"A tribe of _egotists_ for whom I have always had a mortal
aversion."--"Spectator."
EITHER. This word means, strictly, the _one_ or the _other_ of two.
Unlike _both_, which means two taken collectively, _either_, like
_each_, may mean _two considered separately_; but in this sense _each_
is the better word to use. "Give me _either_ of them" means, Give me the
one or the other of two. "He has a farm on _either_ side of the river"
would mean that he has two farms, one on each (or either) side of the
river. "He has a farm on _both_ sides of the river" would mean that his
farm lies partly on the one side of the river and partly on the other.
The use of _either_ in the sense of _each_, though biblical and
defensible, may be accounted little if any better than an affectation.
_Neither_ is the negative of _either_. _Either_ is responded to by
_or_, _neither_ by _nor_; as, "_either_ this _or_ that," "_neither_ this
_nor_ that." _Either_ and _neither_ should not--strictly--be used in
relation to more than two objects. But, though both _either_ and
_neither_ are strictly applicable to two only, they have been for a very
long time used in relation to more than two by many good writers; and,
as it is often convenient so to use them, it seems probable that the
custom will prevail. When more than two things are referred to, _any_
and _none_ should be used instead of _either_ and _neither_; as, "_any_
of the three," not, "_either_ of the three"; "_none_ of the four," not,
"_neither_ of the four."
EITHER ALTERNATIVE. The word _alternative_ means a choice offered
between two things. An _alternative writ_, for example, offers the
_alternative_ of choosing between the doing of a specified act or of
showing cause why it is not done. Such propositions, therefore, as, "You
are at liberty to choose _either_ alternative," "_Two_ alternatives are
presented to me," "_Several_ alternatives presented themselves," and the
like, are not correct English. The word is correctly used thus: "I am
confronted with a hard _alternative_: I must either denounce a friend or
betray my trust." We rarely hear the word _alternate_ or any of its
derivatives correctly pronounced.
ELDER. See OLDER.
ELEGANT. Professor Proctor says: "If you say to an American, 'This is a
fine morning,' he is likely to reply, 'It is an _elegant_ morning,' or
perhaps oftener by using simply the word _elegant_. This is not a
pleasing use of the word." This is not American English, Professor, but
popinjay English.
ELLIPSIS. The omission of a word or of words necessary to complete the
grammatical construction, but not necessary to make the meaning clear,
is called an _ellipsis_. We almost always, whether in speaking or in
writing, leave out some of the words necessary to the _full_ expression
of our meaning. For example, in dating a letter to-day, we should write,
"New York, August 25, 1881," which would be, if fully written out, "I am
now writing in the city of New York; this is the twenty-fifth day of
August, and this month is in the one thousand eight hundred and
eighty-first year of the Christian era." "I am going to Wallack's"
means, "I am going to Wallack's _theatre_." "I shall spend the summer at
my aunt's"; i. e., at my aunt's _house_.
By supplying the _ellipses_ we can often discover the errors in a
sentence, if there are any.
ENJOY BAD HEALTH. As no one has ever been known to _enjoy_ bad health,
it is better to employ some other form of expression than this. Say, for
example, he is in _feeble_, or _delicate_, health.
ENTHUSE. This is a word that is occasionally heard in conversation, and
is sometimes met with in print; but it has not as yet made its
appearance in the dictionaries. What its ultimate fate will be, of
course, no one can tell; for the present, however, it is studiously
shunned by those who are at all careful in the selection of their
language. It is said to be most used in the South. The writer has never
seen it anywhere in the North but in the columns of the "Boston
Congregationalist."
EPIGRAM. "The word _epigram_ signified originally an inscription on a
monument. It next came to mean a short poem containing some single
thought pointedly expressed, the subjects being very various--amatory,
convivial, moral, eulogistic, satirical, humorous, etc. Of the various
devices for brevity and point employed in such compositions, especially
in modern times, the most frequent is a play upon words.... In the
_epigram_ the mind is roused by a conflict or contradiction between the
form of the language and the meaning really conveyed."--Bain.
Some examples are:
"When you have nothing to say, say it."
"We can not see the wood for the trees"; that is, we can not get a
general view because we are so engrossed with the details.
"Verbosity is cured by a large vocabulary"; that is, he who commands a
large vocabulary is able to select words that will give his meaning
tersely.
"By indignities men come to dignities."
"Some people are too foolish to commit follies."
"He went to his imagination for his facts, and to his memory for his
tropes."
