to signify a
time, however critical a time, is absurd. "At this juncture the woman
screamed." In reading that account of it we scream too.
_Just Exactly_. Nothing is gained in strength nor precision by this
kind of pleonasm. Omit just.
_Juvenile_ for _Child_. This needless use of the adjective for the
noun is probably supposed to be humorous, like "canine" for dog,
"optic" for eye, "anatomy" for body, and the like. Happily the offense
is not very common.
_Kind of a_ for _Kind of_. "He was that kind of a man." Say that kind
of man. Man here is generic, and a genus comprises many kinds. But
there cannot be more than one kind of one thing. _Kind of_ followed by
an adjective, as, "kind of good," is almost too gross for censure.
_Landed Estate_ for _Property in Land_. Dreadful!
_Last_ and _Past_. "Last week." "The past week." Neither is accurate:
a week cannot be the last if another is already begun; and all weeks
except this one are past. Here two wrongs seem to make a right: we can
say the week last past. But will we? I trow not.
_Later on_. On is redundant; say, later.
_Laundry_. Meaning a place where clothing is washed, this word cannot
mean, also, clothing sent there to be washed.
_Lay_ (to place) for _Lie_ (to recline). "The ship lays on her side."
A more common error is made in the past tense, as, "He laid down on
the grass." The confusion comes of the identity of a present tense of
the transitive verb to lay and the past tense of the intransitive verb
to lie.
_Leading Question_. A leading question is not necessarily an important
one; it is one that is so framed as to suggest, or lead to, the answer
desired. Few others than lawyers use the term correctly.
_Lease_. To say of a man that he leases certain premises leaves it
doubtful whether he is lessor or lessee. Being ambiguous, the word
should be used with caution.
_Leave_ for _Go away_. "He left yesterday." Leave is a transitive
verb; name the place of departure.
_Leave_ for _Let_. "Leave it alone." By this many persons mean, not
that it is to be left in solitude, but that it is to be untouched, or
unmolested.
_Lengthways_ for _Lengthwise_.
_Lengthy_. Usually said in disparagement of some wearisome discourse.
It is no better than breadthy, or thicknessy.
_Leniency_ for _Lenity_. The words are synonymous, but the latter is
the better.
_Less_ for _Fewer_. "The regiment had less than five hundred men."
Less relates to quantity, fewer, to number.
_Limited_ for _Small_, _Inadequate_, etc. "The army's operations were
confined to a limited area." "We had a limited supply of food." A
large area and an adequate supply would also be limited. Everything
that we know about is limited.
_Liable_ for _Likely_. "Man is liable to err." Man is not liable to
err, but to error. Liable should be followed, not by an infinitive,
but by a preposition.
_Like_ for _As_, or _As if_. "The matter is now like it was." "The
house looked like it would fall."
_Likely_ for _Probably_. "He will likely be elected." If likely is
thought the better word (and in most cases it is) put it this way: "It
is likely that he will be elected," or, "He is likely to be elected."
_Line_ for _Kind_, or _Class_. "This line of goods." Leave the word to
"salesladies" and "salesgentlemen." "That line of business." Say, that
business.
_Literally_ for _Figuratively_. "The stream was literally alive with
fish." "His eloquence literally swept the audience from its feet." It
is bad enough to exaggerate, but to affirm the truth of the
exaggeration is intolerable.
_Loan_ for _Lend_. "I loaned him ten dollars." We lend, but the act of
lending, or, less literally, the thing lent, is a loan.
_Locate_. "After many removals the family located at Smithville." Some
dictionaries give locate as an intransitive verb having that meaning,
but--well, dictionaries are funny.
_Lots_, or _a Lot_, for _Much_, or _Many_. "Lots of things." "A lot of
talk."
_Love_ for _Like_. "I love to travel." "I love apples." Keep the
stronger word for a stronger feeling.
_Lunch_ for _Luncheon_. But do not use luncheon as a verb.
