Write It Right. A Little Blacklist of Literary Faults Read online

"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."

  Depot for Station

  "Railroad depot." A depot is a place of deposit; as, a depot 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.

  Employe

  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 s
ession 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
r />   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.