EPITHET. Many persons use this word who are in error with regard to its
meaning; they think that to "apply epithets" to a person is to vilify
and insult him. Not at all. An _epithet_ is a word that expresses a
quality, good or bad; a term that expresses an attribute. "All
_adjectives_ are _epithets_, but all _epithets_ are not _adjectives_,"
says Crabb; "thus, in Virgil's Pater Æneas, the _pater_ is an _epithet_,
but not an _adjective_." _Epithet_ is the technical term of the
rhetorician; _adjective_, that of the grammarian.
EQUALLY AS WELL. A redundant form of expression, as any one will see who
for a moment considers it. _As well_, or _equally well_, expresses quite
as much as _equally as well_.
EQUANIMITY OF MIND. This phrase is tautological, and expresses no more
than does _equanimity_ (literally, "equalmindedness") alone; hence, _of
mind_ is superfluous, and consequently inelegant. _Anxiety of mind_ is a
scarcely less redundant form of expression. _A capricious mind_ is in
the same category.
ERRATUM. Plural, _errata_.
ESQUIRE. An esquire was originally the shield-bearer of a knight. It is
much, and, in the opinion of some, rather absurdly, used in this
country. Mr. Richard Grant White says on the subject of its use: "I have
yet to discover what a man means when he addresses a letter to John
Dash, _Esqr._" He means no more nor less than when he writes _Mr._
(master). The use of _Esq._ is quite as prevalent in England as in
America, and has little more meaning there than here. It simply belongs
to our stock of courteous epithets.
EUPHEMISM. A description which describes in inoffensive language that
which is of itself offensive, or a figure which uses agreeable
phraseology when the literal would be offensive, is called a
_euphemism_.
EVENTUATE. See EFFECTUATE.
EVERLASTINGLY. This adverb is misused in the South in a manner that is
very apt to excite the risibility of one to whom the peculiar misuse is
new. The writer recently visited the upper part of New York with a
distinguished Southern poet and journalist. It was the gentleman's first
ride over an elevated road. When we were fairly under way, in admiration
of the rate of speed at which the cars were moving, he exclaimed, "Well,
they do just _everlastingly_ shoot along, don't they!"
EVERY. This word, which means simply each or all taken separately, is of
late years frequently made, by slipshod speakers, to do duty for
perfect, entire, great, or all possible. Thus we have such expressions
as _every_ pains, _every_ confidence, _every_ praise, _every_ charity,
and so on. We also have such diction as, "_Every one_ has this in
common"; meaning, "_All of us_ have this in common."
EVERY-DAY LATIN. _A fortiori_: with stronger reason. _A posteriori_:
from the effect to the cause. _A priori_: from the cause to the effect.
_Bona fide_: in good faith; in reality. _Certiorari_: to be made more
certain. _Ceteris paribus_: other circumstances being equal. _De facto_:
in fact; in reality. _De jure_: in right; in law. _Ecce homo_: behold
the man. _Ergo_: therefore. _Et cetera_: and the rest; and so on.
_Excerpta_: extracts. _Exempli gratia_: by way of example; abbreviated,
_e. g._, and _ex. gr._ _Ex officio_: by virtue of his office. _Ex
parte_: on one side; an _ex parte_ statement is a statement on one side
only. _Ibidem_: in the same place; abbreviated, _ibid._ _Idem_: the
same. _Id est_: that is; abbreviated, _i. e._ _Imprimis_: in the first
place. _In statu quo_: in the former state; just as it was. _In statu
quo ante bellum_: in the same state as before the war. _In transitu_: in
passing. _Index expurgatorius_: a purifying index. _In extremis_: at the
point of death. _In memoriam_: in memory. _Ipse dixit_: on his sole
assertion. _Item_: also. _Labor omnia vincit_: labor overcomes every
difficulty. _Locus sigilli_: the place of the seal. _Multum in parvo_:
much in little. _Mutatis mutandis_: after making the necessary changes.
_Ne plus ultra_: nothing beyond; the utmost point. _Nolens volens_:
willing or unwilling. _Nota bene_: mark well; take particular notice.
_Omnes_: all. _O tempora, O mores!_ O the times and the manners! _Otium
cum dignitate_: ease with dignity. _Otium sine dignitate_: ease without
dignity. _Particeps criminis_: an accomplice. _Peccavi_: I have sinned.
_Per se_: by itself. _Prima facie_: on the first view or appearance; at
first sight. _Pro bono publico_: for the public good. _Quid nunc_: what
now? _Quid pro quo_: one thing for another; an equivalent. _Quondam_:
formerly. _Rara avis_: a rare bird; a prodigy. _Resurgam_: I shall rise
again. _Seriatim_: in order. _Sine die_: without specifying any
particular day; to an indefinite time. _Sine qua non_: an indispensable
condition. _Sui generis_: of its own kind. _Vade mecum_: go with me.