_Mad_ for _Angry_. An Americanism of lessening prevalence. It is
probable that anger is a kind of madness (insanity), but that is not
what the misusers of the word mad mean to affirm.
_Maintain_ for _Contend_. "The senator maintained that the tariff was
iniquitous." He maintained it only if he proved it.
_Majority_ for _Plurality_. Concerning votes cast in an election, a
majority is more than half the total; a plurality is the excess of one
candidate's votes over another's. Commonly the votes compared are
those for the successful candidate and those for his most nearly
successful competitor.
_Make_ for _Earn_. "He makes fifty dollars a month by manual labor."
_Mansion_ for _Dwelling_, or _House_. Usually mere hyperbole, a
lamentable fault of our national literature. Even our presidents,
before Roosevelt, called their dwelling the Executive Mansion.
_Masculine_ for _Male_. See _Feminine_.
_Mend_ for _Repair_. "They mended the road." To mend is to repair, but
to repair is not always to mend. A stocking is mended, a road
repaired.
_Meet_ for _Meeting_. This belongs to the language of sport, which
persons of sense do not write--nor read.
_Militate_. "Negligence militates against success." If "militate"
meant anything it would mean fight, but there is no such word.
_Mind_ for _Obey_. This is a reasonless extension of one legitimate
meaning of mind, namely, to heed, to give attention.
_Minus_ for _Lacking_, or _Without_. "After the battle he was minus an
ear." It is better in serious composition to avoid such alien words as
have vernacular equivalents.
_Mistaken_ for _Mistake_. "You are mistaken." For whom? Say, You
mistake.
_Monarch_ for _King, Emperor_, or _Sovereign_. Not only hyperbolical,
but inaccurate. There is not a monarch in Christendom.
_Moneyed_ for _Wealthy_. "The moneyed men of New York." One might as
sensibly say, "The cattled men of Texas," or, "The lobstered men of
the fish market."
_Most_ for _Almost_. "The apples are most all gone." "The returning
travelers were most home."
_Moved_ for _Removed_. "The family has moved to another house." "The
Joneses were moving."
_Mutual_. By this word we express a reciprocal relation. It implies
exchange, a giving and taking, not a mere possessing in common. There
can be a mutual affection, or a mutual hatred, but not a mutual
friend, nor a mutual horse.
_Name_ for _Title and Name_. "His name was Mr. Smith." Surely no babe
was ever christened Mister.
_Necessaries_ for _Means_. "Bread and meat are necessaries of life."
Not so; they are the mere means, for one can, and many do, live
comfortably without them. Food and drink are necessaries of life, but
particular kinds of food and drink are not.
_Necessities_ for _Necessaries_. "Necessities of life are those things
without which we cannot live."
_Née_. Feminine of _né_, born. "Mrs. Jones, _née_ Lucy Smith." She
could hardly have been christened before her birth. If you must use
the French word say, _née_ Smith.
_Negotiate_. From the Latin _negotium_. It means, as all know, to fix
the terms for a transaction, to bargain. But when we say, "The driver
negotiated a difficult turn of the road," or, "The chauffeur
negotiated a hill," we speak nonsense.
_Neither--or_ for _Neither--nor_. "Neither a cat or fish has wool."
Always after neither use nor.
_New Beginner_ for _Beginner_.
_Nice_ for _Good_, or _Agreeable_. "A nice girl." Nice means
fastidious, delicately discriminative, and the like. Pope uses the
word admirably of a dandy who was skilled in the nice conduct
[management] of a clouded cane.
_Noise_ for _Sound_. "A noise like a flute"; "a noise of twittering
birds," etc. A noise is a loud or disagreeable sound, or combination
or succession of sounds.
_None_. Usually, and in most cases, singular; as, None has come. But
it is not singular because it always means not one, for frequently it
does not, as, The bottle was full of milk, but none is left. When it
refers to numbers, not quantity, popular usage stubbornly insists that
it is plural, and at least one respectable authority says that as a
singular it is offensive. One is sorry to be offensive to a good man.
_No Use_. "He tried to smile, but it was no use." Say, of no use, or,
less colloquially, in vain.
_Novel_ for _Romance_. In a novel there is at least an apparent
attention to considerations of probability; it is a narrative of what
might occur. Romance flies with a free wing and owns no allegiance to
likelihood. Both are fiction, both works of imagination, but should
not be confounded. They are as distinct as beast and bird.
_Numerous_ for _Many_. Rightly used, numerous relates to numbers, but
does not imply a great number. A correct use is seen in the term
numerous verse--verse consisting of poetic numbers; that is,
rhythmical feet.
_Obnoxious_ for _Offensive_. Obnoxious means exposed to evil. A
soldier in battle is obnoxious to danger.
_Occasion_ for _Induce_, or _Cause_. "His arrival occasioned a great
tumult." As a verb, the word is needless and unpleasing.
_Occasional Poems_. These are not, as so many authors and compilers
seem to think, poems written at irregular and indefinite intervals,
but poems written for _occasions_, such as anniversaries, festivals,
celebrations and the like.
_Of Any_ for _Of All_. "The greatest poet of any that we have had."
_Offhanded_ and _Offhandedly_. Offhand is both adjective and adverb;
these are bastard forms.
_On the Street_. A street comprises the roadway and the buildings at
each side. Say, in the street. He lives in Broadway.
_One Another_ for _Each Other_. See _Each Other_.
_Only_. "He only had one." Say, He had only one, or, better, one only.
The other sentence might be taken to mean that only he had one; that,
indeed, is what it distinctly says. The correct placing of only in a
sentence requires attention and skill.
_Opine_ for _Think_. The word is not very respectably connected.
_Opposite_ for _Contrary_. "I hold the opposite opinion." "The
opposite practice."
_Or_ for _Nor_. Probably our most nearly universal solecism. "I cannot
see the sun or the moon." This means that I am unable to see one of
them, though I may see the other. By using nor, I affirm the
invisibility of both, which is what I wanted to do. If a man is not
white or black he may nevertheless be a Negro or a Caucasian; but if
he is not white nor black he belongs to some other race. See
_Neither_.
_Ordinarily_ for _Usually_. Clumsy.
_Ovation_. In ancient Rome an ovation was an inferior triumph accorded
to victors in minor wars or unimportant battle. Its character and
limitations, like those of the triumph, were strictly defined by law
and custom. An enthusiastic demonstration in honor of an American
civilian is nothing like that, and should not be called by its name.
_Over_ for _About_, _In_, or _Concerning_. "Don't cry over spilt
milk." "He rejoiced over his acquittal."
_Over_ for _More than_. "A sum of over ten thousand dollars." "Upward
of ten thousand dollars" is equally objectionable.
_Over_ for _On_. "The policeman struck him over the head." If the blow
was over the head it did not hit him.
_Over with_. "Let us have it over with." Omit with. A better
expression is, Let us get done with it.
_Outside of_. Omit the preposition.
_Pair_ for _Pairs_. If a word has a good plural use each form in its
place.
_Pants_ for _Trousers_. Abbreviated from pantaloons, which are no
longer worn. Vulgar exceedingly.
_Partially_ for _Partly_. A dictionary word, to swell the book.
_Party_ for _Person_. "A party named Brown." The word, used in that
sense, has the excuse that it is a word. Otherwise it is no better
than "pants" and "gent." A person making an agreement, however, is a
party to that agreement.
_Patron_ for _Customer_.
_Pay_ for _Give_, _Make_, etc. "He pays attention." "She paid a visit
to Niagara." It is conceivable that one may owe attention or a visit
to another person, but one cannot be indebted to a place.
_Pay_. "Laziness does not pay." "It does not pay to be uncivil." This
use of the word is grossly commercial. Say, Indolence is unprofitable.
There is no advantage in incivility.
_Peek_ for _Peep_. Seldom heard in England, though common here. "I
peeked out through the curtain and saw him." That it is a variant of
peep is seen in the child's word peek-a-boo, equivalent to bo-peep.
Better use the senior word.