distinction, or particularity. Properly a thing is peculiar only to
another thing, of which it is characteristic, nothing else having it;
as knowledge of the use of fire is peculiar to Man.
_People_ for _Persons_. "Three people were killed." "Many people are
superstitious." People has retained its parity of meaning with the
Latin _populus_, whence it comes, and the word is not properly used
except to designate a population, or large fractions of it considered
in the mass. To speak of any stated or small number of persons as
people is incorrect.
_Per_. "Five dollars _per_ day." "Three _per_ hundred." Say, three
dollars a day; three in a hundred. If you must use the Latin
preposition use the Latin noun too: _per diem; per centum_.
_Perpetually_ for _Continually_. "The child is perpetually asking
questions." What is done perpetually is done continually and forever.
_Phenomenal_ for _Extraordinary_, or _Surprising_. Everything that
occurs is phenomenal, for all that we know about is phenomena,
appearances. Of realities, noumena, we are ignorant.
_Plead_ (pronounced "pled") for _Pleaded_. "He plead guilty."
_Plenty_ for _Plentiful_. "Fish and fowl were plenty."
_Poetess_. A foolish word, like "authoress."
_Poetry_ for _Verse_. Not all verse is poetry; not all poetry is
verse. Few persons can know, or hope to know, the one from the other,
but he who has the humility to doubt (if such a one there be) should
say verse if the composition is metrical.
_Point Blank_. "He fired at him point blank." This usually is intended
to mean directly, or at short range. But point blank means the point
at which the line of sight is crossed downward by the trajectory--the
curve described by the missile.
_Poisonous_ for _Venomous_. Hemlock is poisonous, but a rattlesnake is
venomous.
_Politics_. The word is not plural because it happens to end with s.
_Possess_ for _Have_. "To possess knowledge is to possess power."
Possess is lacking in naturalness and unduly emphasizes the concept of
ownership.
_Practically_ for _Virtually_. This error is very common. "It is
practically conceded." "The decision was practically unanimous." "The
panther and the cougar are practically the same animal." These and
similar misapplications of the word are virtually without excuse.
_Predicate_ for _Found_, or _Base_. "I predicate my argument on
universal experience." What is predicated of something is affirmed as
an attribute of it, as omnipotence is predicated of the Deity.
_Prejudice_ for _Prepossession_. Literally, a prejudice is merely a
prejudgment--a decision before evidence--and may be favorable or
unfavorable, but it is so much more frequently used in the latter
sense than in the former that clarity is better got by the other word
for reasonless approval.
_Preparedness_ for _Readiness_. An awkward and needless word much used
in discussion of national armaments, as, "Our preparedness for war."
_Preside_. "Professor Swackenhauer presided at the piano." "The
deviled crab table was presided over by Mrs. Dooley." How would this
sound? "The ginger pop stand was under the administration of President
Woolwit, and Professor Sooffle presided at the flute."
_Pretend_ for _Profess_. "I do not pretend to be infallible." Of
course not; one does not care to confess oneself a pretender. To
pretend is to try to deceive; one may profess quite honestly.
_Preventative_ for _Preventive_. No such word as preventative.
_Previous_ for _Previously_. "The man died previous to receipt of the
letter."
_Prior to_ for _Before_. Stilted.
_Propose_ for _Purpose_, or _Intend_. "I propose to go to Europe." A
mere intention is not a proposal.
_Proposition_ for _Proposal_. "He made a proposition." In current
slang almost anything is a proposition. A difficult enterprise is "a
tough proposition," an agile wrestler, "a slippery proposition," and
so forth.
_Proportions_ for _Dimensions_. "A rock of vast proportions."
Proportions relate to form; dimensions to magnitude.
_Proven_ for _Proved_. Good Scotch, but bad English.
_Proverbial_ for _Familiar_. "The proverbial dog in the manger." The
animal is not "proverbial" for it is not mentioned in a proverb, but
in a fable.
_Quit_ for _Cease_, _Stop_. "Jones promises to quit drinking." In
another sense, too, the word is commonly misused, as, "He has quit the
town." Say, quitted.
_Quite_. "She is quite charming." If it is meant that she is entirely
charming this is right, but usually the meaning intended to be
conveyed is less than that--that she is rather, or somewhat, charming.
_Raise_ for _Bring up_, _Grow_, _Breed_, etc. In this country a
word-of-all-work: "raise children," "raise wheat," "raise cattle."
Children are brought up, grain, hay and vegetables are grown, animals
and poultry are bred.
_Real_ for _Really_, or _Very_. "It is real good of him." "The weather
was real cold."
_Realize_ for _Conceive_, or _Comprehend_. "I could not realize the
situation." Writers caring for precision use this word in the sense of
to make real, not to make seem real. A dream seems real, but is
actually realized when made to come true.
_Recollect_ for _Remember_. To remember is to have in memory; to
recollect is to recall what has escaped from memory. We remember
automatically; in recollecting we make a conscious effort.
_Redeem_ for _Retrieve_. "He redeemed his good name." Redemption
(Latin _redemptio_, from _re_ and _dimere_) is allied to ransom, and
carries the sense of buying back; whereas to retrieve is merely to
recover what was lost.
_Redound_ for _Conduce_. "A man's honesty redounds to his advantage."
We make a better use of the word if we say of one (for example) who
has squandered a fortune, that its loss redounds to his advantage, for
the word denotes a fluctuation, as from seeming evil to actual good;
as villification may direct attention to one's excellent character.
_Refused_. "He was refused a crown." It is the crown that was refused
to him. See _Given_.
_Regular_ for _Natural_, or _Customary_. "Flattery of the people is
the demagogue's regular means to political preferment." Regular
properly relates to a rule (_regula_) more definite than the law of
antecedent and consequent.
_Reliable_ for _Trusty_, or _Trustworthy_. A word not yet admitted to
the vocabulary of the fastidious, but with a strong backing for the
place.
_Remit_ for _Send_. "On receiving your bill I will remit the money."
Remit does not mean that; it means give back, yield up, relinquish,
etc. It means, also, to cancel, as in the phrase, the remission of
sins.
_Rendition_ for _Interpretation_, or _Performance_. "The actor's
rendition of the part was good." Rendition means a surrender, or a
giving back.
_Reportorial_. A vile word, improperly made. It assumes the Latinized
spelling, "reporter." The Romans had not the word, for they were,
fortunately for them, without the thing.
_Repudiate_ for _Deny_. "He repudiated the accusation."
_Reside_ for _Live_. "They reside in Hohokus." Stilted.
_Residence_ for _Dwelling_, or _House._ See _Mansion_.
_Respect_ for _Way_, or _Matter_. "They were alike in that respect."
The misuse comes of abbreviating: the sentence properly written might
be, They were alike in respect of that--i.e., with regard to that.
The word in the bad sense has even been pluralized: "In many respects
it is admirable."
_Respective_. "They went to their respective homes." The adjective
here (if an adjective is thought necessary) should be several. In the
adverbial form the word is properly used in the sentence following:
John and James are bright and dull, respectively. That is, John is
bright and James dull.
_Responsible_. "The bad weather is responsible for much sickness."
"His intemperance was responsible for his crime." Responsibility is
not an attribute of anything but human beings, and few of these can
respond, in damages or otherwise. Responsible is nearly synonymous
with accountable and answerable, which, also, are frequently misused.
_Restive_ for _Restless_. These words have directly contrary meanings;
the dictionaries' disallowance of their identity would be something to
be thankful for, but that is a dream.
_Retire_ for _Go to Bed_. English of the "genteel" sort. See
_Genteel_.
_Rev_. for _The Rev_. "Rev. Dr. Smith."
_Reverence_ for _Revere_.
_Ride_ for _Drive_. On horseback one does drive, and in a vehicle one
does ride, but a distinction is needed here, as in England; so, here
as there, we may profitably make it, riding in the saddle and driving
in the carriage.
_Roomer_ for _Lodger_. See _Bedder_ and _Mealer_--if you can find
them.
_Round_ for _About_. "They stood round." See _Around_.
_Ruination_ for _Ruin_. Questionably derived and problematically
needful.
_Run_ for _Manage_, or _Conduct_. Vulgar--hardly better than slang.
_Say_ for _Voice_. "He had no say in determining the matter." Vulgar.
_Scholar_ for _Student_, or _Pupil_. A scholar is a person who is
learned, not a person who is learning.
_Score_ for _Win_, _Obtain_, etc. "He scored an advantage over his
opponent." To score is not to win a point, but to record it.
_Second-handed_ for _Second-hand_. There is no such word.
_Secure_ for _Procure_. "He secured a position as book-keeper." "The
dwarf secured a stick and guarded the jewels that he had found." Then
it was the jewels that were secured.
_Seldom ever_. A most absurd locution.
_Self-confessed_. "A self-confessed assassin." Self is superfluous:
one's sins cannot be confessed by another.
_Sensation_ for _Emotion_. "The play caused a great sensation." "A
sensational newspaper." A sensation is a physical feeling; an emotion,
a mental. Doubtless the one usually accompanies the other, but the
good writer will name the one that he has in mind, not the other.
There are few errors more common than the one here noted.
_Sense_ for _Smell_. "She sensed the fragrance of roses." Society
English.
_Set_ for _Sit_. "A setting hen."
_Settee_ for _Settle_. This word belongs to the peasantry of speech.
_Settle_ for _Pay_. "Settle the bill." "I shall take it now and settle
for it later."
_Shades_ for _Shade_. "Shades of Noah! how it rained!" "O shades of
Caesar!" A shade is a departed soul, as conceived by the ancients; one
to each mortal part is the proper allowance.
_Show_ for _Chance_, or _Opportunity_. "He didn't stand a show." Say,
He had no chance.
_Sick_ for _Ill_. Good usage now limits this word to cases of nausea,
but it is still legitimate in sickly, sickness, love-sick, and the
like.
_Side_ for _Agree_, or _Stand_. "I side with the Democrats." "He
always sided with what he thought right."
_Sideburns_ for _Burnsides_. A form of whiskers named from a noted
general of the civil war, Ambrose E. Burnside. It seems to be thought
that the word side has something to do with it, and that as an
adjective it should come first, according to our idiom.
_Side-hill_ for _Hillside_. A reasonless transposition for which it is
impossible to assign a cause, unless it is abbreviated from side o'
the hill.
_Sideways_ for _Sidewise_. See _Endways_.
_Since_ for _Ago_. "He came here not long since and died."
_Smart_ for _Bright_, or _Able_. An Americanism that is dying out. But
"smart" has recently come into use for fashionable, which is almost as
bad.
_Snap_ for _Period_ (of time) or _Spell_. "A cold snap." This is a
word of incomprehensible origin in that sense; we can know only that
its parents were not respectable. "Spell" is itself not very
well-born.
_So--as_. See _As--as_.
_So_ for _True_. "If you see it in the Daily Livercomplaint it is so."
"Is that so?" Colloquial and worse.
_Solemnize_. This word rightly means to make solemn, not to perform,
or celebrate, ceremoniously something already solemn, as a marriage,
or a mass. We have no exact synonym, but this explains, rather than
justifies, its use.
_Some_ for _Somewhat_. "He was hurt some."
_Soon_ for _Willingly_. "I would as soon go as stay." "That soldier
would sooner eat than fight." Say, rather eat.
_Space_ for _Period_. "A long space of time." Space is so different a
thing from time that the two do not go well together.
_Spend_ for _Pass_. "We shall spend the summer in Europe." Spend
denotes a voluntary relinquishment, but time goes from us against our
will.
_Square_ for _Block_. "He lives three squares away." A city block is
seldom square.
_Squirt_ for _Spurt_. Absurd.
_Stand_ and _Stand for_ for _Endure_. "The patient stands pain well."
"He would not stand for misrepresentation."
_Standpoint_ for _Point of View_, or _Viewpoint_.
_State_ for _Say_. "He stated that he came from Chicago." "It is
stated that the president is angry." We state a proposition, or a
principle, but say that we are well. And we say our prayers--some of
us.
_Still Continue_. "The rain still continues." Omit still; it is
contained in the other word.
_Stock_. "I take no stock in it." Disagreeably commercial. Say, I have
no faith in it. Many such metaphorical expressions were
unobjectionable, even pleasing, in the mouth of him who first used
them, but by constant repetition by others have become mere slang,
with all the offensiveness of plagiarism. The prime objectionableness
of slang is its hideous lack of originality. Until mouth-worn it is
not slang.
_Stop_ for _Stay_. "Prayer will not stop the ravages of cholera." Stop
is frequently misused for stay in another sense of the latter word:
"He is stopping at the hotel." Stopping is not a continuing act; one
cannot be stopping who has already stopped.
_Stunt_. A word recently introduced and now overworked, meaning a
task, or performance in one's trade, or calling,--doubtless a variant
of stint, without that word's suggestion of allotment and limitation.
It is still in the reptilian stage of evolution.
_Subsequent_ for _Later_, or _Succeeding_. Legitimate enough, but ugly
and needless. "He was subsequently hanged." Say, afterward.
_Substantiate_ for _Prove_. Why?
_Success_. "The project was a success." Say, was successful. Success
should not have the indefinite article.
_Such Another_ for _Another Such_. There is illustrious authority for
this--in poetry. Poets are a lawless folk, and may do as they please
so long as they do please.
_Such_ for _So_. "He had such weak legs that he could not stand." The
absurdity of this is made obvious by changing the form of the
statement: "His legs were such weak that he could not stand." If the
word is an adverb in the one sentence it is in the other. "He is such
a great bore that none can endure him." Say, so great a bore.
_Suicide_. This is never a verb. "He suicided." Say, He killed
himself, or He took his own life. See _Commit Suicide_.
_Supererogation_. To supererogate is to overpay, or to do more than
duty requires. But the excess must be in the line of duty; merely
needless and irrelevant action is not supererogation. The word is not
a natural one, at best.
_Sure_ for _Surely_. "They will come, sure." Slang.
_Survive_ for _Live_, or _Persist_. Survival is an outliving, or
outlasting of something else. "The custom survives" is wrong, but a
custom may survive its utility. Survive is a transitive verb.
_Sustain_ for _Incur_. "He sustained an injury." "He sustained a
broken neck." That means that although his neck was broken he did not
yield to the mischance.
_Talented_ for _Gifted_. These are both past participles, but there
was once the verb to gift, whereas there was never the verb "to
talent." If Nature did not talent a person the person is not talented.
_Tantamount_ for _Equivalent_. "Apology is tantamount to confession."
Let this ugly word alone; it is not only illegitimate, but ludicrously
suggests catamount.
_Tasty_ for _Tasteful_. Vulgar.
_Tear Down_ for _Pull Down_. "The house was torn down." This is an
indigenous solecism; they do not say so in England.
_Than Whom_. See _Whom_.
_The_. A little word that is terribly overworked. It is needlessly
affixed to names of most diseases: "the cholera," "the smallpox," "the
scarlet fever," and such. Some escape it: we do not say, "the
sciatica," nor "the locomotor ataxia." It is too common in general
propositions, as, "The payment of interest is the payment of debt."
"The virtues that are automatic are the best." "The tendency to
falsehood should be checked." "Kings are not under the control of the
law." It is impossible to note here all forms of this misuse, but a
page of almost any book will supply abundant instance. We do not
suffer so abject slavery to the definite article as the French, but
neither do we manifest their spirit of rebellion by sometimes cutting
off the oppressor's tail. One envies the Romans, who had no article,
definite or indefinite.
_The Following_. "Washington wrote the following." The following what?
Put in the noun. "The following animals are ruminants." It is not the
animals that follow, but their names.
_The Same_. "They cooked the flesh of the lion and ate the same." "An
old man lived in a cave, and the same was a cripple." In humorous
composition this may do, though it is not funny; but in serious work
use the regular pronoun.
_Then_ as an Adjective. "The then governor of the colony." Say, the
governor of the colony at that time.
_Those Kind_ for _That Kind_. "Those kind of things." Almost too
absurd for condemnation, and happily not very common out of the class
of analphabets.
_Though_ for _If_. "She wept as though her heart was broken." Many
good writers, even some devoid of the lexicographers' passion for
inclusion and approval, have specifically defended this locution,
backing their example by their precept. Perhaps it is a question of
taste; let us attend their cry and pass on.
_Thrifty_ for _Thriving_. "A thrifty village." To thrive is an end;
thrift is a means to that end.
_Through_ for _Done_. "The lecturer is through talking." "I am through
with it." Say, I have done with it.
_To_. As part of an infinitive it should not be separated from the
other part by an adverb, as, "to hastily think," for hastily to think,
or, to think hastily. Condemnation of the split infinitive is now
pretty general, but it is only recently that any one seems to have
thought of it. Our forefathers and we elder writers of this generation
used it freely and without shame--perhaps because it had not a name,
and our crime could not be pointed out without too much explanation.
_To_ for _At_. "We have been to church," "I was to the theater." One
can go to a place, but one cannot be to it.
_Total_. "The figures totaled 10,000." Say, The total of the figures
was 10,000.
_Transaction_ for _Action_, or _Incident_. "The policeman struck the
man with his club, but the transaction was not reported." "The picking
of a pocket is a criminal transaction." In a transaction two or more
persons must have an active or assenting part; as, a business
transaction, Transactions of the Geographical Society, etc. The
Society's action would be better called Proceedings.
_Transpire_ for _Occur_, _Happen_, etc. "This event transpired in
1906." Transpire (_trans_, through, and _spirare_, to breathe) means
leak out, that is, become known. What transpired in 1906 may have
occurred long before.
_Trifling_ for _Trivial_. "A trifling defect"; "a trifling error."
_Trust_ for _Wealthy Corporation_. There are few trusts; capitalists
have mostly abandoned the trust form of combination.
_Try an Experiment_. An experiment is a trial; we cannot try a trial.
Say, make.
_Try and_ for _Try to_. "I will try and see him." This plainly says
that my effort to see him will succeed--which I cannot know and do not
wish to affirm. "Please try and come." This colloquial slovenliness of
speech is almost universal in this country, but freedom of speech is
one of our most precious possessions.
_Ugly_ for _Ill-natured_, _Quarrelsome_. What is ugly is the temper,
or disposition, not the person having it.
_Under-handed_ and _Under-handedly_ for _Under-hand._ See
_Off-handed._
_Unique_. "This is very unique." "The most unique house in the city."
There are no degrees of uniqueness: a thing is unique if there is not
another like it. The word has nothing to do with oddity, strangeness,
nor picturesqueness.
_United States_ as a Singular Noun. "The United States is for peace."
The fact that we are in some ways one nation has nothing to do with
it; it is enough to know that the word States is plural--if not, what
is State? It would be pretty hard on a foreigner skilled in the
English tongue if he could not venture to use our national name
without having made a study of the history of our Constitution and
political institutions. Grammar has not a speaking acquaintance with
politics, and patriotic pride is not schoolmaster to syntax.
_Unkempt_ for _Disordered_, _Untidy_, etc. Unkempt means uncombed, and
can properly be said of nothing but the hair.
_Use_ for _Treat_. "The inmates were badly used." "They use him
harshly."
_Utter_ for _Absolute_, _Entire_, etc. Utter has a damnatory
signification and is to be used of evil things only. It is correct to
say utter misery, but not "utter happiness;" utterly bad, but not
"utterly good."
_Various_ for _Several_. "Various kinds of men." Kinds are various of
course, for they vary--that is what makes them kinds. Use various only
when, in speaking of a number of things, you wish to direct attention
to their variety--their difference, one from another. "The dividend
was distributed among the various stockholders." The stockholders
vary, as do all persons, but that is irrelevant and was not in mind.
"Various persons have spoken to me of you." Their variation is
unimportant; what is meant is that there was a small indefinite number
of them; that is, several.
_Ventilate_ for _Express, Disclose_, etc. "The statesman ventilated
his views." A disagreeable and dog-eared figure of speech.
_Verbal_ for _Oral_. All language is verbal, whether spoken or
written, but audible speech is oral. "He did not write, but
communicated his wishes verbally." It would have been a verbal
communication, also, if written.
_Vest_ for _Waistcoat_. This is American, but as all Americans are not
in agreement about it it is better to use the English word.
_Vicinity_ for _Vicinage_, or _Neighborhood_. "He lives in this
vicinity." If neither of the other words is desired say, He lives in
the vicinity of this place, or, better, He lives near by.
_View of_. "He invested with the view of immediate profit." "He
enlisted with the view of promotion." Say, with a view to.
_Vulgar_ for _Immodest_, _Indecent_. It is from _vulgus_, the common
people, the mob, and means both common and unrefined, but has no
relation to indecency.
_Way_ for _Away_. "Way out at sea." "Way down South."
_Ways_ for _Way_. "A squirrel ran a little ways along the road." "The
ship looked a long ways off." This surprising word calls loudly for
depluralization.
_Wed_ for _Wedded_. "They were wed at noon." "He wed her in Boston."
The word wed in all its forms as a substitute for marry, is pretty
hard to bear.
_Well_. As a mere meaningless prelude to a sentence this word is
overtasked. "Well, I don't know about that." "Well, you may try."
"Well, have your own way."
_Wet_ for _Wetted_. See _Bet_.
_Where_ for _When_. "Where there is reason to expect criticism write
discreetly."
_Which_ for _That_. "The boat which I engaged had a hole in it." But a
parenthetical clause may rightly be introduced by which; as, The boat,
which had a hole in it, I nevertheless engaged. Which and that are
seldom interchangeable; when they are, use that. It sounds better.
_Whip_ for _Chastise_, or _Defeat_. To whip is to beat with a whip. It
means nothing else.
_Whiskers_ for _Beard_. The whisker is that part of the beard that
grows on the cheek. See _Chin Whiskers_.
_Who_ for _Whom_. "Who do you take me for?"
_Whom_ for _Who_. "The man whom they thought was dead is living." Here
the needless introduction of was entails the alteration of whom to
who. "Remember whom it is that you speak of." "George Washington, than
whom there was no greater man, loved a jest." The misuse of whom after
than is almost universal. Who and whom trip up many a good writer,
although, unlike which and who, they require nothing but knowledge of
grammar.
_Widow Woman_. Omit woman.