_Verbatim_: word by word. _Versus_: against. _Vale_: fare-well. _Via_:
by the way of. _Vice_: in the place of. _Vide_: see. _Vi et armis_: by
main force. _Viva voce_: orally; by word of mouth. _Vox populi, vox
Dei_: the voice of the people is the voice of God.
EVIDENCE--TESTIMONY. These words, though differing widely in meaning,
are often used indiscriminately by careless speakers. _Evidence_ is that
which _tends_ to convince; _testimony_ is that which is _intended_ to
convince. In a judicial investigation, for example, there might be a
great deal of _testimony_--a great deal of _testifying_--and very little
_evidence_; and the _evidence_ might be quite the reverse of the
_testimony_. See PROOF.
EXAGGERATION. "Weak minds, feeble writers and speakers delight in
_superlatives_." See EFFORT WITHOUT EFFECT.
EXCEPT. "No one need apply _except_ he is thoroughly familiar with the
business," should be, "No one need apply _unless_," etc.
EXCESSIVELY. That class of persons who are never content with any form
of expression that falls short of the superlative, frequently use
_excessively_ when _exceedingly_ or even the little word _very_ would
serve their turn better. They say, for example, that the weather is
_excessively hot_, when they should content themselves with saying
simply that the weather is _very warm_, or, if the word suits them
better, _hot_. Intemperance in the use of language is as much to be
censured as intemperance in anything else; like intemperance in other
things, its effect is vulgarizing.
EXECUTE. This word means to follow out to the end, to carry into effect,
to accomplish, to fulfill, to perform; as, to execute an order, to
execute a purpose. And the dictionaries and almost universal usage say
that it also means to put to death in conformity with a judicial
sentence; as, to execute a criminal. Some of our careful speakers,
however, maintain that the use of the word in this sense is
indefensible. They say that _laws_ and _sentences_ are executed, but not
_criminals_, and that their execution only rarely results in the death
of the persons upon whom they are executed. In the hanging of a
criminal, it is, then, not the criminal who is executed, but the law and
the sentence. The criminal is _hanged_.
EXPECT. This verb always has reference to what is to come, never to what
is past. We can not _expect_ backward. Instead, therefore, of saying, "I
_expect_, you thought I would come to see you yesterday," we should say,
"I _suppose_," etc.
EXPERIENCE. "We _experience_ great difficulty in getting him to take his
medicine." The word _have_ ought to be big enough, in a sentence like
this, for anybody. "We _experienced_ great hardships." Better, "We
_suffered_."
EXTEND. This verb, the primary meaning of which is to stretch out, is
used, especially by lovers of big words, in connections where to give,
to show, or to offer would be preferable. For example, it is certainly
better to say, "They _showed_ me every courtesy," than "They _extended_
every courtesy to me." See EVERY.
FALSE GRAMMAR. Some examples of false grammar will show what every one
is the better for knowing: that in literature nothing should be taken on
trust; that errors of grammar even are found where we should least
expect them. "I do not know whether the imputation _were_ just or
not."--Emerson. "I proceeded to inquire if the 'extract' ... _were_ a
veritable quotation."--Emerson. Should be _was_ in both cases. "How
_sweet_ the moonlight sleeps!"--Townsend, "Art of Speech," vol. i, p.
114. Should be _sweetly_. "There is no question _but_ these arts ...
will greatly aid him," etc.--Ibid., p. 130. Should be _that_. "Nearly
all who have been distinguished in literature or oratory have made ...
the generous confession that their attainments _have been_ reached
through patient and laborious industry. They have declared that speaking
and writing, though once difficult for them, _have become_ well-nigh
recreations."--Ibid., p. 143. The _have been_ should be _were_, and the
_have become_ should be _became_. "Many pronominal adverbs are
correlatives of _each other_."--Harkness's "New Latin Grammar," p. 147.
Should be _one another_. "Hot and cold springs, boiling springs, and
quiet springs lie within a few feet of _each other_, but _none of them
are properly geysers_."--Appletons' "Condensed Cyclopædia," vol. ii, p.
414. Should be _one another_, and _not one of them is properly a
geyser_. "How much better for you as seller and the nation as buyer ...
than to sink ... in cutting _one another's_ throats." Should be _each
other's_. "A minister, noted for prolixity of style, was once preaching
before the inmates of a lunatic asylum. In one of his illustrations he
painted a scene of a man condemned to be hung, but reprieved under the
gallows." These two sentences are so faulty that the only way to mend
them is to rewrite them. They are from a work that professes to teach
the "art of speech." Mended: "A minister, noted for his prolixity, once
_preached_ before the inmates of a lunatic asylum. By way of
illustration he painted a scene in which a man, _who had been_ condemned
to be _hanged_, _was_ reprieved under the gallows."
FEMALE. The terms _male_ and _female_ are not unfrequently used where
good taste would suggest some other word. For example, we see over the
doors of school-houses, "Entrance for males," "Entrance for females."
Now bucks and bulls are males as well as boys and men, and cows and sows
are females as well as girls and women.
FETCH. See BRING.
FEWER. See LESS.
FINAL COMPLETION. If there were such a thing as a plurality or a series
of completions, there would, of course, be such a thing as the _final_
completion; but, as every completion is final, to talk about a _final
completion_ is as absurd as it would be to talk about a _final
finality_.
FIRST RATE. There are people who object to this phrase, and yet it is
well enough when properly placed, as it is, for example, in such a
sentence as this: "He's a 'first class' fellow, and I like him _first
rate_; if I didn't, 'you bet' I'd just give him 'hail Columbia' for
'blowing' the thing all round town like the big fool that he is."
FIRSTLY. George Washington Moon says in defense of _firstly_: "I do not
object to the occasional use of _first_ as an adverb; but, in sentences
where it would be followed by _secondly_, _thirdly_, etc., I think that
the adverbial form is preferable." To this, one of Mr. Moon's critics
replies: "However desirable it may be to employ the word _firstly_ on
certain occasions, the fact remains that the employment of it on any
occasion is not the best usage." Webster inserts _firstly_, but remarks,
"Improperly used for _first_."
FLEE--FLY. These verbs, though near of kin, are not interchangeable. For
example, we can not say, "He _flew_ the city," "He _flew_ from his
enemies," "He _flew_ at the approach of danger," _flew_ being the
imperfect tense of _to fly_, which is properly used to express the
action of birds on the wing, of kites, arrows, etc. The imperfect tense
of _to flee_ is _fled_; hence, "He _fled_ the city," etc.
FORCIBLE-FEEBLE. This is a "novicy" kind of diction in which the
would-be forcible writer defeats his object by the overuse of
expletives. Examples: "And yet the _great_ centralization of wealth is
one of the [great] evils of the day. All that Mr. ---- _utters_ [says]
upon this point is _forcible and_ just. This centralization is due to
the _enormous_ reproductive power of capital, to the _immense_ advantage
that _costly and complicated_ machinery gives to _great_ [large]
establishments, and to _the marked_ difference of personal force among
men." The first _great_ is misplaced; the word _utters_ is misused; the
second _great_ is ill-chosen. The other words in italics only enfeeble
the sentence. Again: "In countries where _immense_ [large] estates
exist, a breaking up of these _vast_ demesnes into _many_ minor
freeholds would no doubt be a [of] _very_ great advantage." Substitute
_large_ for _immense_, and take out _vast_, _many_, and _very_, and the
language becomes much more forcible. Again: "The _very_ first effect of
the ---- taxation plan would be destructive to the interests of this
_great multitude_ [class]; it would impoverish our _innumerable_
farmers, _it would_ confiscate the earnings of [our] _industrious_
tradesmen and artisans, _it would_ [and] paralyze the hopes of
_struggling_ millions." What a waste of portly expletives is here! With
them the sentence is high-flown and weak; take them out, and introduce
the words inclosed in brackets, and it becomes simple and forcible.
FRIEND--ACQUAINTANCE. Some philosopher has said that he who has half a
dozen friends in the course of his life may esteem himself fortunate;
and yet, to judge from many people's talk, one would suppose they had
friends by the score. No man knows whether he has any friends or not
until he has "their adoption tried"; hence, he who is desirous to call
things by their right names will, as a rule, use the word _acquaintance_
instead of _friend_. "Your friend" is a favorite and very objectionable
way many people, especially young people, have of writing themselves at
the bottom of their letters. In this way the obscure stripling protests
himself the FRIEND of the first man in the land, and that, too, when he
is, perhaps, a comparative stranger and asking a favor.
GALSOME. Here is a good, sonorous Anglo-Saxon word--meaning malignant,
venomous, churlish--that has fallen into disuse.
GENTLEMAN. Few things are in worse taste than to use the term
_gentleman_, whether in the singular or plural, to designate the sex.
"If I was a _gentleman_," says Miss Snooks. "_Gentlemen_ have just as
much curiosity as _ladies_," says Mrs. Jenkins. "_Gentlemen_ have so
much more liberty than we _ladies_ have," says Mrs. Parvenue. Now, if
these ladies were ladies, they would in each of these cases use the word
_man_ instead of _gentleman_, and _woman_ instead of _lady_; further,
Miss Snooks would say, "If I _were_." Well-bred men, men of culture and
refinement--gentlemen, in short--use the terms _lady_ and _gentleman_
comparatively little, and they are especially careful not to call
themselves _gentlemen_ when they can avoid it. A gentleman, for example,
does not say, "I, with some _other_ gentlemen, went," etc.; he is
careful to leave out the word _other_. The men who use these terms most,
and especially those who lose no opportunity to proclaim themselves
_gentlemen_, belong to that class of men who cock their hats on one side
of their heads, and often wear them when and where gentlemen would
remove them; who pride themselves on their familiarity with the latest
slang; who proclaim their independence by showing the least possible
consideration for others; who laugh long and loud at their own wit; who
wear a profusion of cheap finery, such as outlandish watch-chains hooked
in the lowest button-hole of their vests, Brazilian diamonds in their
shirt-bosoms, and big seal-rings on their little fingers; who use bad
grammar and interlard their conversation with big oaths. In business
correspondence Smith is addressed as _Sir_, while Smith & Brown are
often addressed as _Gentlemen_--or, vulgarly, as _Gents_. Better, much,
is it to address them as _Sirs_.
Since writing the foregoing, I have met with the following paragraph in
the London publication, "All the Year Round": "Socially, the term
'gentleman' has become almost vulgar. It is certainly less employed by
gentlemen than by inferior persons. The one speaks of 'a man I know,'
the other of 'a gentleman I know.' In the one case the gentleman is
taken for granted, in the other it seems to need specification. Again,
as regards the term 'lady.' It is quite in accordance with the usages of
society to speak of your acquaintance the duchess as 'a very nice
person.' People who would say 'very nice lady' are not generally of a
social class which has much to do with duchesses; and if you speak of
one of these as a 'person,' you will soon be made to feel your mistake."
GENTS. Of all vulgarisms, this is, perhaps, the most offensive. If we
say _gents_, why not say _lades_?
GERUND. "'I have work _to do_,' 'there is no more _to say_,' are phrases
where the verb is not in the common infinitive, but in the form of the
_gerund_. 'He is the man _to do_ it, or _for doing_ it.' 'A house _to
let_,' 'the course _to steer_ by,' 'a place _to lie_ in,' 'a thing _to
be_ done,' 'a city _to take_ refuge in,' 'the means _to do_ ill deeds,'
are adjective gerunds; they may be expanded into clauses: 'a house that
the owner lets or will let'; 'the course that we should steer by'; 'a
thing that should be done'; 'a city wherein one may take refuge'; 'the
means whereby ill deeds may be done.' When the _to_ ceased in the
twelfth century to be a distinctive mark of the dative infinitive or
gerund, _for_ was introduced to make the writer's intention clear. Hence
the familiar form in 'what went ye out _for to see_?' 'they came _for to
show_ him the temple.'"--Bain.
GET. In sentences expressing simple possession--as, "I have _got_ a
book," "What has he _got_ there?" "Have you _got_ any news?" "They have
_got_ a new house," etc.--_got_ is entirely superfluous, if not, as some
writers contend, absolutely incorrect. Possession is completely
expressed by _have_. "Foxes have holes; the birds of the air have
nests"; not, "Foxes have _got_ holes; the birds of the air have _got_
nests." Formerly the imperfect tense of this verb was _gat_, which is
now obsolete, and the perfect participle was _gotten_, which, some
grammarians say, is growing obsolete. If this be true, there is no good
reason for it. If we say _eaten_, _written_, _striven_, _forgotten_, why
not say _gotten_, where this form of the participle is more
euphonious--as it often is--than _got_?
GOODS. This term, like other terms used in trade, should be restricted
to the vocabulary of commerce. Messrs. Arnold & Constable, in common
with the Washington Market huckster, very properly speak of their wares
as their _goods_; but Mrs. Arnold and Mrs. Constable should, and I doubt
not do, speak of their gowns as being made of fine or coarse _silk_,
_cashmere_, _muslin_, or whatever the material may be.
GOULD AGAINST ALFORD. Mr. Edward S. Gould, in his review of Dean
Alford's "Queen's English," remarks, on page 131 of his "Good English":
"And now, as to the style[4] of the Dean's book, taken as a whole. He
must be held responsible for every error in it; because, as has been
shown, he has had full leisure for its revision.[5] The errors are,
nevertheless, numerous; and the shortest way to exhibit them is[6] in
tabular form." In several instances Mr. Gould would not have taken the
Dean to task had he known English better. The following are a few of Mr.
Gould's corrections in which he is clearly in the right: