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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Verbalist + A Manual Devoted to Brief Discussions of the Right and the + Wrong Use of Words and to Some Other Matters of Interest + to Those Who Would Speak and Write with Propriety. + +Author: Thomas Embly Osmun, (AKA Alfred Ayres) + +Release Date: August 30, 2007 [EBook #22457] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: UTF-8 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE VERBALIST *** + + + + +Produced by Barbara Tozier, Bill Tozier, Stephen Blundell +and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at +http://www.pgdp.net + + + + + + + + + + THE + VERBALIST: + + _A MANUAL_ + DEVOTED + TO BRIEF DISCUSSIONS OF THE RIGHT AND THE + WRONG USE OF WORDS + AND + TO SOME OTHER MATTERS OF INTEREST TO THOSE WHO + WOULD SPEAK AND WRITE WITH PROPRIETY. + + + BY + ALFRED AYRES. + + + We remain shackled by timidity till we have learned to speak with + propriety.--JOHNSON. + + As a man is known by his company, so a man's company may be known + by his manner of expressing himself.--SWIFT. + + [Illustration] + + NEW YORK: + D. APPLETON AND COMPANY, + 1, 3, AND 5 BOND STREET. + 1887. + + + + + COPYRIGHT BY + D. APPLETON AND COMPANY, + 1881 + + + + + Transcriber's Note + + Minor typographical errors have been corrected without note. Archaic + spellings have been retained as printed. + + + + +PREFATORY NOTE. + + +The title-page sufficiently sets forth the end this little book is +intended to serve. + +For convenience' sake I have arranged in alphabetical order the subjects +treated of, and for economy's sake I have kept in mind that "he that +uses many words for the explaining of any subject doth, like the +cuttle-fish, hide himself in his own ink." + +The curious inquirer who sets himself to look for the learning in the +book is advised that he will best find it in such works as George P. +Marsh's "Lectures on the English Language," Fitzedward Hall's "Recent +Exemplifications of False Philology," and "Modern English," Richard +Grant White's "Words and Their Uses," Edward S. Gould's "Good English," +William Mathews' "Words: their Use and Abuse," Dean Alford's "The +Queen's English," George Washington Moon's "Bad English," and "The +Dean's English," Blank's "Vulgarisms and Other Errors of Speech," +Alexander Bain's "English Composition and Rhetoric," Bain's "Higher +English Grammar," Bain's "Composition Grammar," Quackenbos' "Composition +and Rhetoric," John Nichol's "English Composition," William Cobbett's +"English Grammar," Peter Bullions' "English Grammar," Goold Brown's +"Grammar of English Grammars," Graham's "English Synonymes," Crabb's +"English Synonymes," Bigelow's "Handbook of Punctuation," and other +kindred works. + +Suggestions and criticisms are solicited, with the view of profiting by +them in future editions. + +If "The Verbalist" receive as kindly a welcome as its companion volume, +"The Orthoëpist," has received, I shall be content. + + A. A. + NEW YORK, _October_, 1881. + + + + + Eschew fine words as you would rouge.--HARE. + + Cant is properly a double-distilled lie; the second power of a + lie.--CARLYLE. + + If a gentleman be to study any language, it ought to be that of his + own country.--LOCKE. + + In language the unknown is generally taken for the + magnificent.--RICHARD GRANT WHITE. + + He who has a superlative for everything, wants a measure for the + great or small.--LAVATER. + + Inaccurate writing is generally the expression of inaccurate + thinking.--RICHARD GRANT WHITE. + + To acquire a few tongues is the labor of a few years; but to be + eloquent in one is the labor of a life.--ANONYMOUS. + + Words and thoughts are so inseparably connected that an artist in + words is necessarily an artist in thoughts.-WILSON FLAGG. + + It is an invariable maxim that words which add nothing to the sense + or to the clearness must diminish the force of the + expression.--CAMPBELL. + + Propriety of thought and propriety of diction are commonly found + together. Obscurity of expression generally springs from confusion + of ideas.--MACAULAY. + + He who writes badly thinks badly. Confusedness in words can proceed + from nothing but confusedness in the thoughts which give rise to + them.--COBBETT. + + + + +THE VERBALIST. + + +A--AN. The second form of the indefinite article is used for the sake of +euphony only. Herein everybody agrees, but what everybody does not agree +in is, that it is euphonious to use _an_ before a word beginning with an +aspirated _h_, when the accented syllable of the word is the second. For +myself, so long as I continue to aspirate the _h's_ in such words as +_heroic_, _harangue_, and _historical_, I shall continue to use _a_ +before them; and when I adopt the Cockney mode of pronouncing such +words, then I shall use _an_ before them. To my ear it is just as +euphonious to say, "I will crop off from the top of his young twigs a +tender one, and will plant it upon _an_ high mountain and eminent," as +it is to say _an_ harangue, _an_ heroic, or _an_ historical. _An_ is +well enough before the doubtful British aspiration, but before the +distinct American aspiration it is wholly out of place. The reply will +perhaps be, "But these _h's_ are silent; the change of accent from the +first syllable to the second neutralizes their aspiration." However true +this may be in England, it is not at all true in America; hence we +Americans should use _a_ and not _an_ before such _h's_ until we decide +to ape the Cockney mode of pronouncing them. + +Errors are not unfrequently made by omitting to repeat the article in a +sentence. It should always be repeated when a noun or an adjective +referring to a distinct thing is introduced; take, for example, the +sentence, "He has a black and white horse." If two horses are meant, it +is clear that it should be, "He has a black and _a_ white horse." See +THE. + +ABILITY--CAPACITY. The distinctions between these two words are not +always observed by those who use them. "_Capacity_ is the power of +receiving and retaining knowledge with facility; _ability_ is the power +of applying knowledge to practical purposes. Both these faculties are +requisite to form a great character: capacity to conceive, and ability +to execute designs. Capacity is shown in quickness of apprehension. +Ability supposes something done; something by which the mental power is +exercised in executing, or performing, what has been perceived by the +capacity."--Graham's "English Synonymes." + +ABORTIVE. An outlandish use of this word may be occasionally met with, +especially in the newspapers. "A lad was yesterday caught in the act of +_abortively_ appropriating a pair of shoes." That is abortive that is +untimely, that has not been borne its full time, that is immature. We +often hear _abortion_ used in the sense of failure, but never by those +that study to express themselves in chaste English. + +ABOVE. There is little authority for using this word as an adjective. +Instead of, "the _above_ statement," say, "the _foregoing_ statement." +_Above_ is also used very inelegantly for _more than_; as, "above a +mile," "above a thousand"; also, for _beyond_; as, "above his strength." + +ACCIDENT. See CASUALTY. + +ACCORD. "He [the Secretary of the Treasury] was shown through the +building, and the information he desired was _accorded_ +him."--Reporters' English. + + "The heroes prayed, and Pallas from the skies + _Accords_ their vow."--Pope. + +The goddess of wisdom, when she granted the prayers of her worshipers, +may be said to have _accorded_; not so, however, when the clerks of our +Sub-Treasury answer the inquiries of their chief. + +ACCUSE. See BLAME IT ON. + +ACQUAINTANCE. See FRIEND. + +AD. This abbreviation for the word _advertisement_ is very justly +considered a gross vulgarism. It is doubtful whether it is permissible +under any circumstances. + +ADAPT--DRAMATIZE. In speaking and in writing of stage matters, these +words are often misused. To _adapt_ a play is to modify its construction +with the view of improving its form for representation. Plays translated +from one language into another are usually more or less _adapted_; i. +e., altered to suit the taste of the public before which the translation +is to be represented. To _dramatize_ is to change the form of a story +from the narrative to the dramatic; i. e., to make a drama out of a +story. In the first instance, the product of the playwright's labor is +called an _adaptation_; in the second, a _dramatization_. + +ADJECTIVES. "Very often adjectives stand where adverbs might be +expected; as, 'drink _deep_,' 'this looks _strange_,' 'standing +_erect_.' + +"We have also examples of one adjective qualifying another adjective; +as, '_wide_ open,' '_red_ hot,' 'the _pale_ blue sky.' Sometimes the +corresponding adverb is used, but with a different meaning; as, 'I found +the way _easy_--_easily_'; 'it appears _clear_--_clearly_.' Although +there is a propriety in the employment of the adjective in certain +instances, yet such forms as '_indifferent_ well,' '_extreme_ bad,' are +grammatical errors. 'He was interrogated _relative_ to that +circumstance,' should be _relatively_, or _in relation to_. It is not +unusual to say, 'I would have done it _independent_ of that +circumstance,' but _independently_ is the proper construction. + +"The employment of adjectives for adverbs is accounted for by the +following considerations: + +"(1.) In the classical languages the neuter adjective may be used as an +adverb, and the analogy would appear to have been extended to English. + +"(2.) In the oldest English the adverb was regularly formed from the +adjective by adding 'e,' as 'soft, soft_e_,' and the dropping of the 'e' +left the adverb in the adjective form; thus, '_clæne_,' adverb, became +'clean,' and appears in the phrase '_clean_ gone'; '_fæste_, fast,' 'to +stick _fast_.' By a false analogy, many adjectives that never formed +adverbs in _-e_ were freely used as adverbs in the age of Elizabeth: +'Thou didst it _excellent_,' '_equal_ (for _equally_) good,' +'_excellent_ well.' This gives precedent for such errors as those +mentioned above. + +"(3.) There are cases where the subject is qualified rather than the +verb, as with verbs of incomplete predication, 'being,' 'seeming,' +'arriving,' etc. In 'the matter seems _clear_,' 'clear' is part of the +predicate of 'matter.' 'They arrived _safe_': 'safe' does not qualify +'arrived,' but goes with it to complete the predicate. So, 'he sat +_silent_,' 'he stood _firm_.' 'It comes _beautiful_' and 'it comes +_beautifully_' have different meanings. This explanation applies +especially to the use of participles as adverbs, as in Southey's lines +on Lodore; the participial epithets applied there, although appearing to +modify 'came,' are really additional predications about 'the water,' in +elegantly shortened form. 'The church stood _gleaming_ through the +trees': 'gleaming' is a shortened predicate of 'church'; and the full +form would be, 'the church stood _and gleamed_.' The participle retains +its force as such, while acting the part of a coördinating adjective, +complement to 'stood'; 'stood gleaming' is little more than 'gleamed.' +The feeling of adverbial force in 'gleaming' arises from the subordinate +participial form joined with a verb, 'stood,' that seems capable of +predicating by itself. '_Passing_ strange' is elliptical: 'passing +(surpassing) _what is_ strange.'"--Bain. + +"The comparative adjectives _wiser_, _better_, _larger_, etc., and the +contrasting adjectives _different_, _other_, etc., are often so placed +as to render the construction of the sentence awkward; as, 'That is a +much _better_ statement of the case _than_ yours,' instead of, 'That +statement of the case is much _better than_ yours'; 'Yours is a _larger_ +plot of ground _than_ John's,' instead of, 'Your plot of ground is +_larger than_ John's'; 'This is a _different_ course of proceeding +_from_ what I expected,' instead of, 'This course of proceeding is +_different from_ what I expected'; 'I could take no _other_ method of +silencing him _than_ the one I took,' instead of, 'I could take no +method of silencing him _other than_ the one I took.'"--Gould's "Good +English," p. 69. + +ADMINISTER. "Carson died from blows _administered_ by policeman +Johnson."--"New York Times." If policeman Johnson was as barbarous as is +this use of the verb _to administer_, it is to be hoped that he was +hanged. Governments, oaths, medicine, affairs--such as the affairs of +the state--are _administered_, but not blows: _they_ are _dealt_. + +ADOPT. This word is often used instead of _to decide upon_, and of _to +take_; thus, "The measures _adopted_ [by Parliament], as the result of +this inquiry, will be productive of good." Better, "The measures +_decided upon_," etc. Instead of, "What course shall you _adopt_ to get +your pay?" say, "What course shall you _take_," etc. _Adopt_ is properly +used in a sentence like this: "The course (or measures) proposed by Mr. +Blank was _adopted_ by the committee." That is, what was Blank's was +_adopted_ by the committee--a correct use of the word, as _to adopt_, +means, to assume as one's own. + +_Adopt_ is sometimes so misused that its meaning is inverted. "Wanted to +adopt," in the heading of advertisements, not unfrequently is intended +to mean that the advertiser wishes to be _relieved_ of the care of a +child, not that he wishes to _assume_ the care of one. + +AGGRAVATE. This word is often used when the speaker means to provoke, +irritate, or anger. Thus, "It _aggravates_ [provokes] me to be +continually found fault with"; "He is easily _aggravated_ [irritated]." +To _aggravate_ means to make worse, to heighten. We therefore very +properly speak of _aggravating_ circumstances. To say of a person that +he is _aggravated_ is as incorrect as to say that he is _palliated_. + +AGRICULTURIST. This word is to be preferred to _agriculturalist_. See +CONVERSATIONIST. + +ALIKE. This word is often most bunglingly coupled with _both_. Thus, +"These bonnets are both alike," or, worse still, if possible, "both just +alike." This reminds one of the story of Sam and Jem, who were very like +each other, especially Sam. + +ALL. See UNIVERSAL. + +ALL OVER. "The disease spread _all over_ the country." It is more +logical and more emphatic to say, "The disease spread _over all_ the +country." + +ALLEGORY. An elaborated metaphor is called an _allegory_; both are +figurative representations, the words used signifying something beyond +their literal meaning. Thus, in the eightieth Psalm, the Jews are +represented under the symbol of a vine: + +"Thou hast brought a vine out of Egypt: thou hast cast out the heathen, +and planted it. Thou preparedst room before it, and didst cause it to +take deep root, and it filled the land. The hills were covered with the +shadow of it, and the boughs thereof were like the goodly cedars. She +sent out her boughs unto the sea, and her branches unto the river. Why +hast thou then broken down her hedges, so that all they which pass by +the way do pluck her? The boar out of the wood doth waste it, and the +wild beast of the field doth devour it." + +An allegory is sometimes so extended that it makes a volume; as in the +case of Swift's "Tale of a Tub," Arbuthnot's "John Bull," Bunyan's +"Pilgrim's Progress," etc. Fables and parables are short allegories. + +ALLOW. This word is frequently misused in the West and South, where it +is made to do service for _assert_ or _to be of opinion_. Thus, "He +_allows_ that he has the finest horse in the country." + +ALLUDE. The treatment this word has received is to be specially +regretted, as its misuse has well-nigh robbed it of its true meaning, +which is, to intimate delicately, to refer to without mentioning +directly. _Allude_ is now very rarely used in any other sense than that +of to speak of, to mention, to name, which is a long way from being its +legitimate signification. This degradation is doubtless a direct outcome +of untutored desire to be fine and to use big words. + +ALONE. This word is often improperly used for _only_. That is _alone_ +which is unaccompanied; that is _only_ of which there is no other. +"Virtue _alone_ makes us happy," means that virtue unaided suffices to +make us happy; "Virtue _only_ makes us happy," means that nothing else +can do it--that that, and that only (not alone), can do it. "This means +of communication is employed by man _alone_." Dr. Quackenbos should +have written, "By man _only_". See also ONLY. + +AMATEUR--NOVICE. There is much confusion in the use of these two words, +although they are entirely distinct from each other in meaning. An +_amateur_ is one versed in, or a lover and practicer of, any particular +pursuit, art, or science, but _not_ engaged in it professionally. A +_novice_ is one who is new or inexperienced in any art or business--a +beginner, a tyro. A professional actor, then, who is new and unskilled +in his art, is a _novice_ and not an _amateur_. An amateur may be an +artist of great experience and extraordinary skill. + +AMELIORATE. "The health of the Empress of Germany is greatly +_ameliorated_." Why not say _improved_? + +AMONG. See BETWEEN. + +AMOUNT OF PERFECTION. The observant reader of periodical literature +often notes forms of expression which are perhaps best characterized by +the word _bizarre_. Of these queer locutions, _amount of perfection_ is +a very good example. Mr. G. F. Watts, in the "Nineteenth Century," says, +"An _amount of perfection_ has been reached which I was by no means +prepared for." What Mr. Watts meant to say was, doubtless, that a +_degree of excellence_ had been reached. There are not a few who, in +their prepossession for everything transatlantic, seem to be of opinion +that the English language is generally better written in England than it +is in America. Those who think so are counseled to examine the diction +of some of the most noted English critics and essayists, beginning, if +they will, with Matthew Arnold. + +AND. Few vulgarisms are more common than the use of _and_ for _to_. +Examples: "Come _and_ see me before you go"; "Try _and_ do what you can +for him"; "Go _and_ see your brother, if you can." In such sentences as +these, the proper particle to use is clearly _to_ and not _and_. + +_And_ is sometimes improperly used instead of _or_; thus, "It is obvious +that a language like the Greek _and_ Latin" (language?), etc., should +be, "a language like the Greek _or the_ Latin" (language), etc. There is +no such thing as a Greek and Latin language. + +ANSWER--REPLY. These two words should not be used indiscriminately. An +_answer_ is given to a question; a _reply_, to an assertion. When we are +addressed, we _answer_; when we are accused, we _reply_. We _answer_ +letters, and _reply_ to any arguments, statements, or accusations they +may contain. Crabb is in error in saying that _replies_ "are used in +personal discourse only." _Replies_, as well as _answers_, are written. +We very properly write, "I have now, I believe, _answered_ all your +questions and _replied_ to all your arguments." A _rejoinder_ is made to +a _reply_. "Who goes there?" he cried; and, receiving no _answer_, he +fired. "The advocate _replied_ to the charges made against his client." + +ANTICIPATE. Lovers of big words have a fondness for making this verb do +duty for _expect_. _Anticipate_ is derived from two Latin words meaning +_before_ and _to take_, and, when properly used, means, to take +beforehand; to go before so as to preclude another; to get the start or +ahead of; to enjoy, possess, or suffer, in expectation; to foretaste. It +is, therefore, misused in such sentences as, "Her death is hourly +_anticipated_"; "By this means it is _anticipated_ that the time from +Europe will be lessened two days." + +ANTITHESIS. A phrase that opposes contraries is called an _antithesis_. + + "I see a chief who leads my chosen sons, + All armed with points, _antitheses_, and puns." + +The following are examples: + + "Though gentle, yet not dull; + Strong, without rage; without o'erflowing, full." + + "Contrasted faults through all their manners reign; + Though poor, luxurious; though submissive, vain; + Though grave, yet trifling; zealous, yet untrue; + And e'en in penance planning sins anew." + +The following is an excellent example of _personification_ and +_antithesis_ combined: + + "Talent convinces; Genius but excites: + That tasks the reason; this the soul delights. + Talent from sober judgment takes its birth, + And reconciles the pinion to the earth; + Genius unsettles with desires the mind, + Contented not till earth be left behind." + +In the following extract from Johnson's "Life of Pope," individual +peculiarities are contrasted by means of antitheses: + +"Of genius--that power which constitutes a poet; that quality without +which judgment is cold, and knowledge is inert; that energy which +collects, combines, amplifies, and animates--the superiority must, with +some hesitation, be allowed to Dryden. It is not to be inferred that of +this poetical vigor Pope had only a little, because Dryden had more; for +every other writer, since Milton, must give place to Pope; and even of +Dryden it must be said that, if he has brighter paragraphs, he has not +better poems. Dryden's performances were always hasty, either excited by +some external occasion or extorted by domestic necessity; he composed +without consideration and published without correction. What his mind +could supply at call or gather in one excursion was all that he sought +and all that he gave. The dilatory caution of Pope enabled him to +condense his sentiments, to multiply his images, and to accumulate all +that study might produce or chance might supply. If the flights of +Dryden, therefore, are higher, Pope continues longer on the wing. If of +Dryden's fire the blaze is brighter, of Pope's the heat is more regular +and constant. Dryden often surpasses expectation, and Pope never falls +below it. Dryden is read with frequent astonishment, and Pope with +perpetual delight. Dryden's page is a natural field, rising into +inequalities, and diversified by the varied exuberance of abundant +vegetation; Pope's is a velvet lawn, shaven by the scythe, and leveled +by the roller." + +There are forms of antithesis in which the contrast is only of a +secondary kind. + +ANY. This word is sometimes made to do service for _at all_. We say +properly, "She is not _any_ better"; but we can not properly say, "She +does not see _any_," meaning that she is blind. + +ANYBODY ELSE. "Public School Teachers are informed that _anybody else's_ +is correct."--"New York Times," Sunday, July 31, 1881. An English writer +says: "In such phrases as anybody else, and the like, _else_ is often +put in the possessive case; as, 'anybody else's servant'; and some +grammarians defend this use of the possessive case, arguing that +_somebody else_ is a compound noun." It is better grammar and more +euphonious to consider _else_ as being an adjective, and to form the +possessive by adding the apostrophe and _s_ to the word that _else_ +qualifies; thus, anybody's else, nobody's else, somebody's else. + +ANYHOW. "An exceedingly vulgar phrase," says Professor Mathews, in his +"Words: Their Use and Abuse." "Its use, _in any manner_, by one who +professes to write and speak the English tongue with purity, is +unpardonable." Professor Mathews seems to have a special dislike for +this colloquialism. It is recognized by the lexicographers, and I think +is generally accounted, even by the careful, permissible in +conversation, though incompatible with dignified diction. + +ANXIETY OF MIND. See EQUANIMITY OF MIND. + +APOSTROPHE. Turning from the person or persons to whom a discourse is +addressed and appealing to some person or thing absent, constitutes +what, in rhetoric, is called the _apostrophe_. The following are some +examples: + + "O gentle sleep, + Nature's soft nurse, how have I frighted thee, + That thou no more wilt weigh my eyelids down, + And steep my senses in forgetfulness?" + "Sail on, thou lone imperial bird + Of quenchless eye and tireless wing!" + + "Help, angels, make assay! + Bow, stubborn knees! and heart with strings of steel, + Be soft as sinews of the new-born babe: + All may yet be well!" + +APPEAR. See SEEM. + +APPRECIATE. If any word in the language has cause to complain of +ill-treatment, this one has. _Appreciate_ means, to estimate +_justly_--to set the _true_ value on men or things, their worth, beauty, +or advantages of any sort whatsoever. Thus, an overestimate is no more +_appreciation_ than is an underestimate; hence it follows that such +expressions as, "I appreciate it, or her, or him, _highly_," can not be +correct. We _value_, or _prize_, things highly, not _appreciate_ them +highly. This word is also very improperly made to do service for _rise_, +or _increase_, in value; thus, "Land _appreciates_ rapidly in the West." +Dr. L. T. Townsend blunders in the use of _appreciate_ in his "Art of +Speech," vol. i, p. 142, thus: "The laws of harmony ... may allow +copiousness ... in parts of a discourse ... in order that the +condensation of other parts may be the _more highly appreciated_." + +APPREHEND--COMPREHEND. The English often use the first of these two +words where we use the second. Both express an effort of the thinking +faculty; but to _apprehend_ is simply to take an idea into the mind--it +is the mind's first effort--while to _comprehend_ is _fully to +understand_. We are dull or quick of _apprehension_. Children +_apprehend_ much that they do not _comprehend_. Trench says: "We +_apprehend_ many truths which we do not _comprehend_." "_Apprehend_," +says Crabb, "expresses the weakest kind of belief, the having [of] the +least idea of the presence of a thing." + +APT. Often misused for _likely_, and sometimes for _liable_. "What is he +_apt_ to be doing?" "Where shall I be _apt_ to find him?" "If properly +directed, it will be _apt_ to reach me." In such sentences as these, +_likely_ is the proper word to use. "If you go there, you will be _apt_ +to get into trouble." Here either _likely_ or _liable_ is the proper +word, according to the thought the speaker would convey. + +ARCTICS. See RUBBERS. + +ARTIST. Of late years this word has been appropriated by the members of +so many crafts, that it has well-nigh been despoiled of its meaning. +Your cook, your barber, your tailor, your boot-maker, and so on to +satiety, are all _artists_. Painters, sculptors, architects, actors, and +singers, nowadays, generally prefer being thus called, rather than to be +spoken of as _artists_. + +AS. "Not _as_ I know": read, "not _that_ I know." "This is not _as_ good +as the last": read, "not _so_ good." "It may be complete _so_ far as +the specification is concerned": correctly, "_as_ far as." + +_As_, preceded by _such_ or by _same_, has the force of a relative +applying to persons or to things. "He offered me the _same_ conditions +_as_ he offered you." "The same conditions _that_" would be equally +proper. See, also, LIKE. + +ASCRIBE. See IMPUTE. + +AT. Things are sold _by_, not _at_, auction. "The scene is more +beautiful _at_ night than by day": say, "_by_ night." + +AT ALL. "It is not strange, for my uncle is King of Denmark." Had +Shakespeare written, "It is not _at all_ strange," it is clear that his +diction would have been much less forcible. "I do not wish for any _at +all_"; "I saw no one _at all_"; "If he had any desire _at all_ to see +me, he would come where I am." The _at all_ in sentences like these is +superfluous. Yet there are instances in which the phrase is certainly a +very convenient one, and seems to be unobjectionable. It is much used, +and by good writers. + +AT BEST. Instead of _at best_ and _at worst_, we should say at _the_ +best and at _the_ worst. + +AT LAST. See AT LENGTH. + +AT LEAST. This adverbial phrase is often misplaced. "'The Romans +understood liberty _at least_ as well as we.' This must be interpreted +to mean, 'The Romans understood liberty _as well as we_ understand +liberty.' The intended meaning is, 'that whatever things the Romans +failed to understand, they understood _liberty_.' To express this +meaning we might put it thus: 'The Romans understood _at least_ liberty +as well as we _do_'; 'liberty, _at least_, the Romans understood as well +as we do.' 'A tear, _at least_, is due to the unhappy'; '_at least_ a +tear is due to the unhappy'; 'a tear is due _at least_ to the unhappy'; +'a tear is due to the unhappy _at least_'--all express different +meanings. 'This can not, _often at least_, be done'; 'this can not be +done _often, at least_.' (1. 'It often happens that this can not be +done.' 2. 'It does not often happen that this can be done.') So, 'man is +_always_ capable of laughing'; 'man is capable of laughing +_always_.'"--Bain. + +AT LENGTH. This phrase is often used instead of _at last_. "_At length_ +we managed to get away": read, "_at last_." "_At length_ we heard from +him." To hear from any one _at length_ is to hear fully; i. e., in +detail. + +AUTHORESS. With regard to the use of this and certain other words of +like formation, Mr. Gould, in his "Good English," says: "_Poet_ means +simply a person who writes poetry; and _author_, in the sense under +consideration, a person who writes poetry or prose--not a _man_ who +writes, but a _person_ who writes. Nothing in either word indicates sex; +and everybody knows that the functions of both poets and authors are +common to both sexes. Hence, _authoress_ and _poetess_ are superfluous. +And they are superfluous, also, in another respect--that they are very +rarely used, indeed they hardly _can_ be used, independently of the +_name_ of the writer, as Mrs., or Miss, or a female Christian name. They +are, besides, philological absurdities, because they are fabricated on +the false assumption that their primaries indicate _men_. They are, +moreover, liable to the charge of affectation and prettiness, to say +nothing of pedantic pretension to accuracy. + +"If the _ess_ is to be permitted, there is no reason for excluding it +from _any_ noun that indicates a person; and the next editions of our +dictionaries may be made complete by the addition of _writress_, +_officeress_, _manageress_, _superintendentess_, _secretaryess_, +_treasureress_, _walkeress_, _talkeress_, and so on to the end of the +vocabulary." + +AVOCATION. See VOCATION. + +BAD COLD. Inasmuch as colds are never _good_, why say a _bad_ cold? We +may talk about _slight_ colds and _severe_ colds, but not about _bad_ +colds. + +BAGGAGE. See LUGGAGE. + +BALANCE. This word is very frequently and very erroneously used in the +sense of _rest_, _remainder_. It properly means _the excess of one thing +over another_, and in this sense and in no other should it be used. +Hence it is improper to talk about the _balance_ of the edition, of the +evening, of the money, of the toasts, of the men, etc. In such cases we +should say the _rest_ or the _remainder_. + +BARBARISM. Defined as an offense against good usage, by the use of an +improper word, i. e., a word that is antiquated or improperly formed. +_Preventative_, _enthuse_, _agriculturalist_, _donate_, etc., are +barbarisms. See also SOLECISM. + +BEEN TO. We not unfrequently hear a superfluous _to_ tacked to a +sentence; thus, "Where have you been _to_?" + +BEG. We often see letters begin with the words, "I _beg_ to acknowledge +the receipt of your favor," etc. We should write, "I _beg leave_ to +acknowledge," etc. No one would say, "I beg to tell you," instead of, "I +beg _leave_ to tell you." + +BEGIN--COMMENCE. These words have the same meaning; careful speakers, +however, generally prefer to use the former. Indeed, there is rarely any +good reason for giving the preference to the latter. See also COMMENCE. + +BEING BUILT. See IS BEING BUILT. + +BELONGINGS. An old idiomatic expression now coming into use again. + +BESIDE--BESIDES. In the later unabridged editions of Webster's +dictionary we find the following remarks concerning the use of these two +words: "_Beside_ and _besides_, whether used as prepositions or +adverbs, have been considered synonymous from an early period of our +literature, and have been freely interchanged by our best writers. There +is, however, a tendency in present usage to make the following +distinction between them: 1. That _beside_ be used only and always as a +preposition, with the original meaning _by the side of_; as, to sit +_beside_ a fountain; or with the closely allied meaning _aside from_, or +_out of_; as, this is _beside_ our present purpose: 'Paul, thou art +_beside_ thyself.' The adverbial sense to be wholly transferred to the +cognate word. 2. That _besides_, as a preposition, take the remaining +sense, _in addition to_; as, _besides_ all this; _besides_ the +consideration here offered: 'There was a famine in the land _besides_ +the first famine.' And that it also take the adverbial sense of +_moreover_, _beyond_, etc., which had been divided between the words; +as, _besides_, there are other considerations which belong to this +case." + +BEST. See AT BEST. + +BETWEEN. This word is often misused for _among_; thus, "The word +_fellow_, however much in use it may be _between_ men, sounds very +objectionable from the lips of women."--"London Queen." Should be, +"_among_ men." _Between_ is used in reference to two things, parties, or +persons; _among_, in reference to a greater number. "Castor and Pollux +with one soul _between_ them." "You have _among_ you many a purchased +slave." + +BLAME IT ON. Here is a gross vulgarism which we sometimes hear from +persons of considerable culture. They use it in the sense of _accuse_ or +_suspect_; thus, "He _blames it on_ his brother," meaning that he +_accuses_ or _suspects_ his brother of having done it, or of being at +fault for it. + +BOGUS. A colloquial term incompatible with dignified diction. + +BOTH. We sometimes hear such absurd sentences as, "They _both_ resemble +each other very much"; "They are _both_ alike"; "They _both_ met in the +street." _Both_ is likewise redundant in the following sentence: "It +performs at the same time the offices _both_ of the nominative and +objective cases." + +BOUND. The use of this word in the sense of _determined_ is not only +inelegant but indefensible. "I am _bound_ to have it," should be, "I am +_determined_ to have it." + +BRAVERY--COURAGE. The careless often use these two words as though they +were interchangeable. _Bravery_ is inborn, is instinctive; _courage_ is +the product of reason, calculation. There is much merit in being +courageous, little merit in being brave. Men who are simply _brave_ are +careless, while the courageous man is always cautious. _Bravery_ often +degenerates into temerity. _Moral courage_ is that firmness of principle +which enables a man to do what he deems to be his duty, although his +action may subject him to adverse criticism. True _moral courage_ is one +of the rarest and most admirable of virtues. + +Alfred the Great, in resisting the attacks of the Danes, displayed +_bravery_; in entering their camp as a spy, he displayed _courage_. + +BRING--FETCH--CARRY. The indiscriminate use of these three words is very +common. To _bring_ is to convey to or toward--a simple act; to _fetch_ +means to _go_ and bring--a compound act; to _carry_ often implies motion +from the speaker, and is followed by _away_ or _off_, and thus is +opposed to _bring_ and _fetch_. Yet one hears such expressions as, "Go +to Mrs. D.'s and _bring_ her this bundle; and here, you may _fetch_ her +this book also." We use the words correctly thus: "_Fetch_, or _go +bring_, me an apple from the cellar"; "When you come home _bring_ some +lemons"; "_Carry_ this book home with you." + +BRITISH AGAINST AMERICAN ENGLISH. "The most important peculiarity of +American English is a laxity, irregularity, and confusion in the use of +particles. The same thing is, indeed, observable in England, but not to +the same extent, though some gross departures from idiomatic propriety, +such as _different to_ for _different from_, are common in England, +which none but very ignorant persons would be guilty of in America.... +In the tenses of the verbs, I am inclined to think that well-educated +Americans conform more closely to grammatical propriety than the +corresponding class in England.... In general, I think we may say that, +in point of naked syntactical accuracy, the English of America is not at +all inferior to that of England; but we do not discriminate so precisely +in the meaning of words, nor do we habitually, in either conversation or +in writing, express ourselves so gracefully, or employ so classic a +diction, as the English. Our taste in language is less fastidious, and +our licenses and inaccuracies are more frequently of a character +indicative of want of refinement and elegant culture than those we hear +in educated society in England."--George P. Marsh. + +BRITISH AGAINST AMERICAN ORTHOËPY. "The causes of the differences in +pronunciation [between the English and the Americans] are partly +physical, and therefore difficult, if not impossible, to resist; and +partly owing to a difference of circumstances. Of this latter class of +influences, the universality of reading in America is the most obvious +and important. The most marked difference is, perhaps, in the length or +prosodical quantity of the vowels; and both of the causes I have +mentioned concur to produce this effect. We are said to drawl our words +by protracting the vowels and giving them a more diphthongal sound than +the English. Now, an Englishman who reads will habitually utter his +vowels more fully and distinctly than his countryman who does not; and, +upon the same principle, a nation of readers, like the Americans, will +pronounce more deliberately and clearly than a people so large a +proportion of whom are unable to read, as in England. From our universal +habit of reading, there results not only a greater distinctness of +articulation, but a strong tendency to assimilate the spoken to the +written language. Thus, Americans incline to give to every syllable of a +written word a distinct enunciation; and the popular habit is to say +_dic-tion-ar-y_, _mil-it-ar-y_, with a secondary accent on the +penultimate, instead of sinking the third syllable, as is so common in +England. There is, no doubt, something disagreeably stiff in an anxious +and affected conformity to the very letter of orthography; and to those +accustomed to a more hurried utterance we may seem to drawl, when we are +only giving a full expression to letters which, though etymologically +important, the English habitually slur over, sputtering out, as a +Swedish satirist says, one half of the word, and swallowing the other. +The tendency to make the long vowels diphthongal is noticed by +foreigners as a peculiarity of the orthoëpy of our language; and this +tendency will, of course, be strengthened by any cause which produces +greater slowness and fullness of articulation. Besides the influence of +the habit of reading, there is some reason to think that climate is +affecting our articulation. In spite of the coldness of our winters, our +flora shows that the climate of even our Northern States belongs, upon +the whole, to a more southern type than that of England. In southern +latitudes, at least within the temperate zone, articulation is generally +much more distinct than in the northern regions. Witness the +pronunciation of Spanish, Italian, Turkish, as compared with English, +Danish, and German. Participating, then, in the physical influences of a +southern climate, we have contracted something of the more distinct +articulation that belongs to a dry atmosphere and a clear sky. And this +view of the case is confirmed by the fact that the inhabitants of the +Southern States incline, like the people of southern Europe, to throw +the accent toward the end of the word, and thus, like all nations that +use that accentuation, bring out all the syllables. This we observe very +commonly in the comparative Northern and Southern pronunciation of +proper names. I might exemplify by citing familiar instances; but, lest +that should seem invidious, it may suffice to say that, not to mention +more important changes, many a Northern member of Congress goes to +Washington a _dactyl_ or a _trochee_, and comes home an _amphibrach_ or +an _iambus_. Why or how external physical causes, as climate and modes +of life, should affect pronunciation, we can not say; but it is evident +that material influences of some sort are producing a change in our +bodily constitution, and we are fast acquiring a distinct national +Anglo-American type. That the delicate organs of articulation should +participate in such tendencies is altogether natural; and the operation +of the causes which give rise to them is palpable even in our +handwriting, which, if not uniform with itself, is generally, +nevertheless, so unlike common English script as to be readily +distinguished from it. + +"To the joint operation, then, of these two causes--universal reading +and climatic influences--we must ascribe our habit of dwelling upon +vowel and diphthongal sounds, or of drawling, if that term is insisted +upon.... But it is often noticed by foreigners as both making us more +readily understood by them when speaking our own tongue, and as +connected with a flexibility of organ, which enables us to acquire a +better pronunciation of other languages than is usual with Englishmen. +In any case, as, in spite of the old adage, speech is given us that we +may make ourselves understood, our drawling, however prolonged, is +preferable to the nauseous, foggy, mumbling thickness of articulation +which characterizes the cockney, and is not unfrequently affected by +Englishmen of a better class."--George P. Marsh. + +BRYANT'S PROHIBITED WORDS. See INDEX EXPURGATORIUS. + +BUT. This word is misused in various ways. "I do not doubt _but_ he will +be here": read, doubt _that_. "I should not wonder _but_": read, _if_. +"I have no doubt _but_ that he will go": suppress _but_. "I do not doubt +_but_ that it is true": suppress _but_. "There can be no doubt _but_ +that the burglary is the work of professional cracksmen."--"New York +Herald." Doubt _that_, and not _but that_. "A careful canvass leaves no +doubt _but_ that the nomination," etc.: suppress _but_. "There is no +reasonable doubt _but_ that it is all it professes to be": suppress +_but_. "The mind no sooner entertains any proposition _but_ it presently +hastens," etc.: read, _than_. "No other resource _but_ this was allowed +him": read, _than_. + +BY. See AT. + +CALCULATE. This word means to ascertain by computation, to reckon, to +estimate; and, say some of the purists, it never means anything else +when properly used. _If this is true_, we can not say a thing is +_calculated_ to do harm, but must, if we are ambitious to have our +English irreproachable, choose some other form of expression, or at +least some other word, _likely_ or _apt_, for example. Cobbett, however, +says, "That, to Her, whose great example is so well _calculated_ to +inspire," etc.; and, "The first two of the three sentences are well +enough _calculated_ for ushering," etc. _Calculate_ is sometimes +vulgarly used for _intend_, _purpose_, _expect_; as, "He _calculates_ to +get off to-morrow." + +CALIBER. This word is sometimes used very absurdly; as, "Brown's Essays +are of a much higher _caliber_ than Smith's." It is plain that the +proper word to use here is _order_. + +CANT. _Cant_ is a kind of affectation; affectation is an effort to sail +under false colors; an effort to sail under false colors is a kind of +falsehood; and falsehood is a term of Latin origin which we often use +instead of the stronger Saxon term LYING! + +"Who is not familiar," writes Dr. William Matthews, "with scores of pet +phrases and cant terms which are repeated at this day apparently without +a thought of their meaning? Who ever attended a missionary meeting +without hearing 'the Macedonian cry,' and an account of some 'little +interest' and 'fields white for the harvest'? Who is not weary of the +ding-dong of 'our Zion,' and the solecism of 'in our midst'; and who +does not long for a verbal millennium when Christians shall no longer +'feel to take' and 'grant to give'?" + +"How much I regret," says Coleridge, "that so many religious persons of +the present day think it necessary to adopt a certain cant of manner and +phraseology [and of tone of voice] as a token to each other [one +another]! They _improve_ this and that text, and they must do so and so +in a prayerful way; and so on." + +CAPACITY. See ABILITY. + +CAPTION. This word is often used for _heading_, but, thus used, it is +condemned by careful writers. The true meaning of _caption_ is a +seizure, an arrest. It does not come from a Latin word meaning _a +head_, but from a Latin word meaning _to seize_. + +CARET. Cobbett writes of the caret to his son: "The last thing I shall +mention under this head is the _caret_ [^], which is used to point +upward to a part which has been omitted, and which is inserted between +the line where the caret is placed and the line above it. Things should +be called by their right names, and this should be called the +_blunder-mark_. I would have you, my dear James, scorn the use of the +thing. _Think_ before you write; let it be your custom to _write +correctly_ and in _a plain hand_. Be careful that neatness, grammar, and +sense prevail when you write to a blacksmith about shoeing a horse as +when you write on the most important subjects. Habit is powerful in all +cases; but its power in this case is truly wonderful. When you write, +bear constantly in mind that some one is to _read_ and to _understand_ +what you write. This will make your handwriting and also your meaning +_plain_. Far, I hope, from my dear James will be the ridiculous, the +contemptible affectation of writing in a slovenly or illegible hand, or +that of signing his name otherwise than in plain letters." + +CARRY. See BRING. + +CASE. Many persons of considerable culture continually make mistakes in +conversation in the use of the cases, and we sometimes meet with gross +errors of this kind in the writings of authors of repute. Witness the +following: "And everybody is to know him except _I_."--George Merideth +in "The Tragic Comedies," Eng. ed., vol. i, p. 33. "Let's you and _I_ +go": say, _me_. We can not say, Let _I_ go. Properly, Let's go, i. e., +let us go, or, let you and _me_ go. "He is as good as _me_": say, as +_I_. "She is as tall as _him_": say, as _he_. "You are older than _me_": +say, than _I_. "Nobody said so but _he_": say, but _him_. "Every one +can master a grief but _he_ that hath it": correctly, but _him_. "John +went out with James and _I_": say, and _me_. "You are stronger than +_him_": say, than _he_. "Between you and _I_": say, and _me_. "Between +you and _they_": say, and _them_. "He gave it to John and _I_": say, and +_me_. "You told John and _I_": say, and _me_. "He sat between him and +_I_": say, and _me_. "He expects to see you and _I_": say, and _me_. +"You were a dunce to do it. Who? _me_?" say, _I_. Supply the ellipsis, +and we should have, Who? _me_ a dunce to do it? "Where are you going? +Who? _me_?" say, _I_. We can't say, _me_ going. "_Who_ do you mean?" +say, _whom_. "Was it _them_?" say, _they_. "If I _was him_, I would do +it": say, _were he_. "If I _was her_, I would not go": say, _were she_. +"Was it _him_?" say, _he_. "Was it _her_?" say, _she_. "For the benefit +of those _whom_ he thought were his friends": say, _who_. This error is +not easy to detect on account of the parenthetical words that follow it. +If we drop them, the mistake is very apparent; thus, "For the benefit of +those _whom_ were his friends." + +"On the supposition," says Bain, "that the interrogative _who_ has +_whom_ for its objective, the following are errors: '_who_ do you take +me to be?' '_who_ should I meet the other day?' '_who_ is it by?' '_who_ +did you give it to?' '_who_ to?' '_who_ for?' But, considering that +these expressions _occur with the best writers and speakers_, that they +_are more energetic_ than the other form, and that they _lead to no +ambiguity_, it may be doubted whether grammarians have not exceeded +their province in condemning them." + +Cobbett, in writing of the pronouns, says: "When the relatives are +placed in the sentence at a distance from their antecedents or verbs or +prepositions, the ear gives us no assistance. '_Who_, of all the men in +the world, do you think I _saw_ to-day?' '_Who_, for the sake of +numerous services, the office was given to.' In both these cases it +should be _whom_. Bring the verb in the first and the preposition in the +second case closer to the relative, as, _who I saw_, _to who the office +was given_, and you see the error at once. But take care! '_Whom_, of +all the men in the world, do you think, _was_ chosen to be sent as an +ambassador?' '_Whom_, for the sake of his numerous services, _had_ an +office of honor bestowed upon him.' These are nominative cases, and +ought to have _who_; that is to say, _who was chosen_, _who had an +office_." + +"Most grammarians," says Dr. Bain, in his "Higher English Grammar," +"have laid down this rule: 'The verb _to be_ has the same case after as +before it.' Macaulay censures the following as a solecism: 'It was _him_ +that Horace Walpole called a man who never made a bad figure but as an +author.' Thackeray similarly adverts to the same deviation from the +rule: '"Is that _him_?" said the lady in _questionable grammar_.' But, +notwithstanding this," continues Dr. Bain, "we certainly hear in the +actual speech of all classes of society such expressions as 'it was +_me_,' 'it was _him_,' 'it was _her_,' more frequently than the +prescribed form.[1] 'This shy creature, my brother says, is _me_'; 'were +it _me_, I'd show him the difference.'--Clarissa Harlowe. 'It is not +_me_[2] you are in love with.'--Addison. 'If there is one character more +base than another, it is _him_ who,' etc.--Sydney Smith. 'If I were +_him_'; 'if I had been _her_,' etc. The authority of good writers is +strong on the side of objective forms. There is also the analogy of the +French language; for while 'I am here' is _je suis ici_, the answer to +'who is there?' is _moi_ (me); and _c'est moi_ (it is _me_) is the +legitimate phrase--never _c'est je_ (it is I)." + +But _moi_, according to all French grammarians, is very often in the +nominative case. _Moi_ is in the nominative case when used in reply to +"Who is there?" and also in the phrase "C'est moi," which makes "It is +_I_" the correct translation of the phrase, and not "It is _me_." The +French equivalent of "I! I am here," is "Moi! je suis ici." The +Frenchman uses _moi_ in the nominative case when _je_ would be +inharmonious. Euphony with him is a matter of more importance than +grammatical correctness. Bescherelle gives many examples of _moi_ in the +nominative. Here are two of them: "Mon avocat et moi sommes de cet avis. +Qui veut aller avec lui? Moi." If we use such phraseology as "It is +_me_," we must do as the French do--consider _me_ as being in the +nominative case, and offer _euphony_ as our reason for thus using it. + +When shall we put nouns (or pronouns) preceding verbal, or participial, +nouns, as they are called by some grammarians--infinitives in _ing_, as +they are called by others--in the possessive case? + +"'I am surprised at _John's_ (or _his_, _your_, etc.) _refusing_ to go.' +'I am surprised at _John_ (or _him_, _you_, etc.) _refusing_ to go.' [In +the latter sentence _refusing_ is a participle.] The latter construction +is not so common with pronouns as with nouns, especially with such nouns +as do not readily take the possessive form. 'They prevented _him going_ +forward': better, 'They prevented _his going_ forward.' 'He was +dismissed without any _reason being_ assigned.' 'The boy died through +his _clothes being_ burned.' 'We hear little of any _connection being_ +kept up between the two nations.' 'The men rowed vigorously for fear of +the _tide turning_ against us.' _But most examples of the construction +without the possessive form are_ OBVIOUSLY DUE TO MERE SLOVENLINESS.... +'In case of _your being_ absent': here _being_ is an infinitive [verbal, +or participial, noun] qualified by the possessive _your_. 'In case of +_you being_ present': here _being_ would have to be construed as a +participle. _The possessive construction is, in this case, the primitive +and regular construction_; THE OTHER IS A MERE LAPSE. The difficulty of +adhering to the possessive form occurs when the subject is not a person: +'It does not seem safe to rely on the rule of _demand_ creating supply': +in strictness, '_Demand's_ creating supply.' 'A petition was presented +against the _license being_ granted.' But for the awkwardness of +extending the possessive to impersonal subjects, it would be right to +say, 'against the _license's being_ granted.' 'He had conducted the ball +without any _complaint being_ urged against him.' The possessive would +be suitable, but undesirable and unnecessary."--Professor Alexander +Bain. + +"Though the _ordinary_ syntax of the possessive case is sufficiently +plain and easy, there is, perhaps, among all the puzzling and disputable +points of grammar, nothing more difficult of decision than are some +questions that occur respecting the right management of this case. The +observations that have been made show that possessives before +participles are seldom to be approved. The following example is +manifestly inconsistent with itself; and, _in my opinion, the three +possessives are all wrong_: 'The kitchen, too, now begins to give +dreadful note of preparation; not from _armorers_ accomplishing the +knights, but from the _shopmaid's_ chopping force-meat, the +_apprentice's_ cleaning knives, and the _journeyman's_ receiving a +practical lesson in the art of waiting at table.' 'The daily instances +of _men's_ dying around us.' Say rather, 'Of _men_ dying around us.' The +leading word in sense ought not to be made the adjunct in +construction."--Goold Brown. + +CASUALTY. This word is often heard with the incorrect addition of a +syllable, _casuality_, which is not recognized by the lexicographers. +Some writers object to the word casualty, and always use its synonym +_accident_. + +CELEBRITY. "A number of _celebrities_ witnessed the first +representation." This word is frequently used, especially in the +newspapers, as a concrete term; but it would be better to use it in its +abstract sense only, and in sentences like the one above to say +_distinguished persons_. + +CHARACTER--REPUTATION. These two words are not synonyms, though often +used as such. _Character_ means the sum of distinguishing qualities. +"Actions, looks, words, steps, form the alphabet by which you may spell +characters."--Lavater. _Reputation_ means the estimation in which one is +held. One's reputation, then, is what is thought of one's character; +consequently, one may have a good reputation and a bad character, or a +good character and a bad reputation. Calumny may injure _reputation_, +but not _character_. Sir Peter does not leave his _character_ behind +him, but his _reputation_--his _good name_. + +CHEAP. The dictionaries define this adjective as meaning, bearing a low +price, or to be had at a low price; but nowadays good usage makes it +mean that a thing may be had, or has been sold, at a bargain. Hence, in +order to make sure of being understood, it is better to say +_low-priced_, when one means low-priced, than to use the word _cheap_. +What is low-priced, as everybody knows, is often _dear_, and what is +high-priced is often _cheap_. A diamond necklace might be _cheap_ at +ten thousand dollars, and a pinchbeck necklace dear at ten dollars. + +CHERUBIM. The Hebrew plural of _cherub_. "We are authorized," says Dr. +Campbell, "both by use and analogy, to say either _cherubs_ and +_seraphs_, according to the English idiom, or _cherubim_ and _seraphim_, +according to the Oriental. The former suits better the familiar, the +latter the solemn, style. As the words _cherubim_ and _seraphim_ are +plural, the terms _cherubims_ and _seraphims_, as expressing the plural, +are quite improper."--"Philosophy of Rhetoric." + +CITIZEN. This word properly means one who has certain political rights; +when, therefore, it is used, as it often is, to designate persons who +may be aliens, it, to say the least, betrays a want of care in the +selection of words. "Several _citizens_ were injured by the explosion." +Here some other word--_persons_, for example--should be used. + +CLEVER. In this country the word _clever_ is most improperly used in the +sense of good-natured, well-disposed, good-hearted. It is properly used +in the sense in which we are wont most inelegantly to use the word +_smart_, though it is a less colloquial term, and is of wider +application. In England the phrase "a _clever_ man" is the equivalent of +the French phrase, "_un homme d'esprit_." The word is properly used in +the following sentences: "Every work of Archbishop Whately must be an +object of interest to the admirers of _clever_ reasoning"; "Cobbett's +letter ... very _clever_, but very mischievous"; "Bonaparte was +certainly as _clever_ a man as ever lived." + +CLIMAX. A clause, a sentence, a paragraph, or any literary composition +whatsoever, is said to end with a _climax_ when, by an artistic +arrangement, the more effective is made to follow the less effective in +regular gradation. Any great departure from the order of ascending +strength is called an _anti-climax_. Here are some examples of climax: + +"Give all diligence; add to your faith, virtue; and to virtue, +knowledge; and to knowledge, temperance; and to temperance, patience; +and to patience, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to +brotherly kindness, charity." + +"What is every year of a wise man's life but a criticism on the past! +Those whose life is the shortest live long enough to laugh at one half +of it; the boy despises the infant, the man the boy, the sage both, and +the Christian all." + +"What a piece of work is man! how noble in reason! how infinite in +faculties! in form and moving, how express and admirable! in action, how +like an angel! in apprehension, how like a god!" + +CO. The prefix _co_ should be used only when the word to which it is +joined begins with a vowel, as in _co-eval_, _co-incident_, +_co-operate_, etc. _Con_ is used when the word begins with a consonant, +as in _con-temporary_, _con-junction_, etc. _Co-partner_ is an exception +to the rule. + +COMMENCE. The Britons use or misuse this word in a manner peculiar to +themselves. They say, for example, "commenced merchant," "commenced +actor," "commenced politician," and so on. Dr. Hall tells us that +_commence_ has been employed in the sense of "begin to be," "become," +"set up as," by first-class writers, for more than two centuries. +Careful speakers make small use of _commence_ in any sense; they prefer +to use its Saxon equivalent, _begin_. See, also, BEGIN. + +COMPARISON. When only two objects are compared, the comparative and not +the superlative degree should be used; thus, "Mary is the _older_ of the +two"; "John is the _stronger_ of the two"; "Brown is the _richer_ of +the two, and the _richest_ man in the city"; "Which is the _more_ +desirable, health or wealth?" "Which is the _most_ desirable, health, +wealth, or genius?" + + "Of two such lessons, why forget + The _nobler_ and the _manlier_ one?" + +COMPLETED. This word is often incorrectly used for _finished_. That is +_complete_ which lacks nothing; that is _finished_ which has had all +done to it that was intended. The builder of a house may _finish_ it and +yet leave it very _incomplete_. + +CONDIGN. It is safe to say that most of those who use this word do not +know its meaning, which is, suitable, deserved, merited, proper. "His +endeavors shall not lack _condign_ praise"; i. e., his endeavors shall +not lack _proper_ or their _merited_ praise. "A villain _condignly_ +punished" is a villain punished _according to his deserts_. To use +_condign_ in the sense of _severe_ is just as incorrect as it would be +to use _deserved_ or _merited_ in the sense of _severe_. + +CONFIRMED INVALID. This phrase is a convenient mode of expressing the +idea it conveys, but it is difficult to defend, inasmuch as _confirmed_ +means strengthened, established. + +CONSEQUENCE. This word is sometimes used instead of _importance_ or +_moment_; as, "They were all persons of more or less _consequence_": +read, "of more or less _importance_." "It is a matter of no +_consequence_": read, "of no _moment_." + +CONSIDER. "This word," says Mr. Richard Grant White, in his "Words and +Their Uses," "is perverted from its true meaning by most of those who +use it." _Consider_ means, to meditate, to deliberate, to reflect, to +revolve in the mind; and yet it is made to do service for _think_, +_suppose_, and _regard_. Thus: "I _consider_ his course very +unjustifiable"; "I have always _considered_ it my duty," etc.; "I +_consider_ him as being the cleverest man of my acquaintance." + +CONTEMPTIBLE. This word is sometimes used for _contemptuous_. An old +story says that a man once said to Dr. Parr, "Sir, I have a +_contemptible_ opinion of you." "That does not surprise me," returned +the Doctor; "all your opinions are _contemptible_." What is worthless or +weak is _contemptible_. Despicable is a word that expresses a still more +intense degree of the contemptible. A traitor is a _despicable_ +character, while a poltroon is only _contemptible_. + +CONTINUALLY. See PERPETUALLY. + +CONTINUE ON. The _on_ in this phrase is generally superfluous. "We +continued on our way" is idiomatic English, and is more euphonious than +the sentence would be without the particle. The meaning is, "We +continued to travel _on_ our way." In such sentences, however, as +"Continue _on_," "He continued to read _on_," "The fever continued _on_ +for some hours," and the like, the _on_ generally serves no purpose. + +CONVERSATIONIST. This word is to be preferred to _conversationalist_. +Mr. Richard Grant White says that _conversationalist_ and +_agriculturalist_ are inadmissible. On the other hand, Dr. Fitzedward +Hall says: "As for _conversationist_ and _conversationalist_, +_agriculturist_ and _agriculturalist_, as all are alike legitimate +formations, it is for convention to decide which we are to prefer." + +CONVOKE--CONVENE. At one time and another there has been some discussion +with regard to the correct use of these two words. According to Crabb, +"There is nothing imperative on the part of those that _assemble_, or +_convene_, and nothing binding on those _assembled_, or _convened_: one +_assembles_, or _convenes_, by invitation or request; one attends to the +notice or not, at pleasure. _Convoke_, on the other hand, is _an act of +authority_; it is the call of one who has the authority to give the +call; it is heeded by those who feel themselves bound to attend." +Properly, then, President Arthur _convokes_, not _convenes_, the Senate. + +CORPOREAL--CORPORAL. These adjectives, though regarded as synonyms, are +not used indiscriminately. _Corporal_ is used in reference to the body, +or animal frame, in its proper sense; _corporeal_, to the animal +substance in an extended sense--opposed to spiritual. _Corporal_ +punishment; _corporeal_ or _material_ form or substance. + + "That to _corporeal_ substances could add + Speed most spiritual."--Milton. + + "What seemed _corporal_ + Melted as breath into the wind."--Shakespeare. + +COUPLE. In its primitive signification, this word does not mean simply +two, but two that are united by some bond; such as, for example, the tie +that unites the sexes. It has, however, been so long used to mean two of +a kind considered together, that in this sense it may be deemed +permissible, though the substitution of the word _two_ for it would +often materially improve the diction. + +COURAGE. See BRAVERY. + +CRIME--VICE--SIN. The confusion that exists in the use of these words is +due largely to an imperfect understanding of their respective meanings. +_Crime_ is the violation of the law of a state; hence, as the laws of +states differ, what is crime in one state may not be crime in another. +_Vice_ is a course of wrong-doing, and is not modified either by +country, religion, or condition. As for _sin_, it is very difficult to +define what it is, as what is sinful in the eyes of one man may not be +sinful in the eyes of another; what is sinful in the eyes of a Jew may +not be sinful in the eyes of a Christian; and what is sinful in the eyes +of a Christian of one country may not be sinful in the eyes of a +Christian of another country. In the days of slavery, to harbor a +runaway slave was a _crime_, but it was, in the eyes of most people, +neither a _vice_ nor a _sin_. + +CRUSHED OUT. "The rebellion was finally _crushed out_." Out of what? We +may _crush_ the life out of a man, or _crush_ a man to death, and +_crush_, not _crush out_, a rebellion. + +CULTURED. This word is said to be a product of Boston--an excellent +place for anybody or anything to come from. Many persons object to its +use on the ground that there can be no such participial adjective, +because there is no verb in use from which to form it. We have in use +the substantive _culture_, but, though the dictionaries recognize the +verb _to culture_, we do not use it. Be this objection valid or be it +not, _cultured_ having but two syllables, while its synonym _cultivated_ +has four, it is likely to find favor with those who employ short words +when they convey their meaning as well as long ones. Other adjectives of +this kind are, moneyed, whiskered, slippered, lettered, talented, +cottaged, lilied, anguished, gifted, and so forth. + +CURIOUS. This word is often used instead of _strange_ or _remarkable_. +"A _curious_ fact": better, "a _remarkable_ fact." "A _curious_ +proceeding": better, "a _strange_ proceeding." + +DANGEROUS. "He is pretty sick, but not _dangerous_." Dangerous people +are generally most dangerous when they are most vigorous. Say, rather, +"He is sick, but not _in danger_." + +DEAREST. "A gentleman once began a letter to his bride thus: 'My +_dearest_ Maria.' The lady replied: 'My dear John, I beg that you will +mend either your morals or your grammar. You call me your "_dearest_ +Maria"; am I to understand that you have other Marias'?"--Moon's "Bad +English." + +DECEIVING. "You are _deceiving_ me." Not unfrequently _deceiving_ is +used when the speaker means _trying to deceive_. It is when we do not +suspect deception that we are deceived. + +DECIMATE. This word, meaning as it properly does to tithe, to take the +tenth part, is hardly permissible in the sense in which it is used in +such sentences as, "The regiment held its position, though terribly +_decimated_ by the enemy's artillery." "Though terribly _tithed_" would +be equally correct. + +DEMEAN. This word is sometimes erroneously used in the sense of _to +debase_, _to disgrace_, _to humble_. It is a reflexive verb, and its +true meaning is _to behave_, _to carry_, _to conduct_; as, "He _demeans +himself_ in a gentlemanly manner," i. e., He _behaves_, or _carries_, or +_conducts_, himself in a gentlemanly manner. + +DENUDE. "The vulture," says Brande, "has some part of the head and +sometimes of the neck _denuded_ of feathers." Most birds might be +_denuded_ of the feathers on their heads; not so, however, the vulture, +for his head is always featherless. A thing can not be _denuded_ of what +it does not have. Denuding a vulture's head and neck of the feathers is +like _denuding_ an eel of its scales. + +DEPRECATE. Strangely enough, this word is often used in the sense of +disapprove, censure, condemn; as, "He _deprecates_ the whole +proceeding"; "Your course, from first to last, is universally +_deprecated_." But, according to the authorities, the word really means, +to endeavor to avert by prayer; to pray exemption or deliverance from; +to beg off; to entreat; to urge against. + +"Daniel kneeled upon his knees to _deprecate_ the captivity of his +people."--Hewyt. + +DESPITE. This word is often incorrectly preceded by _in_ and followed by +_of_; thus, "_In_ despite _of_ all our efforts to detain him, he set +out"; which should be, "Despite all our efforts," etc., or "_In spite +of_ all our efforts," etc. + +DETERMINED. See BOUND. + +DICTION. This is a general term, and is applicable to a single sentence +or to a connected composition. _Bad diction_ may be due to errors in +grammar, to a confused disposition of words, or to an improper use of +words. _Diction_, to be good, requires to be only correct and clear. Of +excellent examples of bad diction there are very many in a little work +by Dr. L. T. Townsend, Professor of Sacred Rhetoric in Boston +University, the first volume of which has lately come under my notice. +The first ten lines of Dr. Townsend's preface are: + +"The leading genius[1] of the People's College at Chautauqua Lake, with +a [the?] view of providing for his course[2] a text-book, asked for the +publication of the following laws and principles of speech.[3] + +"The author, not seeing sufficient reason[4] for withholding what had +been of much practical benefit[5] to himself, consented.[6] + +"The subject-matter herein contained is an outgrowth from[7] occasional +instructions[8] given[9] while occupying the chair[10] of Sacred +Rhetoric." + +1. The phrase _leading genius_ is badly chosen. Founder, projector, +head, organizer, principal, or president--some one of these terms would +probably have been appropriate. 2. What course? Race-course, course of +ethics, æsthetics, rhetoric, or what?[3] 3. "The following laws and +principles of speech." And how came these laws and principles in +existence? Who made them? We are to infer, it would seem, that Professor +Townsend made them, and that the world would have had to go without the +laws that govern language and the principles on which language is formed +had it pleased Professor Townsend to withhold them. 4. "_Sufficient_ +reason"! Then there were reasons why Professor Townsend ought to have +kept these good things all to himself; only, they were not _sufficient_. +5. "Practical benefit"! Is there _any_ such thing as impractical +benefit? Are not all benefits practical? and, if they are, what purpose +does the epithet _practical_ serve? 6. Consented to what? It is easy to +see that the Doctor means _acceded to the request_, but he is a long way +from saying so. The object writers usually have in view is to convey +thought, not to set their readers to guessing. 7. _The outgrowth of_ +would be English. 8. "Occasional instructions"! Very vague, and well +calculated to set the reader to guessing again. 9. Given to whom? 10. +"_The_ chair." The definite article made it necessary for the writer to +specify what particular chair of Sacred Rhetoric he meant. + +These ten lines are a fair specimen of the diction of the entire volume. + +Page 131. "To render a _given ambiguous or_ unintelligible sentence +transparent, the following suggestions are recommended." The words in +italics are unnecessary, since what is ambiguous is unintelligible. Then +who has ever heard of _recommending suggestions_? + +Dr. Townsend speaks of _mastering a subject before publishing it_. +Publishing a subject? + +Page 133. "Violations of simplicity, whatever the type, show either that +_the mind of_ the writer is tainted with affectation, or _else_ that _an +effort is making_ to conceal _conscious_ poverty of _sentiment_ under +loftiness of expression." Here is an example of a kind of sentence that +can be mended in only one way--by rewriting, which might be done thus: +Violations of simplicity, whatever the type, show either that the writer +is tainted with affectation, or that he is making an effort to conceal +poverty of thought under loftiness of expression. + +Page 143. "This _quality_ is fully _stated_ and recommended," etc. Who +has ever heard of _stating a quality_? + +On page 145 Dr. Townsend says: "A person can not read a single book of +poor style without having his own style vitiated." _A book of poor +style_ is an awkward expression, to say the least. _A single +badly-written book_ would have been unobjectionable. + +Page 160. "The presented picture produces instantly a definite effect." +Why this unusual disposition of words? Why not say, in accordance with +the idiom of the language, "The picture presented instantly produces," +etc.? + +Page 161. "The boy studies ... geography and hates everything connected +with the sea and land." Why _the_ boy? As there are few things besides +seals and turtles that are connected with the sea _and_ land, the boy in +question has few things to hate. + +On page 175, Dr. Townsend heads a chapter thus: "_Art_ of acquiring +_Skill_ in the use of Poetic Speech." This reminds one of the man who +tried to lift himself over a fence by taking hold of the seat of his +breeches. "_How_ to acquire skill" is probably what is meant. + +On page 232, "Jeremy Taylor is among the best models of long sentences +which are both clear and logical." Jeremy Taylor is a clear and logical +long sentence?! True, our learned rhetorician says so, but he doesn't +mean it. He means, "In Jeremy Taylor we find some of the best examples +of long sentences which are at once clear and logical." + +Since the foregoing was written, the second volume of Professor +Townsend's "Art of Speech" has been published. In the brief preface to +this volume we find this characteristic sentence: "The author has felt +that _clergymen_ more than _those_ of other professions will study this +treatise." The antecedent of the relative _those_ being _clergymen_, the +sentence, it will be perceived, says: "The author has felt that +_clergymen_ more than _clergymen of other professions_ will study this +treatise." Comment on such "art" as Professor Townsend's is not +necessary. + +I find several noteworthy examples of bad diction in an article in a +recent number of an Australian magazine. The following are some of them: +"_Large capital_ always manages to make _itself_ master of the +situation; it is the small capitalist and the small landholder that +would suffer," etc. Should be, "_The large capitalist ... himself_," +etc. Again: "The small farmer would ... be despoiled ... of the meager +profit which _strenuous_ labor had conquered from the _reluctant_ soil." +Not only are the epithets in italics superfluous, and consequently +weakening in their effect, but idiom does not permit _strenuous_ to be +used to qualify _labor_: _hard_ labor and _strenuous_ effort. Again: +"Capital has always the choice _of_ a large field." Should be, "the +choice _offered by_ a large field." Again: "Should capital be withdrawn, +tenements would soon prove insufficient." Should be, "_the number of_ +tenements would," etc. Again: "Men of wealth, therefore, would find +their Fifth Avenue mansions and their summer villas a little more +burdened with taxes, but with this increase happily balanced by the +exemption of their bonds and mortgages, their plate and furniture." The +thought here is so simple that we easily divine it; but, if we look at +the sentence at all carefully, we find that, though we supply the +ellipses in the most charitable manner possible, the sentence really +says: "Men would find their mansions more burdened, but would find them +with this increased burden happily balanced by the exemption," etc. The +sentence should have been framed somewhat in this wise: "Men ... would +find their ... mansions ... more burdened with taxes, but this increase +in the taxes on their real estate would be happily balanced by the +exemption from taxation of their bonds, mortgages, plate, and +furniture." Again: "Men generally ... would be inclined to laugh at the +idea of intrusting the modern politician with such gigantic +opportunities for enriching his favorites." We do not _intrust_ one +another with _opportunities_. _To enrich_ would better the diction. +Again: "The value of land that has accrued from labor is not ... a just +object for confiscation." Correctly: "The value of land that has +_resulted_ from labor is not _justly_ ... an object _of_ confiscation." +_Accrue_ is properly used more in the sense of _spontaneous growth_. +Again: "If the state attempts to confiscate this increase by means of +taxes, either rentals will increase correspondingly, or such a check +will be put upon _the_ growth _of each place_ and _all the_ enterprises +_connected with it_ that greater injury would be done than if things had +been left untouched." We have here, it will be observed, a confusion of +moods; the sentence begins in the indicative and ends in the +conditional. The words in italics are worse than superfluous. Rewritten: +"If the state _should_ attempt to confiscate this increase by means of +taxes, either rentals _would_ increase correspondingly, or such a check +_would_ be put upon growth and enterprise that greater injury would," +etc. Again: "The _theory_ that land ... is a _boon_ of Nature, to which +every person has an inalienable right equal to every other person, is +not new." The words _theory_ and _boon_ are here misused. A _theory_ is +a system of suppositions. The things man receives from Nature are +_gifts_, not _boons_: the gift of reason, the gift of speech, etc. The +sentence should be: "The _declaration_ (or _assertion_) that land ... is +a _gift_ of Nature, to which every person has an inalienable right equal +to _that of any_ other person, is not new." Or, more simply and quite as +forcibly: "... to which one person has an inalienable right equal to +that of another, is not new." Or, more simply still, and more forcibly: +"... to which one _man_ has as good a right as another, is not new." By +substituting the word _man_ for _person_, we have a word of one syllable +that expresses, in this connection, all that the longer word expresses. +The fewer the syllables, if the thought be fully expressed, the more +vigorous the diction. Inalienability being foreign to the discussion, +the long word _inalienable_ only encumbers the sentence. + +"We have thus[1] passed in review[2] the changes and improvements[3] +which the revision contains[4] in the First Epistle to the Corinthians. +It has[5] not, indeed,[6] been possible to refer to[7] them all; but so +many illustrations[8] have been given in[9] the several classes +described that the reader will have[10] a satisfactory[11] survey of the +whole subject. Whatever may be said of other portions[12] of the New +Testament, we think it will be generally admitted that in this Epistle +the changes have improved the old[13] translation. They are such as[14] +make the English version[15] conform more completely[16] to the Greek +original. If this be[17] true, the revisers have done a good work for +the Church.[18] If it be true[19] with regard to all the New Testament +books, the work which they have done will remain[20] a blessing to the +readers of those books for[21] generations to come. But the blessing +will be only in the clearer presentation of the Divine truth, and, +therefore, it will be only to the glory of God." + +This astonishingly slipshod bit of composition is from the pen of the +Rev. Dr. Timothy Dwight. If the learned Professor of Divinity in Yale +College deemed it worth while to give a little thought to manner as well +as to matter, it is probable that his diction would be very different +from what it is; and, if he were to give a few minutes to the making of +verbal corrections in the foregoing paragraph, he would, perhaps, do +something like this: 1, change _thus_ to _now_; 2, write _some of_ the +changes; 3, strike out _and improvements_; 4, for _contains changes_ +substitute some other form of expression; 5, instead of _has been_, +write _was_; 6, strike out _indeed_; 7, instead of _refer to_, write +_cite_; 8, change _illustrations_ to _examples_; 9, instead of _in_, +write _of_; 10, instead of _the reader will have_, write _the reader +will be able to get_; 11, change _satisfactory_ to _tolerable_; 12, +change _portions_ to _parts_; 13, not talk of the _old_ translation, as +we have no new one; 14, strike out as superfluous the words _are such +as_; 15, change _version_ to _text_; 16, substitute _nearly_ for +_completely_, which does not admit of comparison; 17, substitute the +indicative for the conditional; 18, end sentence with the word _work_; +19, introduce _also_ after _be_; 20, instead of _remain_, in the sense +of _be_, use _be_; 21, introduce _the_ after _for_. As for the last +sentence, it reminds one of Mendelssohn's "Songs without Words," though +here we have, instead of a song and no words, words and no song, or +rather no meaning. As is often true of cant, we have here simply a +syntactical arrangement of words signifying--nothing. + +If Professor Dwight were of those who, in common with the Addisons and +Macaulays and Newmans, think it worth while to give some attention to +diction, the thought conveyed in the paragraph under consideration +would, perhaps, have been expressed somewhat in this wise: + +"We have now passed in review some of the changes that, in the revision, +have been made in the First Epistle to the Corinthians. It was not +possible to cite them all, but a sufficient number of examples of the +several classes described have been given to enable the reader to get a +tolerable survey of the whole subject. Whatever may be said of the other +parts of the New Testament, we think it will be generally admitted that +in this Epistle the changes have improved the translation. They make the +English text conform more nearly to the Greek. This being true, the +revisers have done a good work; and, if it be also true with regard to +all the New Testament books, the work which they have done will be a +blessing to the readers of these books for the generations to come." + +DIE WITH. Man and brute die _of_, and not _with_, fevers, consumption, +the plague, pneumonia, old age, and so on. + +DIFFER. Writers differ _from_ one another in opinion with regard to the +particle we should use with this verb. Some say they differ _with_, +others that they differ _from_, their neighbors in opinion. The weight +of authority is on the side of always using _from_, though A may differ +_with_ C from D in opinion with regard, say, to the size of the fixed +stars. "I differ, as to this matter, _from_ Bishop Lowth."--Cobbett. +_Different to_ is heard sometimes instead of _different from_. + +DIRECTLY. The Britons have a way of using this word in the sense of +_when_, _as soon as_. This is quite foreign to its true meaning, which +is immediately, at once, straightway. They say, for example, +"_Directly_ he reached the city, he went to his brother's." "Directly he +[the saint] was dead, the Arabs sent his woolen shirt to the +sovereign."--"London News." Dr. Hall says of its use in the sense of _as +soon as_: "But, after all, it may simply anticipate on the English of +the future." + +DIRT. This word means filth or anything that renders foul and unclean, +and means nothing else. It is often improperly used for earth or loam, +and sometimes even for sand or gravel. We not unfrequently hear of a +_dirt_ road when an unpaved road is meant. + +DISCOMMODE. This word is rarely used; _incommode_ is accounted the +better form. + +DISREMEMBER. This is a word vulgarly used in the sense of _forget_. It +is said to be more frequently heard in the South than in the North. + +DISTINGUISH. This verb is sometimes improperly used for _discriminate_. +We _distinguish_ by means of the senses as well as of the understanding; +we _discriminate_ by means of the understanding only. "It is difficult, +in some cases, to _distinguish between_," etc.: should be, "It is +difficult, in some cases, to _discriminate between_," etc. We +_distinguish_ one thing _from another_, and _discriminate between_ two +or more things. + +DOCK--WHARF. The first of these words is often improperly used for the +second. Of docks there are several kinds: a _naval dock_ is a place for +the keeping of naval stores, timber, and materials for ship-building; a +_dry dock_ is a place where vessels are drawn out of the water for +repairs; a _wet dock_ is a place where vessels are kept afloat at a +certain level while they are loaded and unloaded; a _sectional dock_ is +a contrivance for raising vessels out of the water on a series of +air-tight boxes. A _dock_, then, is a place into which things are +received; hence, a man might fall _into_ a dock, but could no more fall +_off_ a dock than he could fall off a hole. A _wharf_ is a sort of quay +built by the side of the water. A similar structure built at a right +angle with the shore is generally called a _pier_. Vessels lie at +_wharves_ and _piers_, not at _docks_. + +DONATE. This word, which is defined as meaning to give, to contribute, +is looked upon by most champions of good English as being an +abomination. _Donation_ is also little used by careful writers. +"_Donate_," says Mr. Gould, "may be dismissed with this remark: so long +as its place is occupied by _give_, _bestow_, _grant_, _present_, etc., +it is not needed; and it should be unceremoniously bowed out, or thrust +out, of the seat into which it has, temporarily, intruded." + +DONE. This past participle is often very inelegantly, if not improperly, +used thus: "He did not cry out as some have _done_ against it," which +should read, "He did not cry out as some have against it"; i. e., "as +some _have cried out_ against it." + +"Done is frequently a very great offender against grammar," says +Cobbett. "_To do_ is the _act of doing_. We see people write, 'I _did_ +not speak yesterday so well as I wished to have _done_.' Now, what is +meant by the writer? He means to say that he _did_ not speak so well as +he then _wished_, or was wishing, _to speak_. Therefore, the sentence +should be, 'I did not speak yesterday so well as I wished _to do_.' That +is to say, 'so well as I wished to do it'; that is to say, to do or to +perform _the act of speaking_. + +"Take great care not to be too free in your use of the verb _to do_ in +any of its times or modes. It is a nice little handy word, and, like our +oppressed _it_, it is made use of very often when the writer is at a +_loss_ for what to put down. _To do_ is to _act_, and therefore it never +can, in any of its parts, supply the place of a _neuter_ verb. 'How do +you do?' Here _do_ refers to the _state_, and is essentially passive or +neuter. Yet, to employ it for this purpose is very common. Dr. Blair, in +his 23d Lecture, says: 'It is somewhat unfortunate that this Number of +the "Spectator" did not _end_, as it might have _done_, with the former +beautiful period.' That is to say, _done it_. And then we ask, Done +what? Not the _act of ending_, because in this case there is _no action_ +at all. The verb means _to come to an end_, _to cease_, _not to go any +further_. This same verb _to end_ is sometimes an active verb: 'I _end_ +my sentence'; _then_ the verb _to do_ may supply its place; as, 'I have +not ended my sentence so well as I might have _done_'; that is, done +_it_; that is, done, or performed, the _act of ending_. But the Number +of the 'Spectator' was no _actor_; it was expected to _perform_ nothing; +it was, by the Doctor, wished to have _ceased_ to proceed. 'Did not +_end_ as it very well might have ended....' This would have been +correct; but the Doctor wished to avoid the _repetition_, and thus he +fell into bad grammar. 'Mr. Speaker, I do not _feel_ so well satisfied +as I should have _done_ if the Right Honorable Gentleman had explained +the matter more fully.' To _feel_ satisfied is--when the satisfaction is +to arise from conviction produced by fact or reasoning--a senseless +expression; and to supply its place, when it is, as in this case, a +neuter verb, by _to do_, is as senseless. Done _what_? Done _the act of +feeling_! 'I do not _feel_ so well satisfied as I should have _done_, or +_executed_, or _performed_ the _act of feeling_'! What incomprehensible +words!" + +DON'T. Everybody knows that _don't_ is a contraction of _do not_, and +that _doesn't_ is a contraction of _does not_; and yet _nearly_ +everybody is guilty of using _don't_ when he should use _doesn't_. "So +you _don't_ go; John _doesn't_ either, I hear." + +DOUBLE GENITIVE. An anecdote of Mr. Lincoln--an anecdote of Mr. +Lincoln's. We see at a glance that these two phrases are very different +in meaning. So, also, a portrait of Brown--a portrait of Brown's. No +precise rule has ever been given to guide us in our choice between these +two forms of the possessive case. Sometimes it is not material which +form is employed; where, however, it is material--and it generally +is--we must consider the thought we wish to express, and rely on our +discrimination. + +DRAMATIZE. See ADAPT. + +DRAWING-ROOM. See PARLOR. + +DRESS--GOWN. Within the memory of many persons the outer garment worn by +women was properly called a _gown_ by everybody, instead of being +improperly called a _dress_, as it now is by nearly everybody. + +DRIVE. See RIDE. + +DUE--OWING. These two words, though close synonyms, should not be used +indiscriminately. The mistake usually made is in using _due_ instead of +_owing_. That is _due_ which ought to be paid as a debt; that is _owing_ +which is to be referred to as a source. "It was _owing_ to his exertions +that the scheme succeeded." "It was _owing_ to your negligence that the +accident happened." "A certain respect is _due_ to men's prejudices." +"This was _owing_ to an indifference to the pleasures of life." "It is +_due_ to the public that I should tell all I know of the matter." + +EACH OTHER. "Their great authors address themselves, not to their +country, but to _each other_."--Buckle. _Each other_ is properly applied +to two only; _one another_ must be used when the number considered +exceeds two. Buckle should have written _one another_ and not _each +other_, unless he meant to intimate that the Germans had only two great +authors, which is not probable. + +EAT. Grammarians differ very widely with regard to the conjugation of +this verb; there is no doubt, however, that from every point of view the +preferable forms for the preterite and past participle are respectively +_ate_ and _eaten_. To refined ears the other forms smack of vulgarity, +although supported by good authority. "I _ate_ an apple." "I have +_eaten_ dinner." "John _ate_ supper with me." "As soon as you have +_eaten_ breakfast we will set out." + +EDITORIAL. The use of this adjective as a substantive is said to be an +Americanism. + +EDUCATION. This is one of the most misused of words. A man may be well +acquainted with the contents of text-books, and yet be a person of +little _education_; on the other hand, a man may be a person of good +education, and yet know little of the contents of text-books. Abraham +Lincoln and Edwin Forrest knew comparatively little of what is generally +learned in schools; still they were men of culture, men of _education_. +A man may have ever so much book-knowledge and still be a boor; but a +man can not be a person of good education and not be--so far as manner +is concerned--a gentleman. _Education_, then, is a whole of which +Instruction and Breeding are the parts. The man or the woman--even in +this democratic country of ours--who _deserves_ the title of gentleman +or lady is always a person of education; i. e., he or she has a +sufficient acquaintance with books and with the usages of social +intercourse to acquit himself or herself creditably in the society of +cultivated people. Not moral worth, nor learning, nor wealth, nor all +three combined, can unaided make a gentleman, for with all three a man +might be _uneducated_--i. e., coarse, unbred, unschooled in those things +which alone make men welcome in the society of the refined. + +EFFECTUATE. This word, together with _ratiocinate_ and _eventuate_, is +said to be a great favorite with the rural members of the Arkansas +legislature. + +EFFLUVIUM. The plural of this word is _effluvia_. It is a common error +with those who have no knowledge of Latin to speak of "a disagreeable +effluvia," which is as incorrect as it would be to talk about "a +disagreeable vapors." + +EFFORT WITHOUT EFFECT. "Some writers deal in expletives to a degree that +tires the ear and offends the understanding. With them everything is +_excessively_, or _immensely_, or _extremely_, or _vastly_, or +_surprisingly_, or _wonderfully_, or _abundantly_, or the like. The +notion of such writers is that these words give _strength_ to what they +are saying. This is a great error. Strength must be found in the +_thought_, or it will never be found in the _words_. Big-sounding words, +without thoughts corresponding, are effort without effect."--William +Cobbett. See FORCIBLE-FEEBLE. + +EGOIST. "One of a class of philosophers who professed to be sure of +nothing but their own existence."--Reid. + +EGOTIST. "One who talks much of himself." + +"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: + +Paragraph + +4. "Into _another_ land _than_"; should be, "into a land _other than_." + +16. "We do not follow rule in spelling other words, but custom"; should +be, "we do not follow _rule, but custom_, in spelling," etc. + +18. "The distinction is observed in French, but _never appears_ to have +been made," etc.; read, "_appears never_ to have been made." + +61. "_Rather_ to aspirate more _than_ less"; should be, "to aspirate +more _rather than_ less." + +9. "It is said also _only_ to occur three times," etc.; read, "_occur +only_ three times." + +44. "This doubling _only takes place_ in a syllable," etc.; read, +"_takes place only_." + +142. "Which can _only_ be decided when those circumstances are known"; +read, "_can be decided only_ when," etc. + +166. "I will _only_ say that it produces," etc.; read, "I will _say +only_," etc. + +170. "It is said that this can _only_ be filled in thus"; read, "can be +_filled in only_ thus." + +368. "I can _only_ deal with the complaint in a general way"; read, +"_deal with the complaint only_," etc. + +86. "_In_ so far as they are idiomatic," etc. What is the use of _in_? + +171. "Try the experiment"; "_tried_ the experiment." Read, _make_ and +_made_. + +345. "It is _most_ generally used of that very sect," etc. Why _most_? + +362. "The joining together two clauses with a third," etc.; read, "_of +two_ clauses," etc. + +GOWN. See DRESS. + +GRADUATED. Students do not _graduate_; they _are_ graduated. Hence most +writers nowadays say, "I _was_, he _was_, or they _were_ graduated"; and +ask, "When _were_ you, or _was_ he, graduated?" + +GRAMMATICAL ERRORS. "The correctness of the expression _grammatical +errors_ has been disputed. 'How,' it has been asked, 'can an error be +grammatical?' How, it may be replied, can we with propriety say, +_grammatically incorrect_? Yet we can do so. + +"No one will question the propriety of saying _grammatically correct_. +Yet the expression is the acknowledgment of things _grammatically +INcorrect_. Likewise the phrase _grammatical correctness_ implies the +existence of _grammatical INcorrectness_. If, then, a sentence is +_grammatically incorrect_, or, what is the same thing, has _grammatical +incorrectness_, it includes a GRAMMATICAL ERROR. _Grammatically +incorrect_ signifies INCORRECT WITH RELATION TO THE RULES OF GRAMMAR. +_Grammatical errors_ signifies ERRORS WITH RELATION TO THE RULES OF +GRAMMAR. + +"They who ridicule the phrase _grammatical errors_, and substitute the +phrase _errors in grammar_, make an egregious mistake. Can there, it may +be asked with some show of reason, be an error in grammar? Why, grammar +is a science founded in our nature, referable to our ideas of time, +relation, method; imperfect, doubtless, as to the system by which it is +represented; but surely we can speak of error in that which is error's +criterion! All this is hypercritical, but hypercriticism must be met +with its own weapons. + +"Of the two expressions--_a grammatical error_, and _an error in +grammar_--the former is preferable. If one's judgment can accept +neither, one must relinquish the belief in the possibility of tersely +expressing the idea of an offense against grammatical rules. Indeed, it +would be difficult to express the idea even by circumlocution. Should +some one say, 'This sentence is, according to the rules of grammar, +incorrect.' 'What!' the hypercritic may exclaim, 'incorrect! and +according to the rules of grammar!' 'This sentence, then,' the corrected +person would reply, 'contains an error in grammar.' 'Nonsense!' the +hypercritic may shout, 'grammar is a science; you may be wrong in its +interpretation, but principles are immutable!' + +"After this, it need scarcely be added that, grammatically, no one can +make a mistake, that there can be no grammatical mistake, that there can +be no bad grammar, and, consequently, no bad English; a very pleasant +conclusion, which would save us a great amount of trouble if it did not +lack the insignificant quality of being true."--"Vulgarisms and Other +Errors of Speech." + +GRATUITOUS. There are those who object to the use of this word in the +sense of unfounded, unwarranted, unreasonable, untrue. Its use in this +sense, however, has the sanction of abundant authority. "Weak and +_gratuitous_ conjectures."--Porson. "A _gratuitous_ assumption."--Godwin. +"The _gratuitous_ theory."--Southey. "A _gratuitous_ invention."--De +Quincey. "But it is needless to dwell on the improbability of a +hypothesis which has been shown to be altogether _gratuitous_."--Dr. +Newman. + +GROW. This verb originally meant to increase in size, but has normally +come to be also used to express a change from one state or condition to +another; as, to _grow_ dark, to _grow_ weak or strong, to _grow_ faint, +etc. But it is doubtful whether what is large can properly be said to +_grow_ small. In this sense, _become_ would seem to be the better word. + +GUMS. See RUBBERS. + +HAD HAVE. Nothing could be more incorrect than the bringing together of +these two auxiliary verbs in this manner; and yet we occasionally find +it in writers of repute. Instead of "Had I known it," "Had you seen it," +"Had we been there," we hear, "Had I _have_ known it," "Had you _have_ +seen it," "Had we _have_ been there." + +HAD OUGHT. This is a vulgarism of the worst description, yet we hear +people, who would be highly indignant if any one should intimate that +they were not ladies and gentlemen, say, "He _had_ ought to go." A +fitting reply would be, "Yes, I think he better had." _Ought_ says all +that _had ought_ says. + +HAD RATHER. This expression and _had better_ are much used, but, in the +opinion of many, are indefensible. We hear them in such sentences as, "I +_had_ rather not do it," "You _had_ better go home." "Now, what tense," +it is asked, "is _had do_ and _had go_?" If we transpose the words thus, +"You _had do_ better (to) go home," it becomes at once apparent, it is +asserted, that the proper word to use in connection with _rather_ and +_better_ is not _had_, but _would_; thus, "I _would_ rather not do it," +"You _would_ better go home." Examples of this use of _had_ can be found +in the writings of our best authors. For what Professor Bain has to say +on this subject in his "Composition Grammar," see SUBJUNCTIVE MOOD. + +HALF. "It might have been expressed in _one_ half the space." We see at +a glance that _one_ here is superfluous. + +HANGED--HUNG. The irregular form, _hung_, of the past participle of the +verb _to hang_ is most used; but, when the word denotes suspension by +the neck for the purpose of destroying life, the regular form, +_hanged_, is always used by careful writers and speakers. + +HASTE. See HURRY. + +HEADING. See CAPTION. + +HEALTHY--WHOLESOME. The first of these two words is often improperly +used for the second; as, "Onions are a _healthy_ vegetable." A man, if +he is in good health, is _healthy_; the food he eats, if it is not +deleterious, is _wholesome_. A _healthy_ ox makes _wholesome_ food. We +speak of _healthy_ surroundings, a _healthy_ climate, situation, +employment, and of _wholesome_ food, advice, examples. _Healthful_ is +generally used in the sense of conducive to health, virtue, morality; +as, _healthful_ exercise, the _healthful_ spirit of the +community--meaning that the spirit that prevails in the community is +conducive to virtue and good morals. + +HELPMATE. The dictionaries suggest that this word is a corruption of +_help_ and _meet_, as we find these words used in Gen. ii, 18, "I will +make him a help meet for him," and that the proper word is _helpmeet_. +If, as is possible, the words in Genesis mean, "I will make him a help, +meet [suitable] for him," then neither _helpmate_ nor _helpmeet_ has any +_raison d'être_. + +HIGHFALUTIN. This is a style of writing often called the freshman style. +It is much indulged in by very young men, and by a class of older men +who instinctively try to make up in clatter for what they lack in +matter. Examples of this kind of writing are abundant in Professor L. T. +Townsend's "Art of Speech," which, as examples, are all the better for +not being of that exaggerated description sometimes met within the +newspapers. Vol. i, p. 131: "Very often adverbs, prepositions, and +relatives drift so far from their moorings as to lose themselves, or +make attachments where they do not belong." Again, p. 135: "Every law of +speech enforces the statement that there is no excuse for such inflated +and defective style. [Such style!] To speak thus is treason in the +realms and under the laws of language." Again, p. 175: "Cultivate +figure-making habitudes. This is done by asking the spiritual import of +every physical object seen; also by forming the habit of constantly +metaphorizing. Knock at the door of anything met which interests, and +ask, 'Who lives here?' The process is to look, then close the eyes, then +look within." The blundering inanity of this kind of writing is equaled +only by its bumptious grandiloquence. On p. 137 Dr. Townsend quotes this +wholesome admonition from Coleridge: "If men would only say what they +have to say in plain terms, how much more eloquent they would be!" As an +example of reportorial highfalutin, I submit the following: "The spirit +of departed day had joined communion with the myriad ghosts of +centuries, and four full hours fled into eternity before the citizens of +many parts of the town found out there was a freshet here at all." + +HINTS. "Never write about any matter that you do not well understand. If +you clearly understand all about your matter, you will never want +thoughts, and thoughts instantly become words. + +"One of the greatest of all faults in writing and in speaking is this: +the using of many words to _say little_. In order to guard yourself +against this fault, inquire what is the _substance_, or _amount_, of +what you have said. Take a long speech of some talking Lord and put down +upon paper what the amount of it is. You will most likely find that the +_amount_ is very small; but at any rate, when you get it, you will then +be able to examine it and to tell what it is worth. A very few +examinations of the sort will so frighten you that you will be for ever +after upon your guard against _talking a great deal_ and _saying +little_."--Cobbett. + +"Be simple, be unaffected, be honest in your speaking and writing. Never +use a long word where a short one will do. Call a spade _a spade_, not a +_well-known oblong instrument of manual husbandry_; let home be _home_, +not a _residence_; a place a _place_, not a _locality_; and so of the +rest. Where a short word will do, you always lose by using a long one. +You lose in clearness; you lose in honest expression of your meaning; +and, in the estimation of all men who are qualified to judge, you lose +in reputation for ability. The only true way to shine, even in this +false world, is to be modest and unassuming. Falsehood may be a very +thick crust, but, in the course of time, truth will find a place to +break through. Elegance of language may not be in the power of all of +us; but simplicity and straightforwardness are. Write much as you would +speak; speak as you think. If with your inferiors, speak no coarser than +usual; if with your superiors, no finer. Be what you say; and, within +the rules of prudence, say what you are."--Dean Alford. + +"Go critically over what you have written, and strike out every word, +phrase, and clause which it is found will leave the sentence neither +less clear nor less forcible than it is without them."--Swinton. + +"With all watchfulness, it is astonishing what slips are made, even by +good writers, in the employment of an inappropriate word. In Gibbon's +'Rise and Fall,' the following instance occurs: 'Of nineteen tyrants who +started up after the reign of Gallienus, there was not one who _enjoyed_ +a life of peace or a natural _death_.' Alison, in his 'History of +Europe,' writes: 'Two great sins--one of _omission_ and one of +commission--have been _committed_ by the states of Europe in modern +times.' And not long since a worthy Scotch minister, at the close of +the services, intimated his intention of visiting some of his people as +follows: 'I intend, during this week, to visit in Mr. M----'s district, +and will on this occasion take the opportunity of _embracing_ all the +servants in the district.' When worthies such as these offend, who shall +call the bellman in question as he cries, 'Lost, a silver-handled silk +lady's parasol'? + +"The proper arrangement of words into sentences and paragraphs gives +clearness and strength. To attain a clear and pithy style, it may be +necessary to cut down, to rearrange, and to rewrite whole passages of an +essay. Gibbon wrote his 'Memoirs' six times, and the first chapter of +his 'History' three times. Beginners are always slow to prune or cast +away any thought or expression which may have cost labor. They forget +that brevity is no sign of thoughtlessness. Much consideration is needed +to compress the details of any subject into small compass. Essences are +more difficult to prepare, and therefore more valuable, than weak +solutions. Pliny wrote to one of his friends, 'I have not time to write +you a short letter, therefore I have written you a long one.' Apparent +elaborateness is always distasteful and weak. Vividness and strength are +the product of an easy command of those small trenchant Saxon +monosyllables which abound in the English language."--"Leisure Hour." + +"As a rule, the student will do well to banish for the present all +thought of ornament or elegance, and to aim only at expressing himself +plainly and clearly. The best ornament is always that which comes +unsought. Let him not beat about the bush, but go straight to the point. +Let him remember that what is written is meant to be read; that time is +short; and that--other things being equal--the fewer words the +better.... Repetition is a far less serious fault than obscurity. Young +writers are often unduly afraid of repeating the same word, and require +to be reminded that it is always better to use the right word over again +than to replace it by a wrong one--and a word which is liable to be +misunderstood is a wrong one. A frank repetition of a word has even +sometimes a kind of charm--as bearing the stamp of _truth_, the +foundation of all excellence of style."--Hall. + +"A young writer is afraid to be simple; he has no faith in beauty +unadorned, hence he crowds his sentences with superlatives. In his +estimation, turgidity passes for eloquence, and simplicity is but +another name for that which is weak and unmeaning."--George Washington +Moon. + +HONORABLE. See REVEREND. + +HOW. "I have heard _how_ in Italy one is beset on all sides by beggars": +read, "heard _that_." "I have heard _how_ some critics have been +pacified with claret and a supper, and others laid asleep with soft +notes of flattery."--Dr. Johnson. The _how_ in this sentence also should +be _that_. _How_ means the _manner in which_. We may, therefore, say, "I +have heard _how_ he went about it to circumvent you." + +"And it is good judgment alone can dictate _how far_ to proceed in it +and _when_ to stop." Cobbett comments on this sentence in this wise: +"Dr. Watts is speaking here of writing. In such a case, an adverb, like +_how far_, expressive of longitudinal space, introduces a _rhetorical +figure_; for the plain meaning is, that judgment will dictate _how much +to write on it_ and not _how far to proceed in it_. The figure, however, +is very proper and much better than the literal words. But when a figure +is _begun_ it should be carried on throughout, which is not the case +here; for the Doctor begins with a figure of longitudinal space and +ends with a figure of _time_. It should have been, _where_ to stop. Or, +how _long_ to proceed in it and _when_ to stop. To tell a man _how far_ +he is to go into the Western countries of America, and _when_ he is to +stop, is a very different thing from telling him _how far_ he is to go +and _where_ he is to stop. I have dwelt thus on this distinction for the +purpose of putting you on the watch and guarding you against confounding +figures. The less you use them the better, till you understand more +about them." + +HUMANITARIANISM. This word, in its original, theological sense, means +the doctrine that denies the godhead of Jesus Christ, and avers that he +was possessed of a human nature only; a _humanitarian_, therefore, in +the theological sense, is one who believes this doctrine. The word and +its derivatives are, however, nowadays, both in this country and in +England, most used in a humane, philanthropic sense; thus, "The audience +enthusiastically endorsed the _humanitarianism_ of his eloquent +discourse."--Hatton. + +HUNG. See HANGED. + +HURRY. Though widely different in meaning, both the verb and the noun +_hurry_ are continually used for _haste_ and _hasten_. _Hurry_ implies +not only _haste_, but haste with confusion, flurry; while _haste_ +implies only rapidity of action, an eager desire to make progress, and, +unlike _hurry_, is not incompatible with deliberation and dignity. It is +often wise to _hasten_ in the affairs of life; but, as it is never wise +to proceed without forethought and method, it is never wise to _hurry_. +Sensible people, then, may be often in _haste_, but are never in a +_hurry_; and we tell others to _make haste_, and not to _hurry up_. + +HYPERBOLE. The magnifying of things beyond their natural limits is +called _hyperbole_. Language that signifies, literally, more than the +exact truth, more than is really intended to be represented, by which a +thing is represented greater or less, better or worse than it really is, +is said to be _hyperbolical_. Hyperbole is exaggeration. + +"Our common forms of compliment are almost all of them extravagant +_hyperboles_."--Blair. + +Some examples are the following: + +"Rivers of blood and hills of slain." + +"They were swifter than eagles; they were stronger than lions." + + "The sky shrunk upward with unusual dread, + And trembling Tiber div'd beneath his bed." + + "So frowned the mighty combatants, that hell + Grew darker at their frown." + +"I saw their chief tall as a rock of ice; his spear the blasted fir; his +shield the rising moon; he sat on the shore like a cloud of mist on a +hill." + +ICE-CREAM--ICE-WATER. As for ice-cream, there is no such thing, as +ice-cream would be the product of frozen cream, i. e., cream made from +ice by melting. What is called ice-cream is cream _iced_; hence, +properly, _iced_ cream and not _ice_-cream. The product of melted ice is +_ice_-water, whether it be cold or warm; but water made cold with ice is +_iced_ water, and not _ice_-water. + +IF. "I doubt _if_ this will ever reach you": say, "I doubt _whether_ +this will ever reach you." + +ILL. See SICK. + +ILLY. It will astonish not a few to learn that there is no such word as +_illy_. The form of the adverb, as well as of the adjective and the +noun, is _ill_. A thing is _ill_ formed, or _ill_ done, or _ill_ made, +or _ill_ constructed, or _ill_ put together. + + "_Ill_ fares the land, to hastening ills a prey, + Where wealth accumulates and men decay."--Goldsmith. + +IMMODEST. This adjective and its synonyms, _indecent_ and _indelicate_, +are often used without proper discrimination being made in their +respective meanings. _Indecency_ and _immodesty_ are opposed to +morality: the former in externals, as dress, words, and looks; the +latter in conduct and disposition. "_Indecency_," says Crabb, "may be a +partial, _immodesty_ is a positive and entire breach of the moral law. +_Indecency_ is less than _immodesty_, but more than _indelicacy_." It is +_indecent_ for a man to marry again very soon after the death of his +wife. It is _indelicate_ for any one to obtrude himself upon another's +retirement. It is _indecent_ for women to expose their persons as do +some whom we can not call _immodest_. + + "Immodest words admit of no defense, + For want of decency is want of sense." + --Earl of Roscommon. + +IMPROPRIETY. As a rhetorical term, defined as an error in using words in +a sense different from their recognized signification. + +IMPUTE. Non-painstaking writers not unfrequently use _impute_ instead of +_ascribe_. "The numbers [of blunders] that have been _imputed_ to him +are endless."--"Appletons' Journal." The use of _impute_ in this +connection is by no means indefensible; still it would have been better +to use _ascribe_. + +IN OUR MIDST. The phrases _in our midst_ and _in their midst_ are +generally supposed to be of recent introduction; and, though they have +been used by some respectable writers, they nevertheless find no favor +with those who study propriety in the use of language. To the phrase _in +the midst_ no one objects. "Jesus came and stood in the midst." "There +was a hut _in the midst_ of the forest." + +IN RESPECT OF. "The deliberate introduction of incorrect forms, whether +by the coinage of new or the revival of obsolete and inexpressive +syntactical combinations, ought to be resisted even in trifles, +especially where it leads to the confusion of distinct ideas. An example +of this is the recent use of the adverbial phrases _in respect of_, _in +regard of_, for _in_ or _with_ respect _to_, or regard _to_. This +innovation is without any syntactical ground, and ought to be condemned +and avoided as a mere grammatical crotchet."--George P. Marsh, "Lectures +on the English Language," p. 660. + +IN SO FAR AS. A phrase often met with, and in which the _in_ is +superfluous. "A want of proper opportunity would suffice, _in_ so far as +the want could be shown." "We are to act up to the extent of our +knowledge; but, _in_ so far as our knowledge falls short," etc. + +INAUGURATE. This word, which means to install in office with certain +ceremonies, is made, by many lovers of big words, to do service for +_begin_; but the sooner these rhetorical high-fliers stop _inaugurating_ +and content themselves with simply _beginning_ the things they are +called upon to do in the ordinary routine of daily life, the sooner they +will cease to set a very bad example. + +INDECENT. See IMMODEST. + +INDEX EXPURGATORIUS. William Cullen Bryant, who was a careful student of +English, while he was editor of the "New York Evening Post," sought to +prevent the writers for that paper from using "over and above (for 'more +than'); artiste (for 'artist'); aspirant; authoress; beat (for +'defeat'); bagging (for 'capturing'); balance (for 'remainder'); banquet +(for 'dinner' or 'supper'); bogus; casket (for 'coffin'); claimed (for +'asserted'); collided; commence (for 'begin'); compete; cortége (for +'procession'); cotemporary (for 'contemporary'); couple (for 'two'); +darky (for 'negro'); day before yesterday (for 'the day before +yesterday'); début; decrease (as a verb); democracy (applied to a +political party); develop (for 'expose'); devouring element (for +'fire'); donate; employé; enacted (for 'acted'); indorse (for +'approve'); en route; esq.; graduate (for 'is graduated'); gents (for +'gentlemen'); 'Hon.'; House (for 'House of Representatives'); humbug; +inaugurate (for 'begin'); in our midst; item (for 'particle, extract, or +paragraph'); is being done, and all passives of this form; jeopardize; +jubilant (for 'rejoicing'); juvenile (for 'boy'); lady (for 'wife'); +last (for 'latest'); lengthy (for 'long'); leniency (for 'lenity'); +loafer; loan or loaned (for 'lend' or 'lent'); located; majority +(relating to places or circumstances, for 'most'); Mrs. President, Mrs. +Governor, Mrs. General, and all similar titles; mutual (for 'common'); +official (for 'officer'); ovation; on yesterday; over his signature; +pants (for 'pantaloons'); parties (for 'persons'); partially (for +'partly'); past two weeks (for 'last two weeks,' and all similar +expressions relating to a definite time); poetess; portion (for 'part'); +posted (for 'informed'); progress (for 'advance'); reliable (for +'trustworthy'); rendition (for 'performance'); repudiate (for 'reject' +or 'disown'); retire (as an active verb); Rev. (for 'the Rev.'); rôle +(for 'part'); roughs; rowdies; secesh; sensation (for 'noteworthy +event'); standpoint (for 'point of view'); start, in the sense of +setting out; state (for 'say'); taboo; talent (for 'talents' or +'ability'); talented; tapis; the deceased; war (for 'dispute' or +'disagreement')." + +This index is offered here as a curiosity rather than as a guide, though +in the main it might safely be used as such. No valid reason, however, +can be urged for discouraging the use of several words in the list; the +words aspirant, banquet, casket, compete, decrease, progress, start, +talented, and deceased, for example. + +INDICATIVE AND SUBJUNCTIVE. "'I _see_ the signal,' is unconditional; +'_if_ I _see_ the signal,' is the same fact expressed in the form of a +condition. The one form is said to be in the _indicative_ mood, the mood +that simply _states or indicates_ the action; the other form is in the +_subjunctive_, conditional, or conjunctive mood. There is sometimes a +slight variation made in English, to show that an affirmation is made as +a condition. The mood is called 'subjunctive,' because the affirmation +_is subjoined to_ another affirmation: '_If I see the signal_, I will +call out.' + +"Such forms as 'I may see,' 'I can see,' have sometimes been considered +as a variety of mood, to which the name 'Potential' is given. But this +can not properly be maintained. There is no trace of any inflection +corresponding to this meaning, as we find with the subjunctive. +Moreover, such a mood would have itself to be subdivided into indicative +and subjunctive forms: 'I may go,' 'if I may go.' And further, we might +proceed to constitute other moods on the same analogy, as, for example, +an obligatory mood--'I must go,' or 'I ought to go'; a mood of +resolution--'I will go, you shall go'; a mood of gratification--'I am +delighted to go'; of deprecation--'I am grieved to go.' The only +difference in the two last instances is the use of the sign of the +infinitive 'to,' which does not occur after 'may,' 'can,' 'must,' +'ought,' etc.; but that is not an essential difference. Some grammarians +consider the form 'I do go' a separate mood, and term it the emphatic +mood. But all the above objections apply to it likewise, as well as many +others."--Bain. See SUBJUNCTIVE MOOD. + +INDIVIDUAL. This word is often most improperly used for _person_; as, +"The _individual_ I saw was not over forty"; "There were several +_individuals_ on board that I had never seen before." _Individual_ +means, etymologically, that which can not be divided, and is used, in +speaking of things as well as of persons, to express unity. It is +opposed to the whole, or that which is divisible into parts. + +INDORSE. Careful writers generally discountenance the use of _indorse_ +in the sense of _sanction_, _approve_, _applaud_. In this signification +it is on the list of prohibited words in some of our newspaper offices. +"The following rules are _indorsed_ by nearly all writers upon this +subject."--Dr. Townsend. It is plain that the right word to use here is +_approved_. "The public will heartily _indorse_ the sentiments uttered +by the court."--New York "Evening Telegram." "The public will heartily +_approve_ the sentiments _expressed_ by the court," is what the sentence +should be. + +INFINITIVE MOOD. When we can choose, it is generally better to use the +verb in the infinitive than in the participial form. "Ability being in +general the power _of doing_," etc. Say, _to do_. "I desire to reply ... +to the proposal _of substituting_ a tax upon land values ... and +_making_ this tax, as near [nearly] as may be, equal to rent," etc. Say, +_to substitute_ and _to make_. "This quality is of prime importance when +the chief object is _the imparting of_ knowledge." Say, _to impart_. + +INITIATE. This is a pretentious word, which, with its derivatives, many +persons--especially those who like to be grandiloquent--use, when homely +English would serve their turn much better. + +INNUMERABLE NUMBER. A repetitional expression to be avoided. We may say +_innumerable_ times, or _numberless_ times, but we should not say an +_innumerable number_ of times. + +INTERROGATION. The rhetorical figure that asks a question in order to +emphasize the reverse of what is asked is called _interrogation_; as, +"Do we mean to submit to this measure? Do we mean to submit, and consent +that we ourselves, our country and its rights, shall be trampled on?" + +"Doth God pervert judgment? or doth the Almighty pervert justice?" + +INTRODUCE. See PRESENT. + +IRONY. That mode of speech in which what is meant is contrary to the +literal meaning of the words--in which praise is bestowed when censure +is intended--is called _irony_. Irony is a kind of delicate sarcasm or +satire--raillery, mockery. + +"In writings of humor, figures are sometimes used of so delicate a +nature that it shall often happen that some people will see things in a +direct contrary sense to what the author and the majority of the readers +understand them: to such the most innocent _irony_ may appear +irreligion."--Cambridge. + +IRRITATE. See AGGRAVATE. + +IS BEING BUILT. A tolerable idea of the state of the discussion +regarding the propriety of using the locution _is being built_, and all +like expressions, will, it is hoped, be obtained from the following +extracts. The Rev. Peter Bullions, in his "Grammar of the English +Language," says: + +"There is properly _no passive_ form, in English, _corresponding to the +progressive_ form in the _active_ voice, except where it is made by the +participle _ing_, in a passive sense; thus, 'The house is building'; +'The garments are making'; 'Wheat is selling,' etc. An attempt has been +made by some grammarians, of late, to banish such expressions from the +language, though they have been used in all time past by the best +writers, and to justify and defend a clumsy solecism, which has been +recently introduced chiefly through the newspaper press, but which has +gained such currency, and is becoming so familiar to the ear, that it +seems likely to prevail, with all its uncouthness and deformity. I refer +to such expressions as 'The house is being built'; 'The letter is being +written'; 'The mine is being worked'; 'The news is being telegraphed,' +etc., etc. + +"This mode of expression _had no existence_ in the language till _within +the last fifty years_.[7] This, indeed, would not make the expression +wrong, were it otherwise unexceptionable; but its recent origin shows +that it is not, as is pretended, a _necessary_ form. + +"This form of expression, when analyzed, is found not to express what it +is intended to express, and would be used only by such as are either +ignorant of its import or are careless and loose in their use of +language. To make this manifest, let it be considered, first, that there +is _no progressive form_ of the verb _to be_, and no need of it; hence, +there is no such expression in English as _is being_. Of course the +expression '_is being_ built,' for example, is not a compound of _is +being_ and _built_, but of _is_ and _being built_; that is, of the verb +_to be_ and the _present participle passive_. Now, let it be observed +that the only verbs in which the present participle passive expresses a +continued action are those mentioned above as the first class, in which +the regular passive form expresses a _continuance_ of the action; as, +_is loved_, _is desired_, etc., and in which, of course, the form in +question (_is being built_) is not required. Nobody would think of +saying, 'He is being loved'; 'This result is being desired.' + +"The use of this form is justified only by _condemning an established +usage_ of the language; namely, the passive sense in some verbs of the +participle in _ing_. In reference to this it is flippantly asked, 'What +does the house build?' 'What does the letter write?' etc.--taking for +granted, without attempting to prove, that the participle in _ing_ can +not have a passive sense in any verb. The following are a few examples +from writers of the best reputation, which this novelty would condemn: +'While the ceremony was performing.'--Tom. Brown. 'The court was then +holding.'--Sir G. McKenzie. 'And still be doing, never done.'--Butler. +'The books are selling.'--Allen's 'Grammar.' 'To know nothing of what is +transacting in the regions above us.'--Dr. Blair. 'The spot where this +new and strange tragedy was acting.'--E. Everett. 'The fortress was +building.'--Irving. 'An attempt is making in the English +parliament.'--D. Webster. 'The church now erecting in the city of New +York.'--'N. A. Review.' 'These things were transacting in +England.'--Bancroft. + +"This new doctrine is in _opposition_ to the almost _unanimous judgment_ +of the _most distinguished grammarians_ and critics, who have considered +the subject, and expressed their views concerning it. The following are +a specimen: 'Expressions of this kind are condemned by some critics; but +the usage is unquestionably of far better authority, and (according to +my apprehension) in far better taste, than the more complex phraseology +which some late writers adopt in its stead; as, "The books are now being +sold."'--Goold Brown. 'As to the notion of introducing a new and more +complex passive form of conjugation, as, "The bridge _is being built_," +"The bridge _was being built_," and so forth, it is one of the most +absurd and monstrous innovations ever thought of. "The work _is now +being published_," is certainly no better English than, "The work _was +being published_, _has been being published_, _had been being +published_, _shall or will be being published_, _shall or will have +been being published_," and so on through all the moods and tenses. What +a language shall we have when our verbs are thus conjugated!'--Brown's +'Gr. of Eng. Gr.,' p. 361. De War observes: 'The participle in _ing_ is +also passive in many instances; as, "The house is building," "I heard of +a plan forming,"' etc.--Quoted in 'Frazee's Grammar,' p. 49. 'It would +be an absurdity, indeed, to give up the only way we have of denoting the +incomplete state of action by a passive form (viz., by the participle in +_ing_ in the passive sense).'--Arnold's 'English Grammar,' p. 46. 'The +present participle is often used passively; as, "The ship is building." +The form of expression, _is being built_, _is being committed_, etc., is +almost universally condemned by grammarians, but it is sometimes met +with in respectable writers; it occurs most frequently in newspaper +paragraphs and in hasty compositions. See Worcester's "Universal and +Critical Dictionary."'--Weld's 'Grammar,' pp. 118 and 180. 'When we say, +"The house is building," the advocates of the new theory ask, "Building +what?" We might ask, in turn, when you say, "The field ploughs +well,"--"Ploughs what?" "Wheat sells well,"--"Sells what?" If usage +allows us to say, "Wheat sells at a dollar," in a sense that is not +active, why may we not say, "Wheat is selling at a dollar," in a sense +that is not active?'--Hart's 'Grammar,' p. 76. 'The prevailing practice +of the best authors is in favor of the simple form; as, "The house is +building."'--Wells' 'School Grammar,' p. 148. 'Several other expressions +of this sort now and then occur, such as the newfangled and most uncouth +solecism "_is being done_," for the good old English idiom "_is +doing_"--an absurd periphrasis driving out a pointed and pithy turn of +the English language.'--'N. A. Review,' quoted by Mr. Wells, p. 148. +'The phrase, "is being built," and others of a similar kind, have been +for a few years insinuating themselves into our language; still they are +not English.'--Harrison's 'Rise, Progress, and Present Structure of the +English Language.' 'This mode of expression [the house is being built] +is becoming quite common. It is liable, however, to several important +objections. It appears formal and pedantic. It has not, as far as I +know, the support of any respectable grammarian. The easy and natural +expression is, "The house is building."'--Prof. J. W. Gibbs." + +Mr. Richard Grant White, in his "Words and Their Uses," expresses his +opinion of the locution _is being_ in this wise: "In bad eminence, at +the head of those intruders in language which to many persons seem to be +of established respectability, but the right of which to be at all is +not fully admitted, stands out the form of speech _is being done_, or +rather, _is being_, which, about seventy or eighty years ago, began to +affront the eye, torment the ear, and assault the common sense of the +speaker of plain and idiomatic English." Mr. White devotes thirty pages +of his book to the discussion of the subject, and adduces evidence that +is more than sufficient to convince those who are content with an _ex +parte_ examination that "it can hardly be that such an incongruous and +ridiculous form of speech as _is being done_ was contrived by a man who, +by any stretch of the name, should be included among grammarians." + +Mr. George P. Marsh, in his "Lectures on the English Language," says +that the deviser of the locution in question was "some grammatical +pretender," and that it is "an awkward neologism, which neither +convenience, intelligibility, nor syntactical congruity demands." + +To these gentlemen, and to those who are of their way of thinking with +regard to _is being_, Dr. Fitzedward Hall replies at some length, in an +article published in "Scribner's Monthly" for April, 1872. Dr. Hall +writes: + +"'All really well educated in the English tongue lament the many +innovations introduced into our language from America; and I doubt if +more than one of these novelties deserve acceptation. That one is, +substituting a compound participle for an active verb used in a neuter +signification: for instance, "The house is _being built_," instead of, +"The house is _building_."' Such is the assertion and such is the +opinion of some anonymous luminary,[8] who, for his liberality in +welcoming a supposed Americanism, is somewhat in advance of the herd of +his countrymen. Almost any popular expression which is considered as a +novelty, a Briton is pretty certain to assume, off-hand, to have +originated on our side of the Atlantic. Of the assertion I have quoted, +no proof is offered; and there is little probability that its author had +any to offer. 'Are being,' in the phrase 'are being thrown up,'[9] is +spoken of in 'The North American Review'[10] as 'an outrage upon English +idiom, "to be detested, abhorred, execrated, and given over to six +thousand" penny-paper editors'; and the fact is, that phrases of the +form here pointed at have hitherto enjoyed very much less favor with us +than with the English. + +"As lately as 1860, Dr. Worcester, referring to _is being built_, etc., +while acknowledging that 'this new form has been used by some +respectable writers,' speaks of it as having 'been introduced' 'within a +few years.' Mr. Richard Grant White, by a most peculiar process of +ratiocination, endeavors to prove that what Dr. Worcester calls 'this +new form' came into existence just fifty-six years ago. He premises that +in Jarvis's translation of 'Don Quixote,' published in 1742, there +occurs 'were carrying,' and that this, in the edition of 1818, is +sophisticated into 'were being carried.' 'This change,' continues our +logician, 'and the appearance of _is being_ with a perfect participle in +a very few books published between A. D. 1815 and 1820, indicate the +former period as that of the origin of this phraseology, which, although +more than half a century old, is still pronounced a novelty as well as a +nuisance.' + +"Who, in the next place, devised our modern imperfects passive? The +question is not, originally, of my asking; but, as the learned are at +open feud on the subject, it should not be passed by in silence. Its +deviser is, more than likely, as undiscoverable as the name of the +valiant antediluvian who first tasted an oyster. But the deductive +character of the miscreant is another thing; and hereon there is a war +between the philosophers. Mr. G. P. Marsh, as if he had actually spotted +the wretched creature, passionately and categorically denounces him as +'some grammatical pretender.' 'But,' replies Mr. White, 'that it is the +work of any grammarian is more than doubtful. Grammarians, with all +their faults, do not deform language with fantastic solecisms, or even +seek to enrich it with new and startling verbal combinations. They +rather resist novelty, and devote themselves to formulating that which +use has already established.' In the same page with this, Mr. White +compliments the great unknown as 'some precise and feeble-minded soul,' +and elsewhere calls him 'some pedantic writer of the last generation.' +To add even one word toward a solution of the knotty point here +indicated transcends, I confess, my utmost competence. It is painful to +picture to one's self the agonizing emotions with which certain +philologists would contemplate an authentic effigy of the Attila of +speech who, by his _is being built_ or _is being done_, first offered +violence to the whole circle of the proprieties. So far as I have +observed, the first grammar that exhibits them is that of Mr. R. S. +Skillern, M. A., the first edition of which was published at Gloucester +in 1802. Robert Southey had not, on the 9th of October, 1795, been out +of his minority quite two months when, evidently delivering himself in a +way that had already become familiar enough, he wrote of 'a fellow whose +uttermost upper grinder _is being torn out_ by the roots by a +mutton-fisted barber.'[11] This is in a letter. But repeated instances +of the same kind of expression are seen in Southey's graver writings. +Thus, in his 'Colloquies,' etc.,[12] we read of 'such [nunneries] as at +this time _are being reëstablished_.' + +"'While my hand _was being drest_ by Mr. Young, I spoke for the first +time,' wrote Coleridge, in March, 1797. + +"Charles Lamb speaks of realities which '_are being acted_ before us,' +and of 'a man who _is being strangled_.' + +"Walter Savage Landor, in an imaginary conversation, represents Pitt as +saying: 'The man who possesses them may read Swedenborg and Kant while +he _is being tossed_ in a blanket.' Again: 'I have seen nobles, men and +women, kneeling in the street before these bishops, when no ceremony of +the Catholic Church _was being performed_.' Also, in a translation from +Catullus: 'Some criminal _is being tried_ for murder.' + +"Nor does Mr. De Quincey scruple at such English as 'made and _being +made_,' 'the bride that _was being married_ to him,' and 'the shafts of +Heaven _were_ even now _being forged_.' On one occasion he writes, 'Not +done, not even (according to modern purism) _being done_'; as if +'purism' meant exactness, rather than the avoidance of neoterism. + +"I need, surely, name no more, among the dead, who found _is being +built_, or the like, acceptable. 'Simple-minded common people and those +of culture were alike protected against it by their attachment to the +idiom of their mother tongue, with which they felt it to be directly at +variance.' So Mr. White informs us. But the writers whom I have quoted +are formidable exceptions. Even Mr. White will scarcely deny to them the +title of 'people of culture.' + +"So much for offenders past repentance; and we all know that the sort of +phraseology under consideration is daily becoming more and more common. +The best written of the English reviews, magazines, and journals are +perpetually marked by it; and some of the choicest of living English +writers employ it freely. Among these, it is enough if I specify Bishop +Wilberforce and Mr. Charles Reade.[13] + +"Extracts from Bishop Jewel downward being also given, Lord Macaulay, +Mr. Dickens, 'The Atlantic Monthly,' and 'The Brooklyn Eagle' are +alleged by Mr. White in proof that people still use such phrases as +'Chelsea Hospital _was building_,' and 'the train _was preparing_.' +'Hence we see,' he adds,[14] 'that the form _is being done_, _is being +made_, _is being built_, lacks the support of authoritative usage from +the period of the earliest classical English to the present day.' I +fully concur with Mr. White in regarding 'neither "The Brooklyn Eagle" +nor Mr. Dickens as a very high authority in the use of language'; yet, +when he has renounced the aid of these contemned straws, what has he to +rest his inference on, as to the present day, but the practice of Lord +Macaulay and 'The Atlantic Monthly'? Those who think fit will bow to the +dictatorship here prescribed to them; but there may be those with whom +the classic sanction of Southey, Coleridge, and Landor will not be +wholly void of weight. All scholars are aware that, to convey the sense +of the imperfects passive, our ancestors, centuries ago, prefixed, with +_is_, etc., _in_, afterward corrupted into _a_, to a verbal substantive. +'The house _is in building_' could be taken to mean nothing but _ædes +ædificantur_; and, when the _in_ gave place to _a_,[15] it was still +manifest enough, from the context, that _building_ was governed by a +preposition. The second stage of change, however, namely, when the _a_ +was omitted, entailed, in many cases, great danger of confusion. In the +early part of the last century, when English was undergoing what was +then thought to be purification, the polite world substantially resigned +_is a-building_ to the vulgar. Toward the close of the same century, +when, under the influence of free thought, it began to be felt that even +ideas had a right to faithful and unequivocal representation, a just +resentment of ambiguity was evidenced in the creation of _is being +built_. The lament is too late that the instinct of reformation did not +restore the old form. It has gone forever; and we are now to make the +best of its successors. '"The brass _is forging_,"' in the opinion of +Dr. Johnson, is 'a vicious expression, probably corrupted from a phrase +more pure, but now somewhat obsolete, ... "the brass _is a-forging_."' +Yet, with a true Tory's timidity and aversion to change, it is not +surprising that he went on preferring what he found established, vicious +as it confessedly was, to the end. But was the expression 'vicious' +solely because it was a corruption? In 1787 William Beckford wrote as +follows of the fortune-tellers of Lisbon: '_I saw one dragging into +light_, as I passed by the ruins of a palace thrown down by the +earthquake. Whether a familiar of the Inquisition was griping her in his +clutches, or _whether she was taking to account by some disappointed +votary_, I will not pretend to answer.' Are the expressions here +italicized either perspicuous or graceful? Whatever we are to have in +their place, we should be thankful to get quit of them. + +"Inasmuch as, concurrently with _building_ for the active participle, +and _being built_ for the corresponding passive participle, we possessed +the former, with _is_ prefixed, as the active present imperfect, it is +in rigid accordance with the symmetry of our verb that, to construct the +passive present-imperfect, we prefix _is_ to the latter, producing the +form _is being built_. Such, in its greatest simplicity, is the +procedure which, as will be seen, has provoked a very levanter of ire +and vilification. But anything that is new will be excepted to by minds +of a certain order. Their tremulous and impatient dread of removing +ancient landmarks even disqualifies them for thoroughly investigating +its character and pretensions. In _has built_ and _will build_, we find +the active participle perfect and the active infinitive subjoined to +auxiliaries; and so, in _has been built_ and _will be built_, the +passive participle perfect and the passive infinitive are subjoined to +auxiliaries. In _is building_ and _is being built_, we have, in strict +harmony with the constitution of the perfect and future tenses, an +auxiliary followed by the active participle present and the passive +participle present. _Built_ is determined as active or passive by the +verbs which qualify it, _have_ and _be_; and the grammarians are right +in considering it, when embodied in _has built_, as active, since its +analogue, embodied in _has been built_, is the exclusively passive _been +built_. Besides this, _has been_ + _built_ would signify something like +_has existed, built_,[16] which is plainly neuter. We are debarred, +therefore, from such an analysis; and, by parity of reasoning, we may +not resolve _is being built_ into _is being_ + _built_. It must have +been an inspiration of analogy, felt or unfelt, that suggested the form +I am discussing. _Is being_ + _built_, as it can mean, pretty nearly, +only _exists, built_, would never have been proposed as adequate to +convey any but a neuter sense; whereas it was perfectly natural for a +person aiming to express a passive sense to prefix _is_ to the passive +concretion _being built_.[17] + +"The analogical justification of _is being built_ which I have brought +forward is so obvious that, as it occurred to myself more than twenty +years ago, so it must have occurred spontaneously to hundreds besides. +It is very singular that those who, like Mr. Marsh and Mr. White, have +pondered long and painfully over locutions typified by _is being built_, +should have missed the real ground of their grammatical defensibleness, +and should have warmed themselves, in their opposition to them, into +uttering opinions which no calm judgment can accept. + +"'One who _is being beaten_' is, to Archbishop Whately, 'uncouth +English.' '"The bridge _is being built_," and other phrases of the like +kind, have pained the eye' of Mr. David Booth. Such phrases, according +to Mr. M. Harrison, 'are not English.' To Professor J. W. Gibbs 'this +mode of expression ... appears formal and pedantic'; and 'the easy and +natural expression is, "The house _is building_."'[18] In all this, +little or nothing is discernible beyond sheer prejudice, the prejudice +of those who resolve to take their stand against an innovation, +regardless of its utility, and who are ready to find an argument against +it in any random epithet of disparagement provoked by unreasoning +aversion. And the more recent denouncers in the same line have no more +reason on their side than their elder brethren. + +"In Mr. Marsh's estimation, _is being built_ illustrates 'corruption of +language'; it is 'clumsy and unidiomatic'; it is 'at best but a +philological coxcombry'; it 'is an awkward neologism, which neither +convenience, intelligibility, nor syntactical congruity demands, and the +use of which ought, therefore, to be discountenanced, as an attempt at +the artificial improvement of the language in a point which needed no +amendment.' Again, 'To reject' _is building_ in favor of the modern +phrase 'is to violate the laws of language by an arbitrary change; and, +in this particular case, the proposed substitute is at war with the +genius of the English tongue.' Mr. Marsh seems to have fancied that, +wherever he points out a beauty in _is building_, he points out, +inclusively, a blemish in _is being built_. + +"The fervor and feeling with which Mr. White advances to the charge are +altogether tropical. 'The full absurdity of this phrase, the essence of +its nonsense, seems not to have been hitherto pointed out.' It is not +'consistent with reason'; and it is not 'conformed to the normal +development of the language.' It is 'a monstrosity, the illogical, +confusing, inaccurate, unidiomatic character of which I have at some +length, but yet imperfectly, set forth.' Finally, 'In fact, it means +nothing, and is the most incongruous combination of words and ideas that +ever attained respectable usage in any civilized language.' These be +'prave 'ords'; and it seems a pity that so much sterling vituperative +ammunition should be expended in vain. And that it is so expended thinks +Mr. White himself; for, though passing sentence in the spirit of a +Jeffreys, he is not really on the judgment-seat, but on the lowest +hassock of despair. As concerns the mode of expression exemplified by +_is being built_, he owns that 'to check its diffusion would be a +hopeless undertaking.' If so, why not reserve himself for service +against some evil not avowedly beyond remedy? + +"Again we read, 'Some precise and feeble-minded soul, having been taught +that there is a passive voice in English, and that, for instance, +_building_ is an active participle, and _builded_ or _built_ a passive, +felt conscientious scruples at saying "the house _is building_." For +what could the house build?' As children say at play, Mr. White burns +here. If it had occurred to him that the 'conscientious scruples' of his +hypothetical, 'precise, and feeble-minded soul' were roused by _been +built_, not by _built_, I suspect his chapter on _is being built_ would +have been much shorter than it is at present, and very different. 'The +fatal absurdity in this phrase consists,' he tells us, 'in the +combination of _is_ with _being_; in the making of the verb _to be_ a +supplement, or, in grammarians' phrase, an auxiliary to itself--an +absurdity so palpable, so monstrous, so ridiculous, that it should need +only to be pointed out to be scouted.'[19] Lastly, 'The question is thus +narrowed simply to this, Does _to be being_ (_esse ens_) mean anything +more or other than _to be_?' + +"Having convicted Mr. White of a mistaken analysis, I am not concerned +with the observations which he founds on his mistake. However, even if +his analysis had been correct, some of his arguments would avail him +nothing. For instance, _is being built_, on his understanding of it, +that is to say, _is being_ + _built_, he represents by _ens ædificatus +est_, as 'the supposed corresponding Latin phrase.'[20] The Latin is +illegitimate; and he infers that, therefore, the English is the same. +But _ædificans est_, a translation, on the model which he offers, of the +active _is building_, is quite as illegitimate as _ens æedificatus est_. +By parity of _non-sequitur_, we are, therefore, to surrender the active +_is building_. Assume that a phrase in a given language is indefensible +unless it has its counterpart in some other language; from the very +conception and definition of an idiom every idiom is illegitimate. + +"I now pass to another point. '_To be_ and _to exist_ are,' to Mr. +White's apprehension, 'perfect synonyms, or more nearly perfect, +perhaps, than any two verbs in the language. In some of their meanings +there is a shade of difference, but in others there is none whatever; +and the latter are those which serve our present purpose. When we say, +"He, _being_ forewarned of danger, fled," we say, "He, _existing_ +forewarned of danger, fled." When we say that a thing _is_ done, we say +that it _exists_ done.... _Is being done_ is simply _exists existing +done_.' But, since _is_ and _exists_ are equipollent, and so _being_ and +_existing, is being_ is the same as the unimpeachable _is existing_. Q. +_non_ E. D. _Is existing_ ought, of course, to be no less objectionable +to Mr. White than _is being_. Just as absurd, too, should he reckon the +Italian _sono stato_, _era stato_, _sia stato_, _fossi stato_, _saro +stato_, _sarei stato_, _essere stato_, and _essendo stato_. For in +Italian both _essere_ and _stare_ are required to make up the verb +substantive, as in Latin both _esse_ and the offspring of _fuere_ are +required; and _stare_, primarily 'to stand,' is modified into a true +auxiliary. The alleged 'full absurdity of this phrase,' to wit, _is +being built_, 'the essence of its nonsense,' vanishes thus into thin +air. So I was about to comment bluntly, not forgetting to regret that +any gentleman's cultivation of logic should fructify in the shape of +irrepressible tendencies to suicide. But this would be precipitate. +Agreeably to one of Mr. White's judicial placita, which I make no +apology for citing twice, 'no man who has preserved all his senses will +doubt for a moment that "to exist a mastiff or a mule" is absolutely the +same as "to be a mastiff or a mule."' Declining to admit their identity, +I have not preserved all my senses; and, accordingly--though it may be +in me the very superfetation of lunacy--I would caution the reader to +keep a sharp eye on my arguments, hereabouts particularly. The Cretan, +who, in declaring all Cretans to be liars, left the question of his +veracity doubtful to all eternity, fell into a pit of his own digging. +Not unlike the unfortunate Cretan, Mr. White has tumbled headlong into +his own snare. It was, for the rest, entirely unavailing that he +insisted on the insanity of those who should gainsay his fundamental +postulate. Sanity, of a crude sort, may accept it; and sanity may put it +to a use other than its propounder's. + +"Mr. Marsh, after setting forth the all-sufficiency of _is building_, in +the passive sense, goes on to say: 'The reformers who object to the +phrase I am defending must, in consistency, employ the proposed +substitute with all passive participles, and in other tenses as well as +the present. They must say, therefore, "The subscription-paper _is being +missed_, but I know that a considerable sum _is being wanted_ to make up +the amount"; "the great Victoria Bridge _has been being built_ more than +two years"; "when I reach London, the ship Leviathan _will be being +built_"; "if my orders had been followed, the coat _would have been +being made yesterday_"; "if the house _had_ then _been being built_, the +mortar _would have been being mixed_."' We may reply that, while awkward +instances of the old form are most abundant in our literature, there is +no fear that the repulsive elaborations which have been worked out in +ridicule of the new forms will prove to have been anticipations of +future usage. There was a time when, as to their adverbs, people +compared them, to a large extent, with _-er_ and _-est_, or with _more_ +and _most_, just as their ear or pleasure dictated. They wrote +_plainlier_ and _plainliest_, or _more plainly_ and _most plainly_; and +some adverbs, as _early_, _late_, _often_, _seldom_, and _soon_, we +still compare in a way now become anomalous. And as our forefathers +treated their adverbs we still treat many adjectives. _Furthermore_, +_obligingness_, _preparedness_, and _designedly_ seem quite natural; yet +we do not feel that they authorize us to talk of 'the _seeingness_ of +the eye,' 'the _understoodness_ of a sentence,' or of 'a statement +_acknowledgedly_ correct.' 'The now too notorious fact' is tolerable; +but 'the never to be sufficiently execrated monster Bonaparte' is +intolerable. The sun may be _shorn_ of his splendor; but we do not allow +cloudy weather to _shear_ him of it. How, then, can any one claim that a +man who prefers to say _is being built_ should say _has been being +built_? Are not awkward instances of the old form, typified by _is +building_, as easily to be picked out of extant literature as such +instances of the new form, likely ever to be used, are to be invented? +And 'the reformers' have not forsworn their ears. Mr. Marsh, at p. 135 +of his admirable 'Lectures,' lays down that 'the adjective _reliable_, +in the sense of _worthy of confidence_, is altogether unidiomatic'; and +yet, at p. 112, he writes '_reliable_ evidence.' Again, at p. 396 of the +same work, he rules that _whose_, in 'I passed a house _whose_ windows +were open,' is 'by no means yet fully established'; and at p. 145 of his +very learned 'Man and Nature' he writes 'a quadrangular pyramid, the +perpendicular of _whose_ sides,' etc. Really, if his own judgments sit +so very loose on his practical conscience, we may, without being +chargeable with exaction, ask of him to relax a little the rigor of his +requirements at the hands of his neighbors. + +"Beckford's Lisbon fortune-teller, before had into court, was +'_dragging_ into light,' and, perchance, '_was taking_ to account.' Many +moderns would say and write '_being dragged_ into light,' and '_was +being taken_ to account.' But, if we are to trust the conservative +critics, in comparison with expressions of the former pattern, those of +the latter are 'uncouth,' 'clumsy,' 'awkward neologisms,' 'philological +coxcombries,' 'formal and pedantic,' 'incongruous and ridiculous forms +of speech,' 'illogical, confusing, inaccurate monstrosities.' Moreover, +they are neither 'consistent with reason' nor 'conformed to the normal +development of the language'; they are 'at war with the genius of the +English tongue'; they are 'unidiomatic'; they are 'not English.' In +passing, if Mr. Marsh will so define the term _unidiomatic_ as to evince +that it has any applicability to the case in hand, or if he will arrest +and photograph 'the genius of the English tongue,' so that we may know +the original when we meet with it, he will confer a public favor. And +now I submit for consideration whether the sole strength of those who +decry _is being built_ and its congeners does not consist in their +talent for calling hard names. If they have not an uneasy +subconsciousness that their cause is weak, they would, at least, do well +in eschewing the violence to which, for want of something better, the +advocates of weak causes proverbially resort. + +"I once had a friend who, for some microscopic penumbra of heresy, was +charged, in the words of his accuser, with 'as near an approach to the +sin against the Holy Ghost as is practicable to human infirmity.' +Similarly, on one view, the feeble potencies of philological turpitude +seem to have exhibited their most consummate realization in engendering +_is being built_. The supposed enormity perpetrated in its production, +provided it had fallen within the sphere of ethics, would, at the least, +have ranked, with its denunciators, as a brand-new exemplification of +total depravity. But, after all, what incontestable defect in it has any +one succeeded in demonstrating? Mr. White, in opposing to the +expression objections based on an erroneous analysis, simply lays a +phantom of his own evoking; and, so far as I am informed, other +impugners of _is being built_ have, absolutely, no argument whatever +against it over and beyond their repugnance to novelty. Subjected to a +little untroubled contemplation, it would, I am confident, have ceased +long ago to be matter of controversy; but the dust of prejudice and +passion, which so distempers the intellectual vision of theologians and +politicians, is seen to make, with ruthless impartiality, no exception +of the perspicacity of philologists. + +"Prior to the evolution of _is being built_ and _was being built_, we +possessed no discriminate equivalents to _ædificatur_ and +_ædificabatur_; _is built_ and _was built_, by which they were rendered, +corresponding exactly to _ædificatus est_ and _ædificatus erat_. _Cum +ædificaretur_ was to us the same as _ædificabatur_. On the wealth of the +Greek in expressions of imperfect passive I need not dwell. With rare +exceptions, the Romans were satisfied with the present-imperfect and the +past-imperfect; and we, on the comparatively few occasions which present +themselves for expressing other imperfects, shall be sure to have +recourse to the old forms rather than to the new, or else to use +periphrases.[21] The purists may, accordingly, dismiss their +apprehensions, especially as the neoterists have, clearly, a keener +horror of phraseological ungainliness than themselves. One may have no +hesitation about saying 'the house _is being built_,' and may yet recoil +from saying that 'it _should have been being built_ last Christmas'; and +the same person--just as, provided he did not feel a harshness, +inadequacy, and ambiguity in the passive 'the house _is building_,' he +would use the expression--will, more likely than not, elect _is in +preparation_ preferentially to _is being prepared_. If there are any +who, in their zealotry for the congruous, choose to adhere to the new +form in its entire range of exchangeability for the old, let it be hoped +that they will find, in Mr. Marsh's speculative approbation of +consistency, full amends for the discomfort of encountering smiles or +frowns. At the same time, let them be mindful of the career of Mr. +White, with his black flag and no quarter. The dead Polonius was, in +Hamlet's phrase, at supper, 'not where he eats, but where he _is +eaten_.' Shakespeare, to Mr. White's thinking, in this wise expressed +himself at the best, and deserves not only admiration therefor, but to +be imitated. 'While the ark _was built_,' 'while the ark _was +prepared_,' writes Mr. White himself.[22] Shakespeare is commended for +his ambiguous _is eaten_, though _in eating_ or _an eating_ would have +been not only correct in his day, but, where they would have come in his +sentence, univocal. With equal reason a man would be entitled to +commendation for tearing his mutton-chops with his fingers, when he +might cut them up with a knife and fork. '_Is eaten_,' says Mr. White, +'does not mean _has been eaten_.' Very true; but a continuous unfinished +passion--Polonius's still undergoing manducation, to speak +Johnsonese--was in Shakespeare's mind; and his words describe a passion +no longer in generation. The King of Denmark's lord chamberlain had no +precedent in Herod, when 'he _was eaten_ of worms'; the original, +γενόμενος σκωληκόβρωτος, yielding, but for its participle, 'he became +worm-eaten.' + +"Having now done with Mr. White, I am anxious, before taking leave of +him, to record, with all emphasis, that it would be the grossest +injustice to write of his elegant 'Life and Genius of Shakespeare,' a +book which does credit to American literature, in the tone which I have +found unavoidable in dealing with his 'Words and their Uses.'" + +The student of English who has honestly weighed the arguments on both +sides of the question, must, I believe, be of opinion that our language +is the richer for having two forms for expressing the Progressive +Passive. Further, he must, I believe, be of opinion that in very many +cases he conforms to the most approved usage of our time by employing +the old form; that, however, if he were to employ the old form in all +cases, his meaning would sometimes be uncertain. + +IT. Cobbett discourses of this little neuter pronoun in this wise: "The +word _it_ is the greatest troubler that I know of in language. It is so +small and so convenient that few are careful enough in using it. Writers +seldom spare this word. Whenever they are at a loss for either a +nominative or an objective to their sentence, they, without any kind of +ceremony, clap in an _it_. A very remarkable instance of this pressing +of poor _it_ into actual service, contrary to the laws of grammar and of +sense, occurs in a piece of composition, where we might, with justice, +insist on correctness. This piece is on the subject of grammar; it is a +piece written by a _Doctor of Divinity_ and read by him to students in +grammar and language in an academy; and the very sentence that I am now +about to quote is selected by the author of a grammar as testimony of +high authority in favor of the excellence of his work. Surely, if +correctness be ever to be expected, it must be in a case like this. I +allude to two sentences in the 'Charge of the Reverend Doctor +Abercrombie to the Senior Class of the Philadelphia Academy,' published +in 1806; which sentences have been selected and published by Mr. Lindley +Murray as a testimonial of the _merits_ of his grammar; and which +sentences are by Mr. Murray given to us in the following words: 'The +unwearied exertions of this gentleman _have_ done more toward +elucidating the obscurities and embellishing the structure of our +language than any _other writer_ on the subject. _Such a work_ has long +been wanted, and from the success with which _it_ is executed, can not +be too highly appreciated.' + +"As in the learned Doctor's opinion obscurities can be elucidated, and +as in the same opinion Mr. Murray is an able hand at this kind of work, +it would not be amiss were the grammarian to try his skill upon this +article from the hand of his dignified eulogist; for here is, if one may +use the expression, a constellation of obscurities. Our poor oppressed +_it_, which we find forced into the Doctor's service in the second +sentence, relates to '_such a work_,' though this work is nothing that +has an existence, notwithstanding it is said to be '_executed_.' In the +first sentence, the 'exertions' become, all of a sudden, a '_writer_': +the _exertions_ have done more than 'any _other_ writer'; for, mind you, +it is not the _gentleman_ that has done anything; it is 'the +_exertions_' that _have_ done what is said to be done. The word +_gentleman_ is in the possessive case, and has nothing to do with the +action of the sentence. Let us give the sentence a turn, and the Doctor +and the grammarian will hear how it will sound. 'This gentleman's +_exertions_ have done more than any _other writer_.' This is on a level +with 'This gentleman's _dog_ has killed more hares than any _other +sportsman_.' No doubt Doctor Abercrombie _meant_ to say, 'The exertions +of this gentleman have done more _than those_ of any other writer. Such +a work as this gentleman's has long been wanted; his work, seeing the +successful manner of its execution, can not be too highly commended.' +_Meant!_ No doubt at all of that! And when we hear a Hampshire ploughboy +say, 'Poll Cherrycheek have giv'd a thick handkecher,' we know very well +that he _means_ to say, 'Poll Cherrycheek has given me this +handkerchief'; and yet we are too apt to _laugh at him_ and to call him +_ignorant_; which is wrong, because he has no pretensions to a knowledge +of grammar, and he may be very skillful as a ploughboy. However, we will +not laugh at Doctor Abercrombie, whom I knew, many years ago, for a very +kind and worthy man. But, if we may, in any case, be allowed to laugh at +the ignorance of our fellow-creatures, that case certainly does arise +when we see a professed grammarian, the author of voluminous precepts +and examples on the subject of grammar, producing, in imitation of the +possessors of valuable medical secrets, testimonials vouching for the +efficacy of his literary panacea, and when, in those testimonials, we +find most flagrant instances of bad grammar. + +"However, my dear James, let this strong and striking instance of the +misuse of the word _it_ serve you in the way of caution. Never put an +_it_ upon paper without thinking well of what you are about. When I see +many _its_ in a page, I always tremble for the writer." + +JEOPARDIZE. This is a modern word which we could easily do without, as +it means neither more nor less than its venerable progenitor _to +jeopard_, which is greatly preferred by all careful writers. + +JUST GOING TO. Instead of "I am _just going to_ go," it is better to +say, "I am just _about_ to go." + +KIDS. "This is another vile contraction. Habit blinds people to the +unseemliness of a term like this. How would it sound if one should speak +of silk gloves as _silks_?" + +KIND. See POLITE. + +KNIGHTS TEMPLARS. The name of this ancient body has been adopted by a +branch of the Masonic fraternity, but in a perverted form--_Knights +Templar_; and this form is commonly seen in print, whether referring to +the old knights or to their modern imitators. This doubtless is due to +the erroneous impression that _Templar_ is an adjective, and so can not +take the plural form; while in fact it is a case of two nouns in +apposition--a double designation--meaning Knights of the order of +Templars. Hence the plural should be _Knights Templars_, and not +_Knights Templar_. Members of the contemporaneous order of St. John of +Jerusalem were commonly called Knights Hospitallers. + +LADY. To use the term _lady_, whether in the singular or in the plural, +simply to designate the sex, is in the worst possible taste. There is a +kind of pin-feather gentility which seems to have a settled aversion to +using the terms _man_ and _woman_. Gentlemen and ladies establish their +claims to being called such by their bearing, and not by arrogating to +themselves, _even indirectly_, the titles. In England, the title _lady_ +is properly correlative to _lord_; but there, as in this country, it is +used as a term of complaisance, and is appropriately applied to women +whose lives are exemplary, and who have received that school and home +education which enables them to appear to advantage in the better +circles of society. Such expressions as "She is a fine _lady_, a clever +_lady_, a well-dressed _lady_, a good _lady_, a modest _lady_, a +charitable _lady_, an amiable _lady_, a handsome _lady_, a fascinating +_lady_," and the like, are studiously avoided by persons of refinement. +_Ladies_ say, "we _women_, the _women_ of America, _women's_ apparel," +and so on; _vulgar_ women talk about "us _ladies_, the _ladies_ of +America, _ladies'_ apparel," and so on. If a woman of culture and +refinement--in short, a lady--is compelled from any cause soever to work +in a store, she is quite content to be called a sales-_woman_; not so, +however, with your young woman who, being in a store, is in a better +position than ever before. She, Heaven bless her! boils with indignation +if she is not denominated a sales-_lady_. Lady is often the proper term +to use, and then it would be very improper to use any other; but it is +very certain that the terms _lady_ and _gentleman_ are least used by +those persons who are most worthy of being designated by them. With a +nice discrimination worthy of special notice, one of our daily papers +recently said: "Miss Jennie Halstead, daughter of the proprietor of the +'Cincinnati Commercial,' is one of the most brilliant young _women_ in +Ohio." + +In a late number of the "London Queen" was the following: "The terms +_ladies_ and _gentlemen_ become in themselves vulgarisms when +misapplied, and the improper application of the wrong term at the wrong +time makes all the difference in the world to ears polite. Thus, calling +a man a _gentleman_ when he should be called a _man_, or speaking of a +man as a _man_ when he should be spoken of as a _gentleman_; or alluding +to a lady as a _woman_ when she should be alluded to as a _lady_, or +speaking of a woman as a _lady_ when she should properly be termed a +_woman_. Tact and a sense of the fitness of things decide these points, +there being no fixed rule to go upon to determine when a man is a _man_ +or when he is a _gentleman_; and, although he is far oftener termed the +one than the other, he does not thereby lose his attributes of a +gentleman. In common parlance, a man is always a _man_ to a man, and +never a _gentleman_; to a woman, he is occasionally a _man_ and +occasionally a _gentleman_; but a man would far oftener term a woman a +_woman_ than he would term her a _lady_. When a man makes use of an +adjective in speaking of a lady, he almost invariably calls her a +_woman_. Thus, he would say, 'I met a rather agreeable _woman_ at dinner +last night'; but he would _not_ say, 'I met an agreeable _lady_'; but he +might say, 'A _lady_, a friend of mine, told me,' etc., when he would +_not_ say, 'A _woman_, a friend of mine, told me,' etc. Again, a man +would say, 'Which of the _ladies_ did you take in to dinner?' He would +certainly not say, 'Which of the _women_,' etc. + +"Speaking of people _en masse_, it would be to belong to a very advanced +school to refer to them in conversation as 'men and women,' while it +would be all but vulgar to style them 'ladies and gentlemen,' the +compromise between the two being to speak of them as 'ladies and men.' +Thus a lady would say, 'I have asked two or three ladies and several +men'; she would not say, 'I have asked several men and women'; neither +would she say, 'I have asked several ladies and gentlemen.' And, +speaking of numbers, it would be very usual to say, 'There were a great +many ladies, and but very few men present,' or, 'The ladies were in the +majority, so few men being present.' Again, a lady would not say, 'I +expect two or three men,' but she would say, 'I expect two or three +gentlemen.' When people are on ceremony with each other [_one another_], +they might, perhaps, in speaking of a man, call him a _gentleman_; but, +otherwise, it would be more usual to speak of him as a _man_. Ladies, +when speaking of each other [_one another_], usually employ the term +_woman_ in preference to that of _lady_. Thus they would say, 'She is a +very good-natured _woman_,' 'What sort of a _woman_ is she?' the term +_lady_ being entirely out of place under such circumstances. Again, the +term young _lady_ gives place as far as possible to the term _girl_, +although it greatly depends upon the amount of intimacy existing as to +which term is employed." + +LANGUAGE. A note in Worcester's Dictionary says: "_Language_ is a very +general term, and is not strictly confined to utterance by words, as it +is also expressed by the countenance, by the eyes, and by signs. +_Tongue_ refers especially to an original language; as, 'the Hebrew +_tongue_.' The modern languages are derived from the original +_tongues_." If this be correct, then he who speaks French, German, +English, Spanish, and Italian, may properly say that he speaks five +_languages_, but only one _tongue_. + +LAY--LIE. Errors are frequent in the use of these two irregular verbs. +_Lay_ is often used for _lie_, and _lie_ is sometimes used for _lay_. +This confusion in their use is due in some measure, doubtless, to the +circumstance that _lay_ appears in both verbs, it being the imperfect +tense of _to lie_. We say, "A mason _lays_ bricks," "A ship _lies_ at +anchor," etc. "I must _lie_ down"; "I must _lay_ myself down"; "I must +_lay_ this book on the table"; "He _lies_ on the grass"; "He _lays_ his +plans well"; "He _lay_ on the grass"; "He _laid_ it away"; "He has +_lain_ in bed long enough"; "He has _laid up_ some money," "_in_ a +stock," "_down_ the law"; "He is _laying_ out the grounds"; "Ships _lie_ +at the wharf"; "Hens _lay_ eggs"; "The ship _lay_ at anchor"; "The hen +_laid_ an egg." It will be seen that _lay_ always expresses transitive +action, and that _lie_ expresses rest. + + "Here _lies_ our sovereign lord, the king, + Whose word no man relies on; + He never says a foolish thing, + Nor ever does a wise one." + +--Written on the bedchamber door of Charles II, by the Earl of +Rochester. + +LEARN. This verb was long ago used as a synonym of _teach_, but in this +sense it is now obsolete. To _teach_ is to give instruction; to _learn_ +is to take instruction. "I will _learn_, if you will _teach_ me." See +TEACH. + +LEAVE. There are grammarians who insist that this verb should not be +used without an object, as, for example, it is used in such sentences +as, "When do you leave?" "I leave to-morrow." The object of the +verb--home, town, or whatever it may be--is, of course, understood; but +this, say these gentlemen, is not permissible. On this point opinions +will, I think, differ; they will, however, not differ with regard to the +vulgarity of using _leave_ in the sense of _let_; thus, "_Leave_ me be"; +"_Leave_ it alone"; "_Leave_ her be--don't bother her"; "_Leave_ me see +it." + +LEND. See LOAN. + +LENGTHY. This word is of comparatively recent origin, and, though it is +said to be an Americanism, it is a good deal used in England. The most +careful writers, however, both here and elsewhere, much prefer the word +_long_: "a _long_ discussion," "a _long_ discourse," etc. + +LENIENCY. Mr. Gould calls this word and _lenience_ "two philological +abortions." _Lenity_ is undoubtedly the proper word to use, though both +Webster and Worcester do recognize _leniency_ and _lenience_. + +LESS. This word is much used instead of _fewer_. _Less_ relates to +quantity; _fewer_ to number. Instead of, "There were not _less_ than +twenty persons present," we should say, "There were not _fewer_ than +twenty persons present." + +LESSER. This form of the comparative of _little_ is accounted a +corruption of _less_. It may, however, be used instead of _less_ with +propriety in verse, and also, in some cases, in prose. We may say, for +example, "Of two evils choose the _less_," or "the _lesser_." The latter +form, in sentences like this, is the more euphonious. + +LIABLE. Richard Grant White, in inveighing against the misuse of this +word, cites the example of a member from a rural district, who called +out to a man whom he met in the village, where he was in the habit of +making little purchases: "I say, mister, kin yer tell me whar I'd be +_li'ble_ to find some beans?" See, also, APT. + +LIE. See LAY. + +LIKE--AS. Both these words express similarity; _like_ (adjective) +comparing things, _as_ (adverb) comparing action, existence, or quality. +Like is followed by an object only, and does not admit of a verb in the +same construction. _As_ must be followed by a verb expressed or +understood. We say, "He looks _like_ his brother," or "He looks _as_ his +brother _looks_." "Do _as_ I do," not "_like_ I do." "You must speak +_as_ James does," not "_like_ James does." "He died _as_ he had lived, +_like_ a dog." "It is _as_ blue _as_ indigo"; i. e., "as indigo is." + +LIKE, TO. See LOVE. + +LIKELY. See APT. + +LIT. This form of the past participle of the verb _to light_ is now +obsolete. "Have you _lighted_ the fire?" "The gas is _lighted_." _Het_ +for _heated_ is a similar, but much greater, vulgarism. + +LOAN--LEND. There are those who contend that there is no such verb as +_to loan_, although it has been found in our literature for more than +three hundred years. Whether there is properly such a verb or not, it is +quite certain that it is only those having a vulgar _penchant_ for big +words who will prefer it to its synonym _lend_. Better far to say +"_Lend_ me your umbrella" than "_Loan_ me your umbrella." + +LOCATE--SETTLE. The use of the verb _to locate_ in the sense of _to +settle_ is said to be an Americanism. Although the dictionaries +recognize _to locate_ as a neuter verb, as such it is marked "rarely +used," and, in the sense of _to settle_, it is among the vulgarisms that +careful speakers and writers are studious to avoid. A man _settles_, not +_locates_, in Nebraska. "Where do you intend to _settle_?" not _locate_. +See, also, SETTLE. + +LOGGERHEADS. "In the mean time France is at _loggerheads +internally_."--"New York Herald," April 29, 1881. Loggerheads +_internally_?! + +LOOKS BEAUTIFULLY. It is sometimes interesting to note the difference +between _vulgar_ bad grammar and _genteel_ bad grammar, or, more +properly, between non-painstaking and painstaking bad grammar. The +former uses, for example, adjectives instead of adverbs; the latter uses +adverbs instead of adjectives. The former says, "This bonnet is trimmed +_shocking_"; the latter says, "This bonnet looks _shockingly_." In the +first sentence the epithet qualifies the verb _is trimmed_, and +consequently should have its adverbial form--_shockingly_; in the second +sentence the epithet qualifies the _appearance_--a noun--of the bonnet, +and consequently should have its adjectival form--_shocking_. The second +sentence means to say, "This bonnet presents a shocking appearance." The +bonnet certainly does not really _look_; it is _looked at_, and to the +_looker_ its appearance is _shocking_. So we say, in like manner, of a +person, that he or she looks _sweet_, or _charming_, or _beautiful_, or +_handsome_, or _horrid_, or _graceful_, or _timid_, and so on, always +using an adjective. "Miss Coghlan, as Lady Teazle, looked _charmingly_." +The grammar of the "New York Herald" would not have been any more +incorrect if it had said that Miss Coghlan looked _gladly_, or _sadly_, +or _madly_, or _delightedly_, or _pleasedly_. A person may look _sick_ +or _sickly_, but in both cases the qualifying word is an adjective. The +verbs to _smell_, to _feel_, to _sound_, and to _appear_ are also found +in sentences in which the qualifying word must be an adjective and not +an adverb. We say, for example, "The rose smells _sweet_"; "The butter +smells _good_, or _bad_, or _fresh_"; "I feel _glad_, or _sad_, or +_bad_, or _despondent_, or _annoyed_, or _nervous_"; "This construction +sounds _harsh_"; "How _delightful_ the country appears!" + +On the other hand, to _look_, to _feel_, to _smell_, to _sound_, and to +_appear_ are found in sentences where the qualifying word must be an +adverb; thus, "He feels his loss _keenly_"; "The king looked +_graciously_ on her"; "I smell it _faintly_." We might also say, "He +feels _sad_ [adjective], because he feels his loss _keenly_" (adverb); +"He appears _well_" (adverb). + +The expression, "_She seemed confusedly_, or _timidly_," is not a whit +more incorrect than "_She looked beautifully_, or _charmingly_." See +ADJECTIVES. + +LOVE--LIKE. Men who are at all careful in the selection of language to +express their thoughts, and have not an undue leaning toward the +superlative, _love_ few things: their wives, their sweethearts, their +kinsmen, truth, justice, and their country. Women, on the contrary, as a +rule, _love_ a multitude of things, and, among their loves, the thing +they perhaps love most is--taffy. + +LUGGAGE--BAGGAGE. The former of these words is generally used in +England, the latter in America. + +LUNCH. This word, when used as a substantive, may at the best be +accounted an inelegant abbreviation of _luncheon_. The dictionaries +barely recognize it. The proper phraseology to use is, "Have you +_lunched_?" or, "Have you had your _luncheon_?" or, better, "Have you +had _luncheon_?" as we may in most cases presuppose that the person +addressed would hardly take anybody's else luncheon. + +LUXURIOUS--LUXURIANT. The line is drawn much more sharply between these +two words now than it was formerly. Luxurious was once used, to some +extent at least, in the sense of _rank growth_, but now all careful +writers and speakers use it in the sense of _indulging_ or _delighting +in luxury_. We talk of a _luxurious_ table, a _luxurious_ liver, +_luxurious_ ease, _luxurious_ freedom. Luxuriant, on the other hand, is +restricted to the sense of _rank_, or _excessive_, growth or production; +thus, _luxuriant_ weeds, _luxuriant_ foliage or branches, _luxuriant_ +growth. + + "Prune the _luxuriant_, the uncouth refine, + But show no mercy to an empty line."--Pope. + +MAD. Professor Richard A. Proctor, in a recent number of "The +Gentleman's Magazine," says: "The word _mad_ in America seems nearly +always to mean _angry_. For _mad_, as we use the word, Americans say +_crazy_. Herein they have manifestly impaired the language." Have they? + + "Now, in faith, Gratiano, + You give your wife too unkind a cause of grief; + An 'twere, to me, I would be _mad at_ it." + --"Merchant of Venice." + +"And being exceedingly _mad_ against them, I persecuted them even unto +strange cities."--Acts xxvi, II. + +MAKE A VISIT. The phrase "_make_ a visit," according to Dr. Hall, +whatever it once was, is no longer English. + +MALE. See FEMALE. + +MARRY. There has been some discussion, at one time and another, with +regard to the use of this word. Is John Jones married _to_ Sally Brown +or _with_ Sally Brown, or are they married to each other? Inasmuch as +the woman loses her name in that of the man to whom she is wedded, and +becomes a member of his family, not he of hers--inasmuch as, with few +exceptions, it is her life that is merged in his--it would seem that, +_properly_, Sally Brown is married _to_ John Jones, and that this would +be the proper way to make the announcement of their having been wedded, +and not John Jones _to_ Sally Brown. + +There is also a difference of opinion as to whether the active or the +passive form is preferable in referring to a person's wedded state. In +speaking definitely of the _act_ of marriage, the passive form is +necessarily used with reference to either spouse. "John Jones was +married to Sally Brown on Dec. 1, 1881"; not, "John Jones _married_ +Sally Brown" on such a date, for (unless they were Quakers) some third +person married him to her and her to him. But, in speaking indefinitely +of the _fact_ of marriage, the active form is a matter of course. "Whom +did John Jones marry?" "He married Sally Brown." "John Jones, when he +had sown his wild oats, married [married himself, as the French say] and +settled down." _Got married_ is a vulgarism. + +MAY. In the sense of _can_, _may_, in a negative clause, has become +obsolete. "Though we _may_ say a horse, we _may_ not say a ox." The +first _may_ here is permissible; not so, however, the second, which +should be _can_. + +MEAT. At table, we ask for and offer beef, mutton, veal, steak, turkey, +duck, etc., and do not ask for nor offer _meat_, which, to say the +least, is inelegant. "Will you have [not, take] another piece of _beef_ +[not, of _the_ beef]?" not, "Will you have another piece of _meat_?" + +MEMORANDUM. The plural is _memoranda_, except when the singular means a +book; then the plural is _memorandums_. + +MERE. This word is not unfrequently misplaced, and sometimes, as in the +following sentence, in consequence of being misplaced, it is changed to +an adverb: "It is true of men as of God, that words _merely_ meet with +no response." What the writer evidently intended to say is, that _mere_ +words meet with no response. + +METAPHOR. An _implied_ comparison is called a metaphor; it is a more +terse form of expression than the simile. Take, for example, this +sentence from Spenser's "Philosophy of Style": "As, in passing through +the crystal, beams of white light are decomposed into the colors of the +rainbow; so, in traversing the soul of the poet, the colorless rays of +truth are transformed into brightly-tinted poetry." Expressed in +metaphors, this becomes: "The white light of truth, in traversing the +many-sided, transparent soul of the poet, is refracted into iris-hued +poetry." + +Worcester's definition of a _metaphor_ is: "A figure of speech founded +on the resemblance which one object is supposed to bear, in some +respect, to another, or a figure by which a word is transferred from a +subject to which it properly belongs to another, in such a manner that a +_comparison is implied, though not formally expressed_; a comparison or +simile comprised in a word; as, 'Thy word is a _lamp_ to my feet.'" A +_metaphor_ differs from a _simile_ in being expressed without any sign +of comparison; thus, "the _silver_ moon" is a _metaphor_; "the moon is +bright as silver" is a simile. Examples: + + "But look, the morn, in russet mantle clad, + Walks o'er the dew of yon high eastern hill." + + "Canst thou not minister to a mind diseased-- + Pluck from the memory a rooted sorrow?" + + "At length Erasmus + Stemmed the wild torrent of a barbarous age, + And drove those holy Vandals off the stage." + +"Censure is the tax a man pays to the public for being eminent." + +METONYMY. The rhetorical figure that puts the effect for the cause, the +cause for the effect, the container for the thing contained, the sign, +or symbol, for the thing signified, or the instrument for the agent, is +called _metonymy_. + +"One very common species of _metonymy_ is, when the badge is put for the +office. Thus we say the _miter_ for the priesthood; the _crown_ for +royalty; for military occupation we say the _sword_; and for the +literary professions, those especially of theology, law, and physic, the +common expression is the _gown_."--Campbell. + +Dr. Quackenbos, in his "Course of Composition and Rhetoric," says: +"_Metonymy_ is the exchange of names between things related. It is +founded, not on resemblance, but on the relation of, 1. Cause and +effect; as,'They have _Moses_ and _the prophets_,' i. e., their +writings; '_Gray hairs_ should be respected,' i. e., _old age_. 2. +Progenitor and posterity; as, 'Hear, O Israel!' i. e., _descendants of +Israel_. 3. Subject and attribute; as, '_Youth_ and _beauty_ shall be +laid in dust,' i. e., _the young_ and _beautiful_. 4. Place and +inhabitant; as, 'What _land_ is so barbarous as to allow this +injustice?' i. e., what _people_. 5. Container and thing contained; as, +'Our _ships_ next opened fire,' i. e., our _sailors_. 6. Sign and thing +signified; as, 'The _scepter_ shall not depart from Judah,' i. e., +_kingly_ power. 7. Material and thing made of it; as, 'His _steel_ +gleamed on high,' i. e., his _sword_." + +"Petitions having proved unsuccessful, it was determined to approach the +throne more boldly." + +MIDST, THE. See IN OUR MIDST. + +MIND--CAPRICIOUS. "Lord Salisbury's _mind_ is _capricious_."--"Tribune," +April 3, 1881. See EQUANIMITY OF MIND. + +MISPLACED CLAUSES. In writing and speaking, it is as important to give +each clause its proper place as it is to place the words properly. The +following are a few instances of misplaced clauses and adjuncts: "All +these circumstances brought close to us a state of things which we never +thought to have witnessed [_to witness_] in peaceful England. _In the +sister island, indeed, we had read of such horrors_, but now they were +brought home to our very household hearth."--Swift. Better: "We had +read, indeed, of such horrors occurring in the sister island," etc. + +"The savage people in many places in America, except the government of +families, have no government at all, and live at this day in that savage +manner as I have said before."--Hobbes. Better: "The savage people ... +in America have no government at all, except the government of +families," etc. + +"I shall have a comedy for you, in a season or two at farthest, that I +believe will be worth your acceptance."--Goldsmith. Bettered: "In a +season or two at farthest, I shall have a comedy for you that I believe +will be worth your acceptance." + +Among the following examples of the wrong placing of words and clauses, +there are some that are as amusing as they are instructive: "This +orthography is regarded as normal _in England_." What the writer +intended was, "in England _as normal_"--a very different thought. "The +Normal School is a commodious building capable of accommodating three +hundred students four stories high." "HOUSEKEEPER.--A highly respectable +middle-aged Person who has been filling the above Situation with a +gentleman for upwards of eleven years and who is now deceased is anxious +to meet a similar one." "TO PIANO-FORTE MAKERS.--A lady keeping a +first-class school requiring a good piano, is desirous of receiving a +daughter of the above in exchange for the same." "The Moor, seizing a +bolster boiling over with rage and jealousy, smothers her." "The Dying +Zouave the most wonderful mechanical representation ever seen of the +last breath of life being shot in the breast and life's blood leaving +the wound." "Mr. T---- presents his compliments to Mr. H----, and I have +got a hat that is not his, and, if he have a hat that is not yours, no +doubt they are the expectant ones." See ONLY. + +MISPLACED WORDS. "Of all the faults to be found in writing," says +Cobbett, "this is one of the most common, and perhaps it leads to the +greatest number of misconceptions. All the words may be the proper words +to be used upon the occasion, and yet, by a _misplacing_ of a part of +them, the meaning may be wholly destroyed; and even made to be the +contrary of what it ought to be." + +"I asked the question with no other intention than to set the gentleman +free from the necessity of silence, and to give him an opportunity of +mingling on equal terms with a polite assembly from which, _however +uneasy_, he could not then _escape_, _by a kind introduction_ of the +only subject on which I believed him to be able to speak with +propriety."--Dr. Johnson. + +"This," says Cobbett, "is a very bad sentence altogether. '_However +uneasy_' applies to _assembly_ and not to _gentleman_. Only observe how +easily this might have been avoided. 'From which _he_, _however uneasy_, +could not then escape.' After this we have, '_he_ could not then +_escape_, _by a kind introduction_.' We know what is _meant_; but the +Doctor, with all his _commas_, leaves the sentence confused. Let us see +whether we can not make it clear. 'I asked the question with no other +intention than, by a kind introduction of the only subject on which I +believed him to be able to speak with propriety, to set the gentleman +free from the necessity of silence, and to give him an opportunity of +mingling on equal terms with a polite assembly from which he, however +uneasy, could not then escape.'" + +"Reason is the glory of human nature, and one of the chief eminences +whereby we are raised above our fellow-creatures, the brutes, _in this +lower world_."--Doctor Watts' "Logic." + +"I have before showed an error," Cobbett remarks, "in the _first_ +sentence of Doctor Watts' work. This is the _second_ sentence. The words +_in this lower world_ are not words _misplaced_ only; they are wholly +_unnecessary_, and they do great harm; for they do these two things: +first, they imply _that there are brutes in the higher world_; and, +second, they excite a doubt _whether we are raised above those brutes_. + +"I might greatly extend the number of my extracts from these authors; +but here, I trust, are enough. I had noted down about _two hundred +errors_ in Dr. Johnson's 'Lives of the Poets'; but, afterward perceiving +that he had revised and corrected 'The Rambler' with _extraordinary +care_, I chose to make my extracts from that work rather than from the +'Lives of the Poets.'" + +The position of the adverb should be as near as possible to the word it +qualifies. Sometimes we place it before the auxiliary and sometimes +after it, according to the thought we wish to express. The difference +between "The fish should _properly_ be broiled" and "The fish should be +_properly_ broiled" is apparent at a glance. "The colon may be +_properly_ used in the following cases": should be, "may _properly_ be +used." "This mode of expression _rather suits_ a familiar than a grave +style": should be, "suits a familiar _rather than_ a grave style." "It +is a frequent error _in the writings even_ of some good authors": should +be, "in the writings of _even some good_ authors." "_Both_ the +circumstances of contingency and futurity are necessary": should be, +"The circumstances of contingency and futurity are _both_ necessary." +"He has made charges ... which he has failed _utterly_ to +sustain."--"New York Tribune." Here it is uncertain at first sight which +verb the adverb is intended to qualify; but the nature of the case makes +it probable that the writer meant "has utterly failed to sustain." + +MISTAKEN. "If I am not _mistaken_, you are in the wrong": say, "If I +_mistake not_." "I tell you, you are _mistaken_." Here _mistaken_ means, +"You are wrong; you do not understand"; but it might be taken to mean, +"I _mistake you_." For "you are _mistaken_," say, "you _mistake_." If, +as Horace and Professor Davidson aver, usage in language makes right, +then the grammarians ought long ago to have invented some theory upon +which the locution _you are mistaken_ could be defended. Until they do +invent such a theory, it will be better to say _you mistake_, _he +mistakes_, and so on; or _you are_, or _he is_--as the case may be--_in +error_. + +MORE PERFECT. Such expressions as, "the _more_ perfect of the two," "the +_most_ perfect thing of the kind I have ever seen," "the _most_ complete +cooking-stove ever invented," and the like, can not be defended +logically, as nothing can be more perfect than perfection, or more +complete than completeness. Still such phrases are, and probably will +continue to be, used by good writers. + +MOST. "Everybody abuses this word," says Mr. Gould in his "Good +English"; and then, in another paragraph, he adds: "If a man would cross +out _most_ wherever he can find it in any book in the English language, +he would in _al_most every instance improve the style of the book." That +this statement may appear within bounds, he gives many examples from +good authors, some of which are the following: "a _most_ profound +silence"; "a _most_ just idea"; "a _most_ complete orator"; "this was +_most_ extraordinary"; "an object of _most_ perfect esteem"; "a _most_ +extensive erudition"; "he gave it _most_ liberally away"; "it is, _most_ +assuredly, not because I value his services least"; "would _most_ +seriously affect us"; "that such a system must _most_ widely and _most_ +powerfully," etc.; "it is _most_ effectually nailed to the counter"; "it +is _most_ undeniable that," etc. + +This word is much, and very erroneously, used for _almost_. "He comes +here _most_ every day." The user of such a sentence as this means to say +that he comes _nearly_ every day, but he _really says_, if he says +anything, that he comes more every day than he does every night. In such +sentences _almost_, and not _most_, is the word to use. + +MUTUAL. This word is much misused in the phrase "our _mutual_ friend." +Macaulay says: "_Mutual_ friend is a low vulgarism for _common_ friend." +_Mutual_ properly relates to two persons, and implies reciprocity of +sentiment--sentiment, be it what it may, received and returned. Thus, we +say properly, "John and James have a _mutual_ affection, or a _mutual_ +aversion," i. e., they like or dislike each other; or, "John and James +are _mutually_ dependent," i. e., they are dependent on each other. In +using the word _mutual_, care should be taken not to add the words _for +each other_ or _on each other_, the thought conveyed by these words +being already expressed in the word _mutual_. "Dependent on each other" +is the exact equivalent of "mutually dependent"; hence, saying that John +and James are _mutually_ dependent _on each other_ is as redundant in +form as it would be to say that the editors of "The Great Vilifier" are +the biggest, greatest mud-slingers in America. + +MYSELF. This form of the personal pronoun is properly used in the +nominative case only where _increased emphasis_ is aimed at. + + "I had as lief not be as live to be + In awe of such a thing as I _myself_." + +"I will do it _myself_," "I saw it _myself_." It is, therefore, +incorrect to say, "Mrs. Brown and myself were both very much pleased." + +NAME. This word is sometimes improperly used for _mention_; thus, "I +never _named_ the matter to any one": should be, "I never _mentioned_ +the matter to any one." + +NEIGHBORHOOD. See VICINITY. + +NEITHER. See EITHER. + +NEITHER--NOR. "He would _neither_ give wine, _nor_ oil, _nor_ +money."--Thackeray. The conjunction should be placed before the excluded +object; "neither _give_" implies neither some other _verb_, a meaning +not intended. Rearrange thus, taking all the common parts of the +contracted sentences together: "He would give _neither_ wine, _nor_ oil, +_nor_ money." So, "She can _neither_ help her beauty, _nor_ her courage, +_nor_ her cruelty" (Thackeray), should be, "She can help _neither_," +etc. "He had _neither_ time to intercept _nor_ to stop her" (Scott), +should be, "He had time _neither_ to intercept," etc. "Some _neither_ +can for wits _nor_ critics pass" (Pope), should be, "Some can _neither_ +for wits _nor_ critics pass." + +NEVER. Grammarians differ with regard to the correctness of using +_never_ in such sentences as, "He is in error, though _never_ so wise," +"Charm he _never_ so wisely." In sentences like these, to say the least, +it is better, in common with the great majority of writers, to use +_ever_. + +NEW. This adjective is often misplaced. "He has a _new_ suit of clothes +and a _new_ pair of gloves." It is not the _suit_ and the _pair_ that +are new, but the _clothes_ and the _gloves_. + +NICE. Archdeacon Hare remarks of the use, or rather misuse, of this +word: "That stupid vulgarism by which we use the word _nice_ to denote +almost every mode of approbation, for almost every variety of quality, +and, from sheer poverty of thought, or fear of saying anything definite, +wrap up everything indiscriminately in this characterless domino, +speaking at the same breath of a _nice_ cheese-cake, a _nice_ tragedy, a +_nice_ sermon, a _nice_ day, a _nice_ country, as if a universal deluge +of _niaiserie_--for _nice_ seems originally to have been only +_niais_--had whelmed the whole island." Nice is as good a word as any +other in its place, but its place is not everywhere. We talk very +properly about a _nice_ distinction, a _nice_ discrimination, a _nice_ +calculation, a _nice_ point, and about a person's being _nice_, and +over-_nice_, and the like; but we certainly ought not to talk about +"Othello's" being a _nice_ tragedy, about Salvini's being a _nice_ +actor, or New York bay's being a _nice_ harbor.[23] + +NICELY. The very quintessence of popinjay vulgarity is reached when +_nicely_ is made to do service for _well_, in this wise: "How do you +do?" "_Nicely_." "How are you?" "_Nicely_." + +NO. This word of negation is responded to by _nor_ in sentences like +this: "Let your meaning be obscure, and _no_ grace of diction _nor_ any +music of well-turned sentences will make amends." + +"Whether he is there or _no_." Supply the ellipsis, and we have, +"Whether he is there or _no_ there." Clearly, the word to use in +sentences like this is not _no_, but _not_. And yet our best writers +sometimes inadvertently use _no_ with _whether_. Example: "But perhaps +some people are quite indifferent _whether_ or _no_ it is said," +etc.--Richard Grant White, in "Words and Their Uses," p. 84. Supply the +ellipsis, and we have, "said or _no_ said." In a little book entitled +"Live and Learn," I find, "No _less_ than fifty persons were there; No +_fewer_," etc. In correcting one mistake, the writer himself makes one. +It should be, "_Not_ fewer," etc. If we ask, "There were fifty persons +there, were there or were there _not_?" the reply clearly would be, +"There were _not_ fewer than fifty." "There was _no_ one of them who +would not have been proud," etc., should be, "There was _not_ one of +them." + +NOT. The correlative of _not_, when it stands in the first member of a +sentence, is _nor_ or _neither_. "_Not_ for thy ivory _nor_ thy gold +will I unbind thy chain." "I will _not_ do it, _neither_ shall you." + +The wrong placing of _not_ often gives rise to an imperfect negation; +thus, "John and James were _not_ there," means that John and James were +not there _in company_. It does not exclude the presence of one of them. +The negative should precede in this case: "Neither John _nor_ James was +there." "Our company was _not_ present" (as a company, but some of us +might have been), should be, "No member of our company was present." + +NOT--BUT ONLY. "Errors frequently arise in the use of _not_--but _only_, +to understand which we must attend to the force of the whole +expression. 'He did _not_ pretend to extirpate French music, _but only_ +to cultivate and civilize it.' Here the _not_ is obviously misplaced. +'He pretended, or professed, _not_ to extirpate.'"--Bain. + +NOTORIOUS. Though this word can not be properly used in any but a bad +sense, we sometimes see it used instead of _noted_, which may be used in +either a good or a bad sense. _Notorious_ characters are always persons +to be shunned, whereas _noted_ characters may or may not be persons to +be shunned. + +"This is the tax a man must pay for his virtues--they hold up a torch to +his vices and render those frailties _notorious_ in him which would pass +without observation in another."--Lacon. + +NOVICE. See AMATEUR. + +NUMBER. It is not an uncommon thing for a pronoun in the plural number +to be used in connection with an antecedent in the singular. At present, +the following notice may be seen in some of our Broadway omnibuses: +"Fifty dollars reward for the conviction of any person caught collecting +or keeping fares given to _them_ to deposit in the box." Should be, to +_him_. "A person may be very near-sighted if _they_ can not recognize an +acquaintance ten feet off." Should be, if _he_. + +The verb _to be_ is often used in the singular instead of in the plural; +thus, "There _is_ several reasons why it would be better": say, _are_. +"How many _is_ there?" say, _are_. "There _is_ four": say, _are_. "_Was_ +there many?" say, _were_. "No matter how many there _was_": say, _were_. + +A verb should agree in number with its subject, and not with its +predicate. We say, for example, "Death _is_ the wages of sin," and "The +wages of sin _are_ death." + +"When singular nouns connected by _and_ are preceded by _each_, +_every_, or _no_, the verb must be singular." We say, for example, +"_Each_ boy and _each_ girl _studies_." "_Every_ leaf, and _every_ twig, +and _every_ drop of water _teems_ with life." "_No_ book and _no_ paper +_was_ arranged." + +_Each_ being singular, a pronoun or verb to agree with it must also be +singular; thus, "Let them depend each on _his_ own exertions"; "Each +city has _its_ peculiar privileges"; "Everybody has a right to look +after _his_ own interest." + +Errors are often the result of not repeating the verb; thus, "Its +significance is as varied as the passions": correctly, "as _are_ the +passions." "The words are as incapable of analysis as the thing +signified": correctly, "as _is_ the thing signified." + +OBSERVE. The dictionaries authorize the use of this word as a synonym of +_say_ and _remark_; as, for example, "What did you _observe_?" for "What +did you _say_, or _remark_?" In this sense, however, it is better to +leave _observe_ to the exclusive use of those who delight in being fine. + +O'CLOCK. "It is a quarter _to_ ten o'clock." What does this statement +mean, literally? We _understand_ by it that it lacks a quarter of ten, +i. e., of being ten; but it does not really mean that. Inasmuch as _to_ +means toward, it _really_ means a quarter after nine. We should say, +then, a quarter _of_, which means, literally, a quarter _out of_ ten. + +OF ALL OTHERS. "The vice of covetousness, _of all others_, enters +deepest into the soul." This sentence says that covetousness is one of +the _other_ vices. A thing can not be _another_ thing, nor can it be one +of a number of _other_ things. The sentence should be, "Of all the +vices, covetousness enters deepest into the soul"; or, "The vice of +covetousness, of all the vices, enters," etc.; or, "The vice of +covetousness, _above_ all others, enters," etc. + +OF ANY. This phrase is often used when _of all_ is meant; thus, "This is +the largest _of any_ I have seen." Should be, "the largest _of all_," +etc. + +OFF OF. In such sentences as, "Give me a yard _off of_ this piece of +calico," either the _off_ or the _of_ is vulgarly superfluous. The +sentence would be correct with either one, but not with both of them. +"The apples fell _off of_ the tree": read, "fell _off_ the tree." + +OFTEN. This adverb is properly compared by changing its termination: +often, oftener, oftenest. Why some writers use _more_ and _most_ to +compare it, it is not easy to see; this mode of comparing it is +certainly not euphonious. + +OH--O. It is only the most careful writers who use these two +interjections with proper discrimination. The distinction between them +is said to be modern. _Oh_ is simply an exclamation, and should always +be followed by some mark of punctuation, usually by an exclamation +point. "Oh! you are come at last." "Oh, help him, you sweet heavens!" +"Oh, woe is me!" "Oh! I die, Horatio." _O_, in addition to being an +exclamation, denotes a calling to or adjuration; thus, "Hear, O heavens, +and give ear, O earth!" "O grave, where is thy victory?" "O heavenly +powers, restore him!" "O shame! where is thy blush?" + +OLDER--ELDER. "He is the _older_ man of the two, and the _oldest_ in the +neighborhood." "He is the _elder_ of the two sons, and the _eldest_ of +the family." "The _elder_ son is heir to the estate; he is _older_ than +his brother by ten years." + +ON TO. We get _on_ a chair, _on_ an omnibus, _on_ a stump, and _on_ a +spree, and not on _to_. + +ONE. Certain pronouns of demonstrative signification are called +indefinite because they refer to no particular subject. This is one of +them. If we were putting a supposition by way of argument or +illustration, we might say, "Suppose _I_ were to lose my way in a +wood"; or, "Suppose _you_ were to lose your way in a wood"; or, "Suppose +_one_ were to lose _one's_ way in a wood." All these forms are used, +but, as a rule, the last is to be preferred. The first verges on +egotism, and the second makes free with another's person, whereas the +third is indifferent. "If _one's_ honesty were impeached, what should +_one_ do?" is more courtly than to take either one's self or the person +addressed for the example. + +_One_ should be followed by _one_, and not by _he_. "The better +acquainted _one_ is with any kind of rhetorical trick, the less liable +_he_ is to be misled by it." Should be, "the less liable _one_ is to be +misled by it." + +In the phrase, "any of the little _ones_," _one_ is the numeral employed +in the manner of a pronoun, by indicating something that has gone +before, or, perhaps, has to come after. "I like peaches, but I must have +a ripe _one_, or ripe _ones_." + +Professor Bain says, in his "Composition Grammar": + +"This pronoun continually lands writers in difficulties. English idiom +requires that, when the pronoun has to be again referred to, it should +be used itself a second time. The correct usage is shown by Pope: '_One_ +may be ashamed to consume half _one's_ days in bringing sense and rhyme +together.' It would be against idiom to say 'half _his_ days.' + +"Still, the repetition of the pronoun is often felt to be heavy, and +writers have recourse to various substitutions. Even an ear accustomed +to the idiom can scarcely accept with unmixed pleasure this instance +from Browning: + + "'Alack! _one_ lies _oneself_ + Even in the stating that _one's_ end was truth, + Truth only, if _one_ states so much in words.' + +"The representative 'I' or 'we' occasionally acts the part of 'one.' The +following sentence presents a curious alternation of 'we' with +'one'--possibly not accidental (George Eliot): 'It's a desperately +vexatious thing that, after all _one's_ reflections and quiet +determinations, _we_ should be ruled by moods that _one_ can't calculate +on beforehand.' By the use of 'we' here, a more pointed reference is +suggested, while the vagueness actually remains. + +"Fenimore Cooper, like Scott, is not very particular; an example may be +quoted: 'Modesty is a poor man's wealth; but, as _we_ grow substantial +in the world, patroon, _one_ can afford to begin to speak truth of +_himself_ as well as of _his_ neighbor.' Were Cooper a careful writer, +we might persuade ourselves that he chose 'we' and 'one' with a purpose: +'we' might indicate that the speaker had himself and the patroon +directly in his eye, although at the same time he wanted to put it +generally; and 'one' might hint that modesty succeeded in getting the +better of him. But 'himself' and 'his' would alone show that such +speculations are too refined for the occasion. + +"The form 'a man,' which was at one time common, seems to be reviving. +In 'Adam Bede' we have, '_A man_ can never do anything at variance with +his own nature.' We might substitute 'one.' + +"'Men' was more frequent in good writing formerly than now. 'Neither do +_men_ light a candle, and put it under a bushel.' 'Do _men_ gather +grapes of thorns?' Hume is fond of expressing a general subject by +'men.' + +"'Small birds are much more exposed to the cold than large _ones_.' This +usage is hardly 'indefinite'; and it needs no further exemplification." + +ONLY. This word, when used as an adjective, is more frequently misplaced +than any other word in the language. Indeed, I am confident that it is +not correctly placed half the time, either in conversation or in +writing. Thus, "In its pages, papers of sterling merit [only] will +_only_ appear" (Miss Braddon); "Things are getting dull down in Texas; +they _only_ shot [only] three men down there last week"; "I have _only_ +got [only] three." _Only_ is sometimes improperly used for _except_ or +_unless_; thus, "The trains will not stop _only_ when the bell rings." +The meaning here is clearly "_except_ when the bell rings." + +Dr. Bain, in his "Higher English Grammar," speaking of the order of +words, says: + +"The word requiring most attention is _only_. + +"According to the position of _only_, the same words may be made to +express very different meanings. + +"'He _only_ lived for their sakes.' Here _only_ must be held as +qualifying '_lived_ for their sakes,' the emphasis being on _lived_, the +word immediately adjoining. The meaning then is 'he _lived_,' but did +not _work_, did not _die_, did not do any other thing for their sakes. + +"'He lived _only_ for their sakes.' _Only_ now qualifies 'for their +sakes,' and the sentence means he lived for this one reason, namely, for +their sakes, and not for any other reason. + +"'He lived for their sakes _only_.' The force of the word when placed at +the end is peculiar. Then it often has a diminutive or disparaging +signification. 'He lived for their sakes,' and not for any more worthy +reason. 'He gave sixpence _only_,' is an insinuation that more was +expected. + +"By the use of _alone_, instead of _only_, other meanings are expressed. +'He _alone_ lived for their sakes'; that is, _he, and nobody else_, did +so. 'He lived for their sakes _alone_,' or, 'for the sake of them +_alone_'; that is, not for the sake of any other persons. 'It was +_alone_ by the help of the Confederates that any such design could be +carried out.' Better _only_. + +"'When men grow virtuous in their old age, they _only_ make a sacrifice +to God of the devil's leavings.'--Pope. Here _only_ is rightly placed. +'Think _only_ of the past as its remembrance gives you pleasure,' should +be, 'think of the past, _only_ as its remembrance,' etc. 'As he did not +leave his name, it was _only_ known that a gentleman had called on +business': it was known _only_. 'I can _only_ refute the accusation by +laying before you the whole': this would mean, 'the only thing I am able +to do is to refute; I may not retaliate, or let it drop, I must _refute_ +it.' 'The negroes are to appear at church _only_ in boots'; that is, +when the negroes go to church they are to have no clothing but boots. +'The negroes are to appear _only_ at church in boots' might mean that +they are not to appear anywhere but at church, whether in boots or out +of them. The proper arrangement would be to connect the adverbial +adjunct, _in boots_, with its verb, _appear_, and to make _only_ qualify +_at church_ and no more: 'the negroes are to appear in boots _only_ at +church.'" + +It thus appears very plain that we should look well to our _onlys_. + +OUGHT--SHOULD. These two words, though they both imply obligation, +should not be used indiscriminately. _Ought_ is the stronger term; what +we _ought_ to do, we are morally bound to do. We _ought_ to be truthful +and honest, and _should_ be respectful to our elders and kind to our +inferiors. + +OVERFLOWN. _Flown_ is the past participle of _to fly_, and _flowed_ of +_to flow_. As, therefore, a river does not _fly_ over its banks, but +_flows_ over them, we should say of it that it has over_flowed_, and not +that it has over_flown_. + +OVERLY. This word is now used only by the unschooled. + +OWING. See DUE. + +PANTS. This abbreviation is not used by those who are careful in the +choice of words. The purist does not use the word _pantaloons_ even, but +_trousers_. _Pants_ are worn by _gents_ who eat _lunches_ and _open_ +wine, and _trousers_ are worn by _gentlemen_ who eat _luncheons_ and +_order_ wine. + +PARAPHERNALIA. This is a law term. In Roman law, it meant the goods +which a woman brought to her husband besides her dowry. In English law, +it means the goods which a woman is allowed to have after the death of +her husband, besides her dower, consisting of her apparel and ornaments +suitable to her rank. When used in speaking of the affairs of every-day +life, it is generally misused. + +PARLOR. This word, in the sense of _drawing-room_, according to Dr. +Hall, except in the United States and some of the English colonies, is +obsolete. + +PARTAKE. This is a very fine word to use for _eat_; just the word for +young women who hobble on French heels. + +PARTIALLY--PARTLY. "It is only _partially_ done." This use of the adverb +_partially_ is sanctioned by high authority, but that does not make it +correct. A thing done in part is _partly_, not _partially_, done. + +PARTICIPLES. When the present participle is used substantively, in +sentences like the following, it is preceded by the definite article and +followed by the preposition _of_. The omitting of the preposition is a +common error. Thus, "Or, it is _the drawing_ a conclusion which was +before either unknown or dark," should be, "the drawing _of_ a +conclusion." "Prompted by the most extreme vanity, he persisted in the +writing bad verses," should be, "in writing bad verses," or "in the +writing _of_ bad verses." "There is a misuse of the article _a_ which is +very common. It is the using it before the word _most_."--Moon. Most +writers would have said "the using _of_ it." Mr. Moon argues for his +construction. + +PARTICLES. "Nothing but study of the best writers and practice in +composition will enable us to decide what are the prepositions and +conjunctions that ought to go with certain verbs. The following examples +illustrate some common blunders: + +"'It was characterized _with_ eloquence': read, 'by.' + +"'A testimonial _of_ the merits of his grammar': read, 'to.' + +"'It was an example of the love _to form_ comparisons': read, 'of +forming.' + +"'Repetition is always to be preferred _before_ obscurity': read, 'to.' + +"'He made an effort _for meeting_ them': read, 'to meet.' + +"'They have no _other_ object _but_ to come': read, 'other object than,' +or omit 'other.' + +"Two verbs are not unfrequently followed by a single preposition, which +accords with one only; e. g., 'This duty _is repeated_ and inculcated +_upon_ the reader.' 'Repeat _upon_' is nonsense; we must read 'is +repeated _to_ and inculcated upon.'"--Nichol's "English Composition," p. +39. We often see _for_ used with the substantive _sympathy_; the best +practice, however, uses _with_; thus, "Words can not express the deep +sympathy I feel _with_ you."--Queen Victoria. + +PARTY. This is a very good word in its place, but it is very much out of +its place when used--as it often is by the vulgar--where good taste +would use the word _person_. + +PATRONIZE. This word and its derivatives would be much less used by the +American tradesman than they are, if he were better acquainted with +their true meaning. Then he would solicit his neighbors' _custom_, not +their _patronage_. A man can have no _patrons_ without incurring +obligations--without becoming a _protégé_; while a man may have +customers innumerable, and, instead of placing himself under obligations +to them, he may place them under obligations to him. Princes are the +_patrons_ of those tradesmen whom they allow to call themselves their +purveyors; as, "John Smith, Haberdasher to H. R. H. the Prince of +Wales." Here the Prince _patronizes_ John Smith. + +PELL-MELL. This adverb means mixed or mingled together; as, "Men, +horses, chariots, crowded _pell-mell_." It can not properly be applied +to an individual. To say, for example, "He rushed pell-mell down the +stairs," is as incorrect as it would be to say, "He rushed down the +stairs _mixed together_." + +PER. This Latin preposition is a good deal used in English, as, for +example, in such phrases as _per_ day, _per_ man, _per_ pound, _per_ +ton, and so on. In all such cases it is better to use plain English, and +say, _a_ day, _a_ man, _a_ pound, _a_ ton, etc. _Per_ is correct before +Latin nouns only; as, per annum, per diem, per cent., etc. + +PERFORM. "She _performs_ on the piano beautifully." In how much better +taste it is to say simply, "She _plays_ the piano well," or, more +superlatively, "exceedingly well," or "admirably"! If we talk about +_performing_ on musical instruments, to be consistent, we should call +those who _perform_, piano-performers, cornet-performers, +violin-performers, and so on. + +PERPETUALLY. This word is sometimes misused for _continually_. Dr. +William Mathews, in his "Words, their Use and Abuse," says: "The Irish +are _perpetually_ using _shall_ for _will_." _Perpetual_ means never +ceasing, continuing without intermission, uninterrupted; while +_continual_ means that which is constantly renewed and recurring with +perhaps frequent stops and interruptions. As the Irish do something +_besides_ misuse _shall_, the Doctor should have said that they +_continually_ use _shall_ for _will_. I might perhaps venture to +intimate that _perpetually_ is likewise misused in the following +sentence, which I copy from the "London Queen," if I were not conscious +that the monster who can write and print such a sentence would not +hesitate to cable a thunderbolt at an offender on the slightest +provocation. Judge, if my fears are groundless: "But some few people +contract the ugly habit of making use of these expressions unconsciously +and continuously, _perpetually_ interlarding their conversation with +them." + +PERSON. See PARTY; also, INDIVIDUAL. + +PERSONALTY. This word does not, as some persons think, mean the articles +worn on one's person. It is properly a law term, and means _personal +property_. "There is but one case on record of a peer of England leaving +over $7,500,000 personalty." + +PERSONIFICATION. That rhetorical figure which attributes sex, life, or +action to inanimate objects, or ascribes to objects and brutes the acts +and qualities of rational beings, is called _personification_ or +_prosopopœia_. + +"The mountains _sing together_, the hills rejoice and _clap their +hands_." "The worm, _aware_ of his intent, _harangued_ him thus." + + "See, _Winter_ comes to _rule_ the varied year, + _Sullen_ and _sad_ with all his rising train."--Thomson. + + "So saying, her rash hand, in evil hour, + Forth reaching to the fruit, she plucked, she ate! + _Earth felt the wound; and Nature from her seat, + Sighing through all her works, gave signs of woe, + That all was lost._"--Milton. + + "War and Love are strange compeers. + War sheds blood, and Love sheds tears; + War has swords, and Love has darts; + War breaks heads, and Love breaks hearts." + +"Levity is often less foolish and gravity less wise than each of them +appears." + +"The English language, by reserving the distinction of gender for living +beings that have sex, gives especial scope for personification. The +highest form of personification should be used seldom, and only when +justified by the presence of strong feeling."--Bain. + + "Knowledge and wisdom, far from being one, + Have ofttimes no connection. Knowledge dwells + In heads replete with thoughts of other men; + Wisdom in minds attentive to their own. + Knowledge is proud that he has learned so much; + Wisdom is humble that he knows no more."--Cowper. + +PHENOMENON. Plural, _phenomena_. + +PLEAD. The imperfect tense and the perfect participle of the verb _to +plead_ are both _pleaded_ and not _plead_. "He _pleaded_ not guilty." +"You should have _pleaded_ your cause with more fervor." + +PLENTY. In Worcester's Dictionary we find the following note: "_Plenty_ +is much used colloquially as an adjective, in the sense of _plentiful_, +both in this country and in England; and this use is supported by +respectable authorities, though it is condemned by various critics. +Johnson says: 'It is used barbarously, I think, for _plentiful_'; and +Dr. Campbell, in his 'Philosophy of Rhetoric,' says: '_Plenty_ for +_plentiful_ appears to me so gross a vulgarism that I should not have +thought it worthy of a place here if I had not sometimes found it in +works of considerable merit.'" We should say, then, that money is +_plentiful_, and not that it is _plenty_. + +PLEONASM. Redundancy or pleonasm is the use of more words than are +necessary to express the thought clearly. "They returned _back again_ to +the _same_ city _from_ whence they came _forth_": the five words in +italics are _redundant_ or _pleonastic_. "The different departments of +science and of art _mutually_ reflect light _on each other_": either of +the expressions in italics embodies the whole idea. "The _universal_ +opinion of _all_ men" is a pleonastic expression often heard. "I wrote +you _a letter_ yesterday": here _a letter_ is redundant. + +Redundancy is _sometimes_ permissible for the surer conveyance of +meaning, for emphasis, and in the language of poetic embellishment. + +POLITE. This word is much used by persons of doubtful culture, where +those of the better sort use the word _kind_. We accept _kind_, not +_polite_ invitations; and, when any one has been obliging, we tell him +that he has been _kind_; and, when an interviewing reporter tells us of +his having met with a _polite_ reception, we may be sure that the person +by whom he has been received deserves well for his considerate kindness. +"I thank you and Mrs. Pope for my _kind_ reception."--Atterbury. + +PORTION. This word is often incorrectly used for _part_. A _portion_ is +properly a part assigned, allotted, set aside for a special purpose; a +share, a division. The verb _to portion_ means to divide, to parcel, to +endow. We ask, therefore, "In what _part_ [not, in what _portion_] of +the country, state, county, town, or street do you live?"--or, if we +prefer grandiloquence to correctness, _reside_. In the sentence, "A +large _portion_ of the land is unfilled," the right word would be +either _part_ or _proportion_, according to the intention of the writer. + +POSTED. A word very much and very inelegantly used for _informed_. Such +expressions as, "I will _post_ you," "I must _post_ myself up," "If I +had been better _posted_," and the like, are, at the best, but one +remove from slang. + +PREDICATE. This word is often very incorrectly used in the sense of _to +base_; as, "He _predicates_ his opinion on insufficient data." Then we +sometimes hear people talk about predicating an action upon certain +information or upon somebody's statement. To predicate means primarily +_to speak before_, and has come to be properly used in the sense of +_assumed_ or believed to be the consequence of. Examples: "Contentment +is _predicated_ of virtue"; "Good health may be _predicated_ of a good +constitution." He who is not very sure that he uses the word correctly +would do better not to use it at all. + +PREJUDICE--PREPOSSESS. Both these words mean, to incline in one +direction or the other for some reason not founded in justice; but by +common consent _prejudice_ has come to be used in an unfavorable sense, +and _prepossess_ in a favorable one. Thus, we say, "He is _prejudiced_ +against him," and "He is _prepossessed_ in his favor." We sometimes hear +the expression, "He is _prejudiced_ in his favor," but this can not be +accounted a good use of the word. + +PREPOSITIONS. The errors made in the use of the prepositions are very +numerous. "The indolent child is one who [that?] has a strong aversion +_from_ action of any sort."--Graham's "English Synonymes," p. 236. The +prevailing and best modern usage is in favor of _to_ instead of _from_ +after _averse_ and _aversion_, and before the object. "Clearness ... +enables the reader to see thoughts without noticing the language _with_ +which they are clothed."--Townsend's "Art of Speech." We clothe thoughts +_in_ language. "Shakespeare ... and the Bible are ... models _for_ the +English-speaking tongue."--Ibid. If this means models of English, then +it should be _of_; but if it means models for English organs of speech +to practice on, then it should be _for_; or if it means models to model +English tongues after, then also it should be _for_. "If the resemblance +is too faint, the mind is fatigued _while_ attempting to trace the +analogies." "Aristotle is in error _while_ thus describing +governments."--Ibid. Here we have two examples, not of the misuse of the +preposition, but of the erroneous use of the adverb _while_ instead of +the preposition _in_. "For my part I can not think that Shelley's +poetry, except _by_ snatches and fragments, has the value of the good +work of Wordsworth or Byron."--Matthew Arnold. Should be, "except _in_ +snatches." "Taxes with us are collected nearly [almost] solely _from_ +real and personal estate."--"Appletons' Journal." Taxes are levied _on_ +estates and collected _from_ the owners. + +"If I am not commended _for_ the beauty of my works, I may hope to be +pardoned for their brevity." Cobbett comments on this sentence as +follows: "We may commend him _for_ the beauty of his works, and we may +_pardon_ him _for_ their brevity, if we deem the brevity _a fault_; but +this is not what he means. He means that, at any rate, he shall have the +_merit_ of brevity. 'If I am not commended for the beauty of my works, I +may hope to be pardoned _on account of_ their brevity.' This is what the +Doctor meant; but this would have marred a little the antithesis: it +would have unsettled a little of the balance of that _seesaw_ in which +Dr. Johnson so much delighted, and which, falling into the hands of +novel-writers and of members of Parliament, has, by moving unencumbered +with any of the Doctor's reason or sense, lulled so many thousands +asleep! Dr. Johnson created a race of writers and speakers. 'Mr. +Speaker, that the state of the nation is very critical, all men will +allow; but that it is wholly desperate, few will believe.' When you hear +or see a sentence like this, be sure that the person who speaks or +writes it has been reading Dr. Johnson, or some of his imitators. But, +observe, these imitators go no further than the frame of the sentences. +They, in general, take care not to imitate the Doctor in knowledge and +reasoning." + +The rhetoricians would have us avoid such forms of expression as, "The +boy went _to_ and asked the advice _of_ his teacher"; "I called _on_ and +had a conversation _with_ my brother." + +Very often the preposition is not repeated in a sentence, when it should +be. We say properly, "He comes from Ohio or _from_ Indiana"; or, "He +comes _either_ from Ohio or Indiana." + +PREPOSSESS. See PREJUDICE. + +PRESENT--INTRODUCE. Few errors are more common, especially among those +who are always straining to be fine, than that of using _present_, in +the social world, instead of _introduce_. _Present_ means to place in +the presence of a superior; _introduce_, to bring to be acquainted. A +person is presented at court, and on an official occasion to our +President; but persons who are unknown to each other are _introduced_ by +a common acquaintance. And in these introductions, it is the younger who +is introduced to the older; the lower to the higher in place or social +position; the gentleman to the lady. A lady should say, as a rule, that +Mr. Blank was introduced to her, not that she was introduced to Mr. +Blank. + +PRESUMPTIVE. This word is sometimes misused by the careless for +_presumptuous_. + +PREVENTIVE. A useless and unwarranted syllable is sometimes added to +this word--_preventative_. + +PREVIOUS. This adjective is much used in an adverbial sense; thus, +"_Previous_ to my return," etc. Until _previous_ is recognized as an +adverb, if we would speak grammatically, we must say, "_Previously_ to +my return." "_Previously_ to my leaving England, I called on his +lordship." + +PROCURE. This is a word much used by people who strive to be fine. +"Where did you _get_ it?" with them is, "Where did you _procure_ it?" + +PROFANITY. The extent to which some men habitually interlard their talk +with oaths is disgusting even to many who, on occasion, do not +themselves hesitate to give expression to their feelings in oaths portly +and unctuous. If these fellows could be made to know how offensive to +decency they make themselves, they would, perhaps, be less profane. + +PROMISE. This word is sometimes very improperly used for _assure_; thus, +"I _promise_ you I was very much astonished." + +PRONOUNS OF THE FIRST PERSON. "The ordinary uses of 'I' and 'we,' as the +singular and plural pronouns of the first person, would appear to be +above all ambiguity, uncertainty, or dispute. Yet when we consider the +force of the plural 'we,' we are met with a contradiction; for, as a +rule, only one person can speak at the same time to the same audience. +It is only by some exceptional arrangement, or some latitude or license +of expression, that several persons can be conjoint speakers. For +example, a plurality may sing together in chorus, and may join in the +responses at church, or in the simultaneous repetition of the Lord's +Prayer or the Creed. Again, one person may be the authorized spokesman +in delivering a judgment or opinion held by a number of persons in +common. Finally, in written compositions, the 'we' is not unsuitable, +because a plurality of persons may append their names to a document. + +"A speaker using 'we' may speak for himself and one or more others; +commonly he stands forward as the representative of a class, more or +less comprehensive. 'As soon as my companion and I had entered the +field, _we_ saw a man coming toward _us_'; '_we_ like _our_ new curate'; +'you do _us_ poets the greatest injustice'; '_we_ must see to the +efficiency of _our_ forces.' The widest use of the pronoun will be +mentioned presently. + +"'We' is used for 'I' in the decrees of persons in authority; as when +King Lear says: + + 'Know that _we_ have divided + In three _our_ kingdom.' + +By the fiction of plurality a veil of modesty is thrown over the +assumption of vast superiority over human beings generally. Or, 'we' may +be regarded as an official form whereby the speaker personally is +magnified or enabled to rise to the dignity of the occasion. + +"The editorial 'we' is to be understood on the same principle. An author +using 'we' appears as if he were not alone, but sharing with other +persons the responsibility of his views. + +"This representative position is at its utmost stretch in the practice +of using 'we' for human beings generally; as in discoursing on the laws +of human nature. The preacher, the novelist, or the philosopher, in +dwelling upon the peculiarity of our common constitution, being himself +an example of what he is speaking of, associates the rest of mankind +with him, and speaks collectively by means of 'we.' '_We_ are weak and +fallible'; '_we_ are of yesterday'; '_we_ are doomed to dissolution.' +'Here have _we_ no continuing city, but _we_ seek one to come.' + +"It is not unfrequent to have in one sentence, or in close proximity, +both the editorial and the representative meaning, the effect being +ambiguity and confusion. 'Let _us_ [the author] now consider why _we_ +[humanity generally] overrate distant good.' In such a case the author +should fall back upon the singular for himself--'_I_ will now +consider--.' '_We_ [speaker] think _we_ [himself and hearers together] +should come to the conclusion.' Say, either '_I_ think,' or '_you_ +would.' + +"The following extract from Butler exemplifies a similar confusion: +'Suppose _we_ [representative] are capable of happiness and of misery in +degrees equally intense and extreme, yet _we_ [rep.] are capable of the +latter for a much longer time, beyond all comparison. _We_ [change of +subject to a limited class] see men in the tortures of pain--. Such is +_our_ [back to representative] make that anything may become the +instrument of pain and sorrow to _us_.' The 'we' at the commencement of +the second sentence--'_We_ see men in the tortures'--could be +advantageously changed to 'you,' or the passive construction could be +substituted; the remaining _we_'s would then be consistently +representative. + +"From the greater emphasis of singularity, energetic speakers and +writers sometimes use 'I' as representative of mankind at large. Thus: +'The current impressions received through the senses are not voluntary +in origin. What _I_ see in walking is seen because _I_ have an organ of +vision.' The question of general moral obligation is forcibly stated by +Paley in the individual form, 'Why am _I_ obliged to keep my word?' It +is sometimes well to confine the attention of the hearer or reader to +his own relation to the matter under consideration, more especially in +difficult or non-popular argument or exposition. The speaker, by using +'I,' does the action himself, or makes himself the example, the hearer +being expected to put himself in the same position."--Bain's +"Composition Grammar." + +PRONOUNS OF THE SECOND PERSON. "Anomalous usages have sprung up in +connection with these pronouns. The plural form has almost wholly +superseded the singular; a usage more than five centuries old.[24] + +"The motive is courtesy. The singling out of one person for address is +supposed to be a liberty or an excess of familiarity; and the effect is +softened or diluted by the fiction of taking in others. If our address +is uncomplimentary, the sting is lessened by the plural form; and if the +reverse, the shock to modesty is not so great. This is a refinement that +was unknown to the ancient languages. The orators of Greece delighted in +the strong, pointed, personal appeal implied in the singular 'thou.' In +modern German, 'thou' (_du_) is the address of familiarity and intimacy; +while the ordinary pronoun is the curiously indirect 'they' (_Sie_). On +solemn occasions, we may revert to 'thou.' Cato, in his meditative +soliloquy on reading Plato's views on the immortality of the soul before +killing himself, says: 'Plato, _thou_ reasonest well.' So in the +Commandments, 'thou' addresses to each individual an unavoidable appeal: +'_Thou_ shall not----.' But our ordinary means of making the personal +appeal is, 'you, _sir_,' 'you, _madam_,' 'my _Lord_, you----,' etc.; we +reserve 'thou' for the special case of addressing the Deity. The +application of the motive of courtesy is here reversed; it would be +irreverent to merge this vast personality in a promiscuous assemblage. + +"'You' is not unfrequently employed, like 'we,' as a representative +pronoun. The action is represented with great vividness, when the person +or persons addressed may be put forward as the performers: 'There is +such an echo among the old ruins, and vaults, that if _you_ stamp a +little louder than ordinary, _you_ hear the sound repeated'; 'Some +practice is required to see these animals in the thick forest, even when +_you_ hear them close by _you_.' + +"There should not be a mixture of 'thou' and 'you' in the same passage. +Thus, Thackeray (Adventures of Philip): 'So, as _thy_ sun rises, friend, +over the humble house-tops round about _your_ home, shall _you_ wake +many and many a day to duty and labor.' So, Cooper (Water-Witch): +'_Thou_ hast both master and mistress? _You_ have told us of the latter, +but we would know something of the former. Who is _thy_ master?' +Shakespeare, Scott, and others might also be quoted. + +"'Ye' and 'you' were at one time strictly distinguished as different +cases; 'ye' was nominative, 'you' objective (dative or accusative). But +the Elizabethan dramatists confounded the forms irredeemably; and 'you' +has gradually ousted 'ye' from ordinary use. 'Ye' is restricted to the +expression of strong feeling, and in this employment occurs chiefly in +the poets."--Bain's "Composition Grammar." + +PROOF. This word is much and very improperly used for _evidence_, which +is only the medium of _proof_, _proof_ being the effect of _evidence_. +"What _evidence_ have you to offer in _proof_ of the truth of your +statement?" See also EVIDENCE. + +PROPOSE--PURPOSE. Writers and speakers often fail to discriminate +properly between the respective meanings of these two verbs. _Propose_, +correctly used, means, to put forward or to offer for _the +consideration of others_; hence, _a proposal_ is a scheme or design +offered for acceptance or consideration, a proposition. _Purpose_ means, +to intend, to design, to resolve; hence, _a purpose_ is an intention, an +aim, that which one sets _before one's self_. Examples: "What do you +_purpose_ doing in the matter?" "What do you _propose_ that we shall do +in the matter?" "I will do" means "I _purpose_ doing, or to do." "I +_purpose_ to write a history of England from the accession of King James +the Second down to a time which is within the memory of men still +living."--Macaulay. It will be observed that Macaulay says, "I purpose +_to write_" and not, "I purpose _writing_," using the verb in the +infinitive rather than in the participial form. "On which he _purposed_ +to mount one of his little guns." See INFINITIVE. + +PROPOSITION. This word is often used when _proposal_ would be better, +for the reason that _proposal_ has but one meaning, and is shorter by +one syllable. "He demonstrated the _proposition_ of Euclid, and rejected +the _proposal_ of his friend." + +PROSAIST. Dr. Hall is of opinion that this is a word we shall do well to +encourage. It is used by good writers. + +PROVEN. This form for the past participle of the verb _to prove_ is said +to be a Scotticism. It is not used by careful writers and speakers. The +correct form is _proved_. + +PROVIDING. The present participle of the verb _to provide_ is sometimes +vulgarly used for the conjunction _provided_, as in this sentence from +the "London Queen": "Society may be congratulated, ... _providing_ +that," etc. + +PROVOKE. See AGGRAVATE. + +PUNCTUATION. The importance of punctuation can not be overestimated; it +not only helps to make plain the meaning of what one writes, but it may +prevent one's being misconstrued. Though no two writers could be found +who punctuate just alike, still in the main those who pay attention to +the art put in their stops in essentially the same manner. The +difference that punctuation may make in the meaning of language is well +illustrated by the following anecdote: + +At Ramessa there lived a benevolent and hospitable prior, who caused +these lines to be painted over his door: + + "Be open evermore, + O thou my door! + To none be shut--to honest or to poor!" + +In time the good prior was succeeded by a man as selfish as his +predecessor was generous. The lines over the door of the priory were +allowed to remain; one stop, however, was altered, which made them read +thus: + + "Be open evermore, + O thou my door! + To none--be shut to honest or to poor!" + +He punctuates best who makes his punctuation contribute most to the +clear expression of his thought; and that construction is best that has +least need of being punctuated. + + THE COMMA.--The chief difference in the punctuation of different + writers is usually in their use of the comma, in regard to which there + is a good deal of latitude; much is left to individual taste. Nowadays + the best practice uses it sparingly. An idea of the extent to which + opinions differ with regard to the use of the comma may be formed from + the following excerpt from a paper prepared for private use: + + "In the following examples, gathered from various sources--chiefly + from standard books--the superfluous commas are inclosed in + parentheses: + + "1. 'It remains(,) perhaps(,) to be said(,) that, if any lesson at + all(,) as to these delicate matters(,) is needed(,) in this period, it + is not so much a lesson,' etc. 2. 'The obedience is not due to the + power of a right authority, but to the spirit of fear, and(,) + therefore(,) is(,) in reality(,) no obedience at all.' 3. 'The patriot + disturbances in Canada ... awakened deep interest among the people of + the United States(,) who lived adjacent to the frontier.' 4. + 'Observers(,) who have recently investigated this point(,) do not all + agree,' etc. 5. 'The wind did(,) in an instant(,) what man and steam + together had failed to do in hours.' 6. 'All the cabin passengers(,) + situated beyond the center of the boat(,) were saved.' 7. 'No other + writer has depicted(,) with so much art or so much accuracy(,) the + habits, the manners,' etc. 8. 'If it shall give satisfaction to those + who have(,) in any way(,) befriended it, the author will feel,' etc. + 9. 'Formed(,) or consisting of(,) clay.' 10. 'The subject [witchcraft] + grew interesting; and(,) to examine Sarah Cloyce and Elizabeth + Proctor, the deputy-governor(,) and five other magistrates(,) went to + Salem.' 11. 'The Lusitanians(,) who had not left their home(,) rose as + a man,' etc. 12. 'Vague reports ... had preceded him to Washington, + and his Mississippi friends(,) who chanced to be at the capital(,) + were not backward to make their boast of him.' 13. 'Our faith has + acquired a new vigor(,) and a clearer vision.' 14. 'In 1819(,) he + removed to Cambridge.' 15. 'Doré was born at Strasburg(,) in 1832, and + labors,' etc. 16. 'We should never apply dry compresses, charpie, or + wadding(,) to the wound.' 17. '--to stand idle, to look, act, or + think(,) in a leisurely way.' 18. '--portraits taken from the farmers, + schoolmasters, and peasantry(,) of the neighborhood.' 19. '--gladly + welcomed painters of Flanders, Holland, and Spain(,) to their + shores.' + + "In all these cases, the clauses between or following the inclosed + commas are so closely connected grammatically with the immediately + preceding words or phrases, that they should be read without a + perceptible pause, or with only a slight one for breath, without + change of voice. Some of the commas would grossly pervert the meaning + if strictly construed. Thus, from No. 3 it would appear that the + people of the United States in general lived adjacent to the frontier; + from No. 4, that all observers have recently investigated the point in + question; from No. 6, that all the cabin passengers were so situated + that they were saved, whereas it is meant that only a certain small + proportion of them were saved; from No. 10 (Bancroft), that somebody + whose name is accidentally omitted went to Salem 'to examine Sarah + Cloyce and Elizabeth Proctor, the deputy-governor, and five other + magistrates'; from No. 11, that none of the Lusitanians had left their + home, whereas it was the slaughter by the Romans of a great number of + them who _had_ left their home that caused the rising. + + "Commas are frequently omitted, and in certain positions very + generally, where the sense and correct reading require a pause. In the + following examples, such commas, omitted in the works from which they + were taken, are inclosed in brackets: + + "1. 'The modes of thought[,] and the types of character which those + modes produce[,] are essentially and universally transformed.' 2. + 'Taken by itself[,] this doctrine could have no effect whatever; + indeed[,] it would amount to nothing but a verbal proposition.' 3. + 'Far below[,] the little stream of the Oder foamed over the rocks.' 4. + 'When the day returned[,] the professor, the artist[,] and I rowed to + within a hundred yards of the shore.' 5. 'Proceeding into the interior + of India[,] they passed through Belgaum.' 6. 'If Loring is defeated + in the Sixth District[,] it can be borne.' + + "In No. 3, the reader naturally enunciates 'the little stream of the + Oder' as in the objective case after 'below'; but there he comes to a + predicate which compels him to go back and read differently. In No. 4, + it appears that 'the day returned the professor,' and then 'the artist + and I rowed,' etc." + + All clauses should generally be isolated by commas; where, however, + the connection is very close or the clause is very short, no point may + be necessary. "But his pride is greater than his ignorance, and what + he wants in knowledge he supplies by sufficiency." "A man of polite + imagination can converse with a picture, and find an agreeable + companion in a statue." "Though he slay me, yet will I trust him." + "The prince, his father being dead, succeeded." "To confess the truth, + I was much at fault." "As the heart panteth after the water-brooks, so + panteth my soul after thee." "Where the bee sucks, there suck I." "His + father dying, he succeeded to the estate." "The little that is known, + and the circumstance that little is known, must be considered as + honorable to him." + + The comma is used before and after a phrase when coördinating and not + restrictive. "The jury, having retired for half an hour, brought in a + verdict." "The stranger, unwilling to obtrude himself on our notice, + left in the morning." "Rome, the city of the Emperors, became the city + of the Popes." "His stories, which made everybody laugh, were often + made to order." "He did not come, which I greatly regret." "The + younger, who was yet a boy, had nothing striking in his appearance." + "They passed the cup to the stranger, who drank heartily." "Peace at + any price, which these orators seem to advocate, means war at any + cost." "Sailors, who are generally superstitious, say it is unlucky to + embark on Friday." + + Adverbs and short phrases, _when they break the connection_, should be + between commas. Some of the most common words and phrases so used are + the following: Also, too, there, indeed, perhaps, surely, moreover, + likewise, however, finally, namely, therefore, apparently, meanwhile, + consequently, unquestionably, accordingly, notwithstanding, in truth, + in fact, in short, in general, in reality, no doubt, of course, as it + were, at all events, to be brief, to be sure, now and then, on the + contrary, in a word, by chance, in that case, in the mean time, for + the most part. "History, in a word, is replete with moral lessons." + "As an orator, however, he was not great." "There is, remember, a + limit at which forbearance ceases to be a virtue." "Our civilization, + therefore, is not an unmixed good." "This, I grant you, is not of + great importance." + + If, however, the adverb does not break the connection, but readily + coalesces with the rest of the sentence, the commas are omitted. + "Morning will come at last, however dark the night may be." "We then + proceeded on our way." "Our civilization is therefore not an unmixed + good." "Patience, I say; your mind perhaps may change." + + Adverbial phrases and clauses beginning a sentence are set off by + commas. "In truth, I could not tell." "To sum up, the matter is this." + "Everything being ready, they set out." "By looking a little deeper, + the reason will be found." "Finally, let me sum up the argument." "If + the premises were admitted, I should deny the conclusion." "Where your + treasure is, there will your heart be also." + + Words used in apposition should be isolated by commas. "Newton, the + great mathematician, was very modest." "And he, their prince, shall + rank among my peers." In such sentences, however, as, "The + mathematician Newton was very modest," and "The Emperor Napoleon was a + great soldier," commas are not used. + + The name or designation of a person addressed is isolated by commas. + "It touches you, my lord, as well as me." "John, come here." "Mr. + President, my object is peace." "Tell me, boy, where do you live?" + "Yes, sir, I will do as you say." "Mr. Brown, what is your number?" + + Pairs of words.--"Old and young, rich and poor, wise and foolish, were + involved." "Sink or swim, live or die, survive or perish, I give my + hand and heart to this vote." "Interest and ambition, honor and shame, + friendship and enmity, gratitude and revenge, are the prime movers in + public transactions." + + A restrictive clause is not separated by a comma from the noun. "Every + one must love a boy who [that] is attentive and docile." "He preaches + sublimely who [that] lives a holy life." "The things which [that] are + seen are temporal." "A king depending on the support of his subjects + can not rashly go to war." "The sailor who [that] is not superstitious + will embark any day." + + The comma is used after adjectives, nouns, and verbs in sentences like + the following: + + "Are all thy conquests, glories, triumphs, spoils + Shrunk to this little measure?" + + "He fills, he bounds, connects and equals all." + + "Who to the enraptured heart, and ear, and eye + Teach beauty, virtue, truth, and love, and melody."[25] + + "He rewarded his friends, chastised his foes, set Justice on her seat, + and made his conquest secure." + + The comma is used to separate adjectives in opposition, but closely + connected. "Though deep, yet clear; though gentle, yet not dull." + "Liberal, not lavish, is kind Nature's hand." "Though black, yet + comely; and though rash, benign." + + After a nominative, where the verb is understood. "To err is human; to + forgive, divine." "A wise man seeks to shine in himself; a fool, in + others." "Conversation makes a ready man; writing, an exact man; + reading, a full man." + + A long subject is often separated from the predicate by a comma. "Any + one that refuses to earn an honest livelihood, is not an object of + charity." "The circumstance of his being unprepared to adopt immediate + and decisive measures, was represented to the Government." "That he + had persistently disregarded every warning and persevered in his + reckless course, had not yet undermined his credit with his dupes." + "That the work of forming and perfecting the character is difficult, + is generally allowed." + + In a series of adjectives that precede their noun, a comma is placed + after each except the last; there usage omits the point. "A beautiful, + tall, willowy, sprightly girl." "A quick, brilliant, studious, learned + man."[26] + + A comma is placed between short members of compound sentences, + connected by _and_, _but_, _for_, _nor_, _or_, _because_, _whereas_, + _that_ expressing purpose (so that, in order that), and other + conjunctions. "Be virtuous, that you may be respected." "Love not + sleep, lest you come to poverty." "Man proposes, but God disposes." + + A comma must not be placed before _that_ except when it is equivalent + to _in order that_. "He says that he will be here." + + A comma must not be placed before _and_ when it connects two words + only. "Time and tide wait for no man." "A rich and prosperous people." + "Plain and honest truth wants no artificial covering." + + A comma is sometimes necessary to prevent ambiguity. "He who pursues + pleasure only defeats the object of his creation." Without a comma + before or after _only_, the meaning of this sentence is doubtful. + + The following sentences present some miscellaneous examples of the use + of the comma by writers on punctuation: "Industry, as well as genius, + is essential to the production of great works." "Prosperity is secured + to a state, not by the acquisition of territory or riches, but by the + encouragement of industry." "Your manners are affable, and, for the + most part, pleasing."[27] + + "However fairly a bad man may appear to act, we distrust him." "Why, + this is rank injustice." "Well, follow the dictates of your + inclination." "The comma may be omitted in the case of _too_, _also_, + _therefore_, and _perhaps_, when introduced so as not to interfere + with the harmonious flow of the period; and, particularly, when the + sentence is short."[28] "Robert Horton, M. D., F. R. S." "To those who + labor, sleep is doubly pleasant"; "Sleep is doubly pleasant to those + who labor." "Those who persevere, succeed." "To be overlooked, + slighted, and neglected; to be misunderstood, misrepresented, and + slandered; to be trampled under foot by the envious, the ignorant, and + the vile; to be crushed by foes, and to be distrusted and betrayed + even by friends--such is too often the fate of genius." "She is tall, + though not so handsome as her sister." "Verily, verily, I say unto + you." "Whatever is, is right." "What is foreordained to be, will be." + "The Emperor Augustus was a patron of the fine arts." "Augustus, the + Emperor, was a patron of the fine arts." "United, we stand; divided, + we fall." "God said, Let there be light." "July 21, 1881." "President + Garfield was shot, Saturday morning, July 2, 1881; he died, Monday + night, Sept. 19, 1881." "I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient + servant, John Jones." "New York, August, 1881." "Room 20, Equitable + Building, Broadway, New York." + + "_When you are in doubt as to the propriety of inserting commas, omit + them_; IT IS BETTER TO HAVE TOO FEW THAN TOO MANY."--Quackenbos. + + THE SEMICOLON.--Reasons are preceded by semicolons; "Economy is no + disgrace; for it is better to live on a little than to outlive a great + deal." Clauses in opposition are separated by a semicolon when the + second is introduced by an adversative: "Straws swim at the surface; + but pearls lie at the bottom"; "Lying lips are an abomination to the + Lord; but they that deal truly are his delight." Without the + adversative, the colon is to be preferred: "Prosperity showeth vice: + adversity, virtue." The great divisions of a sentence must be pointed + with a semicolon when the minor divisions are pointed with commas: + "Mirth should be the embroidery of conversation, not the web; and wit + the ornament of the mind, not the furniture." The things enumerated + must be separated by semicolons, when the enunciation of particulars + is preceded by a colon: "The value of a maxim depends on four things: + the correctness of the principle it embodies; the subject to which it + relates; the extent of its application; and the ease with which it may + be practically carried out." When _as_ introduces an example, it is + preceded by a semicolon. When several successive clauses have a common + connection with a preceding or following clause, they are separated by + semicolons; as, "Children, as they gamboled on the beach; reapers, as + they gathered the harvest; mowers, as they rested from using the + scythe; mothers, as they busied themselves about the household--were + victims to an enemy, who disappeared the moment a blow was struck." + "Reason as we may, it is impossible not to read in such a fate much + that we know not how to interpret; much of provocation to cruel deeds + and deep resentment; much of apology for wrong and perfidy; much of + doubt and misgiving as to the past; much of painful recollections; + much of dark foreboding." "Philosophers assert that Nature is + unlimited; that her treasures are endless; that the increase of + knowledge will never cease." + + THE COLON.--This point is less used now than formerly: its place is + supplied by the period, the semicolon, or the dash; and sometimes, + even by the comma. The colon is used very differently by different + writers. "He was heard to say, 'I have done with this world.'" Some + writers would put a colon, some a comma, after _say_. "When the quoted + passage is brought in without any introductory word, if short," says + Quackenbos, "it is generally preceded by a comma; if long, by a colon; + as, 'A simpleton, meeting a philosopher, asked him, "What affords wise + men the greatest pleasure?" Turning on his heel, the sage replied, + "To get rid of fools."'" + + Formal enumerations of particulars, and direct quotations, when + introduced by such phrases as _in these words_, _as follows_, _the + following_, _namely_, _this_, _these_, _thus_, etc., are properly + preceded by a colon. "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that + all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with + certain inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and + the pursuit of happiness." "Lord Bacon has summed up the whole matter + in the following words: 'A little philosophy inclineth men's minds to + atheism; but depth in philosophy bringeth men's minds to religion.'" + "The human family is composed of five races: first, the Caucasian; + second, the Mongolian; third, the," etc. + + "All were attentive to the godlike man + When from his lofty couch he thus began: + 'Great queen,'" etc.--Dryden. + + When the quotation, or other matter, begins a new paragraph, the colon + is, by many writers, followed with a dash; as, "The cloth being + removed, the President rose and said:-- + + "'Ladies and gentlemen, we are,'" etc. + + The colon is used to mark the greater breaks in sentences, when the + lesser breaks are marked by semicolons. "You have called yourself an + atom in the universe; you have said that you are but an insect in the + solar blaze: is your present pride consistent with these professions?" + "A clause is either independent or dependent: independent, if it forms + an assertion by itself; dependent, if it enters into some other clause + with the value of a part of speech." A colon is sometimes used instead + of a period to separate two short sentences, which are closely + connected. "Never flatter people: leave that to such as mean to + betray them." "Some things we can, and others we can not do: we can + walk, but we can not fly." + + THE PERIOD.--Complete sentences are always followed either by a + period, or by an exclamation or an interrogation point.[29] + + The period is also used after abbreviations; as, R. D. Van Nostrand, + St. Louis, Mo.; Jno. B. Morris, M. D., F. R. S., London, Eng.; Jas. W. + Wallack, Jr., New York City, N. Y.; Jas. B. Roberts, Elocutionist, + Phila., Pa. + + INTERROGATION-POINT.--This point is used after questions put by the + writer, and after questions reported directly. "What can I do for + you?" "Where are you going?" "What do you say?" cried the General. + "The child still lives?" It should not be used when the question is + reported indirectly. "He asked me where I was going." "The Judge asked + the witness if he believed the man to be guilty." + + EXCLAMATION-POINT.--This mark is placed after interjections, after + sentences and clauses of sentences of passionate import, and after + solemn invocations and addresses. "Zounds! the man's in earnest." + "Pshaw! what can we do?" "Bah! what's that to me?" "Indeed! then I + must look to it." "Look, my lord, it comes!" "Rest, rest, perturbed + spirit!" "O heat, dry up my brains!" "Dear maid, kind sister, sweet + Ophelia!" "While in this part of the country, I once more + revisited--and, alas, with what melancholy presentiments!--the home of + my youth." "O rose of May!" "Oh, from this time forth, my thoughts be + bloody or be nothing worth!" "O heavens! die two months ago, and not + forgotten yet?" + + "Night, sable goddess! from her ebon throne, + In rayless majesty now stretches forth + Her leaden scepter o'er a slumbering world. + Silence, how dead! and darkness, how profound!"--Young. + + "Hail, holy light! offspring of heaven just born!"--Milton. + + "But thou, O Hope! with eyes so fair, + What was thy delighted measure?"--Collins. + + It will be observed that the interjection O is an exception to the + rule: it is often followed by a comma, but never by an + exclamation-point. + + An exclamation-point sometimes gives the same words quite another + meaning. The difference between "What's that?" and "What's that!" is + obvious. + + THE DASH.--Cobbett did not favor the use of this mark, as we see from + the following: "Let me caution you against the use of what, by some, + is called the _dash_. The dash is a stroke along the line; thus, 'I am + rich--I was poor--I shall be poor again.' This is wild work indeed! + Who is to know what is intended by these _dashes_? Those who have + thought proper, like Mr. Lindley Murray, to place the _dash_ amongst + the _grammatical points_, ought to give us some rule relative to its + different longitudinal dimensions in different cases. The _inch_, the + _three-quarter-inch_, the _half-inch_, the _quarter-inch_: these would + be something determinate; but '_the dash_,' without measure, must be a + perilous thing for the young grammarian to handle. In short, '_the + dash_' is a cover for ignorance as to the use of points, and it can + answer no other purpose." + + This is one of the few instances in which Cobbett was wrong. The + _dash_ is the proper point with which to mark an unexpected or + emphatic pause, or a sudden break or transition. It is very often + preceded by another point. "And Huitzilopochtli--a sweet name to roll + under one's tongue--for how many years has this venerable war-god + blinked in the noonday sun!" "Crowds gathered about the newspaper + bulletins, recalling the feverish scenes that occurred when the + President's life was thought to be hanging by a thread. 'Wouldn't it + be too bad,' said one, 'if, after all--no, I won't allow myself to + think of it.'" "Was there ever--but I scorn to boast." "You are--no, + I'll not tell you what you are." + + "He suffered--but his pangs are o'er; + Enjoyed--but his delights are fled; + Had friends--his friends are now no more; + And foes--his foes are dead."--Montgomery. + + "Greece, Carthage, Rome,--where are they?" "He chastens;--but he + chastens to save." + + Dashes are much used where parentheses were formerly employed. "In the + days of Tweed the expression to divide fair--forcible, if not + grammatical--acquired much currency." "In truth, the character of the + great chief was depicted two thousand five hundred years before his + birth, and depicted--such is the power of genius--in colors which will + be fresh as many years after his death." "To render the Constitution + perpetual--which God grant it may be!--it is necessary that its + benefits should be practically felt by all parts of the country." + + PARENTHESIS.--This mark is comparatively little used nowadays. The + dash is preferred, probably because it disfigures the page less. The + office of the parenthesis is to isolate a phrase which is merely + incidental, and which might be omitted without detriment to the + grammatical construction. + + "Know then this truth (enough for man to know), + Virtue alone is happiness below."--Pope. + + "The bliss of man (could pride that blessing find) + Is not to act or think beyond mankind." + + BRACKETS.--This mark is used principally to inclose words improperly + omitted by the writer, or words introduced for the purpose of + explanation or to correct an error. The bracket is often used in this + book. + + THE APOSTROPHE.--This point is used to denote the omission of letters + and sometimes of figures; as, Jan'y, '81; _I've_ for _I have_; + _you'll_ for _you will_; _'tis_ for _it is_; _don't_ for _do not_; + _can't_ for _can not_; It was in the year '93; the spirit of '76; It + was in the years 1812, '13, and '14. + + Also to denote the possessive case; as, Brown's house; the king's + command; Moses' staff; for conscience' sake; the boys' garden. + + Also with _s_ to denote the plural of letters, figures, and signs; as, + Cross your _t_'s, dot your _i_'s, and mind your _p_'s and _q_'s; make + your 5's better, and take out the _x_'s. + + CAPITALS.--A capital letter should begin every sentence, every line of + verse, and every direct quotation. + + All names of the Deity, of Jesus Christ, of the Trinity, and of the + Virgin Mary must begin with a capital. Pronouns are usually + capitalized when they refer to the Deity. + + Proper names, and nouns and adjectives formed from proper names, names + of streets, of the months, of the days of the week, and of the + holidays, are capitalized. + + Titles of nobility and of high office, when used to designate + particular persons, are capitalized; as, the Earl of Dunraven, the + Mayor of Boston, the Baron replied, the Cardinal presided. + + THE PARAGRAPH.--In writing for the press, the division of matter into + paragraphs is often quite arbitrary; in letter-writing, on the + contrary, the several topics treated of should, as a rule, be isolated + by paragraphic divisions. These divisions give one's letters a + shapely appearance that they otherwise never have. + +PURCHASE. This word is much preferred to its synonym _buy_, by that +class of people who prefer the word _reside_ to _live_, _procure_ to +_get_, _inaugurate_ to _begin_, and so on. They are generally of those +who are great in pretense, and who would be greater still if they were +to pretend to all they have to pretend to. + +PURPOSE. See PROPOSE. + +QUANTITY. This word is often improperly used for _number_. _Quantity_ +should be used in speaking of what is measured or weighed; _number_, of +what is counted. Examples: "What _quantity_ of apples have you, and what +_number_ of pineapples?" "Delaware produces a large _quantity_ of +peaches and a large _number_ of melons." + +QUIT.--This word means, properly, to leave, to go away from, to forsake; +as, "Avaunt! _quit_ my sight." This is the only sense in which the +English use it. In America, it is generally used in the sense of to +leave off, to stop; as, "_Quit_ your nonsense"; "_Quit_ laughing"; +"_Quit_ your noise"; "He has _quit_ smoking," and so on. + +QUITE. This word originally meant completely, perfectly, totally, +entirely, fully; and this is the sense in which it was used by the early +writers of English. It is now often used in the sense of _rather_; as, +"It is _quite_ warm"; "She is _quite_ tall"; "He is _quite_ proficient." +Sometimes it is incorrectly used in the sense of _considerable_; as, +_quite_ an amount, _quite_ a number, _quite_ a fortune. _Quite_, +according to good modern usage, may qualify an adjective, but not a +noun. "She is quite the lady," is a vile phrase, meaning, "She is very +or _quite_ ladylike." + +RAILROAD DEPOT. Few things are more offensive to fastidious ears than to +hear a railway _station_ called a _depot_. A depot is properly a place +where goods or stores of any kind are kept; and the places at which the +trains of a railroad--or, better, rail_way_--stop for passengers, or the +points from which they start and at which they arrive, are, properly, +the _stations_. + +RAILWAY. The English prefer this word to rail_road_. + +RAISE THE RENT. An expression incorrectly used for _increase the rent_. + +RARELY. It is no uncommon thing to see this adverb improperly used in +such sentences as, "It is very _rarely_ that the puppets of the romancer +assume," etc.--"Appletons' Journal," February, 1881, p. 177. "But," says +the defender of this phraseology, "_rarely_ qualifies a verb--the verb +_to be_." Not at all. The sentence, if written out in full, would be, +"It is a very rare thing that," etc., or "The circumstance is a very +rare one that," etc., or "It is a very rare occurrence that," etc. To +those who contend for "It is very _rarely_ that," etc., I would say, It +is very _sadly_ that persons of culture will write and then defend--or +rather try to defend--such grammar. + +RATIOCINATE. See EFFECTUATE. + +REAL.--This adjective is often vulgarly used in the sense of the adverb +_very_; thus, _real_ nice, _real_ pretty, _real_ angry, _real_ cute, and +so on. + +RECOMMEND. This word, which means to commend or praise to another, to +declare worthy of esteem, trust, or favor, is sometimes put to strange +uses. Example: "Resolved, that the tax-payers of the county be +_recommended_ to meet," etc. What the resolving gentlemen meant was, +that the tax-payers should be _counseled_ to meet. + +REDUNDANCY. See PLEONASM. + +RELIABLE. This is a modern word which is often met with; but it is not +used by our careful writers. They prefer its synonym _trustworthy_, and +argue that, in consequence of being ill-formed, _reliable_ can not +possibly have the signification in which it is used. + +REMAINDER. See BALANCE. + +RENDITION. This word is much misused for _rendering_. Example: "The +excellence of Mr. Gilbert's _rendition_ of certain characters, Sir Peter +and Sir Antony, for instance, is not equaled," etc. _Rendition_ means +the act of yielding possession, surrender, as the _rendition_ of a town +or fortress. The sentence above should read, "The excellence of Mr. +Gilbert's _rendering_," etc. _Rendition_ is also sometimes improperly +used for _performance_. + +REPLY. See ANSWER. + +REPUTATION. See CHARACTER. + +RESIDE. A big word that Mr. Wouldbe uses where Mr. Is uses the little +word _live_. + +RESIDENCE. In speaking of a man's domicile, it is not only in better +taste but more correct to use the term _house_ than _residence_. A man +has a _residence_ in New York, when he has lived here long enough to +have the right to exercise the franchise here; and he may have a _house_ +in Fifth Avenue where he _lives_. People who _are_ live in houses; +people who _would be_ reside in residences. The former _buy_ things; the +latter _purchase_ them. + +REST. See BALANCE. + +RESTIVE. Some of the dictionaries, Richard Grant White, and some other +writers, contend that this word, when properly used, means unwilling to +go, standing still stubbornly, obstinate, stubborn, and nothing else. In +combating this opinion, Fitzedward Hall says: "Very few instances, I +apprehend, can be produced, from our literature, of this use of +_restive_." Webster gives impatient, uneasy, as a second meaning; and +this is the sense in which the word is nearly always used. + +RETIRE. It is only the over-nice who use _retire_ in the sense of _go to +bed_. + +REVEREND--HONORABLE. Many persons are in doubt whether they should or +should not put _the_ before these adjectives. Emphatically, yes, they +should. See "Words and Their Uses," by Richard Grant White, for a full +discussion of the question; also "Good English," by Edward S. Gould. + +RHETORIC. The art which has for its object the rendering of language +effective is called _rhetoric_. Without some study of the art of +composition, no one can expect to write well, or to judge the literary +work of others. + + "True ease in writing comes from art, not chance, + As those move easiest who have learned to dance." + +RIDE--DRIVE. Fashion, both in England and in this country, says that we +must always use the second of these words when we speak of going out in +a carriage, although _ride_ means, according to all the lexicographers, +"to be carried on a horse or other animal, or in any kind of vehicle or +carriage." + +RIGHT. Singularly enough, this word is made, by some people, to do +service for _ought_, _in duty bound_, under _obligation_ to; thus, "You +had a _right_ to tell me," meaning, "You should have told me." "The +Colonists contended that they _had no right_ to pay taxes," meaning, +"They were _under no obligation_ to pay taxes," i. e., that it was +unjust to tax them. + +RIGHT HERE. The expressions "right here" and "right there" are +Americanisms. Correctly, "just here" and "just there." + +ROLLING. The use of this participial adjective in the sense of +undulating is said to be an Americanism. Whether an Americanism or not, +it would seem to be quite unobjectionable. + +RUBBERS. This word, in common with _gums_ and _arctics_, is often, in +defiance of good taste, used for _overshoes_. + +SABBATH. This term was first used in English for Sunday, or Lord's day, +by the Puritans. Nowadays it is little used in this sense. The word to +use is _Sunday_. + +SARCASM. Bain says that _sarcasm_ is vituperation softened in the +outward expression by the arts and figures of disguise--epigram, +innuendo, irony--and embellished with the figures of illustration. Crabb +says that _sarcasm_ is the indulgence only of personal resentment, and +is never justifiable. + +SATIRE. The holding up to ridicule of the follies and weaknesses of +mankind, by way of rebuke, is called _satire_. Satire is general rather +than individual, its object being the reformation of abuses. A +_lampoon_, which has been defined as a _personal satire_, attacks the +individual rather than his fault, and is intended to injure rather than +to reform. + +Said Sheridan: "Satires and lampoons on particular people circulate more +by giving copies in confidence to the friends of the parties than by +printing them." + +SAW. The imperfect tense of the verb _to see_ is carelessly used by good +writers and speakers when they should use the perfect; thus, "I never +_saw_ anything like it before," when the meaning intended is, "I _have_ +never [in all my life] _seen_ anything like it before [until now]." We +say properly, "I never _saw_ anything like it _when I was in Paris_"; +but, when the period of time referred to extends to the time when the +statement is made, it must be _have seen_. Like mistakes are made in +the use of other verbs, but they are hardly as common; yet we often hear +such expressions as, "I _was_ never in Philadelphia," "I never _went_ to +the theatre in my life," instead of _have been_ in Philadelphia, and +_have gone_ to the theatre. + +SECTION. The use of this word for region, neighborhood, vicinity, part +(of the town or country), is said to be a Westernism. A _section_ is a +division of the public lands containing six hundred and forty acres. + +SEEM--APPEAR. Graham, in his "English Synonymes," says of these two +words: "What _seems_ is in the mind; what _appears_ is external. Things +_appear_ as they present themselves to the eye; they _seem_ as they are +represented to the mind. Things _appear_ good or bad, as far as we can +judge by our senses. Things _seem_ right or wrong as we determine by +reflection. Perception and sensation have to do with appearing; +reflection and comparison, with seeming. When things are not what they +_appear_, our senses are deceived; when things are not what they _seem_, +our judgment is at fault." + +"No man had ever a greater power over himself, or was less the man he +_seemed_ to be, which shortly after _appeared_ to everybody, when he +cared less to keep on the mask."--Clarendon. + +SELDOM OR EVER. This phrase should be "seldom _if_ ever," or "seldom or +_never_." + +SERAPHIM. This is the plural of _seraph_. "One of the _seraphim_." "To +Thee cherubim and seraphim continually do cry." See CHERUBIM. + +SET--SIT. The former of these two verbs is often incorrectly used for +the latter. To _set_; imperfect tense, _set_; participles, _setting_, +_set_. To _sit_; imperfect tense, _sat_; participles, _sitting_, _sat_. +To _set_ means to put, to place, to plant; to put in any place, +condition, state, or posture. We say, to _set_ about, to _set_ against, +to _set_ out, to _set_ going, to _set_ apart, to _set_ aside, to _set_ +down (to put in writing). To _sit_ means to rest on the lower part of +the body, to repose on a seat, to perch, as a bird, etc. We say, "_Sit_ +up," i. e., rise from lying to sitting; "We will _sit_ up," i. e., will +not go to bed; "_Sit_ down," i. e., place yourself on a seat. We _sit_ a +horse and we _sit_ for a portrait. Garments _sit_ well or otherwise. +Congress _sits_, so does a court. "I have _sat_ up long enough." "I have +_set_ it on the table." We _set_ down figures, but we _sit_ down on the +ground. We _set_ a hen, and a hen _sits_ on eggs. We should say, +therefore, "as cross as a _sitting_ [not, as a _setting_] hen." + +SETTLE. This word is often inelegantly, if not incorrectly, used for +_pay_. We _pay_ our way, _pay_ our fare, _pay_ our hotel-bills, and the +like. See, also, LOCATE. + +SHALL AND WILL. The nice distinctions that should be made between these +two auxiliaries are, in some parts of the English-speaking world, often +disregarded, and that, too, by persons of high culture. The proper use +of _shall_ and _will_ can much better be learned from example than from +precept. Many persons who use them, and also _should_ and _would_, with +well-nigh unerring correctness, do so unconsciously; it is simply habit +with them, and they, though their culture may be limited, will receive a +sort of verbal shock from Biddy's inquiry, "_Will_ I put the kettle on, +ma'am?" when your Irish or Scotch countess would not be in the least +disturbed by it. + + SHALL, _in an affirmative sentence, in the first person, and_ WILL _in + the second and third persons, merely announce future action_. Thus, "I + _shall_ go to town to-morrow." "I _shall_ not; I _shall_ wait for + better weather." "We _shall_ be glad to see you." "I _shall_ soon be + twenty." "We _shall_ set out early, and _shall_ try to arrive by + noon." "You _will_ be pleased." "You _will_ soon be twenty." "You + _will_ find him honest." "He _will_ go with us." + + SHALL, _in an affirmative sentence, in the second and third persons, + announces the speaker's intention to control_. Thus, "You _shall_ hear + me out." "You _shall_ go, sick or well." "He _shall_ be my heir." + "They _shall_ go, whether they want to go or not." + + WILL, _in the first person, expresses a promise, announces the + speaker's intention to control, proclaims a determination_. Thus, "I + _will_ [I promise to] assist you." "I _will_ [I am determined to] have + my right." "We _will_ [we promise to] come to you in the morning." + + SHALL, _in an interrogative sentence, in the first and third persons, + consults the will or judgment of another; in the second person, it + inquires concerning the intention or future action of another_. Thus, + "_Shall_ I go with you?" "When _shall_ we see you again?" "When + _shall_ I receive it?" "When _shall_ I get well?" "When _shall_ we get + there?" "_Shall_ he come with us?" "_Shall_ you demand indemnity?" + "_Shall_ you go to town to-morrow?" "What _shall_ you do about it?" + + WILL, _in an interrogative sentence, in the second person, asks + concerning the wish, and, in the third person, concerning the purpose + or future action of others_. Thus, "_Will_ you have an apple?" "_Will_ + you go with me to my uncle's?" "_Will_ he be of the party?" "_Will_ + they be willing to receive us?" "When _will_ he be here?" + + _Will_ can not be used interrogatively in the first person singular or + plural. We can not say, "_Will_ I go?" "_Will_ I help you?" "_Will_ I + be late?" "_Will_ we get there in time?" "_Will_ we see you again + soon?" + + Official courtesy, in order to avoid the semblance of compulsion, + conveys its commands in the _you-will_ form instead of the strictly + grammatical _you-shall_ form. It says, for example, "You _will_ + proceed to Key West, where you will find further instructions awaiting + you." + + A clever writer on the use of _shall_ and _will_ says that whatever + concerns one's beliefs, hopes, fears, likes, or dislikes, can not be + expressed in conjunction with _I will_. Are there no exceptions to + this rule? If I say, "I think I _shall_ go to Philadelphia to-morrow," + I convey the impression that my going depends upon circumstances + beyond my control; but if I say, "I think I _will_ go to Philadelphia + to-morrow," I convey the impression that my going depends upon + circumstances within my control--that my going or not depends on mere + inclination. We certainly must say, "I fear that I _shall_ lose it"; + "I hope that I _shall_ be well"; "I believe that I _shall_ have the + ague"; "I hope that I _shall_ not be left alone"; "I fear that we + _shall_ have bad weather"; "I _shall_ dislike the country"; "I _shall_ + like the performance." The writer referred to asks, "How can one say, + 'I _will_ have the headache'?" I answer, Very easily, as every young + woman knows. Let us see: "Mary, you know you promised John to drive + out with him to-morrow; how _shall_ you get out of it?" "Oh, I _will_ + have the headache!" We request that people _will_ do thus or so, and + not that they _shall_. Thus, "It is requested that no one _will_ leave + the room." + + _Shall_ is rarely, if ever, used for _will_; it is _will_ that is used + for _shall_. Expressions like the following are common: "Where _will_ + you be next week?" "I _will_ be at home." "We _will_ have dinner at + six o'clock." "How _will_ you go about it?" "When _will_ you begin?" + "When _will_ you set out?" "What _will_ you do with it?" In all such + expressions, when it is a question of mere future action on the part + of the person speaking or spoken to, the auxiliary must be _shall_, + and not _will_. + + _Should_ and _would_ follow the regimen of _shall_ and _will_. _Would_ + is often used for _should_; _should_ rarely for _would_. Correct + speakers say, "I _should_ go to town to-morrow if I had a horse." "I + _should_ not; I _should_ wait for better weather." "We _should_ be + glad to see you." "We _should_ have started earlier, if the weather + had been clear." "I _should_ like to go to town, and _would_ go if I + could." "I _would_ assist you if I could." "I _should_ have been ill + if I had gone." "I _would_ I were home again!" "I _should_ go fishing + to-day if I were home." "I _should_ so like to go to Europe!" "I + _should_ prefer to see it first." "I _should_ be delighted." "I + _should_ be glad to have you sup with me." "I knew that I _should_ be + ill." "I feared that I _should_ lose it." "I hoped that I _should_ see + him." "I thought I _should_ have the ague." "I hoped that I _should_ + not be left alone." "I was afraid that we _should_ have bad weather." + "I knew I _should_ dislike the country." "I _should_ not like to do + it, and _will_ not [determination] unless compelled to." + +SHIMMY. "We derive from the French language our word +_chemise_--pronounced _shemmeeze_. In French, the word denotes a man's +shirt, as well as the under garment worn by women. In this country, it +is often pronounced by people who should know better--_shimmy_. Rather +than call it _shimmy_, resume the use of the old English words _shift_ +and _smock_. Good usage unqualifiedly condemns _gents_, _pants_, _kids_, +_gums_, and _shimmy_."--"Vulgarisms and Other Errors of Speech." + +SHOULD. See OUGHT. + +SICK--ILL. These words are often used indiscriminately. _Sick_, however, +is the stronger word, and generally the better word to use. _Ill_ is +used in England more than with us: there _sick_ is generally limited to +the expressing of nausea; as, "sick at the stomach." + +SIGNATURE, OVER OR UNDER? A man writes _under_, not _over_, a signature. +Charles Dickens wrote _under_ the signature of "Boz"; Mr. Samuel L. +Clemens writes _under_ the signature of "Mark Twain." The reason given +in Webster's Dictionary for preferring the use of _under_ is absurd; +viz., that the paper is _under_ the hand in writing. The expression is +elliptical, and has no reference to the position either of the signature +or of the paper. "Given under my hand and seal" means "under the +guarantee of my signature and my seal." "Under his own signature" or +"name" means "under his own character, without disguise." "Under the +signature of Boz" means "under the disguise of the assumed name Boz." We +always write _under_ a certain date, though the date be placed, as it +often is, at the bottom of the page. + +SIGNS. In one of the principal business streets of New York there is a +sign which reads, "German Lace Store." Now, whether this is a store that +makes a specialty of German laces, or whether it is a store where all +kinds of lace are sold, kept by a German or after the German fashion, is +something that the sign doubtless means to tell us, but, owing to the +absence of a hyphen ("German-Lace Store," or "German Lace-Store"), does +not tell us. Nothing is more common than erroneous punctuation in signs, +and gross mistakes by the unlettered in the wording of the simplest +printed matter. + +The bad taste, incorrect punctuation, false grammar, and ridiculous +nonsense met with on signs and placards, and in advertisements, are +really surprising. An advertisement tells us that "a pillow which +assists in procuring sleep is a _benediction_"; a placard, that they +have "Charlotte _de_ Russe" for sale within, which means, if it means +anything, that they have for sale somebody or something called Charlotte +of Russian; and, then, on how many signs do we see the possessive case +when the plural number is intended! + +SIMILE. In rhetoric, a direct and formal comparison is called a +_simile_. It is generally denoted by _like_, _as_, or _so_; as, + + "I have ventured, + _Like_ little wanton boys that swim on bladders, + These many summers in a sea of glory." + + "Thy smile is _as_ the dawn of vernal day."--Shakespeare. + + "_As_, down in the sunless retreats of the ocean, + Sweet flow'rets are springing no mortal can see; + _So_, deep in my bosom, the prayer of devotion, + Unheard by the world, rises silent to thee."--Moore. + + "'Tis with our judgments _as_ with our watches; none + Go just alike, yet each believes his own."--Pope. + + "Grace abused brings forth the foulest deeds, + _As_ richest soil the most luxuriant weeds."--Cowper. + +"_As_ no roads are so rough as those that have just been mended, _so_ no +sinners are so intolerant as those who have just turned +saints."--"Lacon." + +SIN. See CRIME. + +SINCE--AGO. Dr. Johnson says of these two adverbs: "Reckoning time +toward the present, we use _since_; as, 'It is a year _since_ it +happened': reckoning from the present, we use _ago_; as, 'It is a year +_ago_.' This is not, perhaps, always observed." + +Dr. Johnson's rule will hardly suffice as a sure guide. _Since_ is often +used for _ago_, but _ago_ never for _since_. _Ago_ is derived from the +participle _agone_, while _since_ comes from a preposition. We say +properly, "not long" or "some time _ago_ [agone]." _Since_ requires a +verbal clause after it; as, "_Since_ I saw you"; "_Since_ he was here." + +SING. Of the two forms--_sang_ and _sung_--for the imperfect tense of +the verb to _sing_, the former--_sang_--is to be preferred. + +SIT. See SET. + +SLANG. The slang that is heard among respectable people is made up of +genuine words, to which an arbitrary meaning is given. It is always low, +generally coarse, and not unfrequently foolish. With the exception of +_cant_, there is nothing that is more to be shunned. We sometimes meet +with persons of considerable culture who interlard their talk with slang +expressions, but it is safe to assert that they are always persons of +coarse natures. + +SMART. See CLEVER. + +SMELL OF. See TASTE OF. + +SO. See AS; SUCH; THAT. + +SO MUCH SO. "The shipments by the coast steamers are very large, _so +much so_ [large?] as to tax the capacity of the different +lines."--"Telegram," September 19, 1881. The sentence should be, "The +shipments by the coast steamers are very large, _so large_ as to tax," +etc. + +SOLECISM. In rhetoric, a solecism is defined as an offense against the +rules of grammar by the use of words in a wrong construction; false +syntax. + +"Modern grammarians designate by _solecism_ any word or expression which +does not agree with the established usage of writing or speaking. But, +as customs change, that which at one time is considered a _solecism_ may +at another be regarded as correct language. A _solecism_, therefore, +differs from a _barbarism_, inasmuch as the latter consists in the use +of a word or expression which is altogether contrary to the spirit of +the language, and can, properly speaking, never become established as +correct language."--"Penny Cyclopædia." See, also, BARBARISM. + +SOME. This word is not unfrequently misused for _somewhat_; thus, "She +is _some_ better to-day." It is likewise often misused for _about_; +thus, "I think it is _some_ ten miles from here": read, "_about_ ten +miles from here." + +SPECIALTY. This form has within a recent period been generally +substituted for _speciality_. There is no apparent reason, however, why +the _i_ should be dropped, since it is required by the etymology of the +word, and is retained in nearly all other words of the same formation. + +SPECIOUS FALLACY. A _fallacy_ is a sophism, a logical artifice, a +deceitful or false appearance; while _specious_ means having the +appearance of truth, plausible. Hence we see that the very essence of a +_fallacy_ is its _speciousness_. We may very properly say that a +_fallacy_ is more or less _specious_, but we can not properly say that a +fallacy _is_ specious, since without speciousness we can have no +fallacies. + +SPLENDID. This poor word is used by the gentler sex to qualify well-nigh +everything that has their approval, from a sugar-plum to the national +capitol. In fact, _splendid_ and _awful_ seem to be about the only +adjectives some of our superlative young women have in their +vocabularies. + +STANDPOINT. This is a word to which many students of English seriously +object, and among them are the editors of some of our daily papers, who +do not allow it to appear in their columns. The phrase to which no one +objects is, _point of view_. + +STATE. This word, which properly means to make known specifically, to +explain particularly, is often misused for _say_. When _say_ says all +one _wants_ to say, why use a more pretentious word? + +STOP. "Where are you _stopping_?" "At the Metropolitan." The proper word +to use here is _staying_. _To stop_ means to cease to go forward, to +leave off; and _to stay_ means to abide, to tarry, to dwell, to sojourn. +We _stay_, not _stop_, at home, at a hotel, or with a friend, as the +case may be. + +STORM. Many persons indulge in a careless use of this word, using it +when they mean to say simply that it rains or snows. To a _storm_ a +violent commotion of the atmosphere is indispensable. A very high wind +constitutes a storm, though it be dry. + +STRAIGHTWAY. Here is a good Anglo-Saxon word of _two_ syllables whose +place, without any good reason, is being usurped by the Latin word +_immediately_, of _five_ syllables. + +STREET. We live _in_, not _on_--meet our acquaintances _in_, not +_on_--things occur _in_, not _on_--houses are built _in_, not _on_, the +street, and so forth. + +STYLE. This is a term that is used to characterize the peculiarities +that distinguish a writer or a composition. Correctness and clearness +properly belong to the domain of _diction_; simplicity, conciseness, +gravity, elegance, diffuseness, floridity, force, feebleness, +coarseness, etc., belong to the domain of _style_. + +SUBJUNCTIVE MOOD. This mood is unpopular with not a few now-a-day +grammarians. One says that it is rapidly falling into disuse; that, in +fact, there is good reason to suppose it will soon become obsolete. +Another says that it would, perhaps, be better to abolish it entirely, +as its use is a continual source of dispute among grammarians and of +perplexity to schools. Another says that it is a universal +stumbling-block; that nobody seems to understand it, although almost +everybody attempts to use it. + +That the subjunctive mood is much less used now than it was a hundred +years ago is certain, but that it is obsolescent is very far from +certain. It would not be easy, I think, to find a single contemporary +writer who does not use it. That it is not always easy to determine what +form of it we should employ is very true; but if we are justified in +abolishing it altogether, as Mr. Chandler suggests, because its correct +use is not always easy, then we are also justified in abolishing the use +of _shall_ and _will_, and of the prepositions, for surely their right +use is likewise at times most puzzling. Meanwhile, most persons will +think it well to learn to use the subjunctive mood properly. With that +object in view, one can not, perhaps, do better than to attend to what +Dr. Alexander Bain, Professor of Logic in the University of Aberdeen, +says upon the subject. In Professor Bain's "Higher English Grammar" we +find: + +"In subordinate clauses.--In a clause expressing a condition, and +introduced by a conjunction of condition, the verb is sometimes, but not +always, in the subjunctive mood: 'If I _be_ able,' 'if I _were_ strong +enough,' 'if thou _should_ come.' + +"The subjunctive inflexions have been wholly lost. The sense that +something is wanting appears to have led many writers to use indicative +forms where the subjunctive might be expected. The tendency appears +strongest in the case of 'wert,' which is now used as indicative (for +'wast') only in poetical or elevated language. + +"The following is the rule given for the use of the subjunctive mood: + +"When in a conditional clause it is intended to express doubt or denial, +use the subjunctive mood.[30] 'If I _were_ sure of what you tell me, I +would go.' + +"When the conditional clause is _affirmative_ and _certain_, the verb is +_indicative_: 'If that _is_ the case' (as you now tell me, and as I +believe), 'I can understand you.' This is equivalent to a clause of +assumption, or supposition: 'That being the case,' 'inasmuch as that is +the case,' etc. + +"As _futurity_ is by its nature uncertain, the subjunctive is +extensively used for future conditionality: 'If it _rain_, we shall not +be able to go'; 'if I _be_ well'; 'if he _come_ shortly'; 'if thou +_return_ at all in peace'; 'though he _slay_ me, yet will I trust in +him.' These events are all in the uncertain future, and are put in the +subjunctive.[31] + +"A future result or consequence is expressed by the subjunctive in such +instances as these: 'I will wait till he _return_'; 'no fear lest dinner +_cool_'; 'thou shalt stone him with stones, that he _die_'; 'take heed +lest at any time your hearts _be_ overcharged with surfeiting.' + +"Uncertainty as to a past event may arise from our own ignorance, in +which case the subjunctive is properly employed, and serves the useful +purpose of distinguishing our ignorance from our knowledge. 'If any of +my readers _has_ looked with so little attention upon the world around +him'; this would mean--'as I know that they have.' The meaning intended +is probably--'as I do not know whether they have or not,' and therefore +the subjunctive 'have' is preferable. 'If ignorance _is_ bliss,' which I +(ironically) admit. Had Gray been speaking seriously, he would have +said, 'if ignorance _be_ bliss,' he himself dissenting from the +proposition. + +"A wish contrary to the fact takes the subjunctive: 'I wish he _were_ +here' (which he is not). + +"An intention not yet carried out is also subjunctive: 'The sentence is +that you _be_ imprisoned.' + +"The only correct form of the future subjunctive is--'if I should.' We +may say, 'I do not know whether or not I _shall_ come'; but 'if I shall +come,' expressing a condition, is not an English construction. 'If he +will' has a real meaning, as being the present subjunctive of the verb +'will': 'if he be willing,' 'if he have the will.' It is in accordance +with good usage to express a future subjunctive meaning by a present +tense; but in that case the form must be strictly subjunctive, and not +indicative. 'If any member _absents_ himself, he shall forfeit a penny +for the use of the club'; this ought to be either 'absent,' or 'should +absent.' 'If thou _neglectest_ or _doest_ unwillingly what I command +thee, I will rack thee with old cramps'; better, 'if thou _neglect_ or +_do_ unwillingly,' or 'if thou should neglect.' The indicative would be +justified by the speaker's belief that the supposition is sure to turn +out to be the fact. + +"The past subjunctive may imply denial; as, 'if the book _were_ in the +library (as it is not), it should be at your service.' + +"'If the book _be_ in the library,' means, 'I do not know whether it be +or not.' We have thus the power of discriminating _three_ different +suppositions. 'If the book _is_ in the library' (as I know it is); 'if +it _be_' (I am uncertain); 'if it _were_' (as I know it is not). So, 'if +it rains,' 'if it rain,' 'if it rained.' 'Nay, and the villains march +wide between the legs, as if they _had_ gyves on,' implying that they +had not. + +"The same power of the past tense is exemplified in 'if I _could_, I +would,' which means, 'I can not'; whereas, 'if I can, I will,' means 'I +do not know.' + +"The past subjunctive may be expressed by an inversion: '_Had_ I the +power,' '_were_ I as I have been.' + +"In Principal Clauses.--The principal clause in a conditional statement +also takes the subjunctive form when it refers to what is future and +contingent, and when it refers to what is past and uncertain, or denied. +'If he should try, he _would_ succeed'; 'if I had seen him, I _should_ +have asked him.' + +"The usual forms of the subjunctive in the principal clause are 'would,' +'should,' 'would have,' 'should have'; and it is to be noted that in +this application the second persons take the inflexional ending of the +indicative: 'shouldst,' 'wouldst.' + + "'If 'twere done when 'tis done, then 't_were_ (would be) well + It _were_ (should be) done quickly.' + +"The English idiom appears sometimes to permit the use of an indicative +where we should expect a subjunctive form. 'Many acts, that _had_ been +otherwise blamable, were employed'; 'I _had_ fainted, unless I had +believed,' etc. + + "'Which else _lie_ furled and shrouded in the soul.' + +"In 'else' there is implied a conditional clause that would suit 'lie'; +or the present may be regarded as a more vivid form of expression. 'Had' +may be indicative; just as we sometimes find pluperfect indicative for +pluperfect subjunctive in the same circumstances in Latin. We may refer +it to the general tendency, as already seen in the uses of 'could,' +'would,' 'should,' etc., to express conditionality by a past tense; or +the indicative may be used as a more direct and vivid mode. 'Had' may be +subjunctive; 'I _had_ fainted' is, in construction, analogous to 'I +_should_ have fainted'; the word for futurity, 'shall,' not being +necessary to the sense, is withdrawn, and its past inflexion transferred +to 'have.' Compare Germ. _würde haben_ and _hätte_." + +In addition to the foregoing, we find in Professor Bain's "Composition +Grammar" the following: + +"The case most suited to the subjunctive is _contingent futurity_, or +the expression of an event unknown absolutely, as being still in the +future: 'If to-morrow _be_ fine, I will walk with you.' + +"'Unless I _were_ prepared,' insinuates pretty strongly that I am or am +not prepared, according to the manner of the principal clause. + + "'What's a tall man unless he _fight_?' + + "'The sword hath ended him: so shall it thee, + Unless thou _yield_ thee as my prisoner.' + + "'Who but must laugh, if such a man there _be_? + Who would not weep, if Atticus _were_ he?' + +"'I am to second Ion if he _fail_'; the failing is left quite doubtful. +'I should very imperfectly execute the task which I have undertaken if I +_were_ merely to treat of battles and sieges.' Macaulay thus implies +that the scope of his work is to be wider than mere battles and sieges. + +"The subjunctive appears in some other constructions. 'I hope to see the +exhibition before _it close_'; 'wait till he _return_'; 'thou shall +stand by the river's brink against he _come_'; 'take heed lest passion +_sway_ thy judgment'; 'speak to me, though it _be_ in wrath'; 'if he +_smite_ him with an instrument of iron so that he _die_, he is a +murderer'; 'beware this night that thou _cross_ not my footsteps' +(Shelley). + +"Again. 'Whatever this _be_'; 'whoever he _be_'; 'howe'er it _be_' +(Tennyson); and such like. + + "'And _as long_, O God, _as_ she + _Have_ a grain of love for me, + So long, no doubt, no doubt, + Shall I nurse in my dark heart, + However weary, a spark of will + Not to be trampled out.' + +"The Future Subjunctive is given in our scheme of the verb as 'should' +in all persons: 'If I should, if thou should, if he should.' In old +English, we have 'thou _shouldst_': 'if thou, Lord, _shouldst_ mark +iniquities.' + +"An inverted conditional form has taken deep root in our language, and +may be regarded as an elegant and forcible variety. While dispensing +with the conjunction, it does not cause ambiguity; nevertheless, +conditionality is well marked. + +"'_If_ you _should_ abandon your Penelope and your home for Calypso, +----': '_should_ you abandon ----.' + + "'_Go_ not my horse the better, + I must become a borrower of the night + For a dark hour or twain.' + + "'Here had we now our country's honor roof'd + _Were_ the graced person of our Banquo present.' + + "'_Be_ thou a spirit of health or goblin damn'd, + _Bring_ with thee airs from heaven or blasts from hell, + _Be_ thy intents wicked or charitable, + Thou com'st in such a questionable shape + That I will speak to thee.' + + "'_Come_ one, _come_ all, this rock shall fly + From its firm base as soon as I.'--Scott. + +"The following examples are given by Mätzner: + +"'Varney's communications, _be_ they what they might, were operating in +his favor.'--Scott. + +"'Governing persons, _were_ they never so insignificant intrinsically, +have for most part plenty of Memoir-writers.'--Carlyle. + +"'Even _were_ I disposed, I could not gratify the reader.'--Warren. + +"'Bring them back to me, _cost_ what it may.'--Coleridge, 'Wallenstein.' + +"'And _will_ you, _nill_ you, I will marry you.'--'Taming of the Shrew.' + +"_Were_ is used in the principal clause for 'should be' or 'would +be.'[32] + + "'I _were_ (=should be) a fool, not less than if a panther + Were panic-stricken by the antelope's eye, + If she escape me.'--Shelley. + + "'Were you but riding forth to air yourself, + Such parting _were_ too petty.' + +"'He _were_ (=would be) no lion, were not Romans hinds.' + + "'Should he be roused out of his sleep to-night, ... + It _were_ not well; indeed it _were_ not well.'--Shelley. + +"_Had_ is sometimes used in the principal clause for 'should have' or +'would have.'[33] + +"'Had I known this before we set out, I think I _had_ (= would have) +remained at home.'--Scott. + + "'Hadst thou been kill'd when first thou didst presume, + Thou _hadst_ not lived to kill a son of mine.' + + "'If he + Had killed me, he _had_ done a kinder deed.' + + "'For once he _had_ been ta'en or slain, + An it had not been his ministry.'--Scott. + + "'If thou hadst said him nay, it _had_ been sin.'[34] + +"'_Had_ better, rather, best, as lief, as well, etc.,' is a form that is +explained under this heading. 'Had' stands for 'would have.' The +exploded notion that 'had' is a corrupted 'would' must be guarded +against. + +"'I _had_ as lief not be.' That is--'I _would_ as lief _have_ not (_to_) +be' = 'I would as willingly (or as soon) have non-existence.' + +"'_Had_ you rather Cæsar were living----?' '_Would_ you rather _have_ +(_would_ you _prefer_ that) Cæsar were living?' + +"'He _had_ better reconsider the matter' is 'he _would_ better _have_ +(_to_) reconsider the matter.' + + "'I _had_ rather be a kitten and cry mew + Than one of these same metre ballad-mongers; + I _had_ rather hear a brazen canstick turned.' + +"Let us compare this form with another that appears side by side with it +in early writers. (Cp. Lat. 'habeo' and 'mihi est.') + +"The construction of 'had' is thus illustrated in Chaucer, as in--Nonne +Prestes Tale, 300: + + "'By God, I _hadde_ levere than my scherte, + That ye hadde rad his legend, as I have.' + +"Compare now: + + "'Ah _me were levere_ with lawe _loose_ my lyf + Then so to fote hem _falle_.'--Wright, 'Polit. S.' + +"Here 'were' is unquestionably for 'would be'; and the whole expression +might be given by 'had,' thus: 'Ah, _I hadde_ levere ----,' '(to) +_loose_' and '(to) _falle_,' changing from subjects of 'were' to objects +of 'hadde.' + +"So, in the Chaucer example above, if we substitute 'be' for 'have,' we +shall get the same meaning, thus: 'By God, _me were_ levere ----.' The +interchange helps us to see more clearly that 'hadde' is to be explained +as subjunctive for 'would have.'" See INDICATIVE AND SUBJUNCTIVE. + +SUCH. "I have never before seen _such_ a large ox." By a little +transposing of the words of this sentence, we have, "I have never before +seen an ox _such_ large," which makes it quite clear that we should say +_so large an ox_ and not _such a large ox_. As proof that this error in +the use of _such_ is common, we find in Mr. George Washington Moon's +"Dean's English and Bad English," the sentence, "With all due deference +to _such_ a high authority on _such_ a very important matter." With a +little transposing, this sentence is made to read, "With all due +deference to an authority _such_ high on a matter _such_ very +important." It is clear that the sentence should read, "With all due +deference to _so_ high an authority on _so_ very important a matter." +The phrases, _such_ a handsome, _such_ a lovely, _such_ a long, _such_ +narrow, etc., are incorrect, and should be _so_ handsome, _so_ lovely, +_so_ long, and so on. + +SUMMON. This verb comes in for its full share of mauling. We often hear +such expressions as "I will _summons_ him," instead of _summon_ him; +and "He was _summonsed_," instead of _summoned_. + +SUPERFLUOUS WORDS. "Whenever I try to write well, I _always_ find I can +do it." "I shall have finished by the _latter_ end of the week." "Iron +sinks _down_ in water." "He combined _together_ all the facts." "My +brother called on me, and we _both_ took a walk." "I can do it _equally_ +as well as he." "We could not forbear _from_ doing it." "Before I go, I +must _first_ be paid." "We were compelled to return _back_." "We forced +them to retreat _back_ fully a mile." "His conduct was approved _of_ by +everybody." "They conversed _together_ for a long time." "The balloon +rose _up_ very rapidly." "Give me another _one_." "Come home as soon as +_ever_ you can." "Who finds him _in_ money?" "He came in last _of all_." +"He has _got_ all he can carry." "What have you _got_?" "No matter what +I have _got_." "I have _got_ the headache." "Have you _got_ any +brothers?" "No, but I have _got_ a sister." All the words in _italics_ +are superfluous. + +SUPERIOR. This word is not unfrequently used for able, excellent, +gifted; as, "She is a _superior_ woman," meaning an _excellent_ woman; +"He is a _superior_ man," meaning an _able_ man. The expression _an +inferior man_ is not less objectionable. + +SUPPOSITITIOUS. This word is _properly_ used in the sense of put by a +trick into the place or character belonging to another, spurious, +counterfeit, not genuine; and _improperly_ in the sense of conjectural, +hypothetical, imaginary, presumptive; as, "This is a _supposititious_ +case," meaning an _imaginary_ or _presumptive_ case. "The English critic +derived his materials from a stray copy of some _supposititious_ indexes +devised by one of the 'Post' reporters."--"Nation." Here is a correct +use of the word. + +SWOSH. There is a kind of ill-balanced brain in which the reflective and +the imaginative very much outweight the perceptive. Men to whom this +kind of an organization has been given generally have active minds, but +their minds never present anything clearly. To their mental vision all +is ill-defined, chaotic. They see everything in a haze. Whether such men +talk or write, they are verbose, illogical, intangible, +will-o'-the-wispish. Their thoughts are phantomlike; like shadows, they +continually escape their grasp. In their talk they will, after long +dissertations, tell you that they have not said just what they would +like to say; there is always a subtle, lurking something still +unexpressed, which something is the real essence of the matter, and +which your penetration is expected to divine. In their writings they are +eccentric, vague, labyrinthine, pretentious, transcendental,[35] and +frequently ungrammatical. These men, if write they must, should confine +themselves to the descriptive; for when they enter the essayist's +domain, which they are very prone to do, they write what I will venture +to call _swosh_. + +We find examples in plenty of this kind of writing in the essays of Mr. +Ralph Waldo Emerson. Indeed, the impartial critic who will take the +trouble to examine any of Mr. Emerson's essays at all carefully, is +quite sure to come to the conclusion that Mr. Emerson has seen +everything he has ever made the subject of his essays very much as +London is seen from the top of Saint Paul's in a fog. + +Mr. Emerson's definition of Nature runs thus: "Philosophically +considered, the universe is composed of Nature and the Soul. Strictly +speaking, therefore, all that is separate from us, all which philosophy +distinguishes from the _Not Me_--that is, both Nature and Art, and all +other men, and my own body--must be ranked under this name 'NATURE.' In +enumerating the values of Nature and casting up their sum, I shall use +the word in both senses--in its common and in its philosophical import. +In inquiries so general as our present one, the inaccuracy is not +material; no confusion of thought will occur. _Nature_, in the common +sense, refers to essences unchanged by man: space, the air, the river, +the leaf. _Art_ is applied to the mixture of his will with the same +things, as in a house, a canal, a picture, a statue. But his operations, +taken together, are so insignificant--a little chipping, baking, +patching, and washing--that in an impression so grand as that of the +world on the human mind they do not vary the result." + +In "Letters and Social Aims" Mr. Emerson writes: "Eloquence is the power +to translate a truth into language perfectly intelligible to the person +to whom you speak. He who would convince the worthy Mr. Dunderhead of +any truth which Dunderhead does not see, must be a master of his art. +Declamation is common; but such possession of thought as is here +required, such practical chemistry as the conversion of a truth written +in God's language into a truth in Dunderhead's language, is one of the +most beautiful and cogent weapons that is forged in the shop of the +Divine Artificer." + +The first paragraph of Mr. Emerson's "Essay on Art" reads: "All +departments of life at the present day--Trade, Politics, Letters, +Science, or Religion--seem to feel, and to labor to express, the +identity of their law. They are rays of one sun; they translate each +into a new language the sense of the other. They are sublime when seen +as emanations of a Necessity contradistinguished from the vulgar Fate by +being instant and alive, and dissolving man, as well as his works, in +its flowing beneficence. This influence is conspicuously visible in the +principles and history of Art." + +Another paragraph from Mr. Emerson's "Essay on Eloquence": "The orator, +as we have seen, must be a substantial personality. Then, first, he must +have power of statement--must have the fact, and know how to tell it. In +a knot of men conversing on any subject, the person who knows most about +it will have the ear of the company, if he wishes it, and lead the +conversation, no matter what genius or distinction other men there +present may have; and, in any public assembly, him who has the facts, +and can and will state them, people will listen to, though he is +otherwise ignorant, though he is hoarse and ungrateful, though he +stutters and screams." + +Mr. Emerson, in his "Essay on Prudence," writes: "There are all degrees +of proficiency in knowledge of the world. It is sufficient to our +present purpose to indicate three. One class live to the utility of the +symbol, esteeming health and wealth a final good. Another class live +above this mark to the beauty of the symbol, as the poet and artist, and +the naturalist and man of science. A third class live above the beauty +of the symbol to the beauty of the thing signified; these are wise men. +The first class have common sense; the second, taste; and the third, +spiritual perception. Once in a long time a man traverses the whole +scale, and sees and enjoys the symbol solidly; then, also, has a clear +eye for its beauty; and, lastly, whilst he pitches his tent on this +sacred volcanic isle of nature, does not offer to build houses and +barns thereon, reverencing the splendor of God which he sees bursting +through each chink and cranny." + +Those who are wont to accept others at their self-assessment and to see +things through other people's eyes--and there are many such--are in +danger of thinking this kind of writing very fine, when in fact it is +not only the veriest _swosh_, but that kind of swosh that excites at +least an occasional doubt with regard to the writer's sanity. We can +make no greater mistake than to suppose that the reason we do not +understand these rhetorical contortionists is because they are so subtle +and profound. We understand them quite as well as they understand +themselves. At their very best, they are but incoherent diluters of +other men's ideas. They have but one thing to recommend them--honesty. +They believe in themselves. + +"Whatever is dark is deep. Stir a puddle, and it is deeper than a +well."--Swift. + +SYNECDOCHE. The using of the name of a part for that of the whole, the +name of the whole for that of a part, or the using of a definite number +for an indefinite, is called, in rhetoric, _synecdoche_. "The bay was +covered with _sails_"; i. e., with _ships_. "The man was old, careworn, +and gray"; i. e., literally, _his hair_, not the man, was gray. "_Nine +tenths_ of every man's happiness depends on the reception he meets with +in the world." "He had seen seventy _winters_." "Thus spoke the +_tempter_": here the part of the character is named that suits the +occasion. + +"His roof was at the service of the outcast; the unfortunate ever found +a welcome at his threshold." + +TAKE. I copy from the "London Queen": "The verb _to take_ is open to +being considered a vulgar verb when used in reference to dinner, tea, or +to refreshments of any kind. 'Will you _take_' is not considered _comme +il faut_; the verb in favor for the offering of civilities being _to +have_." According to "The Queen," then, we must say, "Will you _have_ +some dinner, tea, coffee, wine, fish, beef, salad," etc. + +TASTE OF. The redundant _of_, often used, in this country, in connection +with the transitive verbs _to taste_ and _to smell_, is a Yankeeism. We +_taste_ or _smell_ a thing, not taste _of_ nor smell _of_ a thing. The +neuter verbs _to taste_ and _to smell_ are often followed by _of_. "If +butter _tastes of_ brass." "For age but _tastes of_ pleasures." + + "You shall stifle in your own report, + and _smell of_ calumny."--Shakespeare. + +TAUTOLOGY. Among the things to be avoided in writing is _tautology_, +which is _the repeating of the same thought_, whether in the same or in +different words. + +TAUTOPHONY. "A regard for harmony requires us, in the progress of a +sentence, to avoid repeating a sound by employing the same word more +than once, or using, in contiguous words, similar combinations of +letters. This fault is known as _tautology_."--Dr. G. P. Quackenbos, +"Advanced Course of Composition and Rhetoric," p. 300. Dr. Quackenbos is +in error. The repetition of the same _sense_ is tautology, and the +repetition of the same _sound_, or, as Dr. Quackenbos has it, "the +repeating of a sound by employing the same word more than once, or by +using in contiguous words similar combinations of letters," is +_tautophony_. + +TEACH. To impart knowledge, to inform, to instruct; as, "_Teach_ me how +to do it"; "_Teach_ me to swim"; "He _taught_ me to write." The +uncultured often misuse _learn_ for _teach_. See LEARN. + +TENSE. The errors made in the use of the tenses are manifold. The one +most frequently made by persons of culture--the one that everybody +makes would, perhaps, be nearer the fact--is that of using the +_imperfect_ instead of the _perfect_ tense; thus, "I never _saw_ it +played but once": say, _have seen_. "He was the largest man I ever +_saw_": say, _have seen_. "I never in my life _had_ such trouble": say, +_have had_. Another frequent error, the making of which is not confined +to the unschooled, is that of using two verbs in a past tense when only +one should be in that time; thus, "I intended to _have gone_": say, _to +go_. "It was my intention to _have_ come": say, _to come_. "I expected +to _have found_ you here": say, _to find_. "I was very desirous to _have +gone_": say, _to go_. "He was better than I expected to _have found_ +him": say, _to find_. + +Among other common errors are the following: "I _seen_ him when he +_done_ it": say, "I _saw_ him when he _did_ it." "I should have _went_ +home": say, _gone_. "If he had _went_": say, _gone_. "I wish you had +_went_": say, _gone_. "He has _went_ out": say, _gone_. "I _come_ to +town this morning": say, _came_. "He _come_ to me for advice": say, +_came_. "It _begun_ very late": say, _began_. "It had already _began_": +say, _begun_. "The following toasts were _drank_": say, _drunk_. "His +text was that God _was_ love": say, _is_ love. Another error is made in +such sentences as these: "If I had _have_ known": say, _had known_. "If +he had _have_ come as he promised": say, _had come_. "If you had _have_ +told me": say, _had told_. + +TESTIMONY. See EVIDENCE. + +THAN. _Than_ and _as_ implying comparison have the same case after as +before them. "He owes more than _me_": read, than _I_--i. e., more than +_I owe_. "John is not so old as _her_": read, as _she_--i. e., as _she +is_. We should say, then, "He is stronger than _she_," "She is older +than _he_," "You are richer than _I_," etc. But it does not always +happen that the nominative case comes after _than_ or _as_. "I love you +more than _him_," "I give you more than _him_," "I love you as well as +_him_"; that is to say, "I love you more than _I love him_," "I give you +more than _I give him_," "I love you as well as _I love him_." Take away +_him_ and put _he_ in all these cases, and the grammar is just as good, +but the meaning is quite different. "I love you as well as _him_," means +that I love you as well _as I love him_; but, "I love you as well as +_he_," means that I love you as well _as he loves you_. + +THAN WHOM. Cobbett, in his "Grammar of the English Language," says: +"There is an erroneous way of employing _whom_, which I must point out +to your particular attention, because it is so often seen in very good +writers, and because it is very deceiving. 'The Duke of Argyll, _than +whom_ no man was more hearty in the cause.' 'Cromwell, _than whom_ no +man was better skilled in artifice.' A hundred such phrases might be +collected from Hume, Blackstone, and even from Drs. Blair and Johnson. +Yet they are bad grammar. In all such cases, _who_ should be made use +of: for it is _nominative_ and not objective. 'No man was more hearty in +the cause _than he was_'; 'No man was better skilled in artifice _than +he was_.'[36] It is a very common Parliament-house phrase, and therefore +presumably _corrupt_; but it is a Dr. Johnson phrase, too: 'Pope, _than +whom_ few men had more vanity.' The Doctor did not say, 'Myself, _than +whom_ few men have been found more base, having, in my dictionary, +described a pensioner as a slave of state, and having afterward myself +become a pensioner.' + +"I differ in this matter from Bishop Lowth, who says that 'The relative +_who_, having reference to no verb or preposition understood, but only +to its antecedent, when it follows _than_, is _always in the objective +case_; even though the pronoun, if substituted in its place, would be in +the nominative.' And then he gives an instance from Milton. 'Beelzebub, +_than whom_, Satan except, none higher sat.' It is curious enough that +this sentence of the Bishop is, itself, ungrammatical! Our poor +unfortunate _it_ is so placed as to make it a matter of doubt whether +the Bishop meant it to relate to _who_ or to _its antecedent_. However, +we know its meaning; but, though he says that _who_, when it follows +_than_, is always in the objective case, he gives us no reason for this +departure from a clear general principle; unless we are to regard as a +reason the example of Milton, who has committed many hundreds, if not +thousands, of grammatical errors, many of which the Bishop himself has +pointed out. There is a sort of side-wind attempt at reason in the +words, 'having reference to no _verb_ or _preposition_ understood.' I do +not see the _reason_, even if this could be; but it appears to me +impossible that a noun or pronoun can exist in a grammatical state +without having reference to some _verb_ or _preposition_, either +expressed or understood. What is meant by Milton? 'Than Beelzebub, none +_sat_ higher, except Satan.' And when, in order to avoid the repetition +of the word Beelzebub, the relative becomes necessary, the full +construction must be, 'no devil sat higher _than who_ sat, except +Satan'; and not, 'no devil sat higher _than whom_ sat.'[37] The +supposition that there can be a noun or pronoun which has reference to +_no verb_ and _no preposition_, is certainly a mistake." + +Of this, Dr. Fitzedward Hall remarks, in his "Recent Exemplifications of +False Philology": "That any one but Cobbett would abide this as English +is highly improbable; and how the expression--a quite classical +one--which he discards can be justified grammatically, except by calling +its _than_ a preposition, others may resolve at their leisure and +pleasure." + +THANKS. There are many persons who think it in questionable taste to use +_thanks_ for _thank you_. + +THAT. The best writers often appear to grope after a separate employment +for the several relatives. + +"'THAT' _is the proper restrictive, explicative, limiting, or defining +relative_. + +"'_That_,' the neuter of the definite article, was early in use as a +neuter relative. All the other oldest relatives gradually dropt away, +and 'that' came to be applied also to plural antecedents, and to +masculines and feminines. When 'as,' 'which,' and 'who' came forward to +share the work of 'that,' there seems to have arisen not a little +uncertainty about the relatives, and we find curious double forms: 'whom +that,' 'which that,' 'which as,' etc. Gower has, 'Venus _whose_ priest +_that_ I am'; Chaucer writes--'This Abbot _which that_ was an holy man,' +'his love _the which that_ he oweth.' By the Elizabethan period, these +double forms have disappeared, and all the relatives are used singly +without hesitation. From then till now, 'that' has been struggling with +'who' and 'which' to regain superior favor, with varying success. 'Who' +is used for persons, 'which' for things, in both numbers; so is 'that'; +and the only opportunity of a special application of 'that' lies in the +important distinction between coördination and restriction. Now, as +'who' and 'which' are most commonly preferred for coördination, it would +be a clear gain to confine them to this sense, and to reserve 'that' for +the restrictive application alone. This arrangement, then, would _fall +in with the most general use of 'that,' especially beyond the limits of +formal composition_. + +"The use of 'that' solely as restrictive, with 'who' and 'which' solely +as coördinating, _also avoids ambiguities_ that often attend the +indiscriminate use of 'who' and 'which' for coördinate and for +restrictive clauses. Thus, when we say, 'his conduct surprised his +English friends, _who_ had not known him long,' we may mean either that +his English friends generally were surprised (the relative being, in +that case, _coördinating_), or that only a portion of them--namely, the +particular portion that had not known him long--were surprised. In this +last case the relative is meant to define or explain the antecedent, and +the doubt would be removed by writing thus: 'his English friends _that_ +had not known him long.' So in the following sentence there is a similar +ambiguity in the use of 'which': 'the next winter _which_ you will spend +in town will give you opportunities of making a more prudent choice.' +This may mean, either 'you will spend next winter in town' ('which' +being coördinating), or 'the next of the winters when you are to live in +town,' let that come when it may. In the former case, 'which' is the +proper relative; in the latter case, the meaning is restrictive or +defining, and would be best brought out by 'that': 'the next winter +_that_ you will spend in town.' + +"A further consideration in favor of employing 'that' for explicative +clauses is the unpleasant effect arising from the _too frequent +repetition of 'who' and 'which.'_ Grammarians often recommend 'that' as +a means of varying the style; but this end ought to be sought in +subservience to the still greater end of perspicuity. + +"The following examples will serve further to illustrate the distinction +between _that_, on the one hand, and _who_ and _which_, on the other: + +"'In general, Mr. Burchell was fondest of the company of children, +_whom_ he used to call harmless little men.' 'Whom' is here +idiomatically used, being the equivalent of '_and them_ he used to +call,' etc. + + "'Bacon at last, a mighty man, arose, + _Whom_ a wise king and nation chose + Lord Chancellor of both their laws.' + +Here, also, 'whom' is equal to 'and him.' + +"In the following instance the relative is restrictive or defining, and +'that' would be preferable: 'the conclusion of the "Iliad" is like the +exit of a great man out of company _whom_ he has entertained +magnificently.' Compare another of Addison's sentences: 'a man of polite +imagination is let into a great many pleasures _that_ the vulgar are not +capable of receiving.' + +"Both relatives are introduced discriminatingly in this passage:--'She +had learned that from Mrs. Wood, _who_ had heard it from her husband, +_who_ had heard it at the public-house from the landlord, _who_ had been +let into the secret by the boy _that_ carried the beer to some of the +prisoners.' + +"The following sentences are ambiguous under the modern system of using +'who' for both purposes:--'I met the boatman _who_ took me across the +ferry.' If 'who' is the proper relative here, the meaning is, 'I met the +boatman, _and he_ took me across,' it being supposed that the boatman is +known and definite. But if there be several boatmen, and I wish to +indicate one in particular by the circumstance that he had taken me +across the ferry, I should use 'that.' 'The youngest boy _who_ has +learned to dance is James.' This means either 'the youngest boy is +James, _and he_ has learned to dance,' or, 'of the boys, the youngest +that has learned to dance is James.' This last sense is restrictive, and +'that' should be used. + +"Turning now to 'which,' we may have a series of parallel examples. 'The +court, _which_ gives currency to manners, should be exemplary': here the +meaning is 'the court should be exemplary, _for the court_ gives +currency to manners.' 'Which' is the idiomatic relative in this case. +'The cat, _which_ you despise so much, is a very useful animal.' The +relative here also is coördinating, and not restrictive. If it were +intended to point out one individual cat specially despised by the +person addressed, 'that' would convey the sense. 'A theory _which_ does +not tend to the improvement of practice is utterly unworthy of regard.' +The meaning is restrictive; 'a theory _that_ does not tend.' The +following sentence is one of many from Goldsmith that give 'that' +instead of 'which':--'Age, _that_ lessens the enjoyment of life, +increases our desire of living.' Thackeray also was fond of this usage. +But it is not very common. + +"'Their faith tended to make them improvident; but a wise instinct +taught them that if there was one thing _which_ ought not to be left to +fate, or to the precepts of a deceased prophet, it was the artillery'; a +case where 'that' is the proper relative. + +"'All words, _which_ are signs of complex ideas, furnish matter of +mistake.' This gives an erroneous impression, and should be 'all words +_that_ are signs of complex ideas.' + +"'In all cases of prescription, the universal practice of judges is to +direct juries by analogy to the Statute of Limitations, to decide +against incorporeal rights _which_ have for many years been +relinquished': say instead, 'incorporeal rights _that_ have for many +years,' and the sense is clear. + +"It is necessary for the proper understanding of 'which' to advert to +its peculiar function of referring to a whole clause as the antecedent: +'William ran along the top of the wall, _which_ alarmed his mother very +much.' The antecedent is obviously not the noun 'wall,' but the fact +expressed by the entire clause--'William ran,' etc. 'He by no means +wants sense, _which_ only serves to aggravate his former folly'; namely, +(not 'sense,' but) the circumstance 'that he does not want sense.' 'He +is neither over-exalted by prosperity, nor too much depressed by +misfortune; _which_ you must allow marks a great mind.' 'We have done +many things _which_ we ought not to have done,' might mean 'we ought not +_to have done many things_'; that is, 'we ought to have done few +things.' 'That' would give the exact sense intended: 'we have done many +things _that_ we ought not to have done.' 'He began to look after his +affairs himself, _which_ was the way to make them prosper.' + +"We must next allude to the cases where the relative is governed by a +preposition. We can use a preposition before 'who' and 'which,' but when +the relative is 'that,' the preposition must be thrown to the end of the +clause. Owing to an imperfect appreciation of the genius of our +language, offense was taken at this usage by some of our leading writers +at the beginning of last century, and to this circumstance we must refer +the disuse of 'that' as the relative of restriction.[38] + +"'It is curious that the only circumstance connected with Scott, and +related by Lockhart, _of which_ I was a witness, is incorrectly stated +in the "Life of Sir Walter."'--Leslie's 'Memoirs.' The relative should +be restrictive: '_that_ I was a witness _of_.' + +"'There are many words _which_ are adjectives _which_ have nothing to do +with the qualities of the nouns _to which_ they are put.'--Cobbett. +Better: 'there are many words _that_ are adjectives _that_ have nothing +to do with the qualities of the nouns (_that_) they are put _to_.' + +"'Other objects, _of which_ we have not occasion to speak so frequently, +we do not designate by a name of their own.' This, if amended, would be: +'other objects _that_ we have not occasion to speak _of_ so frequently, +we do not,' etc. + +"'Sorrow for the dead is the only sorrow _from which_ we refuse to be +divorced': 'the only sorrow (_that_) we refuse to be divorced _from_.' + +"'Why, there is not a single sentence in this play _that_ I do not know +the meaning _of_.'--Addison. + +"'Originality is a thing we constantly clamor _for_, and constantly +quarrel _with_.'--Carlyle. + +"'A spirit more amiable, but less vigorous, than Luther's would have +shrunk back from the dangers _which_ he braved and surmounted': '_that_ +he braved'; 'the dangers _braved_ and _surmounted_ by him.' + +"'Nor is it at all improbable that the emigrants had been guilty of +those faults _from which_ civilized men _who_ settle among an +uncivilized people are rarely free.'--Macaulay. 'Nor is it at all +improbable that the emigrants had been guilty of _the_ faults _that_ +(_such_ faults _as_) civilized men _that settle_ (_settling_, or +_settled_) among an uncivilized people are rarely free _from_.' + +"'Prejudices are notions or opinions _which_ the mind entertains without +knowing the grounds and reasons of them, and _which_ are assented to +without examination.'--Berkeley. The 'which' in both cases should be +'that,' but the relative may be entirely dispensed with by participial +conversion: 'prejudices are notions or opinions _entertained_ by the +mind without knowing the grounds and reasons of them, and _assented_ to +without examination.' + +"The too frequent repetition of 'who' and 'which' may be avoided by +resolving them into the conjunction and personal or other pronoun: 'In +such circumstances, the utmost that Bosquet could be expected to do was +to hold his ground, (_which_) _and this_ he did.'"--Bain's "Higher +English Grammar." + +This word is sometimes vulgarly used for _so_; thus, "I was _that_ +nervous I forgot everything"; "I was _that_ frightened I could hardly +stand." + +THE. Bungling writers sometimes write sheer nonsense, or say something +very different from what they have in their minds, by the simple +omission of the definite article; thus, "The indebtedness of the +English tongue to the French, Latin and Greek is disclosed in almost +every sentence framed." According to this, there is such a thing as a +French, Latin and Greek tongue. Professor Townsend meant to say: "The +indebtedness of the English tongue to the French, _the_ Latin, and _the_ +Greek," etc. + +THEN. The use of this word as an adjective is condemned in very emphatic +terms by some of our grammarians, and yet this use of it has the +sanction of such eminent writers as Addison, Johnson, Whately, and Sir +J. Hawkins. Johnson says, "In his _then_ situation," which, if brevity +be really the soul of wit, certainly has much more soul in it than "In +the situation he then occupied." However, it is doubtful whether _then_, +as an adjective, will ever again find favor with careful writers. + +THENCE. See WHENCE. + +THINK FOR. We not unfrequently hear a superfluous _for_ tacked to a +sentence; thus, "You will find that he knows more about the affair than +you think _for_." + +THOSE KIND. "_Those_ kind of apples _are_ best": read, "_That_ kind of +apples _is_ best." It is truly remarkable that many persons who can +justly lay claim to the possession of considerable culture use this +barbarous combination. It would be just as correct to say, "Those flock +of geese," or "Those drove of cattle," as to say, "Those _sort_ or +_kind_ of people." + +THOSE WHO. This phrase, applied in a restrictive sense, is the modern +substitute for the ancient idiom _they that_, an idiom in accordance +with the true meaning of _that_. + +"'_They that_ told me the story said'; 'Blessed are _they that_ mourn'; +'and Simon and _they that_ were with him'; 'I love _them that_ love me, +and _they that_ seek me early shall find me'; '_they that_ are whole +have no need of a physician'; 'how sweet is the rest of _them that_ +labor!' 'I can not tell who to compare them to so fitly as to _them +that_ pick pockets in the presence of the judge'; '_they that_ enter +into the state of marriage cast a die of the greatest contingency' (J. +Taylor). + + "'_That_ man hath perfect blessedness + _Who_ walketh not astray,' + +if expressed according to the old idiom would be, '_the_ man +hath--_that_ walketh.' + +"'That' and 'those,' as demonstrative adjectives, refer backward, and +are not therefore well suited for the forward reference implied in +making use of 'that which' and 'those who' as restrictive relatives. It +is also very cumbrous to say '_that_ case _to which_ you allude' for +'the case (_that_) you allude _to_.' + +"Take now the following: 'The Duke of Wellington is not one of _those +who_ interfere with matters _over which_ he has no control': 'the Duke +is not one of _them that_ interfere in matters _that_ they have no +control _over_ (matters _that_ they can not control, _beyond their +control_, _out of their province_).' If 'them that' sounds too +antiquated, we may adopt as a convenient compromise, 'the Duke is not +one of _those that_'; or, 'the Duke is not one to _interfere_ in matters +out of his province'; 'the duke is not one _that interferes_ with _what_ +he has no control _over_.'"--Bain. + +THREADBARE QUOTATIONS. Among the things that are in bad taste in +speaking and writing, the use of threadbare quotations and expressions +is in the front rank. Some of these _usés et cassés_ old-timers are the +following: "Their name is legion"; "hosts of friends"; "the upper ten"; +"Variety is the spice of life"; "Distance lends enchantment to the +view"; "A thing of beauty is a joy for ever"; "the light fantastic toe"; +"own the soft impeachment"; "fair women and brave men"; "revelry by +night"; "A rose by any other name would smell as sweet." + +TO. It is a well-established rule of grammar that _to_, the sign of the +infinitive mood, should not be used for the infinitive itself: thus, "He +has not done it, nor is he likely _to_." It should be, "nor is he likely +_to do it_." + +We often find _to_, when the sign of the infinitive, separated by an +adverb from the verb to which it belongs. Professor A. P. Peabody says +that no standard English writer makes this mistake, and that, so far as +he knows, it occurs frequently with but one respectable American writer. + +Very often _to_ is used instead of _at_; thus, "I have been _to_ the +theatre, _to_ church, _to_ my uncle's, _to_ a concert," and so on. In +all these cases, the preposition to use is clearly _at_, and not _to_. +See, also, AND. + +TO THE FORE. An old idiomatic phrase, now freely used again. + +TONGUE. "Much _tongue_ and much judgment seldom go +together."--L'Estrange. See LANGUAGE. + +TOWARD. Those who profess to know about such things say that etymology +furnishes no pretext for the adding of _s_ to _ward_ in such words as +_backward_, _forward_, _toward_, _upward_, _onward_, _downward_, +_afterward_, _heavenward_, _earthward_, and the like. + +TRANSFERRED EPITHET. This is the shifting of a qualifying word from its +proper subject to some allied subject. Examples: + + "The little fields made green + By husbandry of many _thrifty years_." + +"He plods his _weary way_." "Hence to your _idle bed_!" By this figure +the diction is rendered more terse and vigorous; it is much used in +verse. For the sake of conciseness, it is used in prose in such phrases +as the _lunatic asylum_, the _criminal court_, the _condemned cell_, +the _blind asylum_, the _cholera hospital_, the _foundling asylum_, and +the like. + + "Still in harmonious intercourse they lived + The rural day, and talked the flowing heart." + +"There be some who, with everything to make them happy, plod their +discontented and melancholy way through life, less grateful than the dog +that licks the hand that feeds it." + +TRANSPIRE. This is one of the most frequently misused words in the +language. Its primary meaning is to evaporate insensibly through the +pores, but in this sense it is not used; in this sense we use its twin +sister _per_spire. _Transpire_ is now properly used in the sense of to +escape from secrecy, to become known, to leak out; and improperly used +in the sense of to occur, to happen, to come to pass, and to elapse. The +word is correctly used thus: "You will not let a word concerning the +matter _transpire_"; "It _transpires_ [leaks out] that S. & B. control +the enterprise"; "Soon after the funeral it _transpired_ [became known] +that the dead woman was alive"; "It has _transpired_ [leaked out] that +the movement originated with John Blank"; "No report of the proceedings +was allowed to _transpire_"; "It has not yet _transpired_ who the +candidate is to be." The word is incorrectly used thus: "The Mexican war +_transpired_ in 1847"; "The drill will _transpire_ under shelter"; "The +accident _transpired_ one day last week"; "Years will _transpire_ before +it will be finished"; "More than a century _transpired_ before it was +revisited by civilized man." + +TRIFLING MINUTIÆ. The meaning of _trifles_ and of _minutiæ_ is so nearly +the same that no one probably ever uses the phrase _trifling minutiæ_ +except from thoughtlessness. + +TRUSTWORTHY. See RELIABLE. + +TRY. This word is often improperly used for _make_. We _make_ +experiments, not _try_ them, which is as incorrect as it would be to +say, _try_ the _attempt_, or the _trial_. + +UGLY. In England, this word is restricted to meaning ill-favored; with +us it is often used--and not without authority--in the sense of +ill-tempered, vicious, unmanageable. + +UNBEKNOWN. This word is no longer used except by the unschooled. + +UNDERHANDED. This word, though found in the dictionaries, is a +vulgarism, and as such is to be avoided. The proper word is _underhand_. +An _underhand_, not an _underhanded_, proceeding. + +UNIVERSAL--ALL. "He is _universally_ esteemed by _all_ who know him." If +he is _universally_ esteemed, he must be esteemed by _all_ who know him; +and, if he is esteemed by _all_ who know him, he must be _universally_ +esteemed. + +UPWARD OF. This phrase is often used, if not improperly, at least +inelegantly, for _more than_; thus, "I have been here for _upward of_ a +year"; "For _upward of_ three quarters of a century she has," etc., +meaning, for _more than_ three quarters of a century. + +UTTER. This verb is often misused for _say_, _express_. To _utter_ means +to _speak_, to _pronounce_; and its derivative _utterance_ means the +act, manner, or power of uttering, vocal expression; as, "the utterance +of articulate sounds." We _utter_ a cry; _express_ a thought or +sentiment; _speak_ our mind; and, though prayers are _said_, they may be +_uttered_ in a certain tone or manner. "Mr. Blank is right in all he +_utters_": read, _says_. "The court _uttered_ a sentiment that all will +applaud": read, _expressed_ a sentiment. + +The primary meaning of the adjective _utter_ is outer, on the outside; +but it is no longer used in this sense. It is now used in the sense of +complete, total, perfect, mere, entire; but he who uses it +indiscriminately as a synonym of these words will frequently utter +_utter_ nonsense--i. e., he will utter that which is without the pale of +sense. For example, we can not say _utter_ concord, but we can say +_utter_ discord--i. e., without the pale of concord. + +VALUABLE. The following sentence, which recently appeared in one of the +more fastidious of our morning papers, is offered as an example of +extreme slipshodness in the use of language: "Sea captains are among the +most _valuable_ contributors to the Park aviary." What the writer +probably meant to say is, "Sea captains are among those whose +contributions to the Park aviary are the most valuable." + +VAST. This word is often met with in forcible-feeble diction, where it +is used instead of _great_ or _large_ to qualify such words as number, +majority, multitude, and the like. Big words and expletives should be +used only where they are really needed; where they are not really +needed, they go wide of the object aimed at. The sportsman that hunts +small game with buck-shot comes home empty-handed. + +VERACITY. The loss would be a small one if we were to lose this word and +its derivatives. Truth and its derivatives would supply all our needs. +In the phrase so often heard, "A man of truth and veracity," _veracity_ +is entirely superfluous, it having precisely the same meaning as truth. +The phrase, "A big, large man," is equally good diction. + +VERBIAGE. An unnecessary profusion of words is called _verbiage_: +verbosity, wordiness. + +"I thought what I read of it _verbiage_."--Johnson. + +Sometimes a better name than verbiage for wordiness would be +_emptiness_. Witness: "Clearness may be developed and cultivated in +three ways, (_a_) By constantly practicing in heart and life the +thoughts and ways of honesty and frankness." The first sentence +evidently means, "Clearness may be _attained_ in three ways"; but what +the second sentence means--if it means anything--is more than I can +tell. Professor L. T. Townsend, "Art of Speech," vol. i, p. 130, adds: +"This may be regarded as the surest path to greater transparency of +style." The transparency of Dr. Townsend's style is peculiar. Also, p. +144, we find: "The laws and rules[1] thus far laid down[2] furnish ample +foundation for[3] the general statement that an easy and natural[4] +expression, an exact verbal incarnation of one's thinking,[5] together +with the power of using appropriate figures, and of making nice +discriminations between approximate synonyms,[6] each being an important +factor in correct style, are attained in two ways.[7] (1) Through +moral[8] and mental discipline. (2) Through continuous and intimate[9] +acquaintance with such authors as best exemplify those attainments."[10] + +1. Would not _laws_ cover the whole ground? 2. _En passant_ I would +remark that Dr. Townsend did not make these laws, though he so +intimates. 3. I suggest the word _justify_ in place of these four. 4. +What is natural is easy; _easy_, therefore, is superfluous. 5. If this +means anything, it does not mean more than the adjective _clear_ would +express, if properly used in the sentence. 6. _Approximate_ synonyms!! +Who ever heard of any antagonistic or even of dissimilar synonyms? 7. +The transparency of this sentence is not unlike the transparency of +corrugated glass. 8. What has morality to do with correctness? 9. An +intimate acquaintance would suffice for most people. 10. Those +attainments! What are they? Dr. Townsend's corrugated style makes it +hard to tell. + +This paragraph is so badly conceived throughout that it is well-nigh +impossible to make head, middle, or tail of it; still, if I am at all +successful in guessing what Professor Townsend wanted to say in it, +then--when shorn of its redundancy and high-flown emptiness--it will +read somewhat like this: "The laws thus far presented justify the +general statement that a clear and natural mode of expression--together +with that art of using appropriate figures and that ability properly to +discriminate between synonyms which are necessary to correctness--is +attained in two ways. (1) By mental discipline. (2) By the study of our +best authors." + +The following sentence is from a leading magazine: "If we begin a system +of interference, _regulating men's gains_, bolstering here, _in order to +strengthen this interest_, [and] repressing _elsewhere_ [there], in +order to equalize wealth, we shall do _an_ [a] _immense_ deal of +mischief, and without bringing about a more agreeable condition of +things _than now_ [we] shall _simply_ discourage enterprise, repress +industry, and check material growth _in all directions_." Read without +the eighteen words in italics and with the four inclosed. + +"Nothing disgusts sooner than the empty pomp of language." + +VICE. See CRIME. + +VICINITY. This word is sometimes incorrectly used without the possessive +pronoun; thus, "Washington and vicinity," instead of "Washington and +_its_ vicinity." The primary meaning of _vicinity_ is nearness, +proximity. In many of the cases in which vicinity is used, +_neighborhood_ would be the better word, though _vicinity_ is perhaps +preferable where it is a question of mere locality. + +VOCATION--AVOCATION. These words are frequently confounded. A man's +_vocation_ is his profession, his calling, his business; and his +_avocations_ are the things that occupy him incidentally. Mademoiselle +Bernhardt's _vocation_ is acting; her _avocations_ are painting and +sculpture. "The tracing of resemblances among the objects and events of +the world is a constant _avocation_ of the human mind." + +VULGAR. By the many, this word is probably more frequently used +improperly than properly. As a noun, it means the common people, the +lower orders, the multitude, the many; as an adjective, it means coarse, +low, unrefined, as "the _vulgar_ people." The sense in which it is +misused is that of immodest, indecent. The wearing, for example, of a +gown too short at the top may be _indecent_, but is not _vulgar_. + +WAS. "He said he had come to the conclusion that there _was_ no God." +"The greatest of Byron's works _was_ his whole work taken +together."--Matthew Arnold. What is true at all times should be +expressed by using the verb in the present tense. The sentences above +should read _is_, not _was_. + +WHARF. See DOCK. + +WHAT. "He would not believe but _what_ I did it": read, but _that_. "I +do not doubt _but what_ I shall go to Boston to-morrow": read, doubt +_that_. We say properly, "I have nothing _but what_ you see"; "You have +brought everything _but what_ I wanted." + +WHENCE. As this adverb means--unaided--_from_ what place, source, or +cause, it is, as Dr. Johnson styled it, "a vicious mode of speech" to +say _from whence_, Milton to the contrary notwithstanding. Nor is there +any more propriety in the phrase _from thence_, as _thence_ +means--unaided--from that place. "_Whence_ do you come?" not "_From +whence_ do you come?" Likewise, "He went _hence_," not "_from hence_." + +WHETHER. This conjunction is often improperly repeated in a sentence; +thus, "I have not decided whether I shall go to Boston or _whether I +shall go_ to Philadelphia." + +WHICH. This pronoun as an _interrogative_ applies to _persons_ as well +as to _things_; as a _relative_, it is now made to refer to _things +only_. + +"_Which_ is employed in coördinate sentences, where _it_, or _they_, and +a conjunction might answer the purpose; thus, 'At school I studied +geometry, _which_ (and it) I found useful afterward.' Here the new +clause is something independent added to the previous clause, and not +limiting that clause in any way. So in the adjectival clause; as, 'He +struck the poor dog, _which_ (and it, or although it) had never done him +harm.' Such instances represent the most accurate meaning of _which_. +_Who_ and _which_ might be termed the COÖRDINATING RELATIVES. + +"_Which_ is likewise used in _restrictive_ clauses that limit or explain +the antecedent; as, 'The house _which_ he built still remains.' Here the +clause introduced by _which_ specifies, or points out, the house that is +the subject of the statement, namely, by the circumstance that a certain +person built it. As remarked with regard to _who_, our most idiomatic +writers prefer _that_ in this particular application, and would say, +'The house _that_ he built still remains.'" + +"_Which_ sometimes has a special reference attaching to it, as the +neuter relative: 'Cæsar crossed the Rubicon, _which_ was in effect a +declaration of war.' The antecedent in this instance is not _Rubicon_, +but the entire clause. + +"There is a peculiar usage where _which_ may _seem_ to be still +regularly used in reference to persons, as in 'John is a soldier, +_which_ I should like to be,' that is, 'And I should like _to be a +soldier_.'" See THAT. + +WHO. There are few persons, even among the most cultivated, who do not +make frequent mistakes in the use of this pronoun. They say, "_Who_ did +you see?" "_Who_ did you meet?" "_Who_ did he marry?" "_Who_ did you +hear?" "_Who_ did he know?" "_Who_ are you writing to?" "_Who_ are you +looking at?" In all these sentences the interrogative pronoun is in the +objective case, and should be used in the objective form, which is +_whom_, and not _who_. To show that these sentences are not correct, and +are not defensible by supposing any ellipsis whatsoever, we have only to +put the questions in another form. Take the first one, and, instead of +"Who did you see?" say, "Who saw you?" which, if correct, justifies us +in saying, "Who knew he," which is the equivalent of "Who did he know?" +But "Who saw you?" in this instance, is clearly not correct, since it +says directly the opposite of what is intended. + +_Who_ was little used as a relative till about the sixteenth century. +Bain says: "In modern use, more especially in books, _who_ is frequently +employed to introduce a clause intended to restrict, define, limit, or +explain a noun (or its equivalent); as, 'That is the man _who_ spoke to +us yesterday.'" + +"Here the clause introduced by _who_ is necessary to define or explain +the antecedent _the man_; without it, we do not know who _the man_ is. +Such relative clauses are typical _adjective_ clauses--i. e., they have +the same effect as adjectives in limiting nouns. This may be called the +RESTRICTIVE use of the relative. + +"Now it will be found that the practice of our most idiomatic writers +and speakers is to prefer _that_ to _who_ in this application. + +"_Who_ is properly used in such coördinate sentences as, 'I met the +watchman, _who_ told me there had been a fire.' Here the two clauses are +distinct and independent; in such a case, _and he_ might be substituted +for _who_. + +"Another form of the same use is when the second clause is of the kind +termed adverbial, where we may resolve _who_ into a personal or +demonstrative pronoun and conjunction. 'Why should we consult Charles, +_who_ (_for he_, _seeing that he_) knows nothing of the matter?' + +"_Who_ may be regarded as a modern objective form, side by side with +_whom_. For many good writers and speakers say '_who_ are you talking +of?' '_who_ does the garden belong to?' '_who_ is this for?' '_who_ +from?'" etc. + +If this be true--if _who may_ be regarded as a modern objective form, +side by side with _whom_--then, of course, such expressions as "_Who_ +did you see?" "_Who_ did you meet?" "_Who_ did he marry?" "_Who_ were +you with?" "_Who_ will you give it to?" and the like, are correct. That +they are used colloquially by well-nigh everybody, no one will dispute; +but that they are _correct_, few grammarians will concede. See THAT. + +WHOLE. This word is sometimes most improperly used for _all_; thus, "The +_whole_ Germans seem to be saturated with the belief that they are +really the greatest people on earth, and that they would be universally +recognized as being the greatest, if they were not so exceeding modest." +"The whole Russians are inspired with the belief that their mission is +to conquer the world."--Alison. + +WHOLESOME. See HEALTHY. + +WHOSE. Mr. George Washington Moon discountenances the use of _whose_ as +the possessive of _which_. He says, "The best writers, when speaking of +inanimate objects, use _of which_ instead of _whose_." The correctness +of this statement is doubtful. The truth is, I think, that good writers +use that form for the possessive case of _which_ that in their judgment +is, in each particular case, the more euphonious, giving the preference, +perhaps, to _of which_. On this subject Dr. Campbell says: "The +possessive of _who_ is properly _whose_. The pronoun _which_, +originally indeclinable, had no possessive. This was supplied, in the +common periphrastic manner, by the help of the preposition and the +article. But, as this could not fail to enfeeble the expression, when so +much time was given to mere conjunctives, all our best authors, both in +prose and verse, have now come regularly to adopt, in such cases, the +possessive of _who_, and thus have substituted one syllable in the room +of three, as in the example following: 'Philosophy, _whose_ end is to +instruct us in the knowledge of nature,' for 'Philosophy, _the_ end _of +which_ is to instruct us.' Some grammarians remonstrate; but it ought to +be remembered that use, well established, must give law to grammar, and +not grammar to use." + +Professor Bain says: "_Whose_, although the possessive of _who_, and +practically of _which_, is yet frequently employed for the purpose of +restriction: 'We are the more likely to guard watchfully against those +faults _whose_ deformity we have seen fully displayed in others.' This +is better than 'the deformity _of which_ we have seen.' 'Propositions of +_whose_ truth we have no certain knowledge.'--Locke." Dr. Fitzedward +Hall says that the use of _whose_ for _of which_, where the antecedent +is not only irrational but inanimate, has had the support of high +authority for several hundred years. + +WIDOW WOMAN. Since widows are always women, why say a widow _woman_? It +would be perfectly correct to say a _widowed_ woman. + +WIDOWHOOD. There is good authority for using this word in speaking of +men as well as of women. + +WITHOUT. This word is often improperly used instead of _unless_; as, +"You will never live to my age _without_ you keep yourself in breath and +exercise"; "I shall not go _without_ my father consents": properly, +_unless_ my father consents, or, _without_ my father's consent. + +WORST. We should say _at the worst_, not _at worst_. + +WOVE. The past participle of the verb _to weave_ is _woven_. "Where was +this cloth _woven_?" not _wove_. + +YOU ARE MISTAKEN. See MISTAKEN. + +YOU WAS. Good usage does, and it is to be hoped always will, consider +_you was_ a gross vulgarism, certain grammarians to the contrary +notwithstanding. _You_ is the form of the pronoun in the second person +plural, and must, if we would speak correctly, be used with the +corresponding form of the verb. The argument that we use _you_ in the +singular number is so nonsensical that it does not merit a moment's +consideration. It is a custom we have--and have in common with other +peoples--to speak to one another in the second person plural, and that +is all there is of it. The Germans speak to one another in the _third_ +person plural. The exact equivalent in German of our _How are you?_ is, +_How are they?_ Those who would say _you was_ should be consistent, and +in like manner say _you has_ and _you does_. + +YOURS, &C. The ignorant and obtuse not unfrequently profess themselves +at the bottom of their letters "Yours, &c." And so forth! forth what? +Few vulgarisms are equally offensive, and none could be more so. In +printing correspondence, the newspapers often content themselves with +this short-hand way of intimating that the writer's name was preceded by +some one of the familiar forms of ending letters; this an occasional +dunderhead seems to think is sufficient authority for writing himself, +_Yours, &c._ + + +THE END. + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[1] If this is true in England, it is not true in America. Nowhere in +the United States is such "questionable grammar" as this frequently +heard in cultivated circles. + +[2] "It may be confidently affirmed that with good speakers, in the case +of negation, _not me_ is the usual practice."--Bain. This, I confidently +affirm, is not true in America.--A. A. + +[3] Should be, _a text-book for his course_, and not, _for his course a +text-book_. + +[4] Mr. Gould criticises the Dean's _diction_, not his _style_. + +[5] Better, "to revise it." + +[6] "Is _to put them_ in tabular form." + +[7] Bullions' "Grammar" was published in 1867. + +[8] "L. W. K., CLK., LL. D., EX. SCH., T. C., D. Of this reverend +gentleman's personality I know nothing. He does not say exactly what he +means; but what he means is, yet, unmistakable. The extract given above +is from 'Public Opinion,' January 20, 1866." + +[9] "The analysis, taken for granted in this quotation, of 'are being +thrown up' into 'are being' and 'thrown up' will be dealt with in the +sequel, and shown to be untenable." + +[10] "Vol. xlv, p. 504 (1837)." + +[11] "'The Life and Correspondence of the late Robert Southey,' vol. i, +p. 249." + +[12] "Vol. i, p. 338. 'A student who _is being crammed_'; 'that verb is +eternally _being declined_.'--'The Doctor,' pp. 38 and 40 (mono-tome +ed.)." + +[13] "In 'Put Yourself in his Place,' chapter x, he writes: 'She basked +in the present delight, and looked as if she _was being taken_ to heaven +by an angel.'" + +[14] "'Words,' etc., p. 340." + +[15] "Thomas Fuller writes: 'At his arrival, the last stake of the +Christians was _on losing_.'--'The Historie of the Holy Warre,' p. 218 +(ed. 1647)." + +[16] "I express myself in this manner because I distinguish between _be_ +and _exist_." + +[17] "Samuel Richardson writes: 'Jenny, who attends me here, has more +than once hinted to me that Miss Jervis loves to sit up late, either +reading or _being read to_ by Anne, who, though she reads well, is not +fond of the task.'--'Sir Charles Grandison,' vol. iii, p. 46 (ed. 1754). + +"The transition is very slight by which we pass from 'sits being read +to' to 'is being read to.'" + +[18] "I am here indebted to the last edition of Dr. Worcester's +'Dictionary,' preface, p. xxxix." + +[19] "'Words and their Uses,' p. 353." + +[20] "'_It is being_ is simply equal to _it is_. And, in the supposed +corresponding Latin phrases, _ens factus est_, _ens ædificatus est_ (the +obsoleteness of _ens_ as a participle being granted), the monstrosity is +not in the use of _ens_ with _factus_, but in that of _ens_ with _est_. +The absurdity is, in Latin, just what it is in English, the use of _is_ +with _being_, the making of the verb _to be_ a complement to +itself.'--_Ibid._, pp. 354, 355. + +"Apparently, Mr. White recognizes no more difference between +_supplement_ and _complement_ than he recognizes between _be_ and +_exist_. See the extract I have made above, from p. 353." + +[21] "'But those things which, _being not now doing_, or having not yet +been done, have a natural aptitude to exist hereafter, may be properly +said to appertain to the future.'--Harris's 'Hermes,' book I, chap. viii +(p. 155, foot-note, ed. 1771). For Harris's _being not now doing_, which +is to translate μὴ γινόμενα, the modern school, if they pursued +uniformity with more of fidelity than of taste, would have to put _being +not now being done_. There is not much to choose between the two." + +[22] "'Words and their Uses,' p. 343." + +[23] The possessive construction here is, in my judgment, not +imperatively demanded. There is certainly no lack of authority for +putting the three substantives in the accusative. The possessive +construction seems to me, however, to be preferable. + +[24] "The use of the plural for the singular was established as early +the beginning of the fourteenth century."--Morris, p. 118, § 153. + +[25] "Some writers omit the comma in cases where the conjunction is +used. But, as the conjunction is generally employed in such cases for +emphasis, commas ought to be used; although, where the words are very +closely connected, or where they constitute a clause in the midst of a +long sentence, they may be omitted."--Bigelow's "Handbook of +Punctuation." + +[26] "This usage violates one of the fundamental principles of +punctuation; it indicates, very improperly, that the noun _man_ is more +closely connected with _learned_ than with the other adjectives. Analogy +and perspicuity require a comma after _learned_."--Quackenbos. + +[27] Many writers would omit the last two commas in this sentence. + +[28] The commas before and after _particularly_ are hardly necessary. + +[29] The only exception to this rule is the occasional use of the colon +to separate two short sentences that are closely connected. + +[30] "Dr. Angus on the 'English Tongue,' art. 527." + +[31] "In the following passages, the indicative mood would be more +suitable than the subjunctive: 'If thou _be_ the Son of God, command +that these stones be made bread'; 'if thou _be_ the Son of God, come +down from the cross.' For, although the address was not sincere on the +part of the speakers, they really meant to make the supposition or to +grant that he was the Son of God; 'seeing that thou _art_ the Son of +God.' Likewise in the following: 'Now if Christ _be_ preached, that He +rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection +from the dead?' The meaning is, 'Seeing now that Christ _is_ preached.' +In the continuation, the conditional clauses are of a different +character, and 'be' is appropriate: 'But if there _be_ no resurrection +from the dead, then is Christ not risen. And if Christ _be_ not risen, +then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain.' Again, 'If +thou _bring_ thy gift to the altar, and there remember_est_,' etc. +Consistency and correctness require 'remember.'"--Harrison on the +"English Language," p. 287. + +[32] "So, in German, _wäre_ for _würde sein_. 'Hätt' ich Schwingen, +hätt' ich Flügel, nach den Hügeln _zög_' ich hin,' for '_würde_ ich +_ziehen_.'" + +[33] "So, in German, _hätte_ occurs for _würde haben_. 'Wäre er da +gewesen, so _hätten_ wir ihn gesehen,' for 'so _würden_ wir ihn gesehen +_haben_.' _Hätten_ is still conditional, not indicative. In Latin, the +pluperfect _indicative_ is occasionally used; which is explained as a +more vivid form." + +[34] "In _principal_ clauses the inflection of the second person is +always retained: 'thou had_st_,' 'thou would_st_, should_st_,' etc. In +the example, the subordinate clause, although subjunctive, shows, +'had_st_.' And this usage is exceedingly common." + +[35] To those who are not quite clear as to what transcendentalism is, +the following lucid definition will be welcome: "It is the spiritual +cognoscence of psychological irrefragability connected with concutient +ademption of incolumnient spirituality and etherealized contention of +subsultory concretion." Translated by a New York lawyer, it stands thus: +"Transcendentalism is two holes in a sand-bank: a storm washes away the +sand-bank without disturbing the holes." + +[36] "Cromwell--_than he_ no man was more skilled in artifice; or, +Cromwell--no man was more skilled in artifice _than he_ (was)." + +[37] "No devil sat higher than _he_ sat, except Satan." + +[38] "Speaking of Dryden, Hallam says, 'His "Essay on Dramatic Poesy," +published in 1668, was reprinted sixteen years afterward, and it is +curious to observe the changes which Dryden made in the expression. +Malone has carefully noted all these; they show both the care the author +took with his own style, and the change which was gradually working in +the English language. The Anglicism of terminating the sentence with a +preposition is rejected. Thus, "I can not think so contemptibly of the +age I live in," is exchanged for "the age in which I live." "A deeper +expression of belief than all the actor can persuade us to," is altered, +"can insinuate into us." And, though the old form continued in use long +after the time of Dryden, it has of late years been reckoned inelegant, +and proscribed in all cases, perhaps with an unnecessary fastidiousness, +to which I have not uniformly deferred, since our language is of +Teutonic structure, and the rules of Latin and French grammar are not +always to bind us.' + +"The following examples, taken from Massinger's 'Grand Duke of +Florence,' will show what was the usage of the Elizabethan writers:-- + + "'For I must use the freedom I _was born with_.' + + "'In that dumb rhetoric _which_ you _make use of_.' + + "'---- if I had been heir + Of all the globes and sceptres mankind _bows to_.' + + "'---- the name of friend + _Which_ you are pleased to _grace me with_.' + + "'---- wilfully ignorant in my opinion + Of what it did _invite him to_.' + + "'I look to her as on a princess + _I dare not be ambitious of_.' + + "'---- a duty + _That I was born with_.'" + + + + + THE ORTHOËPIST: + + + _A PRONOUNCING MANUAL_, + + CONTAINING ABOUT THREE THOUSAND FIVE HUNDRED + WORDS, INCLUDING A CONSIDERABLE NUMBER OF + THE NAMES OF FOREIGN AUTHORS, ARTISTS, ETC., + THAT ARE OFTEN MISPRONOUNCED. + + By ALFRED AYRES. + +̤ +SELECTIONS FROM THE WORK. + + ạb-dō´mẹn, _not_ ăb´dọ-mĕn. + + ạc-crṳe´, _not_ -crū´. + The orthoëpists agree that _u_, preceded by _r_ in the same syllable, + generally becomes simply _oo_, as in _rude_, _rumor_, _rural_, _rule_, + _ruby_. + + ạl-lŏp´ạ-thy; ạl-lŏp´ạ-thĭst. + + Ăr´ạ-bĭc, _not_ Ạ-rā´bĭc. + + Asia--ā´shẹ-ȧ, _not_ ā´zhȧ. + + ay, _or_ aye (meaning _yes_)--ī. + + aye (meaning _always_)--ā. + + Bĭs´märck, _not_ bĭz´-. + At the end of a syllable, _s_, in German, has invariably its sharp, + hissing sound. + + Cairo--in Egypt, kī´rō; in the United States, kā´rō. + + Courbet--ko̤r´bā´. + + dĕc´ạde, _not_ dẹ-kād´. + + dẹ-cō´roŭs. + The authority is small, and is becoming less, for saying + _dĕc´o-roŭs_, which is really as incorrect as it would be to say + _sŏn´o-roŭs_. + + dĕf´ị-cĭt, _not_ dẹ-fĭç´it. + + dịs̱-dāin´, _not_ dis-. + + dịs̱-hŏn´or, _not_ dis-. + + ĕc-ọ-nŏm´ị-cạl, _or_ ē-cọ-nŏm´ị-cạl. + The first is the marking of a large majority of the orthoëpists. + + ẹ-nēr´vāte. + The only authority for saying _ĕn´er-vāte_ is popular usage; all + the orthoëpists say _e-nẽr´vāte_. + + ĕp´ọc̵h, _not_ ē´pŏc̵h. + The latter is a Websterian pronunciation, which is not even permitted + in the late editions. + + fĭn-ạn-ciēr´. + This much-used word is rarely pronounced correctly. + + Heī´nẹ, _not_ hine. + Final _e_ in German is never silent. + + honest--ŏn´est, _not_ -ĭst, _nor_ -ŭst. + "Hon_est_, hon_est_ Iago," is preferable to "hon_ust_, hon_ust_ Iago," + some of our accidental Othellos to the contrary notwithstanding. + + ĭs̱´ọ-lāte, _or_ ĭs´ọ-late, _not_ ī´sọ-lāt. + The first marking is Walker's, Worcester's, and Smart's; the second, + Webster's. + + + ONE VOL., 18MO, CLOTH. PRICE, $1.00. + + New York: D. APPLETON & CO., 1, 3, & 5 Bond Street. + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Verbalist, by +Thomas Embly Osmun, (AKA Alfred Ayres) + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE VERBALIST *** + +***** This file should be named 22457-0.txt or 22457-0.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/2/2/4/5/22457/ + +Produced by Barbara Tozier, Bill Tozier, Stephen Blundell +and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at +http://www.pgdp.net + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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Thus, we do not necessarily +keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. + + +Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: + + http://www.gutenberg.org + +This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, +including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary +Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to +subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. diff --git a/old/22457-0.zip b/old/22457-0.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..1da488f --- /dev/null +++ b/old/22457-0.zip diff --git a/old/22457-8.txt b/old/22457-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..65e3ed8 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/22457-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,7635 @@ +Project Gutenberg's The Verbalist, by Thomas Embly Osmun, (AKA Alfred Ayres) + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Verbalist + A Manual Devoted to Brief Discussions of the Right and the + Wrong Use of Words and to Some Other Matters of Interest + to Those Who Would Speak and Write with Propriety. + +Author: Thomas Embly Osmun, (AKA Alfred Ayres) + +Release Date: August 30, 2007 [EBook #22457] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE VERBALIST *** + + + + +Produced by Barbara Tozier, Bill Tozier, Stephen Blundell +and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at +http://www.pgdp.net + + + + + + + + + + THE + VERBALIST: + + _A MANUAL_ + DEVOTED + TO BRIEF DISCUSSIONS OF THE RIGHT AND THE + WRONG USE OF WORDS + AND + TO SOME OTHER MATTERS OF INTEREST TO THOSE WHO + WOULD SPEAK AND WRITE WITH PROPRIETY. + + + BY + ALFRED AYRES. + + + We remain shackled by timidity till we have learned to speak with + propriety.--JOHNSON. + + As a man is known by his company, so a man's company may be known + by his manner of expressing himself.--SWIFT. + + [Illustration] + + NEW YORK: + D. APPLETON AND COMPANY, + 1, 3, AND 5 BOND STREET. + 1887. + + + + + COPYRIGHT BY + D. APPLETON AND COMPANY, + 1881 + + + + + Transcriber's Note + + Minor typographical errors have been corrected without note. Archaic + spellings have been retained as printed. + + + + +PREFATORY NOTE. + + +The title-page sufficiently sets forth the end this little book is +intended to serve. + +For convenience' sake I have arranged in alphabetical order the subjects +treated of, and for economy's sake I have kept in mind that "he that +uses many words for the explaining of any subject doth, like the +cuttle-fish, hide himself in his own ink." + +The curious inquirer who sets himself to look for the learning in the +book is advised that he will best find it in such works as George P. +Marsh's "Lectures on the English Language," Fitzedward Hall's "Recent +Exemplifications of False Philology," and "Modern English," Richard +Grant White's "Words and Their Uses," Edward S. Gould's "Good English," +William Mathews' "Words: their Use and Abuse," Dean Alford's "The +Queen's English," George Washington Moon's "Bad English," and "The +Dean's English," Blank's "Vulgarisms and Other Errors of Speech," +Alexander Bain's "English Composition and Rhetoric," Bain's "Higher +English Grammar," Bain's "Composition Grammar," Quackenbos' "Composition +and Rhetoric," John Nichol's "English Composition," William Cobbett's +"English Grammar," Peter Bullions' "English Grammar," Goold Brown's +"Grammar of English Grammars," Graham's "English Synonymes," Crabb's +"English Synonymes," Bigelow's "Handbook of Punctuation," and other +kindred works. + +Suggestions and criticisms are solicited, with the view of profiting by +them in future editions. + +If "The Verbalist" receive as kindly a welcome as its companion volume, +"The Orthoëpist," has received, I shall be content. + + A. A. + NEW YORK, _October_, 1881. + + + + + Eschew fine words as you would rouge.--HARE. + + Cant is properly a double-distilled lie; the second power of a + lie.--CARLYLE. + + If a gentleman be to study any language, it ought to be that of his + own country.--LOCKE. + + In language the unknown is generally taken for the + magnificent.--RICHARD GRANT WHITE. + + He who has a superlative for everything, wants a measure for the + great or small.--LAVATER. + + Inaccurate writing is generally the expression of inaccurate + thinking.--RICHARD GRANT WHITE. + + To acquire a few tongues is the labor of a few years; but to be + eloquent in one is the labor of a life.--ANONYMOUS. + + Words and thoughts are so inseparably connected that an artist in + words is necessarily an artist in thoughts.-WILSON FLAGG. + + It is an invariable maxim that words which add nothing to the sense + or to the clearness must diminish the force of the + expression.--CAMPBELL. + + Propriety of thought and propriety of diction are commonly found + together. Obscurity of expression generally springs from confusion + of ideas.--MACAULAY. + + He who writes badly thinks badly. Confusedness in words can proceed + from nothing but confusedness in the thoughts which give rise to + them.--COBBETT. + + + + +THE VERBALIST. + + +A--AN. The second form of the indefinite article is used for the sake of +euphony only. Herein everybody agrees, but what everybody does not agree +in is, that it is euphonious to use _an_ before a word beginning with an +aspirated _h_, when the accented syllable of the word is the second. For +myself, so long as I continue to aspirate the _h's_ in such words as +_heroic_, _harangue_, and _historical_, I shall continue to use _a_ +before them; and when I adopt the Cockney mode of pronouncing such +words, then I shall use _an_ before them. To my ear it is just as +euphonious to say, "I will crop off from the top of his young twigs a +tender one, and will plant it upon _an_ high mountain and eminent," as +it is to say _an_ harangue, _an_ heroic, or _an_ historical. _An_ is +well enough before the doubtful British aspiration, but before the +distinct American aspiration it is wholly out of place. The reply will +perhaps be, "But these _h's_ are silent; the change of accent from the +first syllable to the second neutralizes their aspiration." However true +this may be in England, it is not at all true in America; hence we +Americans should use _a_ and not _an_ before such _h's_ until we decide +to ape the Cockney mode of pronouncing them. + +Errors are not unfrequently made by omitting to repeat the article in a +sentence. It should always be repeated when a noun or an adjective +referring to a distinct thing is introduced; take, for example, the +sentence, "He has a black and white horse." If two horses are meant, it +is clear that it should be, "He has a black and _a_ white horse." See +THE. + +ABILITY--CAPACITY. The distinctions between these two words are not +always observed by those who use them. "_Capacity_ is the power of +receiving and retaining knowledge with facility; _ability_ is the power +of applying knowledge to practical purposes. Both these faculties are +requisite to form a great character: capacity to conceive, and ability +to execute designs. Capacity is shown in quickness of apprehension. +Ability supposes something done; something by which the mental power is +exercised in executing, or performing, what has been perceived by the +capacity."--Graham's "English Synonymes." + +ABORTIVE. An outlandish use of this word may be occasionally met with, +especially in the newspapers. "A lad was yesterday caught in the act of +_abortively_ appropriating a pair of shoes." That is abortive that is +untimely, that has not been borne its full time, that is immature. We +often hear _abortion_ used in the sense of failure, but never by those +that study to express themselves in chaste English. + +ABOVE. There is little authority for using this word as an adjective. +Instead of, "the _above_ statement," say, "the _foregoing_ statement." +_Above_ is also used very inelegantly for _more than_; as, "above a +mile," "above a thousand"; also, for _beyond_; as, "above his strength." + +ACCIDENT. See CASUALTY. + +ACCORD. "He [the Secretary of the Treasury] was shown through the +building, and the information he desired was _accorded_ +him."--Reporters' English. + + "The heroes prayed, and Pallas from the skies + _Accords_ their vow."--Pope. + +The goddess of wisdom, when she granted the prayers of her worshipers, +may be said to have _accorded_; not so, however, when the clerks of our +Sub-Treasury answer the inquiries of their chief. + +ACCUSE. See BLAME IT ON. + +ACQUAINTANCE. See FRIEND. + +AD. This abbreviation for the word _advertisement_ is very justly +considered a gross vulgarism. It is doubtful whether it is permissible +under any circumstances. + +ADAPT--DRAMATIZE. In speaking and in writing of stage matters, these +words are often misused. To _adapt_ a play is to modify its construction +with the view of improving its form for representation. Plays translated +from one language into another are usually more or less _adapted_; i. +e., altered to suit the taste of the public before which the translation +is to be represented. To _dramatize_ is to change the form of a story +from the narrative to the dramatic; i. e., to make a drama out of a +story. In the first instance, the product of the playwright's labor is +called an _adaptation_; in the second, a _dramatization_. + +ADJECTIVES. "Very often adjectives stand where adverbs might be +expected; as, 'drink _deep_,' 'this looks _strange_,' 'standing +_erect_.' + +"We have also examples of one adjective qualifying another adjective; +as, '_wide_ open,' '_red_ hot,' 'the _pale_ blue sky.' Sometimes the +corresponding adverb is used, but with a different meaning; as, 'I found +the way _easy_--_easily_'; 'it appears _clear_--_clearly_.' Although +there is a propriety in the employment of the adjective in certain +instances, yet such forms as '_indifferent_ well,' '_extreme_ bad,' are +grammatical errors. 'He was interrogated _relative_ to that +circumstance,' should be _relatively_, or _in relation to_. It is not +unusual to say, 'I would have done it _independent_ of that +circumstance,' but _independently_ is the proper construction. + +"The employment of adjectives for adverbs is accounted for by the +following considerations: + +"(1.) In the classical languages the neuter adjective may be used as an +adverb, and the analogy would appear to have been extended to English. + +"(2.) In the oldest English the adverb was regularly formed from the +adjective by adding 'e,' as 'soft, soft_e_,' and the dropping of the 'e' +left the adverb in the adjective form; thus, '_clæne_,' adverb, became +'clean,' and appears in the phrase '_clean_ gone'; '_fæste_, fast,' 'to +stick _fast_.' By a false analogy, many adjectives that never formed +adverbs in _-e_ were freely used as adverbs in the age of Elizabeth: +'Thou didst it _excellent_,' '_equal_ (for _equally_) good,' +'_excellent_ well.' This gives precedent for such errors as those +mentioned above. + +"(3.) There are cases where the subject is qualified rather than the +verb, as with verbs of incomplete predication, 'being,' 'seeming,' +'arriving,' etc. In 'the matter seems _clear_,' 'clear' is part of the +predicate of 'matter.' 'They arrived _safe_': 'safe' does not qualify +'arrived,' but goes with it to complete the predicate. So, 'he sat +_silent_,' 'he stood _firm_.' 'It comes _beautiful_' and 'it comes +_beautifully_' have different meanings. This explanation applies +especially to the use of participles as adverbs, as in Southey's lines +on Lodore; the participial epithets applied there, although appearing to +modify 'came,' are really additional predications about 'the water,' in +elegantly shortened form. 'The church stood _gleaming_ through the +trees': 'gleaming' is a shortened predicate of 'church'; and the full +form would be, 'the church stood _and gleamed_.' The participle retains +its force as such, while acting the part of a coördinating adjective, +complement to 'stood'; 'stood gleaming' is little more than 'gleamed.' +The feeling of adverbial force in 'gleaming' arises from the subordinate +participial form joined with a verb, 'stood,' that seems capable of +predicating by itself. '_Passing_ strange' is elliptical: 'passing +(surpassing) _what is_ strange.'"--Bain. + +"The comparative adjectives _wiser_, _better_, _larger_, etc., and the +contrasting adjectives _different_, _other_, etc., are often so placed +as to render the construction of the sentence awkward; as, 'That is a +much _better_ statement of the case _than_ yours,' instead of, 'That +statement of the case is much _better than_ yours'; 'Yours is a _larger_ +plot of ground _than_ John's,' instead of, 'Your plot of ground is +_larger than_ John's'; 'This is a _different_ course of proceeding +_from_ what I expected,' instead of, 'This course of proceeding is +_different from_ what I expected'; 'I could take no _other_ method of +silencing him _than_ the one I took,' instead of, 'I could take no +method of silencing him _other than_ the one I took.'"--Gould's "Good +English," p. 69. + +ADMINISTER. "Carson died from blows _administered_ by policeman +Johnson."--"New York Times." If policeman Johnson was as barbarous as is +this use of the verb _to administer_, it is to be hoped that he was +hanged. Governments, oaths, medicine, affairs--such as the affairs of +the state--are _administered_, but not blows: _they_ are _dealt_. + +ADOPT. This word is often used instead of _to decide upon_, and of _to +take_; thus, "The measures _adopted_ [by Parliament], as the result of +this inquiry, will be productive of good." Better, "The measures +_decided upon_," etc. Instead of, "What course shall you _adopt_ to get +your pay?" say, "What course shall you _take_," etc. _Adopt_ is properly +used in a sentence like this: "The course (or measures) proposed by Mr. +Blank was _adopted_ by the committee." That is, what was Blank's was +_adopted_ by the committee--a correct use of the word, as _to adopt_, +means, to assume as one's own. + +_Adopt_ is sometimes so misused that its meaning is inverted. "Wanted to +adopt," in the heading of advertisements, not unfrequently is intended +to mean that the advertiser wishes to be _relieved_ of the care of a +child, not that he wishes to _assume_ the care of one. + +AGGRAVATE. This word is often used when the speaker means to provoke, +irritate, or anger. Thus, "It _aggravates_ [provokes] me to be +continually found fault with"; "He is easily _aggravated_ [irritated]." +To _aggravate_ means to make worse, to heighten. We therefore very +properly speak of _aggravating_ circumstances. To say of a person that +he is _aggravated_ is as incorrect as to say that he is _palliated_. + +AGRICULTURIST. This word is to be preferred to _agriculturalist_. See +CONVERSATIONIST. + +ALIKE. This word is often most bunglingly coupled with _both_. Thus, +"These bonnets are both alike," or, worse still, if possible, "both just +alike." This reminds one of the story of Sam and Jem, who were very like +each other, especially Sam. + +ALL. See UNIVERSAL. + +ALL OVER. "The disease spread _all over_ the country." It is more +logical and more emphatic to say, "The disease spread _over all_ the +country." + +ALLEGORY. An elaborated metaphor is called an _allegory_; both are +figurative representations, the words used signifying something beyond +their literal meaning. Thus, in the eightieth Psalm, the Jews are +represented under the symbol of a vine: + +"Thou hast brought a vine out of Egypt: thou hast cast out the heathen, +and planted it. Thou preparedst room before it, and didst cause it to +take deep root, and it filled the land. The hills were covered with the +shadow of it, and the boughs thereof were like the goodly cedars. She +sent out her boughs unto the sea, and her branches unto the river. Why +hast thou then broken down her hedges, so that all they which pass by +the way do pluck her? The boar out of the wood doth waste it, and the +wild beast of the field doth devour it." + +An allegory is sometimes so extended that it makes a volume; as in the +case of Swift's "Tale of a Tub," Arbuthnot's "John Bull," Bunyan's +"Pilgrim's Progress," etc. Fables and parables are short allegories. + +ALLOW. This word is frequently misused in the West and South, where it +is made to do service for _assert_ or _to be of opinion_. Thus, "He +_allows_ that he has the finest horse in the country." + +ALLUDE. The treatment this word has received is to be specially +regretted, as its misuse has well-nigh robbed it of its true meaning, +which is, to intimate delicately, to refer to without mentioning +directly. _Allude_ is now very rarely used in any other sense than that +of to speak of, to mention, to name, which is a long way from being its +legitimate signification. This degradation is doubtless a direct outcome +of untutored desire to be fine and to use big words. + +ALONE. This word is often improperly used for _only_. That is _alone_ +which is unaccompanied; that is _only_ of which there is no other. +"Virtue _alone_ makes us happy," means that virtue unaided suffices to +make us happy; "Virtue _only_ makes us happy," means that nothing else +can do it--that that, and that only (not alone), can do it. "This means +of communication is employed by man _alone_." Dr. Quackenbos should +have written, "By man _only_". See also ONLY. + +AMATEUR--NOVICE. There is much confusion in the use of these two words, +although they are entirely distinct from each other in meaning. An +_amateur_ is one versed in, or a lover and practicer of, any particular +pursuit, art, or science, but _not_ engaged in it professionally. A +_novice_ is one who is new or inexperienced in any art or business--a +beginner, a tyro. A professional actor, then, who is new and unskilled +in his art, is a _novice_ and not an _amateur_. An amateur may be an +artist of great experience and extraordinary skill. + +AMELIORATE. "The health of the Empress of Germany is greatly +_ameliorated_." Why not say _improved_? + +AMONG. See BETWEEN. + +AMOUNT OF PERFECTION. The observant reader of periodical literature +often notes forms of expression which are perhaps best characterized by +the word _bizarre_. Of these queer locutions, _amount of perfection_ is +a very good example. Mr. G. F. Watts, in the "Nineteenth Century," says, +"An _amount of perfection_ has been reached which I was by no means +prepared for." What Mr. Watts meant to say was, doubtless, that a +_degree of excellence_ had been reached. There are not a few who, in +their prepossession for everything transatlantic, seem to be of opinion +that the English language is generally better written in England than it +is in America. Those who think so are counseled to examine the diction +of some of the most noted English critics and essayists, beginning, if +they will, with Matthew Arnold. + +AND. Few vulgarisms are more common than the use of _and_ for _to_. +Examples: "Come _and_ see me before you go"; "Try _and_ do what you can +for him"; "Go _and_ see your brother, if you can." In such sentences as +these, the proper particle to use is clearly _to_ and not _and_. + +_And_ is sometimes improperly used instead of _or_; thus, "It is obvious +that a language like the Greek _and_ Latin" (language?), etc., should +be, "a language like the Greek _or the_ Latin" (language), etc. There is +no such thing as a Greek and Latin language. + +ANSWER--REPLY. These two words should not be used indiscriminately. An +_answer_ is given to a question; a _reply_, to an assertion. When we are +addressed, we _answer_; when we are accused, we _reply_. We _answer_ +letters, and _reply_ to any arguments, statements, or accusations they +may contain. Crabb is in error in saying that _replies_ "are used in +personal discourse only." _Replies_, as well as _answers_, are written. +We very properly write, "I have now, I believe, _answered_ all your +questions and _replied_ to all your arguments." A _rejoinder_ is made to +a _reply_. "Who goes there?" he cried; and, receiving no _answer_, he +fired. "The advocate _replied_ to the charges made against his client." + +ANTICIPATE. Lovers of big words have a fondness for making this verb do +duty for _expect_. _Anticipate_ is derived from two Latin words meaning +_before_ and _to take_, and, when properly used, means, to take +beforehand; to go before so as to preclude another; to get the start or +ahead of; to enjoy, possess, or suffer, in expectation; to foretaste. It +is, therefore, misused in such sentences as, "Her death is hourly +_anticipated_"; "By this means it is _anticipated_ that the time from +Europe will be lessened two days." + +ANTITHESIS. A phrase that opposes contraries is called an _antithesis_. + + "I see a chief who leads my chosen sons, + All armed with points, _antitheses_, and puns." + +The following are examples: + + "Though gentle, yet not dull; + Strong, without rage; without o'erflowing, full." + + "Contrasted faults through all their manners reign; + Though poor, luxurious; though submissive, vain; + Though grave, yet trifling; zealous, yet untrue; + And e'en in penance planning sins anew." + +The following is an excellent example of _personification_ and +_antithesis_ combined: + + "Talent convinces; Genius but excites: + That tasks the reason; this the soul delights. + Talent from sober judgment takes its birth, + And reconciles the pinion to the earth; + Genius unsettles with desires the mind, + Contented not till earth be left behind." + +In the following extract from Johnson's "Life of Pope," individual +peculiarities are contrasted by means of antitheses: + +"Of genius--that power which constitutes a poet; that quality without +which judgment is cold, and knowledge is inert; that energy which +collects, combines, amplifies, and animates--the superiority must, with +some hesitation, be allowed to Dryden. It is not to be inferred that of +this poetical vigor Pope had only a little, because Dryden had more; for +every other writer, since Milton, must give place to Pope; and even of +Dryden it must be said that, if he has brighter paragraphs, he has not +better poems. Dryden's performances were always hasty, either excited by +some external occasion or extorted by domestic necessity; he composed +without consideration and published without correction. What his mind +could supply at call or gather in one excursion was all that he sought +and all that he gave. The dilatory caution of Pope enabled him to +condense his sentiments, to multiply his images, and to accumulate all +that study might produce or chance might supply. If the flights of +Dryden, therefore, are higher, Pope continues longer on the wing. If of +Dryden's fire the blaze is brighter, of Pope's the heat is more regular +and constant. Dryden often surpasses expectation, and Pope never falls +below it. Dryden is read with frequent astonishment, and Pope with +perpetual delight. Dryden's page is a natural field, rising into +inequalities, and diversified by the varied exuberance of abundant +vegetation; Pope's is a velvet lawn, shaven by the scythe, and leveled +by the roller." + +There are forms of antithesis in which the contrast is only of a +secondary kind. + +ANY. This word is sometimes made to do service for _at all_. We say +properly, "She is not _any_ better"; but we can not properly say, "She +does not see _any_," meaning that she is blind. + +ANYBODY ELSE. "Public School Teachers are informed that _anybody else's_ +is correct."--"New York Times," Sunday, July 31, 1881. An English writer +says: "In such phrases as anybody else, and the like, _else_ is often +put in the possessive case; as, 'anybody else's servant'; and some +grammarians defend this use of the possessive case, arguing that +_somebody else_ is a compound noun." It is better grammar and more +euphonious to consider _else_ as being an adjective, and to form the +possessive by adding the apostrophe and _s_ to the word that _else_ +qualifies; thus, anybody's else, nobody's else, somebody's else. + +ANYHOW. "An exceedingly vulgar phrase," says Professor Mathews, in his +"Words: Their Use and Abuse." "Its use, _in any manner_, by one who +professes to write and speak the English tongue with purity, is +unpardonable." Professor Mathews seems to have a special dislike for +this colloquialism. It is recognized by the lexicographers, and I think +is generally accounted, even by the careful, permissible in +conversation, though incompatible with dignified diction. + +ANXIETY OF MIND. See EQUANIMITY OF MIND. + +APOSTROPHE. Turning from the person or persons to whom a discourse is +addressed and appealing to some person or thing absent, constitutes +what, in rhetoric, is called the _apostrophe_. The following are some +examples: + + "O gentle sleep, + Nature's soft nurse, how have I frighted thee, + That thou no more wilt weigh my eyelids down, + And steep my senses in forgetfulness?" + "Sail on, thou lone imperial bird + Of quenchless eye and tireless wing!" + + "Help, angels, make assay! + Bow, stubborn knees! and heart with strings of steel, + Be soft as sinews of the new-born babe: + All may yet be well!" + +APPEAR. See SEEM. + +APPRECIATE. If any word in the language has cause to complain of +ill-treatment, this one has. _Appreciate_ means, to estimate +_justly_--to set the _true_ value on men or things, their worth, beauty, +or advantages of any sort whatsoever. Thus, an overestimate is no more +_appreciation_ than is an underestimate; hence it follows that such +expressions as, "I appreciate it, or her, or him, _highly_," can not be +correct. We _value_, or _prize_, things highly, not _appreciate_ them +highly. This word is also very improperly made to do service for _rise_, +or _increase_, in value; thus, "Land _appreciates_ rapidly in the West." +Dr. L. T. Townsend blunders in the use of _appreciate_ in his "Art of +Speech," vol. i, p. 142, thus: "The laws of harmony ... may allow +copiousness ... in parts of a discourse ... in order that the +condensation of other parts may be the _more highly appreciated_." + +APPREHEND--COMPREHEND. The English often use the first of these two +words where we use the second. Both express an effort of the thinking +faculty; but to _apprehend_ is simply to take an idea into the mind--it +is the mind's first effort--while to _comprehend_ is _fully to +understand_. We are dull or quick of _apprehension_. Children +_apprehend_ much that they do not _comprehend_. Trench says: "We +_apprehend_ many truths which we do not _comprehend_." "_Apprehend_," +says Crabb, "expresses the weakest kind of belief, the having [of] the +least idea of the presence of a thing." + +APT. Often misused for _likely_, and sometimes for _liable_. "What is he +_apt_ to be doing?" "Where shall I be _apt_ to find him?" "If properly +directed, it will be _apt_ to reach me." In such sentences as these, +_likely_ is the proper word to use. "If you go there, you will be _apt_ +to get into trouble." Here either _likely_ or _liable_ is the proper +word, according to the thought the speaker would convey. + +ARCTICS. See RUBBERS. + +ARTIST. Of late years this word has been appropriated by the members of +so many crafts, that it has well-nigh been despoiled of its meaning. +Your cook, your barber, your tailor, your boot-maker, and so on to +satiety, are all _artists_. Painters, sculptors, architects, actors, and +singers, nowadays, generally prefer being thus called, rather than to be +spoken of as _artists_. + +AS. "Not _as_ I know": read, "not _that_ I know." "This is not _as_ good +as the last": read, "not _so_ good." "It may be complete _so_ far as +the specification is concerned": correctly, "_as_ far as." + +_As_, preceded by _such_ or by _same_, has the force of a relative +applying to persons or to things. "He offered me the _same_ conditions +_as_ he offered you." "The same conditions _that_" would be equally +proper. See, also, LIKE. + +ASCRIBE. See IMPUTE. + +AT. Things are sold _by_, not _at_, auction. "The scene is more +beautiful _at_ night than by day": say, "_by_ night." + +AT ALL. "It is not strange, for my uncle is King of Denmark." Had +Shakespeare written, "It is not _at all_ strange," it is clear that his +diction would have been much less forcible. "I do not wish for any _at +all_"; "I saw no one _at all_"; "If he had any desire _at all_ to see +me, he would come where I am." The _at all_ in sentences like these is +superfluous. Yet there are instances in which the phrase is certainly a +very convenient one, and seems to be unobjectionable. It is much used, +and by good writers. + +AT BEST. Instead of _at best_ and _at worst_, we should say at _the_ +best and at _the_ worst. + +AT LAST. See AT LENGTH. + +AT LEAST. This adverbial phrase is often misplaced. "'The Romans +understood liberty _at least_ as well as we.' This must be interpreted +to mean, 'The Romans understood liberty _as well as we_ understand +liberty.' The intended meaning is, 'that whatever things the Romans +failed to understand, they understood _liberty_.' To express this +meaning we might put it thus: 'The Romans understood _at least_ liberty +as well as we _do_'; 'liberty, _at least_, the Romans understood as well +as we do.' 'A tear, _at least_, is due to the unhappy'; '_at least_ a +tear is due to the unhappy'; 'a tear is due _at least_ to the unhappy'; +'a tear is due to the unhappy _at least_'--all express different +meanings. 'This can not, _often at least_, be done'; 'this can not be +done _often, at least_.' (1. 'It often happens that this can not be +done.' 2. 'It does not often happen that this can be done.') So, 'man is +_always_ capable of laughing'; 'man is capable of laughing +_always_.'"--Bain. + +AT LENGTH. This phrase is often used instead of _at last_. "_At length_ +we managed to get away": read, "_at last_." "_At length_ we heard from +him." To hear from any one _at length_ is to hear fully; i. e., in +detail. + +AUTHORESS. With regard to the use of this and certain other words of +like formation, Mr. Gould, in his "Good English," says: "_Poet_ means +simply a person who writes poetry; and _author_, in the sense under +consideration, a person who writes poetry or prose--not a _man_ who +writes, but a _person_ who writes. Nothing in either word indicates sex; +and everybody knows that the functions of both poets and authors are +common to both sexes. Hence, _authoress_ and _poetess_ are superfluous. +And they are superfluous, also, in another respect--that they are very +rarely used, indeed they hardly _can_ be used, independently of the +_name_ of the writer, as Mrs., or Miss, or a female Christian name. They +are, besides, philological absurdities, because they are fabricated on +the false assumption that their primaries indicate _men_. They are, +moreover, liable to the charge of affectation and prettiness, to say +nothing of pedantic pretension to accuracy. + +"If the _ess_ is to be permitted, there is no reason for excluding it +from _any_ noun that indicates a person; and the next editions of our +dictionaries may be made complete by the addition of _writress_, +_officeress_, _manageress_, _superintendentess_, _secretaryess_, +_treasureress_, _walkeress_, _talkeress_, and so on to the end of the +vocabulary." + +AVOCATION. See VOCATION. + +BAD COLD. Inasmuch as colds are never _good_, why say a _bad_ cold? We +may talk about _slight_ colds and _severe_ colds, but not about _bad_ +colds. + +BAGGAGE. See LUGGAGE. + +BALANCE. This word is very frequently and very erroneously used in the +sense of _rest_, _remainder_. It properly means _the excess of one thing +over another_, and in this sense and in no other should it be used. +Hence it is improper to talk about the _balance_ of the edition, of the +evening, of the money, of the toasts, of the men, etc. In such cases we +should say the _rest_ or the _remainder_. + +BARBARISM. Defined as an offense against good usage, by the use of an +improper word, i. e., a word that is antiquated or improperly formed. +_Preventative_, _enthuse_, _agriculturalist_, _donate_, etc., are +barbarisms. See also SOLECISM. + +BEEN TO. We not unfrequently hear a superfluous _to_ tacked to a +sentence; thus, "Where have you been _to_?" + +BEG. We often see letters begin with the words, "I _beg_ to acknowledge +the receipt of your favor," etc. We should write, "I _beg leave_ to +acknowledge," etc. No one would say, "I beg to tell you," instead of, "I +beg _leave_ to tell you." + +BEGIN--COMMENCE. These words have the same meaning; careful speakers, +however, generally prefer to use the former. Indeed, there is rarely any +good reason for giving the preference to the latter. See also COMMENCE. + +BEING BUILT. See IS BEING BUILT. + +BELONGINGS. An old idiomatic expression now coming into use again. + +BESIDE--BESIDES. In the later unabridged editions of Webster's +dictionary we find the following remarks concerning the use of these two +words: "_Beside_ and _besides_, whether used as prepositions or +adverbs, have been considered synonymous from an early period of our +literature, and have been freely interchanged by our best writers. There +is, however, a tendency in present usage to make the following +distinction between them: 1. That _beside_ be used only and always as a +preposition, with the original meaning _by the side of_; as, to sit +_beside_ a fountain; or with the closely allied meaning _aside from_, or +_out of_; as, this is _beside_ our present purpose: 'Paul, thou art +_beside_ thyself.' The adverbial sense to be wholly transferred to the +cognate word. 2. That _besides_, as a preposition, take the remaining +sense, _in addition to_; as, _besides_ all this; _besides_ the +consideration here offered: 'There was a famine in the land _besides_ +the first famine.' And that it also take the adverbial sense of +_moreover_, _beyond_, etc., which had been divided between the words; +as, _besides_, there are other considerations which belong to this +case." + +BEST. See AT BEST. + +BETWEEN. This word is often misused for _among_; thus, "The word +_fellow_, however much in use it may be _between_ men, sounds very +objectionable from the lips of women."--"London Queen." Should be, +"_among_ men." _Between_ is used in reference to two things, parties, or +persons; _among_, in reference to a greater number. "Castor and Pollux +with one soul _between_ them." "You have _among_ you many a purchased +slave." + +BLAME IT ON. Here is a gross vulgarism which we sometimes hear from +persons of considerable culture. They use it in the sense of _accuse_ or +_suspect_; thus, "He _blames it on_ his brother," meaning that he +_accuses_ or _suspects_ his brother of having done it, or of being at +fault for it. + +BOGUS. A colloquial term incompatible with dignified diction. + +BOTH. We sometimes hear such absurd sentences as, "They _both_ resemble +each other very much"; "They are _both_ alike"; "They _both_ met in the +street." _Both_ is likewise redundant in the following sentence: "It +performs at the same time the offices _both_ of the nominative and +objective cases." + +BOUND. The use of this word in the sense of _determined_ is not only +inelegant but indefensible. "I am _bound_ to have it," should be, "I am +_determined_ to have it." + +BRAVERY--COURAGE. The careless often use these two words as though they +were interchangeable. _Bravery_ is inborn, is instinctive; _courage_ is +the product of reason, calculation. There is much merit in being +courageous, little merit in being brave. Men who are simply _brave_ are +careless, while the courageous man is always cautious. _Bravery_ often +degenerates into temerity. _Moral courage_ is that firmness of principle +which enables a man to do what he deems to be his duty, although his +action may subject him to adverse criticism. True _moral courage_ is one +of the rarest and most admirable of virtues. + +Alfred the Great, in resisting the attacks of the Danes, displayed +_bravery_; in entering their camp as a spy, he displayed _courage_. + +BRING--FETCH--CARRY. The indiscriminate use of these three words is very +common. To _bring_ is to convey to or toward--a simple act; to _fetch_ +means to _go_ and bring--a compound act; to _carry_ often implies motion +from the speaker, and is followed by _away_ or _off_, and thus is +opposed to _bring_ and _fetch_. Yet one hears such expressions as, "Go +to Mrs. D.'s and _bring_ her this bundle; and here, you may _fetch_ her +this book also." We use the words correctly thus: "_Fetch_, or _go +bring_, me an apple from the cellar"; "When you come home _bring_ some +lemons"; "_Carry_ this book home with you." + +BRITISH AGAINST AMERICAN ENGLISH. "The most important peculiarity of +American English is a laxity, irregularity, and confusion in the use of +particles. The same thing is, indeed, observable in England, but not to +the same extent, though some gross departures from idiomatic propriety, +such as _different to_ for _different from_, are common in England, +which none but very ignorant persons would be guilty of in America.... +In the tenses of the verbs, I am inclined to think that well-educated +Americans conform more closely to grammatical propriety than the +corresponding class in England.... In general, I think we may say that, +in point of naked syntactical accuracy, the English of America is not at +all inferior to that of England; but we do not discriminate so precisely +in the meaning of words, nor do we habitually, in either conversation or +in writing, express ourselves so gracefully, or employ so classic a +diction, as the English. Our taste in language is less fastidious, and +our licenses and inaccuracies are more frequently of a character +indicative of want of refinement and elegant culture than those we hear +in educated society in England."--George P. Marsh. + +BRITISH AGAINST AMERICAN ORTHOËPY. "The causes of the differences in +pronunciation [between the English and the Americans] are partly +physical, and therefore difficult, if not impossible, to resist; and +partly owing to a difference of circumstances. Of this latter class of +influences, the universality of reading in America is the most obvious +and important. The most marked difference is, perhaps, in the length or +prosodical quantity of the vowels; and both of the causes I have +mentioned concur to produce this effect. We are said to drawl our words +by protracting the vowels and giving them a more diphthongal sound than +the English. Now, an Englishman who reads will habitually utter his +vowels more fully and distinctly than his countryman who does not; and, +upon the same principle, a nation of readers, like the Americans, will +pronounce more deliberately and clearly than a people so large a +proportion of whom are unable to read, as in England. From our universal +habit of reading, there results not only a greater distinctness of +articulation, but a strong tendency to assimilate the spoken to the +written language. Thus, Americans incline to give to every syllable of a +written word a distinct enunciation; and the popular habit is to say +_dic-tion-ar-y_, _mil-it-ar-y_, with a secondary accent on the +penultimate, instead of sinking the third syllable, as is so common in +England. There is, no doubt, something disagreeably stiff in an anxious +and affected conformity to the very letter of orthography; and to those +accustomed to a more hurried utterance we may seem to drawl, when we are +only giving a full expression to letters which, though etymologically +important, the English habitually slur over, sputtering out, as a +Swedish satirist says, one half of the word, and swallowing the other. +The tendency to make the long vowels diphthongal is noticed by +foreigners as a peculiarity of the orthoëpy of our language; and this +tendency will, of course, be strengthened by any cause which produces +greater slowness and fullness of articulation. Besides the influence of +the habit of reading, there is some reason to think that climate is +affecting our articulation. In spite of the coldness of our winters, our +flora shows that the climate of even our Northern States belongs, upon +the whole, to a more southern type than that of England. In southern +latitudes, at least within the temperate zone, articulation is generally +much more distinct than in the northern regions. Witness the +pronunciation of Spanish, Italian, Turkish, as compared with English, +Danish, and German. Participating, then, in the physical influences of a +southern climate, we have contracted something of the more distinct +articulation that belongs to a dry atmosphere and a clear sky. And this +view of the case is confirmed by the fact that the inhabitants of the +Southern States incline, like the people of southern Europe, to throw +the accent toward the end of the word, and thus, like all nations that +use that accentuation, bring out all the syllables. This we observe very +commonly in the comparative Northern and Southern pronunciation of +proper names. I might exemplify by citing familiar instances; but, lest +that should seem invidious, it may suffice to say that, not to mention +more important changes, many a Northern member of Congress goes to +Washington a _dactyl_ or a _trochee_, and comes home an _amphibrach_ or +an _iambus_. Why or how external physical causes, as climate and modes +of life, should affect pronunciation, we can not say; but it is evident +that material influences of some sort are producing a change in our +bodily constitution, and we are fast acquiring a distinct national +Anglo-American type. That the delicate organs of articulation should +participate in such tendencies is altogether natural; and the operation +of the causes which give rise to them is palpable even in our +handwriting, which, if not uniform with itself, is generally, +nevertheless, so unlike common English script as to be readily +distinguished from it. + +"To the joint operation, then, of these two causes--universal reading +and climatic influences--we must ascribe our habit of dwelling upon +vowel and diphthongal sounds, or of drawling, if that term is insisted +upon.... But it is often noticed by foreigners as both making us more +readily understood by them when speaking our own tongue, and as +connected with a flexibility of organ, which enables us to acquire a +better pronunciation of other languages than is usual with Englishmen. +In any case, as, in spite of the old adage, speech is given us that we +may make ourselves understood, our drawling, however prolonged, is +preferable to the nauseous, foggy, mumbling thickness of articulation +which characterizes the cockney, and is not unfrequently affected by +Englishmen of a better class."--George P. Marsh. + +BRYANT'S PROHIBITED WORDS. See INDEX EXPURGATORIUS. + +BUT. This word is misused in various ways. "I do not doubt _but_ he will +be here": read, doubt _that_. "I should not wonder _but_": read, _if_. +"I have no doubt _but_ that he will go": suppress _but_. "I do not doubt +_but_ that it is true": suppress _but_. "There can be no doubt _but_ +that the burglary is the work of professional cracksmen."--"New York +Herald." Doubt _that_, and not _but that_. "A careful canvass leaves no +doubt _but_ that the nomination," etc.: suppress _but_. "There is no +reasonable doubt _but_ that it is all it professes to be": suppress +_but_. "The mind no sooner entertains any proposition _but_ it presently +hastens," etc.: read, _than_. "No other resource _but_ this was allowed +him": read, _than_. + +BY. See AT. + +CALCULATE. This word means to ascertain by computation, to reckon, to +estimate; and, say some of the purists, it never means anything else +when properly used. _If this is true_, we can not say a thing is +_calculated_ to do harm, but must, if we are ambitious to have our +English irreproachable, choose some other form of expression, or at +least some other word, _likely_ or _apt_, for example. Cobbett, however, +says, "That, to Her, whose great example is so well _calculated_ to +inspire," etc.; and, "The first two of the three sentences are well +enough _calculated_ for ushering," etc. _Calculate_ is sometimes +vulgarly used for _intend_, _purpose_, _expect_; as, "He _calculates_ to +get off to-morrow." + +CALIBER. This word is sometimes used very absurdly; as, "Brown's Essays +are of a much higher _caliber_ than Smith's." It is plain that the +proper word to use here is _order_. + +CANT. _Cant_ is a kind of affectation; affectation is an effort to sail +under false colors; an effort to sail under false colors is a kind of +falsehood; and falsehood is a term of Latin origin which we often use +instead of the stronger Saxon term LYING! + +"Who is not familiar," writes Dr. William Matthews, "with scores of pet +phrases and cant terms which are repeated at this day apparently without +a thought of their meaning? Who ever attended a missionary meeting +without hearing 'the Macedonian cry,' and an account of some 'little +interest' and 'fields white for the harvest'? Who is not weary of the +ding-dong of 'our Zion,' and the solecism of 'in our midst'; and who +does not long for a verbal millennium when Christians shall no longer +'feel to take' and 'grant to give'?" + +"How much I regret," says Coleridge, "that so many religious persons of +the present day think it necessary to adopt a certain cant of manner and +phraseology [and of tone of voice] as a token to each other [one +another]! They _improve_ this and that text, and they must do so and so +in a prayerful way; and so on." + +CAPACITY. See ABILITY. + +CAPTION. This word is often used for _heading_, but, thus used, it is +condemned by careful writers. The true meaning of _caption_ is a +seizure, an arrest. It does not come from a Latin word meaning _a +head_, but from a Latin word meaning _to seize_. + +CARET. Cobbett writes of the caret to his son: "The last thing I shall +mention under this head is the _caret_ [^], which is used to point +upward to a part which has been omitted, and which is inserted between +the line where the caret is placed and the line above it. Things should +be called by their right names, and this should be called the +_blunder-mark_. I would have you, my dear James, scorn the use of the +thing. _Think_ before you write; let it be your custom to _write +correctly_ and in _a plain hand_. Be careful that neatness, grammar, and +sense prevail when you write to a blacksmith about shoeing a horse as +when you write on the most important subjects. Habit is powerful in all +cases; but its power in this case is truly wonderful. When you write, +bear constantly in mind that some one is to _read_ and to _understand_ +what you write. This will make your handwriting and also your meaning +_plain_. Far, I hope, from my dear James will be the ridiculous, the +contemptible affectation of writing in a slovenly or illegible hand, or +that of signing his name otherwise than in plain letters." + +CARRY. See BRING. + +CASE. Many persons of considerable culture continually make mistakes in +conversation in the use of the cases, and we sometimes meet with gross +errors of this kind in the writings of authors of repute. Witness the +following: "And everybody is to know him except _I_."--George Merideth +in "The Tragic Comedies," Eng. ed., vol. i, p. 33. "Let's you and _I_ +go": say, _me_. We can not say, Let _I_ go. Properly, Let's go, i. e., +let us go, or, let you and _me_ go. "He is as good as _me_": say, as +_I_. "She is as tall as _him_": say, as _he_. "You are older than _me_": +say, than _I_. "Nobody said so but _he_": say, but _him_. "Every one +can master a grief but _he_ that hath it": correctly, but _him_. "John +went out with James and _I_": say, and _me_. "You are stronger than +_him_": say, than _he_. "Between you and _I_": say, and _me_. "Between +you and _they_": say, and _them_. "He gave it to John and _I_": say, and +_me_. "You told John and _I_": say, and _me_. "He sat between him and +_I_": say, and _me_. "He expects to see you and _I_": say, and _me_. +"You were a dunce to do it. Who? _me_?" say, _I_. Supply the ellipsis, +and we should have, Who? _me_ a dunce to do it? "Where are you going? +Who? _me_?" say, _I_. We can't say, _me_ going. "_Who_ do you mean?" +say, _whom_. "Was it _them_?" say, _they_. "If I _was him_, I would do +it": say, _were he_. "If I _was her_, I would not go": say, _were she_. +"Was it _him_?" say, _he_. "Was it _her_?" say, _she_. "For the benefit +of those _whom_ he thought were his friends": say, _who_. This error is +not easy to detect on account of the parenthetical words that follow it. +If we drop them, the mistake is very apparent; thus, "For the benefit of +those _whom_ were his friends." + +"On the supposition," says Bain, "that the interrogative _who_ has +_whom_ for its objective, the following are errors: '_who_ do you take +me to be?' '_who_ should I meet the other day?' '_who_ is it by?' '_who_ +did you give it to?' '_who_ to?' '_who_ for?' But, considering that +these expressions _occur with the best writers and speakers_, that they +_are more energetic_ than the other form, and that they _lead to no +ambiguity_, it may be doubted whether grammarians have not exceeded +their province in condemning them." + +Cobbett, in writing of the pronouns, says: "When the relatives are +placed in the sentence at a distance from their antecedents or verbs or +prepositions, the ear gives us no assistance. '_Who_, of all the men in +the world, do you think I _saw_ to-day?' '_Who_, for the sake of +numerous services, the office was given to.' In both these cases it +should be _whom_. Bring the verb in the first and the preposition in the +second case closer to the relative, as, _who I saw_, _to who the office +was given_, and you see the error at once. But take care! '_Whom_, of +all the men in the world, do you think, _was_ chosen to be sent as an +ambassador?' '_Whom_, for the sake of his numerous services, _had_ an +office of honor bestowed upon him.' These are nominative cases, and +ought to have _who_; that is to say, _who was chosen_, _who had an +office_." + +"Most grammarians," says Dr. Bain, in his "Higher English Grammar," +"have laid down this rule: 'The verb _to be_ has the same case after as +before it.' Macaulay censures the following as a solecism: 'It was _him_ +that Horace Walpole called a man who never made a bad figure but as an +author.' Thackeray similarly adverts to the same deviation from the +rule: '"Is that _him_?" said the lady in _questionable grammar_.' But, +notwithstanding this," continues Dr. Bain, "we certainly hear in the +actual speech of all classes of society such expressions as 'it was +_me_,' 'it was _him_,' 'it was _her_,' more frequently than the +prescribed form.[1] 'This shy creature, my brother says, is _me_'; 'were +it _me_, I'd show him the difference.'--Clarissa Harlowe. 'It is not +_me_[2] you are in love with.'--Addison. 'If there is one character more +base than another, it is _him_ who,' etc.--Sydney Smith. 'If I were +_him_'; 'if I had been _her_,' etc. The authority of good writers is +strong on the side of objective forms. There is also the analogy of the +French language; for while 'I am here' is _je suis ici_, the answer to +'who is there?' is _moi_ (me); and _c'est moi_ (it is _me_) is the +legitimate phrase--never _c'est je_ (it is I)." + +But _moi_, according to all French grammarians, is very often in the +nominative case. _Moi_ is in the nominative case when used in reply to +"Who is there?" and also in the phrase "C'est moi," which makes "It is +_I_" the correct translation of the phrase, and not "It is _me_." The +French equivalent of "I! I am here," is "Moi! je suis ici." The +Frenchman uses _moi_ in the nominative case when _je_ would be +inharmonious. Euphony with him is a matter of more importance than +grammatical correctness. Bescherelle gives many examples of _moi_ in the +nominative. Here are two of them: "Mon avocat et moi sommes de cet avis. +Qui veut aller avec lui? Moi." If we use such phraseology as "It is +_me_," we must do as the French do--consider _me_ as being in the +nominative case, and offer _euphony_ as our reason for thus using it. + +When shall we put nouns (or pronouns) preceding verbal, or participial, +nouns, as they are called by some grammarians--infinitives in _ing_, as +they are called by others--in the possessive case? + +"'I am surprised at _John's_ (or _his_, _your_, etc.) _refusing_ to go.' +'I am surprised at _John_ (or _him_, _you_, etc.) _refusing_ to go.' [In +the latter sentence _refusing_ is a participle.] The latter construction +is not so common with pronouns as with nouns, especially with such nouns +as do not readily take the possessive form. 'They prevented _him going_ +forward': better, 'They prevented _his going_ forward.' 'He was +dismissed without any _reason being_ assigned.' 'The boy died through +his _clothes being_ burned.' 'We hear little of any _connection being_ +kept up between the two nations.' 'The men rowed vigorously for fear of +the _tide turning_ against us.' _But most examples of the construction +without the possessive form are_ OBVIOUSLY DUE TO MERE SLOVENLINESS.... +'In case of _your being_ absent': here _being_ is an infinitive [verbal, +or participial, noun] qualified by the possessive _your_. 'In case of +_you being_ present': here _being_ would have to be construed as a +participle. _The possessive construction is, in this case, the primitive +and regular construction_; THE OTHER IS A MERE LAPSE. The difficulty of +adhering to the possessive form occurs when the subject is not a person: +'It does not seem safe to rely on the rule of _demand_ creating supply': +in strictness, '_Demand's_ creating supply.' 'A petition was presented +against the _license being_ granted.' But for the awkwardness of +extending the possessive to impersonal subjects, it would be right to +say, 'against the _license's being_ granted.' 'He had conducted the ball +without any _complaint being_ urged against him.' The possessive would +be suitable, but undesirable and unnecessary."--Professor Alexander +Bain. + +"Though the _ordinary_ syntax of the possessive case is sufficiently +plain and easy, there is, perhaps, among all the puzzling and disputable +points of grammar, nothing more difficult of decision than are some +questions that occur respecting the right management of this case. The +observations that have been made show that possessives before +participles are seldom to be approved. The following example is +manifestly inconsistent with itself; and, _in my opinion, the three +possessives are all wrong_: 'The kitchen, too, now begins to give +dreadful note of preparation; not from _armorers_ accomplishing the +knights, but from the _shopmaid's_ chopping force-meat, the +_apprentice's_ cleaning knives, and the _journeyman's_ receiving a +practical lesson in the art of waiting at table.' 'The daily instances +of _men's_ dying around us.' Say rather, 'Of _men_ dying around us.' The +leading word in sense ought not to be made the adjunct in +construction."--Goold Brown. + +CASUALTY. This word is often heard with the incorrect addition of a +syllable, _casuality_, which is not recognized by the lexicographers. +Some writers object to the word casualty, and always use its synonym +_accident_. + +CELEBRITY. "A number of _celebrities_ witnessed the first +representation." This word is frequently used, especially in the +newspapers, as a concrete term; but it would be better to use it in its +abstract sense only, and in sentences like the one above to say +_distinguished persons_. + +CHARACTER--REPUTATION. These two words are not synonyms, though often +used as such. _Character_ means the sum of distinguishing qualities. +"Actions, looks, words, steps, form the alphabet by which you may spell +characters."--Lavater. _Reputation_ means the estimation in which one is +held. One's reputation, then, is what is thought of one's character; +consequently, one may have a good reputation and a bad character, or a +good character and a bad reputation. Calumny may injure _reputation_, +but not _character_. Sir Peter does not leave his _character_ behind +him, but his _reputation_--his _good name_. + +CHEAP. The dictionaries define this adjective as meaning, bearing a low +price, or to be had at a low price; but nowadays good usage makes it +mean that a thing may be had, or has been sold, at a bargain. Hence, in +order to make sure of being understood, it is better to say +_low-priced_, when one means low-priced, than to use the word _cheap_. +What is low-priced, as everybody knows, is often _dear_, and what is +high-priced is often _cheap_. A diamond necklace might be _cheap_ at +ten thousand dollars, and a pinchbeck necklace dear at ten dollars. + +CHERUBIM. The Hebrew plural of _cherub_. "We are authorized," says Dr. +Campbell, "both by use and analogy, to say either _cherubs_ and +_seraphs_, according to the English idiom, or _cherubim_ and _seraphim_, +according to the Oriental. The former suits better the familiar, the +latter the solemn, style. As the words _cherubim_ and _seraphim_ are +plural, the terms _cherubims_ and _seraphims_, as expressing the plural, +are quite improper."--"Philosophy of Rhetoric." + +CITIZEN. This word properly means one who has certain political rights; +when, therefore, it is used, as it often is, to designate persons who +may be aliens, it, to say the least, betrays a want of care in the +selection of words. "Several _citizens_ were injured by the explosion." +Here some other word--_persons_, for example--should be used. + +CLEVER. In this country the word _clever_ is most improperly used in the +sense of good-natured, well-disposed, good-hearted. It is properly used +in the sense in which we are wont most inelegantly to use the word +_smart_, though it is a less colloquial term, and is of wider +application. In England the phrase "a _clever_ man" is the equivalent of +the French phrase, "_un homme d'esprit_." The word is properly used in +the following sentences: "Every work of Archbishop Whately must be an +object of interest to the admirers of _clever_ reasoning"; "Cobbett's +letter ... very _clever_, but very mischievous"; "Bonaparte was +certainly as _clever_ a man as ever lived." + +CLIMAX. A clause, a sentence, a paragraph, or any literary composition +whatsoever, is said to end with a _climax_ when, by an artistic +arrangement, the more effective is made to follow the less effective in +regular gradation. Any great departure from the order of ascending +strength is called an _anti-climax_. Here are some examples of climax: + +"Give all diligence; add to your faith, virtue; and to virtue, +knowledge; and to knowledge, temperance; and to temperance, patience; +and to patience, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to +brotherly kindness, charity." + +"What is every year of a wise man's life but a criticism on the past! +Those whose life is the shortest live long enough to laugh at one half +of it; the boy despises the infant, the man the boy, the sage both, and +the Christian all." + +"What a piece of work is man! how noble in reason! how infinite in +faculties! in form and moving, how express and admirable! in action, how +like an angel! in apprehension, how like a god!" + +CO. The prefix _co_ should be used only when the word to which it is +joined begins with a vowel, as in _co-eval_, _co-incident_, +_co-operate_, etc. _Con_ is used when the word begins with a consonant, +as in _con-temporary_, _con-junction_, etc. _Co-partner_ is an exception +to the rule. + +COMMENCE. The Britons use or misuse this word in a manner peculiar to +themselves. They say, for example, "commenced merchant," "commenced +actor," "commenced politician," and so on. Dr. Hall tells us that +_commence_ has been employed in the sense of "begin to be," "become," +"set up as," by first-class writers, for more than two centuries. +Careful speakers make small use of _commence_ in any sense; they prefer +to use its Saxon equivalent, _begin_. See, also, BEGIN. + +COMPARISON. When only two objects are compared, the comparative and not +the superlative degree should be used; thus, "Mary is the _older_ of the +two"; "John is the _stronger_ of the two"; "Brown is the _richer_ of +the two, and the _richest_ man in the city"; "Which is the _more_ +desirable, health or wealth?" "Which is the _most_ desirable, health, +wealth, or genius?" + + "Of two such lessons, why forget + The _nobler_ and the _manlier_ one?" + +COMPLETED. This word is often incorrectly used for _finished_. That is +_complete_ which lacks nothing; that is _finished_ which has had all +done to it that was intended. The builder of a house may _finish_ it and +yet leave it very _incomplete_. + +CONDIGN. It is safe to say that most of those who use this word do not +know its meaning, which is, suitable, deserved, merited, proper. "His +endeavors shall not lack _condign_ praise"; i. e., his endeavors shall +not lack _proper_ or their _merited_ praise. "A villain _condignly_ +punished" is a villain punished _according to his deserts_. To use +_condign_ in the sense of _severe_ is just as incorrect as it would be +to use _deserved_ or _merited_ in the sense of _severe_. + +CONFIRMED INVALID. This phrase is a convenient mode of expressing the +idea it conveys, but it is difficult to defend, inasmuch as _confirmed_ +means strengthened, established. + +CONSEQUENCE. This word is sometimes used instead of _importance_ or +_moment_; as, "They were all persons of more or less _consequence_": +read, "of more or less _importance_." "It is a matter of no +_consequence_": read, "of no _moment_." + +CONSIDER. "This word," says Mr. Richard Grant White, in his "Words and +Their Uses," "is perverted from its true meaning by most of those who +use it." _Consider_ means, to meditate, to deliberate, to reflect, to +revolve in the mind; and yet it is made to do service for _think_, +_suppose_, and _regard_. Thus: "I _consider_ his course very +unjustifiable"; "I have always _considered_ it my duty," etc.; "I +_consider_ him as being the cleverest man of my acquaintance." + +CONTEMPTIBLE. This word is sometimes used for _contemptuous_. An old +story says that a man once said to Dr. Parr, "Sir, I have a +_contemptible_ opinion of you." "That does not surprise me," returned +the Doctor; "all your opinions are _contemptible_." What is worthless or +weak is _contemptible_. Despicable is a word that expresses a still more +intense degree of the contemptible. A traitor is a _despicable_ +character, while a poltroon is only _contemptible_. + +CONTINUALLY. See PERPETUALLY. + +CONTINUE ON. The _on_ in this phrase is generally superfluous. "We +continued on our way" is idiomatic English, and is more euphonious than +the sentence would be without the particle. The meaning is, "We +continued to travel _on_ our way." In such sentences, however, as +"Continue _on_," "He continued to read _on_," "The fever continued _on_ +for some hours," and the like, the _on_ generally serves no purpose. + +CONVERSATIONIST. This word is to be preferred to _conversationalist_. +Mr. Richard Grant White says that _conversationalist_ and +_agriculturalist_ are inadmissible. On the other hand, Dr. Fitzedward +Hall says: "As for _conversationist_ and _conversationalist_, +_agriculturist_ and _agriculturalist_, as all are alike legitimate +formations, it is for convention to decide which we are to prefer." + +CONVOKE--CONVENE. At one time and another there has been some discussion +with regard to the correct use of these two words. According to Crabb, +"There is nothing imperative on the part of those that _assemble_, or +_convene_, and nothing binding on those _assembled_, or _convened_: one +_assembles_, or _convenes_, by invitation or request; one attends to the +notice or not, at pleasure. _Convoke_, on the other hand, is _an act of +authority_; it is the call of one who has the authority to give the +call; it is heeded by those who feel themselves bound to attend." +Properly, then, President Arthur _convokes_, not _convenes_, the Senate. + +CORPOREAL--CORPORAL. These adjectives, though regarded as synonyms, are +not used indiscriminately. _Corporal_ is used in reference to the body, +or animal frame, in its proper sense; _corporeal_, to the animal +substance in an extended sense--opposed to spiritual. _Corporal_ +punishment; _corporeal_ or _material_ form or substance. + + "That to _corporeal_ substances could add + Speed most spiritual."--Milton. + + "What seemed _corporal_ + Melted as breath into the wind."--Shakespeare. + +COUPLE. In its primitive signification, this word does not mean simply +two, but two that are united by some bond; such as, for example, the tie +that unites the sexes. It has, however, been so long used to mean two of +a kind considered together, that in this sense it may be deemed +permissible, though the substitution of the word _two_ for it would +often materially improve the diction. + +COURAGE. See BRAVERY. + +CRIME--VICE--SIN. The confusion that exists in the use of these words is +due largely to an imperfect understanding of their respective meanings. +_Crime_ is the violation of the law of a state; hence, as the laws of +states differ, what is crime in one state may not be crime in another. +_Vice_ is a course of wrong-doing, and is not modified either by +country, religion, or condition. As for _sin_, it is very difficult to +define what it is, as what is sinful in the eyes of one man may not be +sinful in the eyes of another; what is sinful in the eyes of a Jew may +not be sinful in the eyes of a Christian; and what is sinful in the eyes +of a Christian of one country may not be sinful in the eyes of a +Christian of another country. In the days of slavery, to harbor a +runaway slave was a _crime_, but it was, in the eyes of most people, +neither a _vice_ nor a _sin_. + +CRUSHED OUT. "The rebellion was finally _crushed out_." Out of what? We +may _crush_ the life out of a man, or _crush_ a man to death, and +_crush_, not _crush out_, a rebellion. + +CULTURED. This word is said to be a product of Boston--an excellent +place for anybody or anything to come from. Many persons object to its +use on the ground that there can be no such participial adjective, +because there is no verb in use from which to form it. We have in use +the substantive _culture_, but, though the dictionaries recognize the +verb _to culture_, we do not use it. Be this objection valid or be it +not, _cultured_ having but two syllables, while its synonym _cultivated_ +has four, it is likely to find favor with those who employ short words +when they convey their meaning as well as long ones. Other adjectives of +this kind are, moneyed, whiskered, slippered, lettered, talented, +cottaged, lilied, anguished, gifted, and so forth. + +CURIOUS. This word is often used instead of _strange_ or _remarkable_. +"A _curious_ fact": better, "a _remarkable_ fact." "A _curious_ +proceeding": better, "a _strange_ proceeding." + +DANGEROUS. "He is pretty sick, but not _dangerous_." Dangerous people +are generally most dangerous when they are most vigorous. Say, rather, +"He is sick, but not _in danger_." + +DEAREST. "A gentleman once began a letter to his bride thus: 'My +_dearest_ Maria.' The lady replied: 'My dear John, I beg that you will +mend either your morals or your grammar. You call me your "_dearest_ +Maria"; am I to understand that you have other Marias'?"--Moon's "Bad +English." + +DECEIVING. "You are _deceiving_ me." Not unfrequently _deceiving_ is +used when the speaker means _trying to deceive_. It is when we do not +suspect deception that we are deceived. + +DECIMATE. This word, meaning as it properly does to tithe, to take the +tenth part, is hardly permissible in the sense in which it is used in +such sentences as, "The regiment held its position, though terribly +_decimated_ by the enemy's artillery." "Though terribly _tithed_" would +be equally correct. + +DEMEAN. This word is sometimes erroneously used in the sense of _to +debase_, _to disgrace_, _to humble_. It is a reflexive verb, and its +true meaning is _to behave_, _to carry_, _to conduct_; as, "He _demeans +himself_ in a gentlemanly manner," i. e., He _behaves_, or _carries_, or +_conducts_, himself in a gentlemanly manner. + +DENUDE. "The vulture," says Brande, "has some part of the head and +sometimes of the neck _denuded_ of feathers." Most birds might be +_denuded_ of the feathers on their heads; not so, however, the vulture, +for his head is always featherless. A thing can not be _denuded_ of what +it does not have. Denuding a vulture's head and neck of the feathers is +like _denuding_ an eel of its scales. + +DEPRECATE. Strangely enough, this word is often used in the sense of +disapprove, censure, condemn; as, "He _deprecates_ the whole +proceeding"; "Your course, from first to last, is universally +_deprecated_." But, according to the authorities, the word really means, +to endeavor to avert by prayer; to pray exemption or deliverance from; +to beg off; to entreat; to urge against. + +"Daniel kneeled upon his knees to _deprecate_ the captivity of his +people."--Hewyt. + +DESPITE. This word is often incorrectly preceded by _in_ and followed by +_of_; thus, "_In_ despite _of_ all our efforts to detain him, he set +out"; which should be, "Despite all our efforts," etc., or "_In spite +of_ all our efforts," etc. + +DETERMINED. See BOUND. + +DICTION. This is a general term, and is applicable to a single sentence +or to a connected composition. _Bad diction_ may be due to errors in +grammar, to a confused disposition of words, or to an improper use of +words. _Diction_, to be good, requires to be only correct and clear. Of +excellent examples of bad diction there are very many in a little work +by Dr. L. T. Townsend, Professor of Sacred Rhetoric in Boston +University, the first volume of which has lately come under my notice. +The first ten lines of Dr. Townsend's preface are: + +"The leading genius[1] of the People's College at Chautauqua Lake, with +a [the?] view of providing for his course[2] a text-book, asked for the +publication of the following laws and principles of speech.[3] + +"The author, not seeing sufficient reason[4] for withholding what had +been of much practical benefit[5] to himself, consented.[6] + +"The subject-matter herein contained is an outgrowth from[7] occasional +instructions[8] given[9] while occupying the chair[10] of Sacred +Rhetoric." + +1. The phrase _leading genius_ is badly chosen. Founder, projector, +head, organizer, principal, or president--some one of these terms would +probably have been appropriate. 2. What course? Race-course, course of +ethics, æsthetics, rhetoric, or what?[3] 3. "The following laws and +principles of speech." And how came these laws and principles in +existence? Who made them? We are to infer, it would seem, that Professor +Townsend made them, and that the world would have had to go without the +laws that govern language and the principles on which language is formed +had it pleased Professor Townsend to withhold them. 4. "_Sufficient_ +reason"! Then there were reasons why Professor Townsend ought to have +kept these good things all to himself; only, they were not _sufficient_. +5. "Practical benefit"! Is there _any_ such thing as impractical +benefit? Are not all benefits practical? and, if they are, what purpose +does the epithet _practical_ serve? 6. Consented to what? It is easy to +see that the Doctor means _acceded to the request_, but he is a long way +from saying so. The object writers usually have in view is to convey +thought, not to set their readers to guessing. 7. _The outgrowth of_ +would be English. 8. "Occasional instructions"! Very vague, and well +calculated to set the reader to guessing again. 9. Given to whom? 10. +"_The_ chair." The definite article made it necessary for the writer to +specify what particular chair of Sacred Rhetoric he meant. + +These ten lines are a fair specimen of the diction of the entire volume. + +Page 131. "To render a _given ambiguous or_ unintelligible sentence +transparent, the following suggestions are recommended." The words in +italics are unnecessary, since what is ambiguous is unintelligible. Then +who has ever heard of _recommending suggestions_? + +Dr. Townsend speaks of _mastering a subject before publishing it_. +Publishing a subject? + +Page 133. "Violations of simplicity, whatever the type, show either that +_the mind of_ the writer is tainted with affectation, or _else_ that _an +effort is making_ to conceal _conscious_ poverty of _sentiment_ under +loftiness of expression." Here is an example of a kind of sentence that +can be mended in only one way--by rewriting, which might be done thus: +Violations of simplicity, whatever the type, show either that the writer +is tainted with affectation, or that he is making an effort to conceal +poverty of thought under loftiness of expression. + +Page 143. "This _quality_ is fully _stated_ and recommended," etc. Who +has ever heard of _stating a quality_? + +On page 145 Dr. Townsend says: "A person can not read a single book of +poor style without having his own style vitiated." _A book of poor +style_ is an awkward expression, to say the least. _A single +badly-written book_ would have been unobjectionable. + +Page 160. "The presented picture produces instantly a definite effect." +Why this unusual disposition of words? Why not say, in accordance with +the idiom of the language, "The picture presented instantly produces," +etc.? + +Page 161. "The boy studies ... geography and hates everything connected +with the sea and land." Why _the_ boy? As there are few things besides +seals and turtles that are connected with the sea _and_ land, the boy in +question has few things to hate. + +On page 175, Dr. Townsend heads a chapter thus: "_Art_ of acquiring +_Skill_ in the use of Poetic Speech." This reminds one of the man who +tried to lift himself over a fence by taking hold of the seat of his +breeches. "_How_ to acquire skill" is probably what is meant. + +On page 232, "Jeremy Taylor is among the best models of long sentences +which are both clear and logical." Jeremy Taylor is a clear and logical +long sentence?! True, our learned rhetorician says so, but he doesn't +mean it. He means, "In Jeremy Taylor we find some of the best examples +of long sentences which are at once clear and logical." + +Since the foregoing was written, the second volume of Professor +Townsend's "Art of Speech" has been published. In the brief preface to +this volume we find this characteristic sentence: "The author has felt +that _clergymen_ more than _those_ of other professions will study this +treatise." The antecedent of the relative _those_ being _clergymen_, the +sentence, it will be perceived, says: "The author has felt that +_clergymen_ more than _clergymen of other professions_ will study this +treatise." Comment on such "art" as Professor Townsend's is not +necessary. + +I find several noteworthy examples of bad diction in an article in a +recent number of an Australian magazine. The following are some of them: +"_Large capital_ always manages to make _itself_ master of the +situation; it is the small capitalist and the small landholder that +would suffer," etc. Should be, "_The large capitalist ... himself_," +etc. Again: "The small farmer would ... be despoiled ... of the meager +profit which _strenuous_ labor had conquered from the _reluctant_ soil." +Not only are the epithets in italics superfluous, and consequently +weakening in their effect, but idiom does not permit _strenuous_ to be +used to qualify _labor_: _hard_ labor and _strenuous_ effort. Again: +"Capital has always the choice _of_ a large field." Should be, "the +choice _offered by_ a large field." Again: "Should capital be withdrawn, +tenements would soon prove insufficient." Should be, "_the number of_ +tenements would," etc. Again: "Men of wealth, therefore, would find +their Fifth Avenue mansions and their summer villas a little more +burdened with taxes, but with this increase happily balanced by the +exemption of their bonds and mortgages, their plate and furniture." The +thought here is so simple that we easily divine it; but, if we look at +the sentence at all carefully, we find that, though we supply the +ellipses in the most charitable manner possible, the sentence really +says: "Men would find their mansions more burdened, but would find them +with this increased burden happily balanced by the exemption," etc. The +sentence should have been framed somewhat in this wise: "Men ... would +find their ... mansions ... more burdened with taxes, but this increase +in the taxes on their real estate would be happily balanced by the +exemption from taxation of their bonds, mortgages, plate, and +furniture." Again: "Men generally ... would be inclined to laugh at the +idea of intrusting the modern politician with such gigantic +opportunities for enriching his favorites." We do not _intrust_ one +another with _opportunities_. _To enrich_ would better the diction. +Again: "The value of land that has accrued from labor is not ... a just +object for confiscation." Correctly: "The value of land that has +_resulted_ from labor is not _justly_ ... an object _of_ confiscation." +_Accrue_ is properly used more in the sense of _spontaneous growth_. +Again: "If the state attempts to confiscate this increase by means of +taxes, either rentals will increase correspondingly, or such a check +will be put upon _the_ growth _of each place_ and _all the_ enterprises +_connected with it_ that greater injury would be done than if things had +been left untouched." We have here, it will be observed, a confusion of +moods; the sentence begins in the indicative and ends in the +conditional. The words in italics are worse than superfluous. Rewritten: +"If the state _should_ attempt to confiscate this increase by means of +taxes, either rentals _would_ increase correspondingly, or such a check +_would_ be put upon growth and enterprise that greater injury would," +etc. Again: "The _theory_ that land ... is a _boon_ of Nature, to which +every person has an inalienable right equal to every other person, is +not new." The words _theory_ and _boon_ are here misused. A _theory_ is +a system of suppositions. The things man receives from Nature are +_gifts_, not _boons_: the gift of reason, the gift of speech, etc. The +sentence should be: "The _declaration_ (or _assertion_) that land ... is +a _gift_ of Nature, to which every person has an inalienable right equal +to _that of any_ other person, is not new." Or, more simply and quite as +forcibly: "... to which one person has an inalienable right equal to +that of another, is not new." Or, more simply still, and more forcibly: +"... to which one _man_ has as good a right as another, is not new." By +substituting the word _man_ for _person_, we have a word of one syllable +that expresses, in this connection, all that the longer word expresses. +The fewer the syllables, if the thought be fully expressed, the more +vigorous the diction. Inalienability being foreign to the discussion, +the long word _inalienable_ only encumbers the sentence. + +"We have thus[1] passed in review[2] the changes and improvements[3] +which the revision contains[4] in the First Epistle to the Corinthians. +It has[5] not, indeed,[6] been possible to refer to[7] them all; but so +many illustrations[8] have been given in[9] the several classes +described that the reader will have[10] a satisfactory[11] survey of the +whole subject. Whatever may be said of other portions[12] of the New +Testament, we think it will be generally admitted that in this Epistle +the changes have improved the old[13] translation. They are such as[14] +make the English version[15] conform more completely[16] to the Greek +original. If this be[17] true, the revisers have done a good work for +the Church.[18] If it be true[19] with regard to all the New Testament +books, the work which they have done will remain[20] a blessing to the +readers of those books for[21] generations to come. But the blessing +will be only in the clearer presentation of the Divine truth, and, +therefore, it will be only to the glory of God." + +This astonishingly slipshod bit of composition is from the pen of the +Rev. Dr. Timothy Dwight. If the learned Professor of Divinity in Yale +College deemed it worth while to give a little thought to manner as well +as to matter, it is probable that his diction would be very different +from what it is; and, if he were to give a few minutes to the making of +verbal corrections in the foregoing paragraph, he would, perhaps, do +something like this: 1, change _thus_ to _now_; 2, write _some of_ the +changes; 3, strike out _and improvements_; 4, for _contains changes_ +substitute some other form of expression; 5, instead of _has been_, +write _was_; 6, strike out _indeed_; 7, instead of _refer to_, write +_cite_; 8, change _illustrations_ to _examples_; 9, instead of _in_, +write _of_; 10, instead of _the reader will have_, write _the reader +will be able to get_; 11, change _satisfactory_ to _tolerable_; 12, +change _portions_ to _parts_; 13, not talk of the _old_ translation, as +we have no new one; 14, strike out as superfluous the words _are such +as_; 15, change _version_ to _text_; 16, substitute _nearly_ for +_completely_, which does not admit of comparison; 17, substitute the +indicative for the conditional; 18, end sentence with the word _work_; +19, introduce _also_ after _be_; 20, instead of _remain_, in the sense +of _be_, use _be_; 21, introduce _the_ after _for_. As for the last +sentence, it reminds one of Mendelssohn's "Songs without Words," though +here we have, instead of a song and no words, words and no song, or +rather no meaning. As is often true of cant, we have here simply a +syntactical arrangement of words signifying--nothing. + +If Professor Dwight were of those who, in common with the Addisons and +Macaulays and Newmans, think it worth while to give some attention to +diction, the thought conveyed in the paragraph under consideration +would, perhaps, have been expressed somewhat in this wise: + +"We have now passed in review some of the changes that, in the revision, +have been made in the First Epistle to the Corinthians. It was not +possible to cite them all, but a sufficient number of examples of the +several classes described have been given to enable the reader to get a +tolerable survey of the whole subject. Whatever may be said of the other +parts of the New Testament, we think it will be generally admitted that +in this Epistle the changes have improved the translation. They make the +English text conform more nearly to the Greek. This being true, the +revisers have done a good work; and, if it be also true with regard to +all the New Testament books, the work which they have done will be a +blessing to the readers of these books for the generations to come." + +DIE WITH. Man and brute die _of_, and not _with_, fevers, consumption, +the plague, pneumonia, old age, and so on. + +DIFFER. Writers differ _from_ one another in opinion with regard to the +particle we should use with this verb. Some say they differ _with_, +others that they differ _from_, their neighbors in opinion. The weight +of authority is on the side of always using _from_, though A may differ +_with_ C from D in opinion with regard, say, to the size of the fixed +stars. "I differ, as to this matter, _from_ Bishop Lowth."--Cobbett. +_Different to_ is heard sometimes instead of _different from_. + +DIRECTLY. The Britons have a way of using this word in the sense of +_when_, _as soon as_. This is quite foreign to its true meaning, which +is immediately, at once, straightway. They say, for example, +"_Directly_ he reached the city, he went to his brother's." "Directly he +[the saint] was dead, the Arabs sent his woolen shirt to the +sovereign."--"London News." Dr. Hall says of its use in the sense of _as +soon as_: "But, after all, it may simply anticipate on the English of +the future." + +DIRT. This word means filth or anything that renders foul and unclean, +and means nothing else. It is often improperly used for earth or loam, +and sometimes even for sand or gravel. We not unfrequently hear of a +_dirt_ road when an unpaved road is meant. + +DISCOMMODE. This word is rarely used; _incommode_ is accounted the +better form. + +DISREMEMBER. This is a word vulgarly used in the sense of _forget_. It +is said to be more frequently heard in the South than in the North. + +DISTINGUISH. This verb is sometimes improperly used for _discriminate_. +We _distinguish_ by means of the senses as well as of the understanding; +we _discriminate_ by means of the understanding only. "It is difficult, +in some cases, to _distinguish between_," etc.: should be, "It is +difficult, in some cases, to _discriminate between_," etc. We +_distinguish_ one thing _from another_, and _discriminate between_ two +or more things. + +DOCK--WHARF. The first of these words is often improperly used for the +second. Of docks there are several kinds: a _naval dock_ is a place for +the keeping of naval stores, timber, and materials for ship-building; a +_dry dock_ is a place where vessels are drawn out of the water for +repairs; a _wet dock_ is a place where vessels are kept afloat at a +certain level while they are loaded and unloaded; a _sectional dock_ is +a contrivance for raising vessels out of the water on a series of +air-tight boxes. A _dock_, then, is a place into which things are +received; hence, a man might fall _into_ a dock, but could no more fall +_off_ a dock than he could fall off a hole. A _wharf_ is a sort of quay +built by the side of the water. A similar structure built at a right +angle with the shore is generally called a _pier_. Vessels lie at +_wharves_ and _piers_, not at _docks_. + +DONATE. This word, which is defined as meaning to give, to contribute, +is looked upon by most champions of good English as being an +abomination. _Donation_ is also little used by careful writers. +"_Donate_," says Mr. Gould, "may be dismissed with this remark: so long +as its place is occupied by _give_, _bestow_, _grant_, _present_, etc., +it is not needed; and it should be unceremoniously bowed out, or thrust +out, of the seat into which it has, temporarily, intruded." + +DONE. This past participle is often very inelegantly, if not improperly, +used thus: "He did not cry out as some have _done_ against it," which +should read, "He did not cry out as some have against it"; i. e., "as +some _have cried out_ against it." + +"Done is frequently a very great offender against grammar," says +Cobbett. "_To do_ is the _act of doing_. We see people write, 'I _did_ +not speak yesterday so well as I wished to have _done_.' Now, what is +meant by the writer? He means to say that he _did_ not speak so well as +he then _wished_, or was wishing, _to speak_. Therefore, the sentence +should be, 'I did not speak yesterday so well as I wished _to do_.' That +is to say, 'so well as I wished to do it'; that is to say, to do or to +perform _the act of speaking_. + +"Take great care not to be too free in your use of the verb _to do_ in +any of its times or modes. It is a nice little handy word, and, like our +oppressed _it_, it is made use of very often when the writer is at a +_loss_ for what to put down. _To do_ is to _act_, and therefore it never +can, in any of its parts, supply the place of a _neuter_ verb. 'How do +you do?' Here _do_ refers to the _state_, and is essentially passive or +neuter. Yet, to employ it for this purpose is very common. Dr. Blair, in +his 23d Lecture, says: 'It is somewhat unfortunate that this Number of +the "Spectator" did not _end_, as it might have _done_, with the former +beautiful period.' That is to say, _done it_. And then we ask, Done +what? Not the _act of ending_, because in this case there is _no action_ +at all. The verb means _to come to an end_, _to cease_, _not to go any +further_. This same verb _to end_ is sometimes an active verb: 'I _end_ +my sentence'; _then_ the verb _to do_ may supply its place; as, 'I have +not ended my sentence so well as I might have _done_'; that is, done +_it_; that is, done, or performed, the _act of ending_. But the Number +of the 'Spectator' was no _actor_; it was expected to _perform_ nothing; +it was, by the Doctor, wished to have _ceased_ to proceed. 'Did not +_end_ as it very well might have ended....' This would have been +correct; but the Doctor wished to avoid the _repetition_, and thus he +fell into bad grammar. 'Mr. Speaker, I do not _feel_ so well satisfied +as I should have _done_ if the Right Honorable Gentleman had explained +the matter more fully.' To _feel_ satisfied is--when the satisfaction is +to arise from conviction produced by fact or reasoning--a senseless +expression; and to supply its place, when it is, as in this case, a +neuter verb, by _to do_, is as senseless. Done _what_? Done _the act of +feeling_! 'I do not _feel_ so well satisfied as I should have _done_, or +_executed_, or _performed_ the _act of feeling_'! What incomprehensible +words!" + +DON'T. Everybody knows that _don't_ is a contraction of _do not_, and +that _doesn't_ is a contraction of _does not_; and yet _nearly_ +everybody is guilty of using _don't_ when he should use _doesn't_. "So +you _don't_ go; John _doesn't_ either, I hear." + +DOUBLE GENITIVE. An anecdote of Mr. Lincoln--an anecdote of Mr. +Lincoln's. We see at a glance that these two phrases are very different +in meaning. So, also, a portrait of Brown--a portrait of Brown's. No +precise rule has ever been given to guide us in our choice between these +two forms of the possessive case. Sometimes it is not material which +form is employed; where, however, it is material--and it generally +is--we must consider the thought we wish to express, and rely on our +discrimination. + +DRAMATIZE. See ADAPT. + +DRAWING-ROOM. See PARLOR. + +DRESS--GOWN. Within the memory of many persons the outer garment worn by +women was properly called a _gown_ by everybody, instead of being +improperly called a _dress_, as it now is by nearly everybody. + +DRIVE. See RIDE. + +DUE--OWING. These two words, though close synonyms, should not be used +indiscriminately. The mistake usually made is in using _due_ instead of +_owing_. That is _due_ which ought to be paid as a debt; that is _owing_ +which is to be referred to as a source. "It was _owing_ to his exertions +that the scheme succeeded." "It was _owing_ to your negligence that the +accident happened." "A certain respect is _due_ to men's prejudices." +"This was _owing_ to an indifference to the pleasures of life." "It is +_due_ to the public that I should tell all I know of the matter." + +EACH OTHER. "Their great authors address themselves, not to their +country, but to _each other_."--Buckle. _Each other_ is properly applied +to two only; _one another_ must be used when the number considered +exceeds two. Buckle should have written _one another_ and not _each +other_, unless he meant to intimate that the Germans had only two great +authors, which is not probable. + +EAT. Grammarians differ very widely with regard to the conjugation of +this verb; there is no doubt, however, that from every point of view the +preferable forms for the preterite and past participle are respectively +_ate_ and _eaten_. To refined ears the other forms smack of vulgarity, +although supported by good authority. "I _ate_ an apple." "I have +_eaten_ dinner." "John _ate_ supper with me." "As soon as you have +_eaten_ breakfast we will set out." + +EDITORIAL. The use of this adjective as a substantive is said to be an +Americanism. + +EDUCATION. This is one of the most misused of words. A man may be well +acquainted with the contents of text-books, and yet be a person of +little _education_; on the other hand, a man may be a person of good +education, and yet know little of the contents of text-books. Abraham +Lincoln and Edwin Forrest knew comparatively little of what is generally +learned in schools; still they were men of culture, men of _education_. +A man may have ever so much book-knowledge and still be a boor; but a +man can not be a person of good education and not be--so far as manner +is concerned--a gentleman. _Education_, then, is a whole of which +Instruction and Breeding are the parts. The man or the woman--even in +this democratic country of ours--who _deserves_ the title of gentleman +or lady is always a person of education; i. e., he or she has a +sufficient acquaintance with books and with the usages of social +intercourse to acquit himself or herself creditably in the society of +cultivated people. Not moral worth, nor learning, nor wealth, nor all +three combined, can unaided make a gentleman, for with all three a man +might be _uneducated_--i. e., coarse, unbred, unschooled in those things +which alone make men welcome in the society of the refined. + +EFFECTUATE. This word, together with _ratiocinate_ and _eventuate_, is +said to be a great favorite with the rural members of the Arkansas +legislature. + +EFFLUVIUM. The plural of this word is _effluvia_. It is a common error +with those who have no knowledge of Latin to speak of "a disagreeable +effluvia," which is as incorrect as it would be to talk about "a +disagreeable vapors." + +EFFORT WITHOUT EFFECT. "Some writers deal in expletives to a degree that +tires the ear and offends the understanding. With them everything is +_excessively_, or _immensely_, or _extremely_, or _vastly_, or +_surprisingly_, or _wonderfully_, or _abundantly_, or the like. The +notion of such writers is that these words give _strength_ to what they +are saying. This is a great error. Strength must be found in the +_thought_, or it will never be found in the _words_. Big-sounding words, +without thoughts corresponding, are effort without effect."--William +Cobbett. See FORCIBLE-FEEBLE. + +EGOIST. "One of a class of philosophers who professed to be sure of +nothing but their own existence."--Reid. + +EGOTIST. "One who talks much of himself." + +"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: + +Paragraph + +4. "Into _another_ land _than_"; should be, "into a land _other than_." + +16. "We do not follow rule in spelling other words, but custom"; should +be, "we do not follow _rule, but custom_, in spelling," etc. + +18. "The distinction is observed in French, but _never appears_ to have +been made," etc.; read, "_appears never_ to have been made." + +61. "_Rather_ to aspirate more _than_ less"; should be, "to aspirate +more _rather than_ less." + +9. "It is said also _only_ to occur three times," etc.; read, "_occur +only_ three times." + +44. "This doubling _only takes place_ in a syllable," etc.; read, +"_takes place only_." + +142. "Which can _only_ be decided when those circumstances are known"; +read, "_can be decided only_ when," etc. + +166. "I will _only_ say that it produces," etc.; read, "I will _say +only_," etc. + +170. "It is said that this can _only_ be filled in thus"; read, "can be +_filled in only_ thus." + +368. "I can _only_ deal with the complaint in a general way"; read, +"_deal with the complaint only_," etc. + +86. "_In_ so far as they are idiomatic," etc. What is the use of _in_? + +171. "Try the experiment"; "_tried_ the experiment." Read, _make_ and +_made_. + +345. "It is _most_ generally used of that very sect," etc. Why _most_? + +362. "The joining together two clauses with a third," etc.; read, "_of +two_ clauses," etc. + +GOWN. See DRESS. + +GRADUATED. Students do not _graduate_; they _are_ graduated. Hence most +writers nowadays say, "I _was_, he _was_, or they _were_ graduated"; and +ask, "When _were_ you, or _was_ he, graduated?" + +GRAMMATICAL ERRORS. "The correctness of the expression _grammatical +errors_ has been disputed. 'How,' it has been asked, 'can an error be +grammatical?' How, it may be replied, can we with propriety say, +_grammatically incorrect_? Yet we can do so. + +"No one will question the propriety of saying _grammatically correct_. +Yet the expression is the acknowledgment of things _grammatically +INcorrect_. Likewise the phrase _grammatical correctness_ implies the +existence of _grammatical INcorrectness_. If, then, a sentence is +_grammatically incorrect_, or, what is the same thing, has _grammatical +incorrectness_, it includes a GRAMMATICAL ERROR. _Grammatically +incorrect_ signifies INCORRECT WITH RELATION TO THE RULES OF GRAMMAR. +_Grammatical errors_ signifies ERRORS WITH RELATION TO THE RULES OF +GRAMMAR. + +"They who ridicule the phrase _grammatical errors_, and substitute the +phrase _errors in grammar_, make an egregious mistake. Can there, it may +be asked with some show of reason, be an error in grammar? Why, grammar +is a science founded in our nature, referable to our ideas of time, +relation, method; imperfect, doubtless, as to the system by which it is +represented; but surely we can speak of error in that which is error's +criterion! All this is hypercritical, but hypercriticism must be met +with its own weapons. + +"Of the two expressions--_a grammatical error_, and _an error in +grammar_--the former is preferable. If one's judgment can accept +neither, one must relinquish the belief in the possibility of tersely +expressing the idea of an offense against grammatical rules. Indeed, it +would be difficult to express the idea even by circumlocution. Should +some one say, 'This sentence is, according to the rules of grammar, +incorrect.' 'What!' the hypercritic may exclaim, 'incorrect! and +according to the rules of grammar!' 'This sentence, then,' the corrected +person would reply, 'contains an error in grammar.' 'Nonsense!' the +hypercritic may shout, 'grammar is a science; you may be wrong in its +interpretation, but principles are immutable!' + +"After this, it need scarcely be added that, grammatically, no one can +make a mistake, that there can be no grammatical mistake, that there can +be no bad grammar, and, consequently, no bad English; a very pleasant +conclusion, which would save us a great amount of trouble if it did not +lack the insignificant quality of being true."--"Vulgarisms and Other +Errors of Speech." + +GRATUITOUS. There are those who object to the use of this word in the +sense of unfounded, unwarranted, unreasonable, untrue. Its use in this +sense, however, has the sanction of abundant authority. "Weak and +_gratuitous_ conjectures."--Porson. "A _gratuitous_ assumption."--Godwin. +"The _gratuitous_ theory."--Southey. "A _gratuitous_ invention."--De +Quincey. "But it is needless to dwell on the improbability of a +hypothesis which has been shown to be altogether _gratuitous_."--Dr. +Newman. + +GROW. This verb originally meant to increase in size, but has normally +come to be also used to express a change from one state or condition to +another; as, to _grow_ dark, to _grow_ weak or strong, to _grow_ faint, +etc. But it is doubtful whether what is large can properly be said to +_grow_ small. In this sense, _become_ would seem to be the better word. + +GUMS. See RUBBERS. + +HAD HAVE. Nothing could be more incorrect than the bringing together of +these two auxiliary verbs in this manner; and yet we occasionally find +it in writers of repute. Instead of "Had I known it," "Had you seen it," +"Had we been there," we hear, "Had I _have_ known it," "Had you _have_ +seen it," "Had we _have_ been there." + +HAD OUGHT. This is a vulgarism of the worst description, yet we hear +people, who would be highly indignant if any one should intimate that +they were not ladies and gentlemen, say, "He _had_ ought to go." A +fitting reply would be, "Yes, I think he better had." _Ought_ says all +that _had ought_ says. + +HAD RATHER. This expression and _had better_ are much used, but, in the +opinion of many, are indefensible. We hear them in such sentences as, "I +_had_ rather not do it," "You _had_ better go home." "Now, what tense," +it is asked, "is _had do_ and _had go_?" If we transpose the words thus, +"You _had do_ better (to) go home," it becomes at once apparent, it is +asserted, that the proper word to use in connection with _rather_ and +_better_ is not _had_, but _would_; thus, "I _would_ rather not do it," +"You _would_ better go home." Examples of this use of _had_ can be found +in the writings of our best authors. For what Professor Bain has to say +on this subject in his "Composition Grammar," see SUBJUNCTIVE MOOD. + +HALF. "It might have been expressed in _one_ half the space." We see at +a glance that _one_ here is superfluous. + +HANGED--HUNG. The irregular form, _hung_, of the past participle of the +verb _to hang_ is most used; but, when the word denotes suspension by +the neck for the purpose of destroying life, the regular form, +_hanged_, is always used by careful writers and speakers. + +HASTE. See HURRY. + +HEADING. See CAPTION. + +HEALTHY--WHOLESOME. The first of these two words is often improperly +used for the second; as, "Onions are a _healthy_ vegetable." A man, if +he is in good health, is _healthy_; the food he eats, if it is not +deleterious, is _wholesome_. A _healthy_ ox makes _wholesome_ food. We +speak of _healthy_ surroundings, a _healthy_ climate, situation, +employment, and of _wholesome_ food, advice, examples. _Healthful_ is +generally used in the sense of conducive to health, virtue, morality; +as, _healthful_ exercise, the _healthful_ spirit of the +community--meaning that the spirit that prevails in the community is +conducive to virtue and good morals. + +HELPMATE. The dictionaries suggest that this word is a corruption of +_help_ and _meet_, as we find these words used in Gen. ii, 18, "I will +make him a help meet for him," and that the proper word is _helpmeet_. +If, as is possible, the words in Genesis mean, "I will make him a help, +meet [suitable] for him," then neither _helpmate_ nor _helpmeet_ has any +_raison d'être_. + +HIGHFALUTIN. This is a style of writing often called the freshman style. +It is much indulged in by very young men, and by a class of older men +who instinctively try to make up in clatter for what they lack in +matter. Examples of this kind of writing are abundant in Professor L. T. +Townsend's "Art of Speech," which, as examples, are all the better for +not being of that exaggerated description sometimes met within the +newspapers. Vol. i, p. 131: "Very often adverbs, prepositions, and +relatives drift so far from their moorings as to lose themselves, or +make attachments where they do not belong." Again, p. 135: "Every law of +speech enforces the statement that there is no excuse for such inflated +and defective style. [Such style!] To speak thus is treason in the +realms and under the laws of language." Again, p. 175: "Cultivate +figure-making habitudes. This is done by asking the spiritual import of +every physical object seen; also by forming the habit of constantly +metaphorizing. Knock at the door of anything met which interests, and +ask, 'Who lives here?' The process is to look, then close the eyes, then +look within." The blundering inanity of this kind of writing is equaled +only by its bumptious grandiloquence. On p. 137 Dr. Townsend quotes this +wholesome admonition from Coleridge: "If men would only say what they +have to say in plain terms, how much more eloquent they would be!" As an +example of reportorial highfalutin, I submit the following: "The spirit +of departed day had joined communion with the myriad ghosts of +centuries, and four full hours fled into eternity before the citizens of +many parts of the town found out there was a freshet here at all." + +HINTS. "Never write about any matter that you do not well understand. If +you clearly understand all about your matter, you will never want +thoughts, and thoughts instantly become words. + +"One of the greatest of all faults in writing and in speaking is this: +the using of many words to _say little_. In order to guard yourself +against this fault, inquire what is the _substance_, or _amount_, of +what you have said. Take a long speech of some talking Lord and put down +upon paper what the amount of it is. You will most likely find that the +_amount_ is very small; but at any rate, when you get it, you will then +be able to examine it and to tell what it is worth. A very few +examinations of the sort will so frighten you that you will be for ever +after upon your guard against _talking a great deal_ and _saying +little_."--Cobbett. + +"Be simple, be unaffected, be honest in your speaking and writing. Never +use a long word where a short one will do. Call a spade _a spade_, not a +_well-known oblong instrument of manual husbandry_; let home be _home_, +not a _residence_; a place a _place_, not a _locality_; and so of the +rest. Where a short word will do, you always lose by using a long one. +You lose in clearness; you lose in honest expression of your meaning; +and, in the estimation of all men who are qualified to judge, you lose +in reputation for ability. The only true way to shine, even in this +false world, is to be modest and unassuming. Falsehood may be a very +thick crust, but, in the course of time, truth will find a place to +break through. Elegance of language may not be in the power of all of +us; but simplicity and straightforwardness are. Write much as you would +speak; speak as you think. If with your inferiors, speak no coarser than +usual; if with your superiors, no finer. Be what you say; and, within +the rules of prudence, say what you are."--Dean Alford. + +"Go critically over what you have written, and strike out every word, +phrase, and clause which it is found will leave the sentence neither +less clear nor less forcible than it is without them."--Swinton. + +"With all watchfulness, it is astonishing what slips are made, even by +good writers, in the employment of an inappropriate word. In Gibbon's +'Rise and Fall,' the following instance occurs: 'Of nineteen tyrants who +started up after the reign of Gallienus, there was not one who _enjoyed_ +a life of peace or a natural _death_.' Alison, in his 'History of +Europe,' writes: 'Two great sins--one of _omission_ and one of +commission--have been _committed_ by the states of Europe in modern +times.' And not long since a worthy Scotch minister, at the close of +the services, intimated his intention of visiting some of his people as +follows: 'I intend, during this week, to visit in Mr. M----'s district, +and will on this occasion take the opportunity of _embracing_ all the +servants in the district.' When worthies such as these offend, who shall +call the bellman in question as he cries, 'Lost, a silver-handled silk +lady's parasol'? + +"The proper arrangement of words into sentences and paragraphs gives +clearness and strength. To attain a clear and pithy style, it may be +necessary to cut down, to rearrange, and to rewrite whole passages of an +essay. Gibbon wrote his 'Memoirs' six times, and the first chapter of +his 'History' three times. Beginners are always slow to prune or cast +away any thought or expression which may have cost labor. They forget +that brevity is no sign of thoughtlessness. Much consideration is needed +to compress the details of any subject into small compass. Essences are +more difficult to prepare, and therefore more valuable, than weak +solutions. Pliny wrote to one of his friends, 'I have not time to write +you a short letter, therefore I have written you a long one.' Apparent +elaborateness is always distasteful and weak. Vividness and strength are +the product of an easy command of those small trenchant Saxon +monosyllables which abound in the English language."--"Leisure Hour." + +"As a rule, the student will do well to banish for the present all +thought of ornament or elegance, and to aim only at expressing himself +plainly and clearly. The best ornament is always that which comes +unsought. Let him not beat about the bush, but go straight to the point. +Let him remember that what is written is meant to be read; that time is +short; and that--other things being equal--the fewer words the +better.... Repetition is a far less serious fault than obscurity. Young +writers are often unduly afraid of repeating the same word, and require +to be reminded that it is always better to use the right word over again +than to replace it by a wrong one--and a word which is liable to be +misunderstood is a wrong one. A frank repetition of a word has even +sometimes a kind of charm--as bearing the stamp of _truth_, the +foundation of all excellence of style."--Hall. + +"A young writer is afraid to be simple; he has no faith in beauty +unadorned, hence he crowds his sentences with superlatives. In his +estimation, turgidity passes for eloquence, and simplicity is but +another name for that which is weak and unmeaning."--George Washington +Moon. + +HONORABLE. See REVEREND. + +HOW. "I have heard _how_ in Italy one is beset on all sides by beggars": +read, "heard _that_." "I have heard _how_ some critics have been +pacified with claret and a supper, and others laid asleep with soft +notes of flattery."--Dr. Johnson. The _how_ in this sentence also should +be _that_. _How_ means the _manner in which_. We may, therefore, say, "I +have heard _how_ he went about it to circumvent you." + +"And it is good judgment alone can dictate _how far_ to proceed in it +and _when_ to stop." Cobbett comments on this sentence in this wise: +"Dr. Watts is speaking here of writing. In such a case, an adverb, like +_how far_, expressive of longitudinal space, introduces a _rhetorical +figure_; for the plain meaning is, that judgment will dictate _how much +to write on it_ and not _how far to proceed in it_. The figure, however, +is very proper and much better than the literal words. But when a figure +is _begun_ it should be carried on throughout, which is not the case +here; for the Doctor begins with a figure of longitudinal space and +ends with a figure of _time_. It should have been, _where_ to stop. Or, +how _long_ to proceed in it and _when_ to stop. To tell a man _how far_ +he is to go into the Western countries of America, and _when_ he is to +stop, is a very different thing from telling him _how far_ he is to go +and _where_ he is to stop. I have dwelt thus on this distinction for the +purpose of putting you on the watch and guarding you against confounding +figures. The less you use them the better, till you understand more +about them." + +HUMANITARIANISM. This word, in its original, theological sense, means +the doctrine that denies the godhead of Jesus Christ, and avers that he +was possessed of a human nature only; a _humanitarian_, therefore, in +the theological sense, is one who believes this doctrine. The word and +its derivatives are, however, nowadays, both in this country and in +England, most used in a humane, philanthropic sense; thus, "The audience +enthusiastically endorsed the _humanitarianism_ of his eloquent +discourse."--Hatton. + +HUNG. See HANGED. + +HURRY. Though widely different in meaning, both the verb and the noun +_hurry_ are continually used for _haste_ and _hasten_. _Hurry_ implies +not only _haste_, but haste with confusion, flurry; while _haste_ +implies only rapidity of action, an eager desire to make progress, and, +unlike _hurry_, is not incompatible with deliberation and dignity. It is +often wise to _hasten_ in the affairs of life; but, as it is never wise +to proceed without forethought and method, it is never wise to _hurry_. +Sensible people, then, may be often in _haste_, but are never in a +_hurry_; and we tell others to _make haste_, and not to _hurry up_. + +HYPERBOLE. The magnifying of things beyond their natural limits is +called _hyperbole_. Language that signifies, literally, more than the +exact truth, more than is really intended to be represented, by which a +thing is represented greater or less, better or worse than it really is, +is said to be _hyperbolical_. Hyperbole is exaggeration. + +"Our common forms of compliment are almost all of them extravagant +_hyperboles_."--Blair. + +Some examples are the following: + +"Rivers of blood and hills of slain." + +"They were swifter than eagles; they were stronger than lions." + + "The sky shrunk upward with unusual dread, + And trembling Tiber div'd beneath his bed." + + "So frowned the mighty combatants, that hell + Grew darker at their frown." + +"I saw their chief tall as a rock of ice; his spear the blasted fir; his +shield the rising moon; he sat on the shore like a cloud of mist on a +hill." + +ICE-CREAM--ICE-WATER. As for ice-cream, there is no such thing, as +ice-cream would be the product of frozen cream, i. e., cream made from +ice by melting. What is called ice-cream is cream _iced_; hence, +properly, _iced_ cream and not _ice_-cream. The product of melted ice is +_ice_-water, whether it be cold or warm; but water made cold with ice is +_iced_ water, and not _ice_-water. + +IF. "I doubt _if_ this will ever reach you": say, "I doubt _whether_ +this will ever reach you." + +ILL. See SICK. + +ILLY. It will astonish not a few to learn that there is no such word as +_illy_. The form of the adverb, as well as of the adjective and the +noun, is _ill_. A thing is _ill_ formed, or _ill_ done, or _ill_ made, +or _ill_ constructed, or _ill_ put together. + + "_Ill_ fares the land, to hastening ills a prey, + Where wealth accumulates and men decay."--Goldsmith. + +IMMODEST. This adjective and its synonyms, _indecent_ and _indelicate_, +are often used without proper discrimination being made in their +respective meanings. _Indecency_ and _immodesty_ are opposed to +morality: the former in externals, as dress, words, and looks; the +latter in conduct and disposition. "_Indecency_," says Crabb, "may be a +partial, _immodesty_ is a positive and entire breach of the moral law. +_Indecency_ is less than _immodesty_, but more than _indelicacy_." It is +_indecent_ for a man to marry again very soon after the death of his +wife. It is _indelicate_ for any one to obtrude himself upon another's +retirement. It is _indecent_ for women to expose their persons as do +some whom we can not call _immodest_. + + "Immodest words admit of no defense, + For want of decency is want of sense." + --Earl of Roscommon. + +IMPROPRIETY. As a rhetorical term, defined as an error in using words in +a sense different from their recognized signification. + +IMPUTE. Non-painstaking writers not unfrequently use _impute_ instead of +_ascribe_. "The numbers [of blunders] that have been _imputed_ to him +are endless."--"Appletons' Journal." The use of _impute_ in this +connection is by no means indefensible; still it would have been better +to use _ascribe_. + +IN OUR MIDST. The phrases _in our midst_ and _in their midst_ are +generally supposed to be of recent introduction; and, though they have +been used by some respectable writers, they nevertheless find no favor +with those who study propriety in the use of language. To the phrase _in +the midst_ no one objects. "Jesus came and stood in the midst." "There +was a hut _in the midst_ of the forest." + +IN RESPECT OF. "The deliberate introduction of incorrect forms, whether +by the coinage of new or the revival of obsolete and inexpressive +syntactical combinations, ought to be resisted even in trifles, +especially where it leads to the confusion of distinct ideas. An example +of this is the recent use of the adverbial phrases _in respect of_, _in +regard of_, for _in_ or _with_ respect _to_, or regard _to_. This +innovation is without any syntactical ground, and ought to be condemned +and avoided as a mere grammatical crotchet."--George P. Marsh, "Lectures +on the English Language," p. 660. + +IN SO FAR AS. A phrase often met with, and in which the _in_ is +superfluous. "A want of proper opportunity would suffice, _in_ so far as +the want could be shown." "We are to act up to the extent of our +knowledge; but, _in_ so far as our knowledge falls short," etc. + +INAUGURATE. This word, which means to install in office with certain +ceremonies, is made, by many lovers of big words, to do service for +_begin_; but the sooner these rhetorical high-fliers stop _inaugurating_ +and content themselves with simply _beginning_ the things they are +called upon to do in the ordinary routine of daily life, the sooner they +will cease to set a very bad example. + +INDECENT. See IMMODEST. + +INDEX EXPURGATORIUS. William Cullen Bryant, who was a careful student of +English, while he was editor of the "New York Evening Post," sought to +prevent the writers for that paper from using "over and above (for 'more +than'); artiste (for 'artist'); aspirant; authoress; beat (for +'defeat'); bagging (for 'capturing'); balance (for 'remainder'); banquet +(for 'dinner' or 'supper'); bogus; casket (for 'coffin'); claimed (for +'asserted'); collided; commence (for 'begin'); compete; cortége (for +'procession'); cotemporary (for 'contemporary'); couple (for 'two'); +darky (for 'negro'); day before yesterday (for 'the day before +yesterday'); début; decrease (as a verb); democracy (applied to a +political party); develop (for 'expose'); devouring element (for +'fire'); donate; employé; enacted (for 'acted'); indorse (for +'approve'); en route; esq.; graduate (for 'is graduated'); gents (for +'gentlemen'); 'Hon.'; House (for 'House of Representatives'); humbug; +inaugurate (for 'begin'); in our midst; item (for 'particle, extract, or +paragraph'); is being done, and all passives of this form; jeopardize; +jubilant (for 'rejoicing'); juvenile (for 'boy'); lady (for 'wife'); +last (for 'latest'); lengthy (for 'long'); leniency (for 'lenity'); +loafer; loan or loaned (for 'lend' or 'lent'); located; majority +(relating to places or circumstances, for 'most'); Mrs. President, Mrs. +Governor, Mrs. General, and all similar titles; mutual (for 'common'); +official (for 'officer'); ovation; on yesterday; over his signature; +pants (for 'pantaloons'); parties (for 'persons'); partially (for +'partly'); past two weeks (for 'last two weeks,' and all similar +expressions relating to a definite time); poetess; portion (for 'part'); +posted (for 'informed'); progress (for 'advance'); reliable (for +'trustworthy'); rendition (for 'performance'); repudiate (for 'reject' +or 'disown'); retire (as an active verb); Rev. (for 'the Rev.'); rôle +(for 'part'); roughs; rowdies; secesh; sensation (for 'noteworthy +event'); standpoint (for 'point of view'); start, in the sense of +setting out; state (for 'say'); taboo; talent (for 'talents' or +'ability'); talented; tapis; the deceased; war (for 'dispute' or +'disagreement')." + +This index is offered here as a curiosity rather than as a guide, though +in the main it might safely be used as such. No valid reason, however, +can be urged for discouraging the use of several words in the list; the +words aspirant, banquet, casket, compete, decrease, progress, start, +talented, and deceased, for example. + +INDICATIVE AND SUBJUNCTIVE. "'I _see_ the signal,' is unconditional; +'_if_ I _see_ the signal,' is the same fact expressed in the form of a +condition. The one form is said to be in the _indicative_ mood, the mood +that simply _states or indicates_ the action; the other form is in the +_subjunctive_, conditional, or conjunctive mood. There is sometimes a +slight variation made in English, to show that an affirmation is made as +a condition. The mood is called 'subjunctive,' because the affirmation +_is subjoined to_ another affirmation: '_If I see the signal_, I will +call out.' + +"Such forms as 'I may see,' 'I can see,' have sometimes been considered +as a variety of mood, to which the name 'Potential' is given. But this +can not properly be maintained. There is no trace of any inflection +corresponding to this meaning, as we find with the subjunctive. +Moreover, such a mood would have itself to be subdivided into indicative +and subjunctive forms: 'I may go,' 'if I may go.' And further, we might +proceed to constitute other moods on the same analogy, as, for example, +an obligatory mood--'I must go,' or 'I ought to go'; a mood of +resolution--'I will go, you shall go'; a mood of gratification--'I am +delighted to go'; of deprecation--'I am grieved to go.' The only +difference in the two last instances is the use of the sign of the +infinitive 'to,' which does not occur after 'may,' 'can,' 'must,' +'ought,' etc.; but that is not an essential difference. Some grammarians +consider the form 'I do go' a separate mood, and term it the emphatic +mood. But all the above objections apply to it likewise, as well as many +others."--Bain. See SUBJUNCTIVE MOOD. + +INDIVIDUAL. This word is often most improperly used for _person_; as, +"The _individual_ I saw was not over forty"; "There were several +_individuals_ on board that I had never seen before." _Individual_ +means, etymologically, that which can not be divided, and is used, in +speaking of things as well as of persons, to express unity. It is +opposed to the whole, or that which is divisible into parts. + +INDORSE. Careful writers generally discountenance the use of _indorse_ +in the sense of _sanction_, _approve_, _applaud_. In this signification +it is on the list of prohibited words in some of our newspaper offices. +"The following rules are _indorsed_ by nearly all writers upon this +subject."--Dr. Townsend. It is plain that the right word to use here is +_approved_. "The public will heartily _indorse_ the sentiments uttered +by the court."--New York "Evening Telegram." "The public will heartily +_approve_ the sentiments _expressed_ by the court," is what the sentence +should be. + +INFINITIVE MOOD. When we can choose, it is generally better to use the +verb in the infinitive than in the participial form. "Ability being in +general the power _of doing_," etc. Say, _to do_. "I desire to reply ... +to the proposal _of substituting_ a tax upon land values ... and +_making_ this tax, as near [nearly] as may be, equal to rent," etc. Say, +_to substitute_ and _to make_. "This quality is of prime importance when +the chief object is _the imparting of_ knowledge." Say, _to impart_. + +INITIATE. This is a pretentious word, which, with its derivatives, many +persons--especially those who like to be grandiloquent--use, when homely +English would serve their turn much better. + +INNUMERABLE NUMBER. A repetitional expression to be avoided. We may say +_innumerable_ times, or _numberless_ times, but we should not say an +_innumerable number_ of times. + +INTERROGATION. The rhetorical figure that asks a question in order to +emphasize the reverse of what is asked is called _interrogation_; as, +"Do we mean to submit to this measure? Do we mean to submit, and consent +that we ourselves, our country and its rights, shall be trampled on?" + +"Doth God pervert judgment? or doth the Almighty pervert justice?" + +INTRODUCE. See PRESENT. + +IRONY. That mode of speech in which what is meant is contrary to the +literal meaning of the words--in which praise is bestowed when censure +is intended--is called _irony_. Irony is a kind of delicate sarcasm or +satire--raillery, mockery. + +"In writings of humor, figures are sometimes used of so delicate a +nature that it shall often happen that some people will see things in a +direct contrary sense to what the author and the majority of the readers +understand them: to such the most innocent _irony_ may appear +irreligion."--Cambridge. + +IRRITATE. See AGGRAVATE. + +IS BEING BUILT. A tolerable idea of the state of the discussion +regarding the propriety of using the locution _is being built_, and all +like expressions, will, it is hoped, be obtained from the following +extracts. The Rev. Peter Bullions, in his "Grammar of the English +Language," says: + +"There is properly _no passive_ form, in English, _corresponding to the +progressive_ form in the _active_ voice, except where it is made by the +participle _ing_, in a passive sense; thus, 'The house is building'; +'The garments are making'; 'Wheat is selling,' etc. An attempt has been +made by some grammarians, of late, to banish such expressions from the +language, though they have been used in all time past by the best +writers, and to justify and defend a clumsy solecism, which has been +recently introduced chiefly through the newspaper press, but which has +gained such currency, and is becoming so familiar to the ear, that it +seems likely to prevail, with all its uncouthness and deformity. I refer +to such expressions as 'The house is being built'; 'The letter is being +written'; 'The mine is being worked'; 'The news is being telegraphed,' +etc., etc. + +"This mode of expression _had no existence_ in the language till _within +the last fifty years_.[7] This, indeed, would not make the expression +wrong, were it otherwise unexceptionable; but its recent origin shows +that it is not, as is pretended, a _necessary_ form. + +"This form of expression, when analyzed, is found not to express what it +is intended to express, and would be used only by such as are either +ignorant of its import or are careless and loose in their use of +language. To make this manifest, let it be considered, first, that there +is _no progressive form_ of the verb _to be_, and no need of it; hence, +there is no such expression in English as _is being_. Of course the +expression '_is being_ built,' for example, is not a compound of _is +being_ and _built_, but of _is_ and _being built_; that is, of the verb +_to be_ and the _present participle passive_. Now, let it be observed +that the only verbs in which the present participle passive expresses a +continued action are those mentioned above as the first class, in which +the regular passive form expresses a _continuance_ of the action; as, +_is loved_, _is desired_, etc., and in which, of course, the form in +question (_is being built_) is not required. Nobody would think of +saying, 'He is being loved'; 'This result is being desired.' + +"The use of this form is justified only by _condemning an established +usage_ of the language; namely, the passive sense in some verbs of the +participle in _ing_. In reference to this it is flippantly asked, 'What +does the house build?' 'What does the letter write?' etc.--taking for +granted, without attempting to prove, that the participle in _ing_ can +not have a passive sense in any verb. The following are a few examples +from writers of the best reputation, which this novelty would condemn: +'While the ceremony was performing.'--Tom. Brown. 'The court was then +holding.'--Sir G. McKenzie. 'And still be doing, never done.'--Butler. +'The books are selling.'--Allen's 'Grammar.' 'To know nothing of what is +transacting in the regions above us.'--Dr. Blair. 'The spot where this +new and strange tragedy was acting.'--E. Everett. 'The fortress was +building.'--Irving. 'An attempt is making in the English +parliament.'--D. Webster. 'The church now erecting in the city of New +York.'--'N. A. Review.' 'These things were transacting in +England.'--Bancroft. + +"This new doctrine is in _opposition_ to the almost _unanimous judgment_ +of the _most distinguished grammarians_ and critics, who have considered +the subject, and expressed their views concerning it. The following are +a specimen: 'Expressions of this kind are condemned by some critics; but +the usage is unquestionably of far better authority, and (according to +my apprehension) in far better taste, than the more complex phraseology +which some late writers adopt in its stead; as, "The books are now being +sold."'--Goold Brown. 'As to the notion of introducing a new and more +complex passive form of conjugation, as, "The bridge _is being built_," +"The bridge _was being built_," and so forth, it is one of the most +absurd and monstrous innovations ever thought of. "The work _is now +being published_," is certainly no better English than, "The work _was +being published_, _has been being published_, _had been being +published_, _shall or will be being published_, _shall or will have +been being published_," and so on through all the moods and tenses. What +a language shall we have when our verbs are thus conjugated!'--Brown's +'Gr. of Eng. Gr.,' p. 361. De War observes: 'The participle in _ing_ is +also passive in many instances; as, "The house is building," "I heard of +a plan forming,"' etc.--Quoted in 'Frazee's Grammar,' p. 49. 'It would +be an absurdity, indeed, to give up the only way we have of denoting the +incomplete state of action by a passive form (viz., by the participle in +_ing_ in the passive sense).'--Arnold's 'English Grammar,' p. 46. 'The +present participle is often used passively; as, "The ship is building." +The form of expression, _is being built_, _is being committed_, etc., is +almost universally condemned by grammarians, but it is sometimes met +with in respectable writers; it occurs most frequently in newspaper +paragraphs and in hasty compositions. See Worcester's "Universal and +Critical Dictionary."'--Weld's 'Grammar,' pp. 118 and 180. 'When we say, +"The house is building," the advocates of the new theory ask, "Building +what?" We might ask, in turn, when you say, "The field ploughs +well,"--"Ploughs what?" "Wheat sells well,"--"Sells what?" If usage +allows us to say, "Wheat sells at a dollar," in a sense that is not +active, why may we not say, "Wheat is selling at a dollar," in a sense +that is not active?'--Hart's 'Grammar,' p. 76. 'The prevailing practice +of the best authors is in favor of the simple form; as, "The house is +building."'--Wells' 'School Grammar,' p. 148. 'Several other expressions +of this sort now and then occur, such as the newfangled and most uncouth +solecism "_is being done_," for the good old English idiom "_is +doing_"--an absurd periphrasis driving out a pointed and pithy turn of +the English language.'--'N. A. Review,' quoted by Mr. Wells, p. 148. +'The phrase, "is being built," and others of a similar kind, have been +for a few years insinuating themselves into our language; still they are +not English.'--Harrison's 'Rise, Progress, and Present Structure of the +English Language.' 'This mode of expression [the house is being built] +is becoming quite common. It is liable, however, to several important +objections. It appears formal and pedantic. It has not, as far as I +know, the support of any respectable grammarian. The easy and natural +expression is, "The house is building."'--Prof. J. W. Gibbs." + +Mr. Richard Grant White, in his "Words and Their Uses," expresses his +opinion of the locution _is being_ in this wise: "In bad eminence, at +the head of those intruders in language which to many persons seem to be +of established respectability, but the right of which to be at all is +not fully admitted, stands out the form of speech _is being done_, or +rather, _is being_, which, about seventy or eighty years ago, began to +affront the eye, torment the ear, and assault the common sense of the +speaker of plain and idiomatic English." Mr. White devotes thirty pages +of his book to the discussion of the subject, and adduces evidence that +is more than sufficient to convince those who are content with an _ex +parte_ examination that "it can hardly be that such an incongruous and +ridiculous form of speech as _is being done_ was contrived by a man who, +by any stretch of the name, should be included among grammarians." + +Mr. George P. Marsh, in his "Lectures on the English Language," says +that the deviser of the locution in question was "some grammatical +pretender," and that it is "an awkward neologism, which neither +convenience, intelligibility, nor syntactical congruity demands." + +To these gentlemen, and to those who are of their way of thinking with +regard to _is being_, Dr. Fitzedward Hall replies at some length, in an +article published in "Scribner's Monthly" for April, 1872. Dr. Hall +writes: + +"'All really well educated in the English tongue lament the many +innovations introduced into our language from America; and I doubt if +more than one of these novelties deserve acceptation. That one is, +substituting a compound participle for an active verb used in a neuter +signification: for instance, "The house is _being built_," instead of, +"The house is _building_."' Such is the assertion and such is the +opinion of some anonymous luminary,[8] who, for his liberality in +welcoming a supposed Americanism, is somewhat in advance of the herd of +his countrymen. Almost any popular expression which is considered as a +novelty, a Briton is pretty certain to assume, off-hand, to have +originated on our side of the Atlantic. Of the assertion I have quoted, +no proof is offered; and there is little probability that its author had +any to offer. 'Are being,' in the phrase 'are being thrown up,'[9] is +spoken of in 'The North American Review'[10] as 'an outrage upon English +idiom, "to be detested, abhorred, execrated, and given over to six +thousand" penny-paper editors'; and the fact is, that phrases of the +form here pointed at have hitherto enjoyed very much less favor with us +than with the English. + +"As lately as 1860, Dr. Worcester, referring to _is being built_, etc., +while acknowledging that 'this new form has been used by some +respectable writers,' speaks of it as having 'been introduced' 'within a +few years.' Mr. Richard Grant White, by a most peculiar process of +ratiocination, endeavors to prove that what Dr. Worcester calls 'this +new form' came into existence just fifty-six years ago. He premises that +in Jarvis's translation of 'Don Quixote,' published in 1742, there +occurs 'were carrying,' and that this, in the edition of 1818, is +sophisticated into 'were being carried.' 'This change,' continues our +logician, 'and the appearance of _is being_ with a perfect participle in +a very few books published between A. D. 1815 and 1820, indicate the +former period as that of the origin of this phraseology, which, although +more than half a century old, is still pronounced a novelty as well as a +nuisance.' + +"Who, in the next place, devised our modern imperfects passive? The +question is not, originally, of my asking; but, as the learned are at +open feud on the subject, it should not be passed by in silence. Its +deviser is, more than likely, as undiscoverable as the name of the +valiant antediluvian who first tasted an oyster. But the deductive +character of the miscreant is another thing; and hereon there is a war +between the philosophers. Mr. G. P. Marsh, as if he had actually spotted +the wretched creature, passionately and categorically denounces him as +'some grammatical pretender.' 'But,' replies Mr. White, 'that it is the +work of any grammarian is more than doubtful. Grammarians, with all +their faults, do not deform language with fantastic solecisms, or even +seek to enrich it with new and startling verbal combinations. They +rather resist novelty, and devote themselves to formulating that which +use has already established.' In the same page with this, Mr. White +compliments the great unknown as 'some precise and feeble-minded soul,' +and elsewhere calls him 'some pedantic writer of the last generation.' +To add even one word toward a solution of the knotty point here +indicated transcends, I confess, my utmost competence. It is painful to +picture to one's self the agonizing emotions with which certain +philologists would contemplate an authentic effigy of the Attila of +speech who, by his _is being built_ or _is being done_, first offered +violence to the whole circle of the proprieties. So far as I have +observed, the first grammar that exhibits them is that of Mr. R. S. +Skillern, M. A., the first edition of which was published at Gloucester +in 1802. Robert Southey had not, on the 9th of October, 1795, been out +of his minority quite two months when, evidently delivering himself in a +way that had already become familiar enough, he wrote of 'a fellow whose +uttermost upper grinder _is being torn out_ by the roots by a +mutton-fisted barber.'[11] This is in a letter. But repeated instances +of the same kind of expression are seen in Southey's graver writings. +Thus, in his 'Colloquies,' etc.,[12] we read of 'such [nunneries] as at +this time _are being reëstablished_.' + +"'While my hand _was being drest_ by Mr. Young, I spoke for the first +time,' wrote Coleridge, in March, 1797. + +"Charles Lamb speaks of realities which '_are being acted_ before us,' +and of 'a man who _is being strangled_.' + +"Walter Savage Landor, in an imaginary conversation, represents Pitt as +saying: 'The man who possesses them may read Swedenborg and Kant while +he _is being tossed_ in a blanket.' Again: 'I have seen nobles, men and +women, kneeling in the street before these bishops, when no ceremony of +the Catholic Church _was being performed_.' Also, in a translation from +Catullus: 'Some criminal _is being tried_ for murder.' + +"Nor does Mr. De Quincey scruple at such English as 'made and _being +made_,' 'the bride that _was being married_ to him,' and 'the shafts of +Heaven _were_ even now _being forged_.' On one occasion he writes, 'Not +done, not even (according to modern purism) _being done_'; as if +'purism' meant exactness, rather than the avoidance of neoterism. + +"I need, surely, name no more, among the dead, who found _is being +built_, or the like, acceptable. 'Simple-minded common people and those +of culture were alike protected against it by their attachment to the +idiom of their mother tongue, with which they felt it to be directly at +variance.' So Mr. White informs us. But the writers whom I have quoted +are formidable exceptions. Even Mr. White will scarcely deny to them the +title of 'people of culture.' + +"So much for offenders past repentance; and we all know that the sort of +phraseology under consideration is daily becoming more and more common. +The best written of the English reviews, magazines, and journals are +perpetually marked by it; and some of the choicest of living English +writers employ it freely. Among these, it is enough if I specify Bishop +Wilberforce and Mr. Charles Reade.[13] + +"Extracts from Bishop Jewel downward being also given, Lord Macaulay, +Mr. Dickens, 'The Atlantic Monthly,' and 'The Brooklyn Eagle' are +alleged by Mr. White in proof that people still use such phrases as +'Chelsea Hospital _was building_,' and 'the train _was preparing_.' +'Hence we see,' he adds,[14] 'that the form _is being done_, _is being +made_, _is being built_, lacks the support of authoritative usage from +the period of the earliest classical English to the present day.' I +fully concur with Mr. White in regarding 'neither "The Brooklyn Eagle" +nor Mr. Dickens as a very high authority in the use of language'; yet, +when he has renounced the aid of these contemned straws, what has he to +rest his inference on, as to the present day, but the practice of Lord +Macaulay and 'The Atlantic Monthly'? Those who think fit will bow to the +dictatorship here prescribed to them; but there may be those with whom +the classic sanction of Southey, Coleridge, and Landor will not be +wholly void of weight. All scholars are aware that, to convey the sense +of the imperfects passive, our ancestors, centuries ago, prefixed, with +_is_, etc., _in_, afterward corrupted into _a_, to a verbal substantive. +'The house _is in building_' could be taken to mean nothing but _ædes +ædificantur_; and, when the _in_ gave place to _a_,[15] it was still +manifest enough, from the context, that _building_ was governed by a +preposition. The second stage of change, however, namely, when the _a_ +was omitted, entailed, in many cases, great danger of confusion. In the +early part of the last century, when English was undergoing what was +then thought to be purification, the polite world substantially resigned +_is a-building_ to the vulgar. Toward the close of the same century, +when, under the influence of free thought, it began to be felt that even +ideas had a right to faithful and unequivocal representation, a just +resentment of ambiguity was evidenced in the creation of _is being +built_. The lament is too late that the instinct of reformation did not +restore the old form. It has gone forever; and we are now to make the +best of its successors. '"The brass _is forging_,"' in the opinion of +Dr. Johnson, is 'a vicious expression, probably corrupted from a phrase +more pure, but now somewhat obsolete, ... "the brass _is a-forging_."' +Yet, with a true Tory's timidity and aversion to change, it is not +surprising that he went on preferring what he found established, vicious +as it confessedly was, to the end. But was the expression 'vicious' +solely because it was a corruption? In 1787 William Beckford wrote as +follows of the fortune-tellers of Lisbon: '_I saw one dragging into +light_, as I passed by the ruins of a palace thrown down by the +earthquake. Whether a familiar of the Inquisition was griping her in his +clutches, or _whether she was taking to account by some disappointed +votary_, I will not pretend to answer.' Are the expressions here +italicized either perspicuous or graceful? Whatever we are to have in +their place, we should be thankful to get quit of them. + +"Inasmuch as, concurrently with _building_ for the active participle, +and _being built_ for the corresponding passive participle, we possessed +the former, with _is_ prefixed, as the active present imperfect, it is +in rigid accordance with the symmetry of our verb that, to construct the +passive present-imperfect, we prefix _is_ to the latter, producing the +form _is being built_. Such, in its greatest simplicity, is the +procedure which, as will be seen, has provoked a very levanter of ire +and vilification. But anything that is new will be excepted to by minds +of a certain order. Their tremulous and impatient dread of removing +ancient landmarks even disqualifies them for thoroughly investigating +its character and pretensions. In _has built_ and _will build_, we find +the active participle perfect and the active infinitive subjoined to +auxiliaries; and so, in _has been built_ and _will be built_, the +passive participle perfect and the passive infinitive are subjoined to +auxiliaries. In _is building_ and _is being built_, we have, in strict +harmony with the constitution of the perfect and future tenses, an +auxiliary followed by the active participle present and the passive +participle present. _Built_ is determined as active or passive by the +verbs which qualify it, _have_ and _be_; and the grammarians are right +in considering it, when embodied in _has built_, as active, since its +analogue, embodied in _has been built_, is the exclusively passive _been +built_. Besides this, _has been_ + _built_ would signify something like +_has existed, built_,[16] which is plainly neuter. We are debarred, +therefore, from such an analysis; and, by parity of reasoning, we may +not resolve _is being built_ into _is being_ + _built_. It must have +been an inspiration of analogy, felt or unfelt, that suggested the form +I am discussing. _Is being_ + _built_, as it can mean, pretty nearly, +only _exists, built_, would never have been proposed as adequate to +convey any but a neuter sense; whereas it was perfectly natural for a +person aiming to express a passive sense to prefix _is_ to the passive +concretion _being built_.[17] + +"The analogical justification of _is being built_ which I have brought +forward is so obvious that, as it occurred to myself more than twenty +years ago, so it must have occurred spontaneously to hundreds besides. +It is very singular that those who, like Mr. Marsh and Mr. White, have +pondered long and painfully over locutions typified by _is being built_, +should have missed the real ground of their grammatical defensibleness, +and should have warmed themselves, in their opposition to them, into +uttering opinions which no calm judgment can accept. + +"'One who _is being beaten_' is, to Archbishop Whately, 'uncouth +English.' '"The bridge _is being built_," and other phrases of the like +kind, have pained the eye' of Mr. David Booth. Such phrases, according +to Mr. M. Harrison, 'are not English.' To Professor J. W. Gibbs 'this +mode of expression ... appears formal and pedantic'; and 'the easy and +natural expression is, "The house _is building_."'[18] In all this, +little or nothing is discernible beyond sheer prejudice, the prejudice +of those who resolve to take their stand against an innovation, +regardless of its utility, and who are ready to find an argument against +it in any random epithet of disparagement provoked by unreasoning +aversion. And the more recent denouncers in the same line have no more +reason on their side than their elder brethren. + +"In Mr. Marsh's estimation, _is being built_ illustrates 'corruption of +language'; it is 'clumsy and unidiomatic'; it is 'at best but a +philological coxcombry'; it 'is an awkward neologism, which neither +convenience, intelligibility, nor syntactical congruity demands, and the +use of which ought, therefore, to be discountenanced, as an attempt at +the artificial improvement of the language in a point which needed no +amendment.' Again, 'To reject' _is building_ in favor of the modern +phrase 'is to violate the laws of language by an arbitrary change; and, +in this particular case, the proposed substitute is at war with the +genius of the English tongue.' Mr. Marsh seems to have fancied that, +wherever he points out a beauty in _is building_, he points out, +inclusively, a blemish in _is being built_. + +"The fervor and feeling with which Mr. White advances to the charge are +altogether tropical. 'The full absurdity of this phrase, the essence of +its nonsense, seems not to have been hitherto pointed out.' It is not +'consistent with reason'; and it is not 'conformed to the normal +development of the language.' It is 'a monstrosity, the illogical, +confusing, inaccurate, unidiomatic character of which I have at some +length, but yet imperfectly, set forth.' Finally, 'In fact, it means +nothing, and is the most incongruous combination of words and ideas that +ever attained respectable usage in any civilized language.' These be +'prave 'ords'; and it seems a pity that so much sterling vituperative +ammunition should be expended in vain. And that it is so expended thinks +Mr. White himself; for, though passing sentence in the spirit of a +Jeffreys, he is not really on the judgment-seat, but on the lowest +hassock of despair. As concerns the mode of expression exemplified by +_is being built_, he owns that 'to check its diffusion would be a +hopeless undertaking.' If so, why not reserve himself for service +against some evil not avowedly beyond remedy? + +"Again we read, 'Some precise and feeble-minded soul, having been taught +that there is a passive voice in English, and that, for instance, +_building_ is an active participle, and _builded_ or _built_ a passive, +felt conscientious scruples at saying "the house _is building_." For +what could the house build?' As children say at play, Mr. White burns +here. If it had occurred to him that the 'conscientious scruples' of his +hypothetical, 'precise, and feeble-minded soul' were roused by _been +built_, not by _built_, I suspect his chapter on _is being built_ would +have been much shorter than it is at present, and very different. 'The +fatal absurdity in this phrase consists,' he tells us, 'in the +combination of _is_ with _being_; in the making of the verb _to be_ a +supplement, or, in grammarians' phrase, an auxiliary to itself--an +absurdity so palpable, so monstrous, so ridiculous, that it should need +only to be pointed out to be scouted.'[19] Lastly, 'The question is thus +narrowed simply to this, Does _to be being_ (_esse ens_) mean anything +more or other than _to be_?' + +"Having convicted Mr. White of a mistaken analysis, I am not concerned +with the observations which he founds on his mistake. However, even if +his analysis had been correct, some of his arguments would avail him +nothing. For instance, _is being built_, on his understanding of it, +that is to say, _is being_ + _built_, he represents by _ens ædificatus +est_, as 'the supposed corresponding Latin phrase.'[20] The Latin is +illegitimate; and he infers that, therefore, the English is the same. +But _ædificans est_, a translation, on the model which he offers, of the +active _is building_, is quite as illegitimate as _ens æedificatus est_. +By parity of _non-sequitur_, we are, therefore, to surrender the active +_is building_. Assume that a phrase in a given language is indefensible +unless it has its counterpart in some other language; from the very +conception and definition of an idiom every idiom is illegitimate. + +"I now pass to another point. '_To be_ and _to exist_ are,' to Mr. +White's apprehension, 'perfect synonyms, or more nearly perfect, +perhaps, than any two verbs in the language. In some of their meanings +there is a shade of difference, but in others there is none whatever; +and the latter are those which serve our present purpose. When we say, +"He, _being_ forewarned of danger, fled," we say, "He, _existing_ +forewarned of danger, fled." When we say that a thing _is_ done, we say +that it _exists_ done.... _Is being done_ is simply _exists existing +done_.' But, since _is_ and _exists_ are equipollent, and so _being_ and +_existing, is being_ is the same as the unimpeachable _is existing_. Q. +_non_ E. D. _Is existing_ ought, of course, to be no less objectionable +to Mr. White than _is being_. Just as absurd, too, should he reckon the +Italian _sono stato_, _era stato_, _sia stato_, _fossi stato_, _saro +stato_, _sarei stato_, _essere stato_, and _essendo stato_. For in +Italian both _essere_ and _stare_ are required to make up the verb +substantive, as in Latin both _esse_ and the offspring of _fuere_ are +required; and _stare_, primarily 'to stand,' is modified into a true +auxiliary. The alleged 'full absurdity of this phrase,' to wit, _is +being built_, 'the essence of its nonsense,' vanishes thus into thin +air. So I was about to comment bluntly, not forgetting to regret that +any gentleman's cultivation of logic should fructify in the shape of +irrepressible tendencies to suicide. But this would be precipitate. +Agreeably to one of Mr. White's judicial placita, which I make no +apology for citing twice, 'no man who has preserved all his senses will +doubt for a moment that "to exist a mastiff or a mule" is absolutely the +same as "to be a mastiff or a mule."' Declining to admit their identity, +I have not preserved all my senses; and, accordingly--though it may be +in me the very superfetation of lunacy--I would caution the reader to +keep a sharp eye on my arguments, hereabouts particularly. The Cretan, +who, in declaring all Cretans to be liars, left the question of his +veracity doubtful to all eternity, fell into a pit of his own digging. +Not unlike the unfortunate Cretan, Mr. White has tumbled headlong into +his own snare. It was, for the rest, entirely unavailing that he +insisted on the insanity of those who should gainsay his fundamental +postulate. Sanity, of a crude sort, may accept it; and sanity may put it +to a use other than its propounder's. + +"Mr. Marsh, after setting forth the all-sufficiency of _is building_, in +the passive sense, goes on to say: 'The reformers who object to the +phrase I am defending must, in consistency, employ the proposed +substitute with all passive participles, and in other tenses as well as +the present. They must say, therefore, "The subscription-paper _is being +missed_, but I know that a considerable sum _is being wanted_ to make up +the amount"; "the great Victoria Bridge _has been being built_ more than +two years"; "when I reach London, the ship Leviathan _will be being +built_"; "if my orders had been followed, the coat _would have been +being made yesterday_"; "if the house _had_ then _been being built_, the +mortar _would have been being mixed_."' We may reply that, while awkward +instances of the old form are most abundant in our literature, there is +no fear that the repulsive elaborations which have been worked out in +ridicule of the new forms will prove to have been anticipations of +future usage. There was a time when, as to their adverbs, people +compared them, to a large extent, with _-er_ and _-est_, or with _more_ +and _most_, just as their ear or pleasure dictated. They wrote +_plainlier_ and _plainliest_, or _more plainly_ and _most plainly_; and +some adverbs, as _early_, _late_, _often_, _seldom_, and _soon_, we +still compare in a way now become anomalous. And as our forefathers +treated their adverbs we still treat many adjectives. _Furthermore_, +_obligingness_, _preparedness_, and _designedly_ seem quite natural; yet +we do not feel that they authorize us to talk of 'the _seeingness_ of +the eye,' 'the _understoodness_ of a sentence,' or of 'a statement +_acknowledgedly_ correct.' 'The now too notorious fact' is tolerable; +but 'the never to be sufficiently execrated monster Bonaparte' is +intolerable. The sun may be _shorn_ of his splendor; but we do not allow +cloudy weather to _shear_ him of it. How, then, can any one claim that a +man who prefers to say _is being built_ should say _has been being +built_? Are not awkward instances of the old form, typified by _is +building_, as easily to be picked out of extant literature as such +instances of the new form, likely ever to be used, are to be invented? +And 'the reformers' have not forsworn their ears. Mr. Marsh, at p. 135 +of his admirable 'Lectures,' lays down that 'the adjective _reliable_, +in the sense of _worthy of confidence_, is altogether unidiomatic'; and +yet, at p. 112, he writes '_reliable_ evidence.' Again, at p. 396 of the +same work, he rules that _whose_, in 'I passed a house _whose_ windows +were open,' is 'by no means yet fully established'; and at p. 145 of his +very learned 'Man and Nature' he writes 'a quadrangular pyramid, the +perpendicular of _whose_ sides,' etc. Really, if his own judgments sit +so very loose on his practical conscience, we may, without being +chargeable with exaction, ask of him to relax a little the rigor of his +requirements at the hands of his neighbors. + +"Beckford's Lisbon fortune-teller, before had into court, was +'_dragging_ into light,' and, perchance, '_was taking_ to account.' Many +moderns would say and write '_being dragged_ into light,' and '_was +being taken_ to account.' But, if we are to trust the conservative +critics, in comparison with expressions of the former pattern, those of +the latter are 'uncouth,' 'clumsy,' 'awkward neologisms,' 'philological +coxcombries,' 'formal and pedantic,' 'incongruous and ridiculous forms +of speech,' 'illogical, confusing, inaccurate monstrosities.' Moreover, +they are neither 'consistent with reason' nor 'conformed to the normal +development of the language'; they are 'at war with the genius of the +English tongue'; they are 'unidiomatic'; they are 'not English.' In +passing, if Mr. Marsh will so define the term _unidiomatic_ as to evince +that it has any applicability to the case in hand, or if he will arrest +and photograph 'the genius of the English tongue,' so that we may know +the original when we meet with it, he will confer a public favor. And +now I submit for consideration whether the sole strength of those who +decry _is being built_ and its congeners does not consist in their +talent for calling hard names. If they have not an uneasy +subconsciousness that their cause is weak, they would, at least, do well +in eschewing the violence to which, for want of something better, the +advocates of weak causes proverbially resort. + +"I once had a friend who, for some microscopic penumbra of heresy, was +charged, in the words of his accuser, with 'as near an approach to the +sin against the Holy Ghost as is practicable to human infirmity.' +Similarly, on one view, the feeble potencies of philological turpitude +seem to have exhibited their most consummate realization in engendering +_is being built_. The supposed enormity perpetrated in its production, +provided it had fallen within the sphere of ethics, would, at the least, +have ranked, with its denunciators, as a brand-new exemplification of +total depravity. But, after all, what incontestable defect in it has any +one succeeded in demonstrating? Mr. White, in opposing to the +expression objections based on an erroneous analysis, simply lays a +phantom of his own evoking; and, so far as I am informed, other +impugners of _is being built_ have, absolutely, no argument whatever +against it over and beyond their repugnance to novelty. Subjected to a +little untroubled contemplation, it would, I am confident, have ceased +long ago to be matter of controversy; but the dust of prejudice and +passion, which so distempers the intellectual vision of theologians and +politicians, is seen to make, with ruthless impartiality, no exception +of the perspicacity of philologists. + +"Prior to the evolution of _is being built_ and _was being built_, we +possessed no discriminate equivalents to _ædificatur_ and +_ædificabatur_; _is built_ and _was built_, by which they were rendered, +corresponding exactly to _ædificatus est_ and _ædificatus erat_. _Cum +ædificaretur_ was to us the same as _ædificabatur_. On the wealth of the +Greek in expressions of imperfect passive I need not dwell. With rare +exceptions, the Romans were satisfied with the present-imperfect and the +past-imperfect; and we, on the comparatively few occasions which present +themselves for expressing other imperfects, shall be sure to have +recourse to the old forms rather than to the new, or else to use +periphrases.[21] The purists may, accordingly, dismiss their +apprehensions, especially as the neoterists have, clearly, a keener +horror of phraseological ungainliness than themselves. One may have no +hesitation about saying 'the house _is being built_,' and may yet recoil +from saying that 'it _should have been being built_ last Christmas'; and +the same person--just as, provided he did not feel a harshness, +inadequacy, and ambiguity in the passive 'the house _is building_,' he +would use the expression--will, more likely than not, elect _is in +preparation_ preferentially to _is being prepared_. If there are any +who, in their zealotry for the congruous, choose to adhere to the new +form in its entire range of exchangeability for the old, let it be hoped +that they will find, in Mr. Marsh's speculative approbation of +consistency, full amends for the discomfort of encountering smiles or +frowns. At the same time, let them be mindful of the career of Mr. +White, with his black flag and no quarter. The dead Polonius was, in +Hamlet's phrase, at supper, 'not where he eats, but where he _is +eaten_.' Shakespeare, to Mr. White's thinking, in this wise expressed +himself at the best, and deserves not only admiration therefor, but to +be imitated. 'While the ark _was built_,' 'while the ark _was +prepared_,' writes Mr. White himself.[22] Shakespeare is commended for +his ambiguous _is eaten_, though _in eating_ or _an eating_ would have +been not only correct in his day, but, where they would have come in his +sentence, univocal. With equal reason a man would be entitled to +commendation for tearing his mutton-chops with his fingers, when he +might cut them up with a knife and fork. '_Is eaten_,' says Mr. White, +'does not mean _has been eaten_.' Very true; but a continuous unfinished +passion--Polonius's still undergoing manducation, to speak +Johnsonese--was in Shakespeare's mind; and his words describe a passion +no longer in generation. The King of Denmark's lord chamberlain had no +precedent in Herod, when 'he _was eaten_ of worms'; the original, +γενόμενος σκωληκόβρωτος, yielding, but for its participle, 'he became +worm-eaten.' + +"Having now done with Mr. White, I am anxious, before taking leave of +him, to record, with all emphasis, that it would be the grossest +injustice to write of his elegant 'Life and Genius of Shakespeare,' a +book which does credit to American literature, in the tone which I have +found unavoidable in dealing with his 'Words and their Uses.'" + +The student of English who has honestly weighed the arguments on both +sides of the question, must, I believe, be of opinion that our language +is the richer for having two forms for expressing the Progressive +Passive. Further, he must, I believe, be of opinion that in very many +cases he conforms to the most approved usage of our time by employing +the old form; that, however, if he were to employ the old form in all +cases, his meaning would sometimes be uncertain. + +IT. Cobbett discourses of this little neuter pronoun in this wise: "The +word _it_ is the greatest troubler that I know of in language. It is so +small and so convenient that few are careful enough in using it. Writers +seldom spare this word. Whenever they are at a loss for either a +nominative or an objective to their sentence, they, without any kind of +ceremony, clap in an _it_. A very remarkable instance of this pressing +of poor _it_ into actual service, contrary to the laws of grammar and of +sense, occurs in a piece of composition, where we might, with justice, +insist on correctness. This piece is on the subject of grammar; it is a +piece written by a _Doctor of Divinity_ and read by him to students in +grammar and language in an academy; and the very sentence that I am now +about to quote is selected by the author of a grammar as testimony of +high authority in favor of the excellence of his work. Surely, if +correctness be ever to be expected, it must be in a case like this. I +allude to two sentences in the 'Charge of the Reverend Doctor +Abercrombie to the Senior Class of the Philadelphia Academy,' published +in 1806; which sentences have been selected and published by Mr. Lindley +Murray as a testimonial of the _merits_ of his grammar; and which +sentences are by Mr. Murray given to us in the following words: 'The +unwearied exertions of this gentleman _have_ done more toward +elucidating the obscurities and embellishing the structure of our +language than any _other writer_ on the subject. _Such a work_ has long +been wanted, and from the success with which _it_ is executed, can not +be too highly appreciated.' + +"As in the learned Doctor's opinion obscurities can be elucidated, and +as in the same opinion Mr. Murray is an able hand at this kind of work, +it would not be amiss were the grammarian to try his skill upon this +article from the hand of his dignified eulogist; for here is, if one may +use the expression, a constellation of obscurities. Our poor oppressed +_it_, which we find forced into the Doctor's service in the second +sentence, relates to '_such a work_,' though this work is nothing that +has an existence, notwithstanding it is said to be '_executed_.' In the +first sentence, the 'exertions' become, all of a sudden, a '_writer_': +the _exertions_ have done more than 'any _other_ writer'; for, mind you, +it is not the _gentleman_ that has done anything; it is 'the +_exertions_' that _have_ done what is said to be done. The word +_gentleman_ is in the possessive case, and has nothing to do with the +action of the sentence. Let us give the sentence a turn, and the Doctor +and the grammarian will hear how it will sound. 'This gentleman's +_exertions_ have done more than any _other writer_.' This is on a level +with 'This gentleman's _dog_ has killed more hares than any _other +sportsman_.' No doubt Doctor Abercrombie _meant_ to say, 'The exertions +of this gentleman have done more _than those_ of any other writer. Such +a work as this gentleman's has long been wanted; his work, seeing the +successful manner of its execution, can not be too highly commended.' +_Meant!_ No doubt at all of that! And when we hear a Hampshire ploughboy +say, 'Poll Cherrycheek have giv'd a thick handkecher,' we know very well +that he _means_ to say, 'Poll Cherrycheek has given me this +handkerchief'; and yet we are too apt to _laugh at him_ and to call him +_ignorant_; which is wrong, because he has no pretensions to a knowledge +of grammar, and he may be very skillful as a ploughboy. However, we will +not laugh at Doctor Abercrombie, whom I knew, many years ago, for a very +kind and worthy man. But, if we may, in any case, be allowed to laugh at +the ignorance of our fellow-creatures, that case certainly does arise +when we see a professed grammarian, the author of voluminous precepts +and examples on the subject of grammar, producing, in imitation of the +possessors of valuable medical secrets, testimonials vouching for the +efficacy of his literary panacea, and when, in those testimonials, we +find most flagrant instances of bad grammar. + +"However, my dear James, let this strong and striking instance of the +misuse of the word _it_ serve you in the way of caution. Never put an +_it_ upon paper without thinking well of what you are about. When I see +many _its_ in a page, I always tremble for the writer." + +JEOPARDIZE. This is a modern word which we could easily do without, as +it means neither more nor less than its venerable progenitor _to +jeopard_, which is greatly preferred by all careful writers. + +JUST GOING TO. Instead of "I am _just going to_ go," it is better to +say, "I am just _about_ to go." + +KIDS. "This is another vile contraction. Habit blinds people to the +unseemliness of a term like this. How would it sound if one should speak +of silk gloves as _silks_?" + +KIND. See POLITE. + +KNIGHTS TEMPLARS. The name of this ancient body has been adopted by a +branch of the Masonic fraternity, but in a perverted form--_Knights +Templar_; and this form is commonly seen in print, whether referring to +the old knights or to their modern imitators. This doubtless is due to +the erroneous impression that _Templar_ is an adjective, and so can not +take the plural form; while in fact it is a case of two nouns in +apposition--a double designation--meaning Knights of the order of +Templars. Hence the plural should be _Knights Templars_, and not +_Knights Templar_. Members of the contemporaneous order of St. John of +Jerusalem were commonly called Knights Hospitallers. + +LADY. To use the term _lady_, whether in the singular or in the plural, +simply to designate the sex, is in the worst possible taste. There is a +kind of pin-feather gentility which seems to have a settled aversion to +using the terms _man_ and _woman_. Gentlemen and ladies establish their +claims to being called such by their bearing, and not by arrogating to +themselves, _even indirectly_, the titles. In England, the title _lady_ +is properly correlative to _lord_; but there, as in this country, it is +used as a term of complaisance, and is appropriately applied to women +whose lives are exemplary, and who have received that school and home +education which enables them to appear to advantage in the better +circles of society. Such expressions as "She is a fine _lady_, a clever +_lady_, a well-dressed _lady_, a good _lady_, a modest _lady_, a +charitable _lady_, an amiable _lady_, a handsome _lady_, a fascinating +_lady_," and the like, are studiously avoided by persons of refinement. +_Ladies_ say, "we _women_, the _women_ of America, _women's_ apparel," +and so on; _vulgar_ women talk about "us _ladies_, the _ladies_ of +America, _ladies'_ apparel," and so on. If a woman of culture and +refinement--in short, a lady--is compelled from any cause soever to work +in a store, she is quite content to be called a sales-_woman_; not so, +however, with your young woman who, being in a store, is in a better +position than ever before. She, Heaven bless her! boils with indignation +if she is not denominated a sales-_lady_. Lady is often the proper term +to use, and then it would be very improper to use any other; but it is +very certain that the terms _lady_ and _gentleman_ are least used by +those persons who are most worthy of being designated by them. With a +nice discrimination worthy of special notice, one of our daily papers +recently said: "Miss Jennie Halstead, daughter of the proprietor of the +'Cincinnati Commercial,' is one of the most brilliant young _women_ in +Ohio." + +In a late number of the "London Queen" was the following: "The terms +_ladies_ and _gentlemen_ become in themselves vulgarisms when +misapplied, and the improper application of the wrong term at the wrong +time makes all the difference in the world to ears polite. Thus, calling +a man a _gentleman_ when he should be called a _man_, or speaking of a +man as a _man_ when he should be spoken of as a _gentleman_; or alluding +to a lady as a _woman_ when she should be alluded to as a _lady_, or +speaking of a woman as a _lady_ when she should properly be termed a +_woman_. Tact and a sense of the fitness of things decide these points, +there being no fixed rule to go upon to determine when a man is a _man_ +or when he is a _gentleman_; and, although he is far oftener termed the +one than the other, he does not thereby lose his attributes of a +gentleman. In common parlance, a man is always a _man_ to a man, and +never a _gentleman_; to a woman, he is occasionally a _man_ and +occasionally a _gentleman_; but a man would far oftener term a woman a +_woman_ than he would term her a _lady_. When a man makes use of an +adjective in speaking of a lady, he almost invariably calls her a +_woman_. Thus, he would say, 'I met a rather agreeable _woman_ at dinner +last night'; but he would _not_ say, 'I met an agreeable _lady_'; but he +might say, 'A _lady_, a friend of mine, told me,' etc., when he would +_not_ say, 'A _woman_, a friend of mine, told me,' etc. Again, a man +would say, 'Which of the _ladies_ did you take in to dinner?' He would +certainly not say, 'Which of the _women_,' etc. + +"Speaking of people _en masse_, it would be to belong to a very advanced +school to refer to them in conversation as 'men and women,' while it +would be all but vulgar to style them 'ladies and gentlemen,' the +compromise between the two being to speak of them as 'ladies and men.' +Thus a lady would say, 'I have asked two or three ladies and several +men'; she would not say, 'I have asked several men and women'; neither +would she say, 'I have asked several ladies and gentlemen.' And, +speaking of numbers, it would be very usual to say, 'There were a great +many ladies, and but very few men present,' or, 'The ladies were in the +majority, so few men being present.' Again, a lady would not say, 'I +expect two or three men,' but she would say, 'I expect two or three +gentlemen.' When people are on ceremony with each other [_one another_], +they might, perhaps, in speaking of a man, call him a _gentleman_; but, +otherwise, it would be more usual to speak of him as a _man_. Ladies, +when speaking of each other [_one another_], usually employ the term +_woman_ in preference to that of _lady_. Thus they would say, 'She is a +very good-natured _woman_,' 'What sort of a _woman_ is she?' the term +_lady_ being entirely out of place under such circumstances. Again, the +term young _lady_ gives place as far as possible to the term _girl_, +although it greatly depends upon the amount of intimacy existing as to +which term is employed." + +LANGUAGE. A note in Worcester's Dictionary says: "_Language_ is a very +general term, and is not strictly confined to utterance by words, as it +is also expressed by the countenance, by the eyes, and by signs. +_Tongue_ refers especially to an original language; as, 'the Hebrew +_tongue_.' The modern languages are derived from the original +_tongues_." If this be correct, then he who speaks French, German, +English, Spanish, and Italian, may properly say that he speaks five +_languages_, but only one _tongue_. + +LAY--LIE. Errors are frequent in the use of these two irregular verbs. +_Lay_ is often used for _lie_, and _lie_ is sometimes used for _lay_. +This confusion in their use is due in some measure, doubtless, to the +circumstance that _lay_ appears in both verbs, it being the imperfect +tense of _to lie_. We say, "A mason _lays_ bricks," "A ship _lies_ at +anchor," etc. "I must _lie_ down"; "I must _lay_ myself down"; "I must +_lay_ this book on the table"; "He _lies_ on the grass"; "He _lays_ his +plans well"; "He _lay_ on the grass"; "He _laid_ it away"; "He has +_lain_ in bed long enough"; "He has _laid up_ some money," "_in_ a +stock," "_down_ the law"; "He is _laying_ out the grounds"; "Ships _lie_ +at the wharf"; "Hens _lay_ eggs"; "The ship _lay_ at anchor"; "The hen +_laid_ an egg." It will be seen that _lay_ always expresses transitive +action, and that _lie_ expresses rest. + + "Here _lies_ our sovereign lord, the king, + Whose word no man relies on; + He never says a foolish thing, + Nor ever does a wise one." + +--Written on the bedchamber door of Charles II, by the Earl of +Rochester. + +LEARN. This verb was long ago used as a synonym of _teach_, but in this +sense it is now obsolete. To _teach_ is to give instruction; to _learn_ +is to take instruction. "I will _learn_, if you will _teach_ me." See +TEACH. + +LEAVE. There are grammarians who insist that this verb should not be +used without an object, as, for example, it is used in such sentences +as, "When do you leave?" "I leave to-morrow." The object of the +verb--home, town, or whatever it may be--is, of course, understood; but +this, say these gentlemen, is not permissible. On this point opinions +will, I think, differ; they will, however, not differ with regard to the +vulgarity of using _leave_ in the sense of _let_; thus, "_Leave_ me be"; +"_Leave_ it alone"; "_Leave_ her be--don't bother her"; "_Leave_ me see +it." + +LEND. See LOAN. + +LENGTHY. This word is of comparatively recent origin, and, though it is +said to be an Americanism, it is a good deal used in England. The most +careful writers, however, both here and elsewhere, much prefer the word +_long_: "a _long_ discussion," "a _long_ discourse," etc. + +LENIENCY. Mr. Gould calls this word and _lenience_ "two philological +abortions." _Lenity_ is undoubtedly the proper word to use, though both +Webster and Worcester do recognize _leniency_ and _lenience_. + +LESS. This word is much used instead of _fewer_. _Less_ relates to +quantity; _fewer_ to number. Instead of, "There were not _less_ than +twenty persons present," we should say, "There were not _fewer_ than +twenty persons present." + +LESSER. This form of the comparative of _little_ is accounted a +corruption of _less_. It may, however, be used instead of _less_ with +propriety in verse, and also, in some cases, in prose. We may say, for +example, "Of two evils choose the _less_," or "the _lesser_." The latter +form, in sentences like this, is the more euphonious. + +LIABLE. Richard Grant White, in inveighing against the misuse of this +word, cites the example of a member from a rural district, who called +out to a man whom he met in the village, where he was in the habit of +making little purchases: "I say, mister, kin yer tell me whar I'd be +_li'ble_ to find some beans?" See, also, APT. + +LIE. See LAY. + +LIKE--AS. Both these words express similarity; _like_ (adjective) +comparing things, _as_ (adverb) comparing action, existence, or quality. +Like is followed by an object only, and does not admit of a verb in the +same construction. _As_ must be followed by a verb expressed or +understood. We say, "He looks _like_ his brother," or "He looks _as_ his +brother _looks_." "Do _as_ I do," not "_like_ I do." "You must speak +_as_ James does," not "_like_ James does." "He died _as_ he had lived, +_like_ a dog." "It is _as_ blue _as_ indigo"; i. e., "as indigo is." + +LIKE, TO. See LOVE. + +LIKELY. See APT. + +LIT. This form of the past participle of the verb _to light_ is now +obsolete. "Have you _lighted_ the fire?" "The gas is _lighted_." _Het_ +for _heated_ is a similar, but much greater, vulgarism. + +LOAN--LEND. There are those who contend that there is no such verb as +_to loan_, although it has been found in our literature for more than +three hundred years. Whether there is properly such a verb or not, it is +quite certain that it is only those having a vulgar _penchant_ for big +words who will prefer it to its synonym _lend_. Better far to say +"_Lend_ me your umbrella" than "_Loan_ me your umbrella." + +LOCATE--SETTLE. The use of the verb _to locate_ in the sense of _to +settle_ is said to be an Americanism. Although the dictionaries +recognize _to locate_ as a neuter verb, as such it is marked "rarely +used," and, in the sense of _to settle_, it is among the vulgarisms that +careful speakers and writers are studious to avoid. A man _settles_, not +_locates_, in Nebraska. "Where do you intend to _settle_?" not _locate_. +See, also, SETTLE. + +LOGGERHEADS. "In the mean time France is at _loggerheads +internally_."--"New York Herald," April 29, 1881. Loggerheads +_internally_?! + +LOOKS BEAUTIFULLY. It is sometimes interesting to note the difference +between _vulgar_ bad grammar and _genteel_ bad grammar, or, more +properly, between non-painstaking and painstaking bad grammar. The +former uses, for example, adjectives instead of adverbs; the latter uses +adverbs instead of adjectives. The former says, "This bonnet is trimmed +_shocking_"; the latter says, "This bonnet looks _shockingly_." In the +first sentence the epithet qualifies the verb _is trimmed_, and +consequently should have its adverbial form--_shockingly_; in the second +sentence the epithet qualifies the _appearance_--a noun--of the bonnet, +and consequently should have its adjectival form--_shocking_. The second +sentence means to say, "This bonnet presents a shocking appearance." The +bonnet certainly does not really _look_; it is _looked at_, and to the +_looker_ its appearance is _shocking_. So we say, in like manner, of a +person, that he or she looks _sweet_, or _charming_, or _beautiful_, or +_handsome_, or _horrid_, or _graceful_, or _timid_, and so on, always +using an adjective. "Miss Coghlan, as Lady Teazle, looked _charmingly_." +The grammar of the "New York Herald" would not have been any more +incorrect if it had said that Miss Coghlan looked _gladly_, or _sadly_, +or _madly_, or _delightedly_, or _pleasedly_. A person may look _sick_ +or _sickly_, but in both cases the qualifying word is an adjective. The +verbs to _smell_, to _feel_, to _sound_, and to _appear_ are also found +in sentences in which the qualifying word must be an adjective and not +an adverb. We say, for example, "The rose smells _sweet_"; "The butter +smells _good_, or _bad_, or _fresh_"; "I feel _glad_, or _sad_, or +_bad_, or _despondent_, or _annoyed_, or _nervous_"; "This construction +sounds _harsh_"; "How _delightful_ the country appears!" + +On the other hand, to _look_, to _feel_, to _smell_, to _sound_, and to +_appear_ are found in sentences where the qualifying word must be an +adverb; thus, "He feels his loss _keenly_"; "The king looked +_graciously_ on her"; "I smell it _faintly_." We might also say, "He +feels _sad_ [adjective], because he feels his loss _keenly_" (adverb); +"He appears _well_" (adverb). + +The expression, "_She seemed confusedly_, or _timidly_," is not a whit +more incorrect than "_She looked beautifully_, or _charmingly_." See +ADJECTIVES. + +LOVE--LIKE. Men who are at all careful in the selection of language to +express their thoughts, and have not an undue leaning toward the +superlative, _love_ few things: their wives, their sweethearts, their +kinsmen, truth, justice, and their country. Women, on the contrary, as a +rule, _love_ a multitude of things, and, among their loves, the thing +they perhaps love most is--taffy. + +LUGGAGE--BAGGAGE. The former of these words is generally used in +England, the latter in America. + +LUNCH. This word, when used as a substantive, may at the best be +accounted an inelegant abbreviation of _luncheon_. The dictionaries +barely recognize it. The proper phraseology to use is, "Have you +_lunched_?" or, "Have you had your _luncheon_?" or, better, "Have you +had _luncheon_?" as we may in most cases presuppose that the person +addressed would hardly take anybody's else luncheon. + +LUXURIOUS--LUXURIANT. The line is drawn much more sharply between these +two words now than it was formerly. Luxurious was once used, to some +extent at least, in the sense of _rank growth_, but now all careful +writers and speakers use it in the sense of _indulging_ or _delighting +in luxury_. We talk of a _luxurious_ table, a _luxurious_ liver, +_luxurious_ ease, _luxurious_ freedom. Luxuriant, on the other hand, is +restricted to the sense of _rank_, or _excessive_, growth or production; +thus, _luxuriant_ weeds, _luxuriant_ foliage or branches, _luxuriant_ +growth. + + "Prune the _luxuriant_, the uncouth refine, + But show no mercy to an empty line."--Pope. + +MAD. Professor Richard A. Proctor, in a recent number of "The +Gentleman's Magazine," says: "The word _mad_ in America seems nearly +always to mean _angry_. For _mad_, as we use the word, Americans say +_crazy_. Herein they have manifestly impaired the language." Have they? + + "Now, in faith, Gratiano, + You give your wife too unkind a cause of grief; + An 'twere, to me, I would be _mad at_ it." + --"Merchant of Venice." + +"And being exceedingly _mad_ against them, I persecuted them even unto +strange cities."--Acts xxvi, II. + +MAKE A VISIT. The phrase "_make_ a visit," according to Dr. Hall, +whatever it once was, is no longer English. + +MALE. See FEMALE. + +MARRY. There has been some discussion, at one time and another, with +regard to the use of this word. Is John Jones married _to_ Sally Brown +or _with_ Sally Brown, or are they married to each other? Inasmuch as +the woman loses her name in that of the man to whom she is wedded, and +becomes a member of his family, not he of hers--inasmuch as, with few +exceptions, it is her life that is merged in his--it would seem that, +_properly_, Sally Brown is married _to_ John Jones, and that this would +be the proper way to make the announcement of their having been wedded, +and not John Jones _to_ Sally Brown. + +There is also a difference of opinion as to whether the active or the +passive form is preferable in referring to a person's wedded state. In +speaking definitely of the _act_ of marriage, the passive form is +necessarily used with reference to either spouse. "John Jones was +married to Sally Brown on Dec. 1, 1881"; not, "John Jones _married_ +Sally Brown" on such a date, for (unless they were Quakers) some third +person married him to her and her to him. But, in speaking indefinitely +of the _fact_ of marriage, the active form is a matter of course. "Whom +did John Jones marry?" "He married Sally Brown." "John Jones, when he +had sown his wild oats, married [married himself, as the French say] and +settled down." _Got married_ is a vulgarism. + +MAY. In the sense of _can_, _may_, in a negative clause, has become +obsolete. "Though we _may_ say a horse, we _may_ not say a ox." The +first _may_ here is permissible; not so, however, the second, which +should be _can_. + +MEAT. At table, we ask for and offer beef, mutton, veal, steak, turkey, +duck, etc., and do not ask for nor offer _meat_, which, to say the +least, is inelegant. "Will you have [not, take] another piece of _beef_ +[not, of _the_ beef]?" not, "Will you have another piece of _meat_?" + +MEMORANDUM. The plural is _memoranda_, except when the singular means a +book; then the plural is _memorandums_. + +MERE. This word is not unfrequently misplaced, and sometimes, as in the +following sentence, in consequence of being misplaced, it is changed to +an adverb: "It is true of men as of God, that words _merely_ meet with +no response." What the writer evidently intended to say is, that _mere_ +words meet with no response. + +METAPHOR. An _implied_ comparison is called a metaphor; it is a more +terse form of expression than the simile. Take, for example, this +sentence from Spenser's "Philosophy of Style": "As, in passing through +the crystal, beams of white light are decomposed into the colors of the +rainbow; so, in traversing the soul of the poet, the colorless rays of +truth are transformed into brightly-tinted poetry." Expressed in +metaphors, this becomes: "The white light of truth, in traversing the +many-sided, transparent soul of the poet, is refracted into iris-hued +poetry." + +Worcester's definition of a _metaphor_ is: "A figure of speech founded +on the resemblance which one object is supposed to bear, in some +respect, to another, or a figure by which a word is transferred from a +subject to which it properly belongs to another, in such a manner that a +_comparison is implied, though not formally expressed_; a comparison or +simile comprised in a word; as, 'Thy word is a _lamp_ to my feet.'" A +_metaphor_ differs from a _simile_ in being expressed without any sign +of comparison; thus, "the _silver_ moon" is a _metaphor_; "the moon is +bright as silver" is a simile. Examples: + + "But look, the morn, in russet mantle clad, + Walks o'er the dew of yon high eastern hill." + + "Canst thou not minister to a mind diseased-- + Pluck from the memory a rooted sorrow?" + + "At length Erasmus + Stemmed the wild torrent of a barbarous age, + And drove those holy Vandals off the stage." + +"Censure is the tax a man pays to the public for being eminent." + +METONYMY. The rhetorical figure that puts the effect for the cause, the +cause for the effect, the container for the thing contained, the sign, +or symbol, for the thing signified, or the instrument for the agent, is +called _metonymy_. + +"One very common species of _metonymy_ is, when the badge is put for the +office. Thus we say the _miter_ for the priesthood; the _crown_ for +royalty; for military occupation we say the _sword_; and for the +literary professions, those especially of theology, law, and physic, the +common expression is the _gown_."--Campbell. + +Dr. Quackenbos, in his "Course of Composition and Rhetoric," says: +"_Metonymy_ is the exchange of names between things related. It is +founded, not on resemblance, but on the relation of, 1. Cause and +effect; as,'They have _Moses_ and _the prophets_,' i. e., their +writings; '_Gray hairs_ should be respected,' i. e., _old age_. 2. +Progenitor and posterity; as, 'Hear, O Israel!' i. e., _descendants of +Israel_. 3. Subject and attribute; as, '_Youth_ and _beauty_ shall be +laid in dust,' i. e., _the young_ and _beautiful_. 4. Place and +inhabitant; as, 'What _land_ is so barbarous as to allow this +injustice?' i. e., what _people_. 5. Container and thing contained; as, +'Our _ships_ next opened fire,' i. e., our _sailors_. 6. Sign and thing +signified; as, 'The _scepter_ shall not depart from Judah,' i. e., +_kingly_ power. 7. Material and thing made of it; as, 'His _steel_ +gleamed on high,' i. e., his _sword_." + +"Petitions having proved unsuccessful, it was determined to approach the +throne more boldly." + +MIDST, THE. See IN OUR MIDST. + +MIND--CAPRICIOUS. "Lord Salisbury's _mind_ is _capricious_."--"Tribune," +April 3, 1881. See EQUANIMITY OF MIND. + +MISPLACED CLAUSES. In writing and speaking, it is as important to give +each clause its proper place as it is to place the words properly. The +following are a few instances of misplaced clauses and adjuncts: "All +these circumstances brought close to us a state of things which we never +thought to have witnessed [_to witness_] in peaceful England. _In the +sister island, indeed, we had read of such horrors_, but now they were +brought home to our very household hearth."--Swift. Better: "We had +read, indeed, of such horrors occurring in the sister island," etc. + +"The savage people in many places in America, except the government of +families, have no government at all, and live at this day in that savage +manner as I have said before."--Hobbes. Better: "The savage people ... +in America have no government at all, except the government of +families," etc. + +"I shall have a comedy for you, in a season or two at farthest, that I +believe will be worth your acceptance."--Goldsmith. Bettered: "In a +season or two at farthest, I shall have a comedy for you that I believe +will be worth your acceptance." + +Among the following examples of the wrong placing of words and clauses, +there are some that are as amusing as they are instructive: "This +orthography is regarded as normal _in England_." What the writer +intended was, "in England _as normal_"--a very different thought. "The +Normal School is a commodious building capable of accommodating three +hundred students four stories high." "HOUSEKEEPER.--A highly respectable +middle-aged Person who has been filling the above Situation with a +gentleman for upwards of eleven years and who is now deceased is anxious +to meet a similar one." "TO PIANO-FORTE MAKERS.--A lady keeping a +first-class school requiring a good piano, is desirous of receiving a +daughter of the above in exchange for the same." "The Moor, seizing a +bolster boiling over with rage and jealousy, smothers her." "The Dying +Zouave the most wonderful mechanical representation ever seen of the +last breath of life being shot in the breast and life's blood leaving +the wound." "Mr. T---- presents his compliments to Mr. H----, and I have +got a hat that is not his, and, if he have a hat that is not yours, no +doubt they are the expectant ones." See ONLY. + +MISPLACED WORDS. "Of all the faults to be found in writing," says +Cobbett, "this is one of the most common, and perhaps it leads to the +greatest number of misconceptions. All the words may be the proper words +to be used upon the occasion, and yet, by a _misplacing_ of a part of +them, the meaning may be wholly destroyed; and even made to be the +contrary of what it ought to be." + +"I asked the question with no other intention than to set the gentleman +free from the necessity of silence, and to give him an opportunity of +mingling on equal terms with a polite assembly from which, _however +uneasy_, he could not then _escape_, _by a kind introduction_ of the +only subject on which I believed him to be able to speak with +propriety."--Dr. Johnson. + +"This," says Cobbett, "is a very bad sentence altogether. '_However +uneasy_' applies to _assembly_ and not to _gentleman_. Only observe how +easily this might have been avoided. 'From which _he_, _however uneasy_, +could not then escape.' After this we have, '_he_ could not then +_escape_, _by a kind introduction_.' We know what is _meant_; but the +Doctor, with all his _commas_, leaves the sentence confused. Let us see +whether we can not make it clear. 'I asked the question with no other +intention than, by a kind introduction of the only subject on which I +believed him to be able to speak with propriety, to set the gentleman +free from the necessity of silence, and to give him an opportunity of +mingling on equal terms with a polite assembly from which he, however +uneasy, could not then escape.'" + +"Reason is the glory of human nature, and one of the chief eminences +whereby we are raised above our fellow-creatures, the brutes, _in this +lower world_."--Doctor Watts' "Logic." + +"I have before showed an error," Cobbett remarks, "in the _first_ +sentence of Doctor Watts' work. This is the _second_ sentence. The words +_in this lower world_ are not words _misplaced_ only; they are wholly +_unnecessary_, and they do great harm; for they do these two things: +first, they imply _that there are brutes in the higher world_; and, +second, they excite a doubt _whether we are raised above those brutes_. + +"I might greatly extend the number of my extracts from these authors; +but here, I trust, are enough. I had noted down about _two hundred +errors_ in Dr. Johnson's 'Lives of the Poets'; but, afterward perceiving +that he had revised and corrected 'The Rambler' with _extraordinary +care_, I chose to make my extracts from that work rather than from the +'Lives of the Poets.'" + +The position of the adverb should be as near as possible to the word it +qualifies. Sometimes we place it before the auxiliary and sometimes +after it, according to the thought we wish to express. The difference +between "The fish should _properly_ be broiled" and "The fish should be +_properly_ broiled" is apparent at a glance. "The colon may be +_properly_ used in the following cases": should be, "may _properly_ be +used." "This mode of expression _rather suits_ a familiar than a grave +style": should be, "suits a familiar _rather than_ a grave style." "It +is a frequent error _in the writings even_ of some good authors": should +be, "in the writings of _even some good_ authors." "_Both_ the +circumstances of contingency and futurity are necessary": should be, +"The circumstances of contingency and futurity are _both_ necessary." +"He has made charges ... which he has failed _utterly_ to +sustain."--"New York Tribune." Here it is uncertain at first sight which +verb the adverb is intended to qualify; but the nature of the case makes +it probable that the writer meant "has utterly failed to sustain." + +MISTAKEN. "If I am not _mistaken_, you are in the wrong": say, "If I +_mistake not_." "I tell you, you are _mistaken_." Here _mistaken_ means, +"You are wrong; you do not understand"; but it might be taken to mean, +"I _mistake you_." For "you are _mistaken_," say, "you _mistake_." If, +as Horace and Professor Davidson aver, usage in language makes right, +then the grammarians ought long ago to have invented some theory upon +which the locution _you are mistaken_ could be defended. Until they do +invent such a theory, it will be better to say _you mistake_, _he +mistakes_, and so on; or _you are_, or _he is_--as the case may be--_in +error_. + +MORE PERFECT. Such expressions as, "the _more_ perfect of the two," "the +_most_ perfect thing of the kind I have ever seen," "the _most_ complete +cooking-stove ever invented," and the like, can not be defended +logically, as nothing can be more perfect than perfection, or more +complete than completeness. Still such phrases are, and probably will +continue to be, used by good writers. + +MOST. "Everybody abuses this word," says Mr. Gould in his "Good +English"; and then, in another paragraph, he adds: "If a man would cross +out _most_ wherever he can find it in any book in the English language, +he would in _al_most every instance improve the style of the book." That +this statement may appear within bounds, he gives many examples from +good authors, some of which are the following: "a _most_ profound +silence"; "a _most_ just idea"; "a _most_ complete orator"; "this was +_most_ extraordinary"; "an object of _most_ perfect esteem"; "a _most_ +extensive erudition"; "he gave it _most_ liberally away"; "it is, _most_ +assuredly, not because I value his services least"; "would _most_ +seriously affect us"; "that such a system must _most_ widely and _most_ +powerfully," etc.; "it is _most_ effectually nailed to the counter"; "it +is _most_ undeniable that," etc. + +This word is much, and very erroneously, used for _almost_. "He comes +here _most_ every day." The user of such a sentence as this means to say +that he comes _nearly_ every day, but he _really says_, if he says +anything, that he comes more every day than he does every night. In such +sentences _almost_, and not _most_, is the word to use. + +MUTUAL. This word is much misused in the phrase "our _mutual_ friend." +Macaulay says: "_Mutual_ friend is a low vulgarism for _common_ friend." +_Mutual_ properly relates to two persons, and implies reciprocity of +sentiment--sentiment, be it what it may, received and returned. Thus, we +say properly, "John and James have a _mutual_ affection, or a _mutual_ +aversion," i. e., they like or dislike each other; or, "John and James +are _mutually_ dependent," i. e., they are dependent on each other. In +using the word _mutual_, care should be taken not to add the words _for +each other_ or _on each other_, the thought conveyed by these words +being already expressed in the word _mutual_. "Dependent on each other" +is the exact equivalent of "mutually dependent"; hence, saying that John +and James are _mutually_ dependent _on each other_ is as redundant in +form as it would be to say that the editors of "The Great Vilifier" are +the biggest, greatest mud-slingers in America. + +MYSELF. This form of the personal pronoun is properly used in the +nominative case only where _increased emphasis_ is aimed at. + + "I had as lief not be as live to be + In awe of such a thing as I _myself_." + +"I will do it _myself_," "I saw it _myself_." It is, therefore, +incorrect to say, "Mrs. Brown and myself were both very much pleased." + +NAME. This word is sometimes improperly used for _mention_; thus, "I +never _named_ the matter to any one": should be, "I never _mentioned_ +the matter to any one." + +NEIGHBORHOOD. See VICINITY. + +NEITHER. See EITHER. + +NEITHER--NOR. "He would _neither_ give wine, _nor_ oil, _nor_ +money."--Thackeray. The conjunction should be placed before the excluded +object; "neither _give_" implies neither some other _verb_, a meaning +not intended. Rearrange thus, taking all the common parts of the +contracted sentences together: "He would give _neither_ wine, _nor_ oil, +_nor_ money." So, "She can _neither_ help her beauty, _nor_ her courage, +_nor_ her cruelty" (Thackeray), should be, "She can help _neither_," +etc. "He had _neither_ time to intercept _nor_ to stop her" (Scott), +should be, "He had time _neither_ to intercept," etc. "Some _neither_ +can for wits _nor_ critics pass" (Pope), should be, "Some can _neither_ +for wits _nor_ critics pass." + +NEVER. Grammarians differ with regard to the correctness of using +_never_ in such sentences as, "He is in error, though _never_ so wise," +"Charm he _never_ so wisely." In sentences like these, to say the least, +it is better, in common with the great majority of writers, to use +_ever_. + +NEW. This adjective is often misplaced. "He has a _new_ suit of clothes +and a _new_ pair of gloves." It is not the _suit_ and the _pair_ that +are new, but the _clothes_ and the _gloves_. + +NICE. Archdeacon Hare remarks of the use, or rather misuse, of this +word: "That stupid vulgarism by which we use the word _nice_ to denote +almost every mode of approbation, for almost every variety of quality, +and, from sheer poverty of thought, or fear of saying anything definite, +wrap up everything indiscriminately in this characterless domino, +speaking at the same breath of a _nice_ cheese-cake, a _nice_ tragedy, a +_nice_ sermon, a _nice_ day, a _nice_ country, as if a universal deluge +of _niaiserie_--for _nice_ seems originally to have been only +_niais_--had whelmed the whole island." Nice is as good a word as any +other in its place, but its place is not everywhere. We talk very +properly about a _nice_ distinction, a _nice_ discrimination, a _nice_ +calculation, a _nice_ point, and about a person's being _nice_, and +over-_nice_, and the like; but we certainly ought not to talk about +"Othello's" being a _nice_ tragedy, about Salvini's being a _nice_ +actor, or New York bay's being a _nice_ harbor.[23] + +NICELY. The very quintessence of popinjay vulgarity is reached when +_nicely_ is made to do service for _well_, in this wise: "How do you +do?" "_Nicely_." "How are you?" "_Nicely_." + +NO. This word of negation is responded to by _nor_ in sentences like +this: "Let your meaning be obscure, and _no_ grace of diction _nor_ any +music of well-turned sentences will make amends." + +"Whether he is there or _no_." Supply the ellipsis, and we have, +"Whether he is there or _no_ there." Clearly, the word to use in +sentences like this is not _no_, but _not_. And yet our best writers +sometimes inadvertently use _no_ with _whether_. Example: "But perhaps +some people are quite indifferent _whether_ or _no_ it is said," +etc.--Richard Grant White, in "Words and Their Uses," p. 84. Supply the +ellipsis, and we have, "said or _no_ said." In a little book entitled +"Live and Learn," I find, "No _less_ than fifty persons were there; No +_fewer_," etc. In correcting one mistake, the writer himself makes one. +It should be, "_Not_ fewer," etc. If we ask, "There were fifty persons +there, were there or were there _not_?" the reply clearly would be, +"There were _not_ fewer than fifty." "There was _no_ one of them who +would not have been proud," etc., should be, "There was _not_ one of +them." + +NOT. The correlative of _not_, when it stands in the first member of a +sentence, is _nor_ or _neither_. "_Not_ for thy ivory _nor_ thy gold +will I unbind thy chain." "I will _not_ do it, _neither_ shall you." + +The wrong placing of _not_ often gives rise to an imperfect negation; +thus, "John and James were _not_ there," means that John and James were +not there _in company_. It does not exclude the presence of one of them. +The negative should precede in this case: "Neither John _nor_ James was +there." "Our company was _not_ present" (as a company, but some of us +might have been), should be, "No member of our company was present." + +NOT--BUT ONLY. "Errors frequently arise in the use of _not_--but _only_, +to understand which we must attend to the force of the whole +expression. 'He did _not_ pretend to extirpate French music, _but only_ +to cultivate and civilize it.' Here the _not_ is obviously misplaced. +'He pretended, or professed, _not_ to extirpate.'"--Bain. + +NOTORIOUS. Though this word can not be properly used in any but a bad +sense, we sometimes see it used instead of _noted_, which may be used in +either a good or a bad sense. _Notorious_ characters are always persons +to be shunned, whereas _noted_ characters may or may not be persons to +be shunned. + +"This is the tax a man must pay for his virtues--they hold up a torch to +his vices and render those frailties _notorious_ in him which would pass +without observation in another."--Lacon. + +NOVICE. See AMATEUR. + +NUMBER. It is not an uncommon thing for a pronoun in the plural number +to be used in connection with an antecedent in the singular. At present, +the following notice may be seen in some of our Broadway omnibuses: +"Fifty dollars reward for the conviction of any person caught collecting +or keeping fares given to _them_ to deposit in the box." Should be, to +_him_. "A person may be very near-sighted if _they_ can not recognize an +acquaintance ten feet off." Should be, if _he_. + +The verb _to be_ is often used in the singular instead of in the plural; +thus, "There _is_ several reasons why it would be better": say, _are_. +"How many _is_ there?" say, _are_. "There _is_ four": say, _are_. "_Was_ +there many?" say, _were_. "No matter how many there _was_": say, _were_. + +A verb should agree in number with its subject, and not with its +predicate. We say, for example, "Death _is_ the wages of sin," and "The +wages of sin _are_ death." + +"When singular nouns connected by _and_ are preceded by _each_, +_every_, or _no_, the verb must be singular." We say, for example, +"_Each_ boy and _each_ girl _studies_." "_Every_ leaf, and _every_ twig, +and _every_ drop of water _teems_ with life." "_No_ book and _no_ paper +_was_ arranged." + +_Each_ being singular, a pronoun or verb to agree with it must also be +singular; thus, "Let them depend each on _his_ own exertions"; "Each +city has _its_ peculiar privileges"; "Everybody has a right to look +after _his_ own interest." + +Errors are often the result of not repeating the verb; thus, "Its +significance is as varied as the passions": correctly, "as _are_ the +passions." "The words are as incapable of analysis as the thing +signified": correctly, "as _is_ the thing signified." + +OBSERVE. The dictionaries authorize the use of this word as a synonym of +_say_ and _remark_; as, for example, "What did you _observe_?" for "What +did you _say_, or _remark_?" In this sense, however, it is better to +leave _observe_ to the exclusive use of those who delight in being fine. + +O'CLOCK. "It is a quarter _to_ ten o'clock." What does this statement +mean, literally? We _understand_ by it that it lacks a quarter of ten, +i. e., of being ten; but it does not really mean that. Inasmuch as _to_ +means toward, it _really_ means a quarter after nine. We should say, +then, a quarter _of_, which means, literally, a quarter _out of_ ten. + +OF ALL OTHERS. "The vice of covetousness, _of all others_, enters +deepest into the soul." This sentence says that covetousness is one of +the _other_ vices. A thing can not be _another_ thing, nor can it be one +of a number of _other_ things. The sentence should be, "Of all the +vices, covetousness enters deepest into the soul"; or, "The vice of +covetousness, of all the vices, enters," etc.; or, "The vice of +covetousness, _above_ all others, enters," etc. + +OF ANY. This phrase is often used when _of all_ is meant; thus, "This is +the largest _of any_ I have seen." Should be, "the largest _of all_," +etc. + +OFF OF. In such sentences as, "Give me a yard _off of_ this piece of +calico," either the _off_ or the _of_ is vulgarly superfluous. The +sentence would be correct with either one, but not with both of them. +"The apples fell _off of_ the tree": read, "fell _off_ the tree." + +OFTEN. This adverb is properly compared by changing its termination: +often, oftener, oftenest. Why some writers use _more_ and _most_ to +compare it, it is not easy to see; this mode of comparing it is +certainly not euphonious. + +OH--O. It is only the most careful writers who use these two +interjections with proper discrimination. The distinction between them +is said to be modern. _Oh_ is simply an exclamation, and should always +be followed by some mark of punctuation, usually by an exclamation +point. "Oh! you are come at last." "Oh, help him, you sweet heavens!" +"Oh, woe is me!" "Oh! I die, Horatio." _O_, in addition to being an +exclamation, denotes a calling to or adjuration; thus, "Hear, O heavens, +and give ear, O earth!" "O grave, where is thy victory?" "O heavenly +powers, restore him!" "O shame! where is thy blush?" + +OLDER--ELDER. "He is the _older_ man of the two, and the _oldest_ in the +neighborhood." "He is the _elder_ of the two sons, and the _eldest_ of +the family." "The _elder_ son is heir to the estate; he is _older_ than +his brother by ten years." + +ON TO. We get _on_ a chair, _on_ an omnibus, _on_ a stump, and _on_ a +spree, and not on _to_. + +ONE. Certain pronouns of demonstrative signification are called +indefinite because they refer to no particular subject. This is one of +them. If we were putting a supposition by way of argument or +illustration, we might say, "Suppose _I_ were to lose my way in a +wood"; or, "Suppose _you_ were to lose your way in a wood"; or, "Suppose +_one_ were to lose _one's_ way in a wood." All these forms are used, +but, as a rule, the last is to be preferred. The first verges on +egotism, and the second makes free with another's person, whereas the +third is indifferent. "If _one's_ honesty were impeached, what should +_one_ do?" is more courtly than to take either one's self or the person +addressed for the example. + +_One_ should be followed by _one_, and not by _he_. "The better +acquainted _one_ is with any kind of rhetorical trick, the less liable +_he_ is to be misled by it." Should be, "the less liable _one_ is to be +misled by it." + +In the phrase, "any of the little _ones_," _one_ is the numeral employed +in the manner of a pronoun, by indicating something that has gone +before, or, perhaps, has to come after. "I like peaches, but I must have +a ripe _one_, or ripe _ones_." + +Professor Bain says, in his "Composition Grammar": + +"This pronoun continually lands writers in difficulties. English idiom +requires that, when the pronoun has to be again referred to, it should +be used itself a second time. The correct usage is shown by Pope: '_One_ +may be ashamed to consume half _one's_ days in bringing sense and rhyme +together.' It would be against idiom to say 'half _his_ days.' + +"Still, the repetition of the pronoun is often felt to be heavy, and +writers have recourse to various substitutions. Even an ear accustomed +to the idiom can scarcely accept with unmixed pleasure this instance +from Browning: + + "'Alack! _one_ lies _oneself_ + Even in the stating that _one's_ end was truth, + Truth only, if _one_ states so much in words.' + +"The representative 'I' or 'we' occasionally acts the part of 'one.' The +following sentence presents a curious alternation of 'we' with +'one'--possibly not accidental (George Eliot): 'It's a desperately +vexatious thing that, after all _one's_ reflections and quiet +determinations, _we_ should be ruled by moods that _one_ can't calculate +on beforehand.' By the use of 'we' here, a more pointed reference is +suggested, while the vagueness actually remains. + +"Fenimore Cooper, like Scott, is not very particular; an example may be +quoted: 'Modesty is a poor man's wealth; but, as _we_ grow substantial +in the world, patroon, _one_ can afford to begin to speak truth of +_himself_ as well as of _his_ neighbor.' Were Cooper a careful writer, +we might persuade ourselves that he chose 'we' and 'one' with a purpose: +'we' might indicate that the speaker had himself and the patroon +directly in his eye, although at the same time he wanted to put it +generally; and 'one' might hint that modesty succeeded in getting the +better of him. But 'himself' and 'his' would alone show that such +speculations are too refined for the occasion. + +"The form 'a man,' which was at one time common, seems to be reviving. +In 'Adam Bede' we have, '_A man_ can never do anything at variance with +his own nature.' We might substitute 'one.' + +"'Men' was more frequent in good writing formerly than now. 'Neither do +_men_ light a candle, and put it under a bushel.' 'Do _men_ gather +grapes of thorns?' Hume is fond of expressing a general subject by +'men.' + +"'Small birds are much more exposed to the cold than large _ones_.' This +usage is hardly 'indefinite'; and it needs no further exemplification." + +ONLY. This word, when used as an adjective, is more frequently misplaced +than any other word in the language. Indeed, I am confident that it is +not correctly placed half the time, either in conversation or in +writing. Thus, "In its pages, papers of sterling merit [only] will +_only_ appear" (Miss Braddon); "Things are getting dull down in Texas; +they _only_ shot [only] three men down there last week"; "I have _only_ +got [only] three." _Only_ is sometimes improperly used for _except_ or +_unless_; thus, "The trains will not stop _only_ when the bell rings." +The meaning here is clearly "_except_ when the bell rings." + +Dr. Bain, in his "Higher English Grammar," speaking of the order of +words, says: + +"The word requiring most attention is _only_. + +"According to the position of _only_, the same words may be made to +express very different meanings. + +"'He _only_ lived for their sakes.' Here _only_ must be held as +qualifying '_lived_ for their sakes,' the emphasis being on _lived_, the +word immediately adjoining. The meaning then is 'he _lived_,' but did +not _work_, did not _die_, did not do any other thing for their sakes. + +"'He lived _only_ for their sakes.' _Only_ now qualifies 'for their +sakes,' and the sentence means he lived for this one reason, namely, for +their sakes, and not for any other reason. + +"'He lived for their sakes _only_.' The force of the word when placed at +the end is peculiar. Then it often has a diminutive or disparaging +signification. 'He lived for their sakes,' and not for any more worthy +reason. 'He gave sixpence _only_,' is an insinuation that more was +expected. + +"By the use of _alone_, instead of _only_, other meanings are expressed. +'He _alone_ lived for their sakes'; that is, _he, and nobody else_, did +so. 'He lived for their sakes _alone_,' or, 'for the sake of them +_alone_'; that is, not for the sake of any other persons. 'It was +_alone_ by the help of the Confederates that any such design could be +carried out.' Better _only_. + +"'When men grow virtuous in their old age, they _only_ make a sacrifice +to God of the devil's leavings.'--Pope. Here _only_ is rightly placed. +'Think _only_ of the past as its remembrance gives you pleasure,' should +be, 'think of the past, _only_ as its remembrance,' etc. 'As he did not +leave his name, it was _only_ known that a gentleman had called on +business': it was known _only_. 'I can _only_ refute the accusation by +laying before you the whole': this would mean, 'the only thing I am able +to do is to refute; I may not retaliate, or let it drop, I must _refute_ +it.' 'The negroes are to appear at church _only_ in boots'; that is, +when the negroes go to church they are to have no clothing but boots. +'The negroes are to appear _only_ at church in boots' might mean that +they are not to appear anywhere but at church, whether in boots or out +of them. The proper arrangement would be to connect the adverbial +adjunct, _in boots_, with its verb, _appear_, and to make _only_ qualify +_at church_ and no more: 'the negroes are to appear in boots _only_ at +church.'" + +It thus appears very plain that we should look well to our _onlys_. + +OUGHT--SHOULD. These two words, though they both imply obligation, +should not be used indiscriminately. _Ought_ is the stronger term; what +we _ought_ to do, we are morally bound to do. We _ought_ to be truthful +and honest, and _should_ be respectful to our elders and kind to our +inferiors. + +OVERFLOWN. _Flown_ is the past participle of _to fly_, and _flowed_ of +_to flow_. As, therefore, a river does not _fly_ over its banks, but +_flows_ over them, we should say of it that it has over_flowed_, and not +that it has over_flown_. + +OVERLY. This word is now used only by the unschooled. + +OWING. See DUE. + +PANTS. This abbreviation is not used by those who are careful in the +choice of words. The purist does not use the word _pantaloons_ even, but +_trousers_. _Pants_ are worn by _gents_ who eat _lunches_ and _open_ +wine, and _trousers_ are worn by _gentlemen_ who eat _luncheons_ and +_order_ wine. + +PARAPHERNALIA. This is a law term. In Roman law, it meant the goods +which a woman brought to her husband besides her dowry. In English law, +it means the goods which a woman is allowed to have after the death of +her husband, besides her dower, consisting of her apparel and ornaments +suitable to her rank. When used in speaking of the affairs of every-day +life, it is generally misused. + +PARLOR. This word, in the sense of _drawing-room_, according to Dr. +Hall, except in the United States and some of the English colonies, is +obsolete. + +PARTAKE. This is a very fine word to use for _eat_; just the word for +young women who hobble on French heels. + +PARTIALLY--PARTLY. "It is only _partially_ done." This use of the adverb +_partially_ is sanctioned by high authority, but that does not make it +correct. A thing done in part is _partly_, not _partially_, done. + +PARTICIPLES. When the present participle is used substantively, in +sentences like the following, it is preceded by the definite article and +followed by the preposition _of_. The omitting of the preposition is a +common error. Thus, "Or, it is _the drawing_ a conclusion which was +before either unknown or dark," should be, "the drawing _of_ a +conclusion." "Prompted by the most extreme vanity, he persisted in the +writing bad verses," should be, "in writing bad verses," or "in the +writing _of_ bad verses." "There is a misuse of the article _a_ which is +very common. It is the using it before the word _most_."--Moon. Most +writers would have said "the using _of_ it." Mr. Moon argues for his +construction. + +PARTICLES. "Nothing but study of the best writers and practice in +composition will enable us to decide what are the prepositions and +conjunctions that ought to go with certain verbs. The following examples +illustrate some common blunders: + +"'It was characterized _with_ eloquence': read, 'by.' + +"'A testimonial _of_ the merits of his grammar': read, 'to.' + +"'It was an example of the love _to form_ comparisons': read, 'of +forming.' + +"'Repetition is always to be preferred _before_ obscurity': read, 'to.' + +"'He made an effort _for meeting_ them': read, 'to meet.' + +"'They have no _other_ object _but_ to come': read, 'other object than,' +or omit 'other.' + +"Two verbs are not unfrequently followed by a single preposition, which +accords with one only; e. g., 'This duty _is repeated_ and inculcated +_upon_ the reader.' 'Repeat _upon_' is nonsense; we must read 'is +repeated _to_ and inculcated upon.'"--Nichol's "English Composition," p. +39. We often see _for_ used with the substantive _sympathy_; the best +practice, however, uses _with_; thus, "Words can not express the deep +sympathy I feel _with_ you."--Queen Victoria. + +PARTY. This is a very good word in its place, but it is very much out of +its place when used--as it often is by the vulgar--where good taste +would use the word _person_. + +PATRONIZE. This word and its derivatives would be much less used by the +American tradesman than they are, if he were better acquainted with +their true meaning. Then he would solicit his neighbors' _custom_, not +their _patronage_. A man can have no _patrons_ without incurring +obligations--without becoming a _protégé_; while a man may have +customers innumerable, and, instead of placing himself under obligations +to them, he may place them under obligations to him. Princes are the +_patrons_ of those tradesmen whom they allow to call themselves their +purveyors; as, "John Smith, Haberdasher to H. R. H. the Prince of +Wales." Here the Prince _patronizes_ John Smith. + +PELL-MELL. This adverb means mixed or mingled together; as, "Men, +horses, chariots, crowded _pell-mell_." It can not properly be applied +to an individual. To say, for example, "He rushed pell-mell down the +stairs," is as incorrect as it would be to say, "He rushed down the +stairs _mixed together_." + +PER. This Latin preposition is a good deal used in English, as, for +example, in such phrases as _per_ day, _per_ man, _per_ pound, _per_ +ton, and so on. In all such cases it is better to use plain English, and +say, _a_ day, _a_ man, _a_ pound, _a_ ton, etc. _Per_ is correct before +Latin nouns only; as, per annum, per diem, per cent., etc. + +PERFORM. "She _performs_ on the piano beautifully." In how much better +taste it is to say simply, "She _plays_ the piano well," or, more +superlatively, "exceedingly well," or "admirably"! If we talk about +_performing_ on musical instruments, to be consistent, we should call +those who _perform_, piano-performers, cornet-performers, +violin-performers, and so on. + +PERPETUALLY. This word is sometimes misused for _continually_. Dr. +William Mathews, in his "Words, their Use and Abuse," says: "The Irish +are _perpetually_ using _shall_ for _will_." _Perpetual_ means never +ceasing, continuing without intermission, uninterrupted; while +_continual_ means that which is constantly renewed and recurring with +perhaps frequent stops and interruptions. As the Irish do something +_besides_ misuse _shall_, the Doctor should have said that they +_continually_ use _shall_ for _will_. I might perhaps venture to +intimate that _perpetually_ is likewise misused in the following +sentence, which I copy from the "London Queen," if I were not conscious +that the monster who can write and print such a sentence would not +hesitate to cable a thunderbolt at an offender on the slightest +provocation. Judge, if my fears are groundless: "But some few people +contract the ugly habit of making use of these expressions unconsciously +and continuously, _perpetually_ interlarding their conversation with +them." + +PERSON. See PARTY; also, INDIVIDUAL. + +PERSONALTY. This word does not, as some persons think, mean the articles +worn on one's person. It is properly a law term, and means _personal +property_. "There is but one case on record of a peer of England leaving +over $7,500,000 personalty." + +PERSONIFICATION. That rhetorical figure which attributes sex, life, or +action to inanimate objects, or ascribes to objects and brutes the acts +and qualities of rational beings, is called _personification_ or +_prosopopœia_. + +"The mountains _sing together_, the hills rejoice and _clap their +hands_." "The worm, _aware_ of his intent, _harangued_ him thus." + + "See, _Winter_ comes to _rule_ the varied year, + _Sullen_ and _sad_ with all his rising train."--Thomson. + + "So saying, her rash hand, in evil hour, + Forth reaching to the fruit, she plucked, she ate! + _Earth felt the wound; and Nature from her seat, + Sighing through all her works, gave signs of woe, + That all was lost._"--Milton. + + "War and Love are strange compeers. + War sheds blood, and Love sheds tears; + War has swords, and Love has darts; + War breaks heads, and Love breaks hearts." + +"Levity is often less foolish and gravity less wise than each of them +appears." + +"The English language, by reserving the distinction of gender for living +beings that have sex, gives especial scope for personification. The +highest form of personification should be used seldom, and only when +justified by the presence of strong feeling."--Bain. + + "Knowledge and wisdom, far from being one, + Have ofttimes no connection. Knowledge dwells + In heads replete with thoughts of other men; + Wisdom in minds attentive to their own. + Knowledge is proud that he has learned so much; + Wisdom is humble that he knows no more."--Cowper. + +PHENOMENON. Plural, _phenomena_. + +PLEAD. The imperfect tense and the perfect participle of the verb _to +plead_ are both _pleaded_ and not _plead_. "He _pleaded_ not guilty." +"You should have _pleaded_ your cause with more fervor." + +PLENTY. In Worcester's Dictionary we find the following note: "_Plenty_ +is much used colloquially as an adjective, in the sense of _plentiful_, +both in this country and in England; and this use is supported by +respectable authorities, though it is condemned by various critics. +Johnson says: 'It is used barbarously, I think, for _plentiful_'; and +Dr. Campbell, in his 'Philosophy of Rhetoric,' says: '_Plenty_ for +_plentiful_ appears to me so gross a vulgarism that I should not have +thought it worthy of a place here if I had not sometimes found it in +works of considerable merit.'" We should say, then, that money is +_plentiful_, and not that it is _plenty_. + +PLEONASM. Redundancy or pleonasm is the use of more words than are +necessary to express the thought clearly. "They returned _back again_ to +the _same_ city _from_ whence they came _forth_": the five words in +italics are _redundant_ or _pleonastic_. "The different departments of +science and of art _mutually_ reflect light _on each other_": either of +the expressions in italics embodies the whole idea. "The _universal_ +opinion of _all_ men" is a pleonastic expression often heard. "I wrote +you _a letter_ yesterday": here _a letter_ is redundant. + +Redundancy is _sometimes_ permissible for the surer conveyance of +meaning, for emphasis, and in the language of poetic embellishment. + +POLITE. This word is much used by persons of doubtful culture, where +those of the better sort use the word _kind_. We accept _kind_, not +_polite_ invitations; and, when any one has been obliging, we tell him +that he has been _kind_; and, when an interviewing reporter tells us of +his having met with a _polite_ reception, we may be sure that the person +by whom he has been received deserves well for his considerate kindness. +"I thank you and Mrs. Pope for my _kind_ reception."--Atterbury. + +PORTION. This word is often incorrectly used for _part_. A _portion_ is +properly a part assigned, allotted, set aside for a special purpose; a +share, a division. The verb _to portion_ means to divide, to parcel, to +endow. We ask, therefore, "In what _part_ [not, in what _portion_] of +the country, state, county, town, or street do you live?"--or, if we +prefer grandiloquence to correctness, _reside_. In the sentence, "A +large _portion_ of the land is unfilled," the right word would be +either _part_ or _proportion_, according to the intention of the writer. + +POSTED. A word very much and very inelegantly used for _informed_. Such +expressions as, "I will _post_ you," "I must _post_ myself up," "If I +had been better _posted_," and the like, are, at the best, but one +remove from slang. + +PREDICATE. This word is often very incorrectly used in the sense of _to +base_; as, "He _predicates_ his opinion on insufficient data." Then we +sometimes hear people talk about predicating an action upon certain +information or upon somebody's statement. To predicate means primarily +_to speak before_, and has come to be properly used in the sense of +_assumed_ or believed to be the consequence of. Examples: "Contentment +is _predicated_ of virtue"; "Good health may be _predicated_ of a good +constitution." He who is not very sure that he uses the word correctly +would do better not to use it at all. + +PREJUDICE--PREPOSSESS. Both these words mean, to incline in one +direction or the other for some reason not founded in justice; but by +common consent _prejudice_ has come to be used in an unfavorable sense, +and _prepossess_ in a favorable one. Thus, we say, "He is _prejudiced_ +against him," and "He is _prepossessed_ in his favor." We sometimes hear +the expression, "He is _prejudiced_ in his favor," but this can not be +accounted a good use of the word. + +PREPOSITIONS. The errors made in the use of the prepositions are very +numerous. "The indolent child is one who [that?] has a strong aversion +_from_ action of any sort."--Graham's "English Synonymes," p. 236. The +prevailing and best modern usage is in favor of _to_ instead of _from_ +after _averse_ and _aversion_, and before the object. "Clearness ... +enables the reader to see thoughts without noticing the language _with_ +which they are clothed."--Townsend's "Art of Speech." We clothe thoughts +_in_ language. "Shakespeare ... and the Bible are ... models _for_ the +English-speaking tongue."--Ibid. If this means models of English, then +it should be _of_; but if it means models for English organs of speech +to practice on, then it should be _for_; or if it means models to model +English tongues after, then also it should be _for_. "If the resemblance +is too faint, the mind is fatigued _while_ attempting to trace the +analogies." "Aristotle is in error _while_ thus describing +governments."--Ibid. Here we have two examples, not of the misuse of the +preposition, but of the erroneous use of the adverb _while_ instead of +the preposition _in_. "For my part I can not think that Shelley's +poetry, except _by_ snatches and fragments, has the value of the good +work of Wordsworth or Byron."--Matthew Arnold. Should be, "except _in_ +snatches." "Taxes with us are collected nearly [almost] solely _from_ +real and personal estate."--"Appletons' Journal." Taxes are levied _on_ +estates and collected _from_ the owners. + +"If I am not commended _for_ the beauty of my works, I may hope to be +pardoned for their brevity." Cobbett comments on this sentence as +follows: "We may commend him _for_ the beauty of his works, and we may +_pardon_ him _for_ their brevity, if we deem the brevity _a fault_; but +this is not what he means. He means that, at any rate, he shall have the +_merit_ of brevity. 'If I am not commended for the beauty of my works, I +may hope to be pardoned _on account of_ their brevity.' This is what the +Doctor meant; but this would have marred a little the antithesis: it +would have unsettled a little of the balance of that _seesaw_ in which +Dr. Johnson so much delighted, and which, falling into the hands of +novel-writers and of members of Parliament, has, by moving unencumbered +with any of the Doctor's reason or sense, lulled so many thousands +asleep! Dr. Johnson created a race of writers and speakers. 'Mr. +Speaker, that the state of the nation is very critical, all men will +allow; but that it is wholly desperate, few will believe.' When you hear +or see a sentence like this, be sure that the person who speaks or +writes it has been reading Dr. Johnson, or some of his imitators. But, +observe, these imitators go no further than the frame of the sentences. +They, in general, take care not to imitate the Doctor in knowledge and +reasoning." + +The rhetoricians would have us avoid such forms of expression as, "The +boy went _to_ and asked the advice _of_ his teacher"; "I called _on_ and +had a conversation _with_ my brother." + +Very often the preposition is not repeated in a sentence, when it should +be. We say properly, "He comes from Ohio or _from_ Indiana"; or, "He +comes _either_ from Ohio or Indiana." + +PREPOSSESS. See PREJUDICE. + +PRESENT--INTRODUCE. Few errors are more common, especially among those +who are always straining to be fine, than that of using _present_, in +the social world, instead of _introduce_. _Present_ means to place in +the presence of a superior; _introduce_, to bring to be acquainted. A +person is presented at court, and on an official occasion to our +President; but persons who are unknown to each other are _introduced_ by +a common acquaintance. And in these introductions, it is the younger who +is introduced to the older; the lower to the higher in place or social +position; the gentleman to the lady. A lady should say, as a rule, that +Mr. Blank was introduced to her, not that she was introduced to Mr. +Blank. + +PRESUMPTIVE. This word is sometimes misused by the careless for +_presumptuous_. + +PREVENTIVE. A useless and unwarranted syllable is sometimes added to +this word--_preventative_. + +PREVIOUS. This adjective is much used in an adverbial sense; thus, +"_Previous_ to my return," etc. Until _previous_ is recognized as an +adverb, if we would speak grammatically, we must say, "_Previously_ to +my return." "_Previously_ to my leaving England, I called on his +lordship." + +PROCURE. This is a word much used by people who strive to be fine. +"Where did you _get_ it?" with them is, "Where did you _procure_ it?" + +PROFANITY. The extent to which some men habitually interlard their talk +with oaths is disgusting even to many who, on occasion, do not +themselves hesitate to give expression to their feelings in oaths portly +and unctuous. If these fellows could be made to know how offensive to +decency they make themselves, they would, perhaps, be less profane. + +PROMISE. This word is sometimes very improperly used for _assure_; thus, +"I _promise_ you I was very much astonished." + +PRONOUNS OF THE FIRST PERSON. "The ordinary uses of 'I' and 'we,' as the +singular and plural pronouns of the first person, would appear to be +above all ambiguity, uncertainty, or dispute. Yet when we consider the +force of the plural 'we,' we are met with a contradiction; for, as a +rule, only one person can speak at the same time to the same audience. +It is only by some exceptional arrangement, or some latitude or license +of expression, that several persons can be conjoint speakers. For +example, a plurality may sing together in chorus, and may join in the +responses at church, or in the simultaneous repetition of the Lord's +Prayer or the Creed. Again, one person may be the authorized spokesman +in delivering a judgment or opinion held by a number of persons in +common. Finally, in written compositions, the 'we' is not unsuitable, +because a plurality of persons may append their names to a document. + +"A speaker using 'we' may speak for himself and one or more others; +commonly he stands forward as the representative of a class, more or +less comprehensive. 'As soon as my companion and I had entered the +field, _we_ saw a man coming toward _us_'; '_we_ like _our_ new curate'; +'you do _us_ poets the greatest injustice'; '_we_ must see to the +efficiency of _our_ forces.' The widest use of the pronoun will be +mentioned presently. + +"'We' is used for 'I' in the decrees of persons in authority; as when +King Lear says: + + 'Know that _we_ have divided + In three _our_ kingdom.' + +By the fiction of plurality a veil of modesty is thrown over the +assumption of vast superiority over human beings generally. Or, 'we' may +be regarded as an official form whereby the speaker personally is +magnified or enabled to rise to the dignity of the occasion. + +"The editorial 'we' is to be understood on the same principle. An author +using 'we' appears as if he were not alone, but sharing with other +persons the responsibility of his views. + +"This representative position is at its utmost stretch in the practice +of using 'we' for human beings generally; as in discoursing on the laws +of human nature. The preacher, the novelist, or the philosopher, in +dwelling upon the peculiarity of our common constitution, being himself +an example of what he is speaking of, associates the rest of mankind +with him, and speaks collectively by means of 'we.' '_We_ are weak and +fallible'; '_we_ are of yesterday'; '_we_ are doomed to dissolution.' +'Here have _we_ no continuing city, but _we_ seek one to come.' + +"It is not unfrequent to have in one sentence, or in close proximity, +both the editorial and the representative meaning, the effect being +ambiguity and confusion. 'Let _us_ [the author] now consider why _we_ +[humanity generally] overrate distant good.' In such a case the author +should fall back upon the singular for himself--'_I_ will now +consider--.' '_We_ [speaker] think _we_ [himself and hearers together] +should come to the conclusion.' Say, either '_I_ think,' or '_you_ +would.' + +"The following extract from Butler exemplifies a similar confusion: +'Suppose _we_ [representative] are capable of happiness and of misery in +degrees equally intense and extreme, yet _we_ [rep.] are capable of the +latter for a much longer time, beyond all comparison. _We_ [change of +subject to a limited class] see men in the tortures of pain--. Such is +_our_ [back to representative] make that anything may become the +instrument of pain and sorrow to _us_.' The 'we' at the commencement of +the second sentence--'_We_ see men in the tortures'--could be +advantageously changed to 'you,' or the passive construction could be +substituted; the remaining _we_'s would then be consistently +representative. + +"From the greater emphasis of singularity, energetic speakers and +writers sometimes use 'I' as representative of mankind at large. Thus: +'The current impressions received through the senses are not voluntary +in origin. What _I_ see in walking is seen because _I_ have an organ of +vision.' The question of general moral obligation is forcibly stated by +Paley in the individual form, 'Why am _I_ obliged to keep my word?' It +is sometimes well to confine the attention of the hearer or reader to +his own relation to the matter under consideration, more especially in +difficult or non-popular argument or exposition. The speaker, by using +'I,' does the action himself, or makes himself the example, the hearer +being expected to put himself in the same position."--Bain's +"Composition Grammar." + +PRONOUNS OF THE SECOND PERSON. "Anomalous usages have sprung up in +connection with these pronouns. The plural form has almost wholly +superseded the singular; a usage more than five centuries old.[24] + +"The motive is courtesy. The singling out of one person for address is +supposed to be a liberty or an excess of familiarity; and the effect is +softened or diluted by the fiction of taking in others. If our address +is uncomplimentary, the sting is lessened by the plural form; and if the +reverse, the shock to modesty is not so great. This is a refinement that +was unknown to the ancient languages. The orators of Greece delighted in +the strong, pointed, personal appeal implied in the singular 'thou.' In +modern German, 'thou' (_du_) is the address of familiarity and intimacy; +while the ordinary pronoun is the curiously indirect 'they' (_Sie_). On +solemn occasions, we may revert to 'thou.' Cato, in his meditative +soliloquy on reading Plato's views on the immortality of the soul before +killing himself, says: 'Plato, _thou_ reasonest well.' So in the +Commandments, 'thou' addresses to each individual an unavoidable appeal: +'_Thou_ shall not----.' But our ordinary means of making the personal +appeal is, 'you, _sir_,' 'you, _madam_,' 'my _Lord_, you----,' etc.; we +reserve 'thou' for the special case of addressing the Deity. The +application of the motive of courtesy is here reversed; it would be +irreverent to merge this vast personality in a promiscuous assemblage. + +"'You' is not unfrequently employed, like 'we,' as a representative +pronoun. The action is represented with great vividness, when the person +or persons addressed may be put forward as the performers: 'There is +such an echo among the old ruins, and vaults, that if _you_ stamp a +little louder than ordinary, _you_ hear the sound repeated'; 'Some +practice is required to see these animals in the thick forest, even when +_you_ hear them close by _you_.' + +"There should not be a mixture of 'thou' and 'you' in the same passage. +Thus, Thackeray (Adventures of Philip): 'So, as _thy_ sun rises, friend, +over the humble house-tops round about _your_ home, shall _you_ wake +many and many a day to duty and labor.' So, Cooper (Water-Witch): +'_Thou_ hast both master and mistress? _You_ have told us of the latter, +but we would know something of the former. Who is _thy_ master?' +Shakespeare, Scott, and others might also be quoted. + +"'Ye' and 'you' were at one time strictly distinguished as different +cases; 'ye' was nominative, 'you' objective (dative or accusative). But +the Elizabethan dramatists confounded the forms irredeemably; and 'you' +has gradually ousted 'ye' from ordinary use. 'Ye' is restricted to the +expression of strong feeling, and in this employment occurs chiefly in +the poets."--Bain's "Composition Grammar." + +PROOF. This word is much and very improperly used for _evidence_, which +is only the medium of _proof_, _proof_ being the effect of _evidence_. +"What _evidence_ have you to offer in _proof_ of the truth of your +statement?" See also EVIDENCE. + +PROPOSE--PURPOSE. Writers and speakers often fail to discriminate +properly between the respective meanings of these two verbs. _Propose_, +correctly used, means, to put forward or to offer for _the +consideration of others_; hence, _a proposal_ is a scheme or design +offered for acceptance or consideration, a proposition. _Purpose_ means, +to intend, to design, to resolve; hence, _a purpose_ is an intention, an +aim, that which one sets _before one's self_. Examples: "What do you +_purpose_ doing in the matter?" "What do you _propose_ that we shall do +in the matter?" "I will do" means "I _purpose_ doing, or to do." "I +_purpose_ to write a history of England from the accession of King James +the Second down to a time which is within the memory of men still +living."--Macaulay. It will be observed that Macaulay says, "I purpose +_to write_" and not, "I purpose _writing_," using the verb in the +infinitive rather than in the participial form. "On which he _purposed_ +to mount one of his little guns." See INFINITIVE. + +PROPOSITION. This word is often used when _proposal_ would be better, +for the reason that _proposal_ has but one meaning, and is shorter by +one syllable. "He demonstrated the _proposition_ of Euclid, and rejected +the _proposal_ of his friend." + +PROSAIST. Dr. Hall is of opinion that this is a word we shall do well to +encourage. It is used by good writers. + +PROVEN. This form for the past participle of the verb _to prove_ is said +to be a Scotticism. It is not used by careful writers and speakers. The +correct form is _proved_. + +PROVIDING. The present participle of the verb _to provide_ is sometimes +vulgarly used for the conjunction _provided_, as in this sentence from +the "London Queen": "Society may be congratulated, ... _providing_ +that," etc. + +PROVOKE. See AGGRAVATE. + +PUNCTUATION. The importance of punctuation can not be overestimated; it +not only helps to make plain the meaning of what one writes, but it may +prevent one's being misconstrued. Though no two writers could be found +who punctuate just alike, still in the main those who pay attention to +the art put in their stops in essentially the same manner. The +difference that punctuation may make in the meaning of language is well +illustrated by the following anecdote: + +At Ramessa there lived a benevolent and hospitable prior, who caused +these lines to be painted over his door: + + "Be open evermore, + O thou my door! + To none be shut--to honest or to poor!" + +In time the good prior was succeeded by a man as selfish as his +predecessor was generous. The lines over the door of the priory were +allowed to remain; one stop, however, was altered, which made them read +thus: + + "Be open evermore, + O thou my door! + To none--be shut to honest or to poor!" + +He punctuates best who makes his punctuation contribute most to the +clear expression of his thought; and that construction is best that has +least need of being punctuated. + + THE COMMA.--The chief difference in the punctuation of different + writers is usually in their use of the comma, in regard to which there + is a good deal of latitude; much is left to individual taste. Nowadays + the best practice uses it sparingly. An idea of the extent to which + opinions differ with regard to the use of the comma may be formed from + the following excerpt from a paper prepared for private use: + + "In the following examples, gathered from various sources--chiefly + from standard books--the superfluous commas are inclosed in + parentheses: + + "1. 'It remains(,) perhaps(,) to be said(,) that, if any lesson at + all(,) as to these delicate matters(,) is needed(,) in this period, it + is not so much a lesson,' etc. 2. 'The obedience is not due to the + power of a right authority, but to the spirit of fear, and(,) + therefore(,) is(,) in reality(,) no obedience at all.' 3. 'The patriot + disturbances in Canada ... awakened deep interest among the people of + the United States(,) who lived adjacent to the frontier.' 4. + 'Observers(,) who have recently investigated this point(,) do not all + agree,' etc. 5. 'The wind did(,) in an instant(,) what man and steam + together had failed to do in hours.' 6. 'All the cabin passengers(,) + situated beyond the center of the boat(,) were saved.' 7. 'No other + writer has depicted(,) with so much art or so much accuracy(,) the + habits, the manners,' etc. 8. 'If it shall give satisfaction to those + who have(,) in any way(,) befriended it, the author will feel,' etc. + 9. 'Formed(,) or consisting of(,) clay.' 10. 'The subject [witchcraft] + grew interesting; and(,) to examine Sarah Cloyce and Elizabeth + Proctor, the deputy-governor(,) and five other magistrates(,) went to + Salem.' 11. 'The Lusitanians(,) who had not left their home(,) rose as + a man,' etc. 12. 'Vague reports ... had preceded him to Washington, + and his Mississippi friends(,) who chanced to be at the capital(,) + were not backward to make their boast of him.' 13. 'Our faith has + acquired a new vigor(,) and a clearer vision.' 14. 'In 1819(,) he + removed to Cambridge.' 15. 'Doré was born at Strasburg(,) in 1832, and + labors,' etc. 16. 'We should never apply dry compresses, charpie, or + wadding(,) to the wound.' 17. '--to stand idle, to look, act, or + think(,) in a leisurely way.' 18. '--portraits taken from the farmers, + schoolmasters, and peasantry(,) of the neighborhood.' 19. '--gladly + welcomed painters of Flanders, Holland, and Spain(,) to their + shores.' + + "In all these cases, the clauses between or following the inclosed + commas are so closely connected grammatically with the immediately + preceding words or phrases, that they should be read without a + perceptible pause, or with only a slight one for breath, without + change of voice. Some of the commas would grossly pervert the meaning + if strictly construed. Thus, from No. 3 it would appear that the + people of the United States in general lived adjacent to the frontier; + from No. 4, that all observers have recently investigated the point in + question; from No. 6, that all the cabin passengers were so situated + that they were saved, whereas it is meant that only a certain small + proportion of them were saved; from No. 10 (Bancroft), that somebody + whose name is accidentally omitted went to Salem 'to examine Sarah + Cloyce and Elizabeth Proctor, the deputy-governor, and five other + magistrates'; from No. 11, that none of the Lusitanians had left their + home, whereas it was the slaughter by the Romans of a great number of + them who _had_ left their home that caused the rising. + + "Commas are frequently omitted, and in certain positions very + generally, where the sense and correct reading require a pause. In the + following examples, such commas, omitted in the works from which they + were taken, are inclosed in brackets: + + "1. 'The modes of thought[,] and the types of character which those + modes produce[,] are essentially and universally transformed.' 2. + 'Taken by itself[,] this doctrine could have no effect whatever; + indeed[,] it would amount to nothing but a verbal proposition.' 3. + 'Far below[,] the little stream of the Oder foamed over the rocks.' 4. + 'When the day returned[,] the professor, the artist[,] and I rowed to + within a hundred yards of the shore.' 5. 'Proceeding into the interior + of India[,] they passed through Belgaum.' 6. 'If Loring is defeated + in the Sixth District[,] it can be borne.' + + "In No. 3, the reader naturally enunciates 'the little stream of the + Oder' as in the objective case after 'below'; but there he comes to a + predicate which compels him to go back and read differently. In No. 4, + it appears that 'the day returned the professor,' and then 'the artist + and I rowed,' etc." + + All clauses should generally be isolated by commas; where, however, + the connection is very close or the clause is very short, no point may + be necessary. "But his pride is greater than his ignorance, and what + he wants in knowledge he supplies by sufficiency." "A man of polite + imagination can converse with a picture, and find an agreeable + companion in a statue." "Though he slay me, yet will I trust him." + "The prince, his father being dead, succeeded." "To confess the truth, + I was much at fault." "As the heart panteth after the water-brooks, so + panteth my soul after thee." "Where the bee sucks, there suck I." "His + father dying, he succeeded to the estate." "The little that is known, + and the circumstance that little is known, must be considered as + honorable to him." + + The comma is used before and after a phrase when coördinating and not + restrictive. "The jury, having retired for half an hour, brought in a + verdict." "The stranger, unwilling to obtrude himself on our notice, + left in the morning." "Rome, the city of the Emperors, became the city + of the Popes." "His stories, which made everybody laugh, were often + made to order." "He did not come, which I greatly regret." "The + younger, who was yet a boy, had nothing striking in his appearance." + "They passed the cup to the stranger, who drank heartily." "Peace at + any price, which these orators seem to advocate, means war at any + cost." "Sailors, who are generally superstitious, say it is unlucky to + embark on Friday." + + Adverbs and short phrases, _when they break the connection_, should be + between commas. Some of the most common words and phrases so used are + the following: Also, too, there, indeed, perhaps, surely, moreover, + likewise, however, finally, namely, therefore, apparently, meanwhile, + consequently, unquestionably, accordingly, notwithstanding, in truth, + in fact, in short, in general, in reality, no doubt, of course, as it + were, at all events, to be brief, to be sure, now and then, on the + contrary, in a word, by chance, in that case, in the mean time, for + the most part. "History, in a word, is replete with moral lessons." + "As an orator, however, he was not great." "There is, remember, a + limit at which forbearance ceases to be a virtue." "Our civilization, + therefore, is not an unmixed good." "This, I grant you, is not of + great importance." + + If, however, the adverb does not break the connection, but readily + coalesces with the rest of the sentence, the commas are omitted. + "Morning will come at last, however dark the night may be." "We then + proceeded on our way." "Our civilization is therefore not an unmixed + good." "Patience, I say; your mind perhaps may change." + + Adverbial phrases and clauses beginning a sentence are set off by + commas. "In truth, I could not tell." "To sum up, the matter is this." + "Everything being ready, they set out." "By looking a little deeper, + the reason will be found." "Finally, let me sum up the argument." "If + the premises were admitted, I should deny the conclusion." "Where your + treasure is, there will your heart be also." + + Words used in apposition should be isolated by commas. "Newton, the + great mathematician, was very modest." "And he, their prince, shall + rank among my peers." In such sentences, however, as, "The + mathematician Newton was very modest," and "The Emperor Napoleon was a + great soldier," commas are not used. + + The name or designation of a person addressed is isolated by commas. + "It touches you, my lord, as well as me." "John, come here." "Mr. + President, my object is peace." "Tell me, boy, where do you live?" + "Yes, sir, I will do as you say." "Mr. Brown, what is your number?" + + Pairs of words.--"Old and young, rich and poor, wise and foolish, were + involved." "Sink or swim, live or die, survive or perish, I give my + hand and heart to this vote." "Interest and ambition, honor and shame, + friendship and enmity, gratitude and revenge, are the prime movers in + public transactions." + + A restrictive clause is not separated by a comma from the noun. "Every + one must love a boy who [that] is attentive and docile." "He preaches + sublimely who [that] lives a holy life." "The things which [that] are + seen are temporal." "A king depending on the support of his subjects + can not rashly go to war." "The sailor who [that] is not superstitious + will embark any day." + + The comma is used after adjectives, nouns, and verbs in sentences like + the following: + + "Are all thy conquests, glories, triumphs, spoils + Shrunk to this little measure?" + + "He fills, he bounds, connects and equals all." + + "Who to the enraptured heart, and ear, and eye + Teach beauty, virtue, truth, and love, and melody."[25] + + "He rewarded his friends, chastised his foes, set Justice on her seat, + and made his conquest secure." + + The comma is used to separate adjectives in opposition, but closely + connected. "Though deep, yet clear; though gentle, yet not dull." + "Liberal, not lavish, is kind Nature's hand." "Though black, yet + comely; and though rash, benign." + + After a nominative, where the verb is understood. "To err is human; to + forgive, divine." "A wise man seeks to shine in himself; a fool, in + others." "Conversation makes a ready man; writing, an exact man; + reading, a full man." + + A long subject is often separated from the predicate by a comma. "Any + one that refuses to earn an honest livelihood, is not an object of + charity." "The circumstance of his being unprepared to adopt immediate + and decisive measures, was represented to the Government." "That he + had persistently disregarded every warning and persevered in his + reckless course, had not yet undermined his credit with his dupes." + "That the work of forming and perfecting the character is difficult, + is generally allowed." + + In a series of adjectives that precede their noun, a comma is placed + after each except the last; there usage omits the point. "A beautiful, + tall, willowy, sprightly girl." "A quick, brilliant, studious, learned + man."[26] + + A comma is placed between short members of compound sentences, + connected by _and_, _but_, _for_, _nor_, _or_, _because_, _whereas_, + _that_ expressing purpose (so that, in order that), and other + conjunctions. "Be virtuous, that you may be respected." "Love not + sleep, lest you come to poverty." "Man proposes, but God disposes." + + A comma must not be placed before _that_ except when it is equivalent + to _in order that_. "He says that he will be here." + + A comma must not be placed before _and_ when it connects two words + only. "Time and tide wait for no man." "A rich and prosperous people." + "Plain and honest truth wants no artificial covering." + + A comma is sometimes necessary to prevent ambiguity. "He who pursues + pleasure only defeats the object of his creation." Without a comma + before or after _only_, the meaning of this sentence is doubtful. + + The following sentences present some miscellaneous examples of the use + of the comma by writers on punctuation: "Industry, as well as genius, + is essential to the production of great works." "Prosperity is secured + to a state, not by the acquisition of territory or riches, but by the + encouragement of industry." "Your manners are affable, and, for the + most part, pleasing."[27] + + "However fairly a bad man may appear to act, we distrust him." "Why, + this is rank injustice." "Well, follow the dictates of your + inclination." "The comma may be omitted in the case of _too_, _also_, + _therefore_, and _perhaps_, when introduced so as not to interfere + with the harmonious flow of the period; and, particularly, when the + sentence is short."[28] "Robert Horton, M. D., F. R. S." "To those who + labor, sleep is doubly pleasant"; "Sleep is doubly pleasant to those + who labor." "Those who persevere, succeed." "To be overlooked, + slighted, and neglected; to be misunderstood, misrepresented, and + slandered; to be trampled under foot by the envious, the ignorant, and + the vile; to be crushed by foes, and to be distrusted and betrayed + even by friends--such is too often the fate of genius." "She is tall, + though not so handsome as her sister." "Verily, verily, I say unto + you." "Whatever is, is right." "What is foreordained to be, will be." + "The Emperor Augustus was a patron of the fine arts." "Augustus, the + Emperor, was a patron of the fine arts." "United, we stand; divided, + we fall." "God said, Let there be light." "July 21, 1881." "President + Garfield was shot, Saturday morning, July 2, 1881; he died, Monday + night, Sept. 19, 1881." "I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient + servant, John Jones." "New York, August, 1881." "Room 20, Equitable + Building, Broadway, New York." + + "_When you are in doubt as to the propriety of inserting commas, omit + them_; IT IS BETTER TO HAVE TOO FEW THAN TOO MANY."--Quackenbos. + + THE SEMICOLON.--Reasons are preceded by semicolons; "Economy is no + disgrace; for it is better to live on a little than to outlive a great + deal." Clauses in opposition are separated by a semicolon when the + second is introduced by an adversative: "Straws swim at the surface; + but pearls lie at the bottom"; "Lying lips are an abomination to the + Lord; but they that deal truly are his delight." Without the + adversative, the colon is to be preferred: "Prosperity showeth vice: + adversity, virtue." The great divisions of a sentence must be pointed + with a semicolon when the minor divisions are pointed with commas: + "Mirth should be the embroidery of conversation, not the web; and wit + the ornament of the mind, not the furniture." The things enumerated + must be separated by semicolons, when the enunciation of particulars + is preceded by a colon: "The value of a maxim depends on four things: + the correctness of the principle it embodies; the subject to which it + relates; the extent of its application; and the ease with which it may + be practically carried out." When _as_ introduces an example, it is + preceded by a semicolon. When several successive clauses have a common + connection with a preceding or following clause, they are separated by + semicolons; as, "Children, as they gamboled on the beach; reapers, as + they gathered the harvest; mowers, as they rested from using the + scythe; mothers, as they busied themselves about the household--were + victims to an enemy, who disappeared the moment a blow was struck." + "Reason as we may, it is impossible not to read in such a fate much + that we know not how to interpret; much of provocation to cruel deeds + and deep resentment; much of apology for wrong and perfidy; much of + doubt and misgiving as to the past; much of painful recollections; + much of dark foreboding." "Philosophers assert that Nature is + unlimited; that her treasures are endless; that the increase of + knowledge will never cease." + + THE COLON.--This point is less used now than formerly: its place is + supplied by the period, the semicolon, or the dash; and sometimes, + even by the comma. The colon is used very differently by different + writers. "He was heard to say, 'I have done with this world.'" Some + writers would put a colon, some a comma, after _say_. "When the quoted + passage is brought in without any introductory word, if short," says + Quackenbos, "it is generally preceded by a comma; if long, by a colon; + as, 'A simpleton, meeting a philosopher, asked him, "What affords wise + men the greatest pleasure?" Turning on his heel, the sage replied, + "To get rid of fools."'" + + Formal enumerations of particulars, and direct quotations, when + introduced by such phrases as _in these words_, _as follows_, _the + following_, _namely_, _this_, _these_, _thus_, etc., are properly + preceded by a colon. "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that + all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with + certain inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and + the pursuit of happiness." "Lord Bacon has summed up the whole matter + in the following words: 'A little philosophy inclineth men's minds to + atheism; but depth in philosophy bringeth men's minds to religion.'" + "The human family is composed of five races: first, the Caucasian; + second, the Mongolian; third, the," etc. + + "All were attentive to the godlike man + When from his lofty couch he thus began: + 'Great queen,'" etc.--Dryden. + + When the quotation, or other matter, begins a new paragraph, the colon + is, by many writers, followed with a dash; as, "The cloth being + removed, the President rose and said:-- + + "'Ladies and gentlemen, we are,'" etc. + + The colon is used to mark the greater breaks in sentences, when the + lesser breaks are marked by semicolons. "You have called yourself an + atom in the universe; you have said that you are but an insect in the + solar blaze: is your present pride consistent with these professions?" + "A clause is either independent or dependent: independent, if it forms + an assertion by itself; dependent, if it enters into some other clause + with the value of a part of speech." A colon is sometimes used instead + of a period to separate two short sentences, which are closely + connected. "Never flatter people: leave that to such as mean to + betray them." "Some things we can, and others we can not do: we can + walk, but we can not fly." + + THE PERIOD.--Complete sentences are always followed either by a + period, or by an exclamation or an interrogation point.[29] + + The period is also used after abbreviations; as, R. D. Van Nostrand, + St. Louis, Mo.; Jno. B. Morris, M. D., F. R. S., London, Eng.; Jas. W. + Wallack, Jr., New York City, N. Y.; Jas. B. Roberts, Elocutionist, + Phila., Pa. + + INTERROGATION-POINT.--This point is used after questions put by the + writer, and after questions reported directly. "What can I do for + you?" "Where are you going?" "What do you say?" cried the General. + "The child still lives?" It should not be used when the question is + reported indirectly. "He asked me where I was going." "The Judge asked + the witness if he believed the man to be guilty." + + EXCLAMATION-POINT.--This mark is placed after interjections, after + sentences and clauses of sentences of passionate import, and after + solemn invocations and addresses. "Zounds! the man's in earnest." + "Pshaw! what can we do?" "Bah! what's that to me?" "Indeed! then I + must look to it." "Look, my lord, it comes!" "Rest, rest, perturbed + spirit!" "O heat, dry up my brains!" "Dear maid, kind sister, sweet + Ophelia!" "While in this part of the country, I once more + revisited--and, alas, with what melancholy presentiments!--the home of + my youth." "O rose of May!" "Oh, from this time forth, my thoughts be + bloody or be nothing worth!" "O heavens! die two months ago, and not + forgotten yet?" + + "Night, sable goddess! from her ebon throne, + In rayless majesty now stretches forth + Her leaden scepter o'er a slumbering world. + Silence, how dead! and darkness, how profound!"--Young. + + "Hail, holy light! offspring of heaven just born!"--Milton. + + "But thou, O Hope! with eyes so fair, + What was thy delighted measure?"--Collins. + + It will be observed that the interjection O is an exception to the + rule: it is often followed by a comma, but never by an + exclamation-point. + + An exclamation-point sometimes gives the same words quite another + meaning. The difference between "What's that?" and "What's that!" is + obvious. + + THE DASH.--Cobbett did not favor the use of this mark, as we see from + the following: "Let me caution you against the use of what, by some, + is called the _dash_. The dash is a stroke along the line; thus, 'I am + rich--I was poor--I shall be poor again.' This is wild work indeed! + Who is to know what is intended by these _dashes_? Those who have + thought proper, like Mr. Lindley Murray, to place the _dash_ amongst + the _grammatical points_, ought to give us some rule relative to its + different longitudinal dimensions in different cases. The _inch_, the + _three-quarter-inch_, the _half-inch_, the _quarter-inch_: these would + be something determinate; but '_the dash_,' without measure, must be a + perilous thing for the young grammarian to handle. In short, '_the + dash_' is a cover for ignorance as to the use of points, and it can + answer no other purpose." + + This is one of the few instances in which Cobbett was wrong. The + _dash_ is the proper point with which to mark an unexpected or + emphatic pause, or a sudden break or transition. It is very often + preceded by another point. "And Huitzilopochtli--a sweet name to roll + under one's tongue--for how many years has this venerable war-god + blinked in the noonday sun!" "Crowds gathered about the newspaper + bulletins, recalling the feverish scenes that occurred when the + President's life was thought to be hanging by a thread. 'Wouldn't it + be too bad,' said one, 'if, after all--no, I won't allow myself to + think of it.'" "Was there ever--but I scorn to boast." "You are--no, + I'll not tell you what you are." + + "He suffered--but his pangs are o'er; + Enjoyed--but his delights are fled; + Had friends--his friends are now no more; + And foes--his foes are dead."--Montgomery. + + "Greece, Carthage, Rome,--where are they?" "He chastens;--but he + chastens to save." + + Dashes are much used where parentheses were formerly employed. "In the + days of Tweed the expression to divide fair--forcible, if not + grammatical--acquired much currency." "In truth, the character of the + great chief was depicted two thousand five hundred years before his + birth, and depicted--such is the power of genius--in colors which will + be fresh as many years after his death." "To render the Constitution + perpetual--which God grant it may be!--it is necessary that its + benefits should be practically felt by all parts of the country." + + PARENTHESIS.--This mark is comparatively little used nowadays. The + dash is preferred, probably because it disfigures the page less. The + office of the parenthesis is to isolate a phrase which is merely + incidental, and which might be omitted without detriment to the + grammatical construction. + + "Know then this truth (enough for man to know), + Virtue alone is happiness below."--Pope. + + "The bliss of man (could pride that blessing find) + Is not to act or think beyond mankind." + + BRACKETS.--This mark is used principally to inclose words improperly + omitted by the writer, or words introduced for the purpose of + explanation or to correct an error. The bracket is often used in this + book. + + THE APOSTROPHE.--This point is used to denote the omission of letters + and sometimes of figures; as, Jan'y, '81; _I've_ for _I have_; + _you'll_ for _you will_; _'tis_ for _it is_; _don't_ for _do not_; + _can't_ for _can not_; It was in the year '93; the spirit of '76; It + was in the years 1812, '13, and '14. + + Also to denote the possessive case; as, Brown's house; the king's + command; Moses' staff; for conscience' sake; the boys' garden. + + Also with _s_ to denote the plural of letters, figures, and signs; as, + Cross your _t_'s, dot your _i_'s, and mind your _p_'s and _q_'s; make + your 5's better, and take out the _x_'s. + + CAPITALS.--A capital letter should begin every sentence, every line of + verse, and every direct quotation. + + All names of the Deity, of Jesus Christ, of the Trinity, and of the + Virgin Mary must begin with a capital. Pronouns are usually + capitalized when they refer to the Deity. + + Proper names, and nouns and adjectives formed from proper names, names + of streets, of the months, of the days of the week, and of the + holidays, are capitalized. + + Titles of nobility and of high office, when used to designate + particular persons, are capitalized; as, the Earl of Dunraven, the + Mayor of Boston, the Baron replied, the Cardinal presided. + + THE PARAGRAPH.--In writing for the press, the division of matter into + paragraphs is often quite arbitrary; in letter-writing, on the + contrary, the several topics treated of should, as a rule, be isolated + by paragraphic divisions. These divisions give one's letters a + shapely appearance that they otherwise never have. + +PURCHASE. This word is much preferred to its synonym _buy_, by that +class of people who prefer the word _reside_ to _live_, _procure_ to +_get_, _inaugurate_ to _begin_, and so on. They are generally of those +who are great in pretense, and who would be greater still if they were +to pretend to all they have to pretend to. + +PURPOSE. See PROPOSE. + +QUANTITY. This word is often improperly used for _number_. _Quantity_ +should be used in speaking of what is measured or weighed; _number_, of +what is counted. Examples: "What _quantity_ of apples have you, and what +_number_ of pineapples?" "Delaware produces a large _quantity_ of +peaches and a large _number_ of melons." + +QUIT.--This word means, properly, to leave, to go away from, to forsake; +as, "Avaunt! _quit_ my sight." This is the only sense in which the +English use it. In America, it is generally used in the sense of to +leave off, to stop; as, "_Quit_ your nonsense"; "_Quit_ laughing"; +"_Quit_ your noise"; "He has _quit_ smoking," and so on. + +QUITE. This word originally meant completely, perfectly, totally, +entirely, fully; and this is the sense in which it was used by the early +writers of English. It is now often used in the sense of _rather_; as, +"It is _quite_ warm"; "She is _quite_ tall"; "He is _quite_ proficient." +Sometimes it is incorrectly used in the sense of _considerable_; as, +_quite_ an amount, _quite_ a number, _quite_ a fortune. _Quite_, +according to good modern usage, may qualify an adjective, but not a +noun. "She is quite the lady," is a vile phrase, meaning, "She is very +or _quite_ ladylike." + +RAILROAD DEPOT. Few things are more offensive to fastidious ears than to +hear a railway _station_ called a _depot_. A depot is properly a place +where goods or stores of any kind are kept; and the places at which the +trains of a railroad--or, better, rail_way_--stop for passengers, or the +points from which they start and at which they arrive, are, properly, +the _stations_. + +RAILWAY. The English prefer this word to rail_road_. + +RAISE THE RENT. An expression incorrectly used for _increase the rent_. + +RARELY. It is no uncommon thing to see this adverb improperly used in +such sentences as, "It is very _rarely_ that the puppets of the romancer +assume," etc.--"Appletons' Journal," February, 1881, p. 177. "But," says +the defender of this phraseology, "_rarely_ qualifies a verb--the verb +_to be_." Not at all. The sentence, if written out in full, would be, +"It is a very rare thing that," etc., or "The circumstance is a very +rare one that," etc., or "It is a very rare occurrence that," etc. To +those who contend for "It is very _rarely_ that," etc., I would say, It +is very _sadly_ that persons of culture will write and then defend--or +rather try to defend--such grammar. + +RATIOCINATE. See EFFECTUATE. + +REAL.--This adjective is often vulgarly used in the sense of the adverb +_very_; thus, _real_ nice, _real_ pretty, _real_ angry, _real_ cute, and +so on. + +RECOMMEND. This word, which means to commend or praise to another, to +declare worthy of esteem, trust, or favor, is sometimes put to strange +uses. Example: "Resolved, that the tax-payers of the county be +_recommended_ to meet," etc. What the resolving gentlemen meant was, +that the tax-payers should be _counseled_ to meet. + +REDUNDANCY. See PLEONASM. + +RELIABLE. This is a modern word which is often met with; but it is not +used by our careful writers. They prefer its synonym _trustworthy_, and +argue that, in consequence of being ill-formed, _reliable_ can not +possibly have the signification in which it is used. + +REMAINDER. See BALANCE. + +RENDITION. This word is much misused for _rendering_. Example: "The +excellence of Mr. Gilbert's _rendition_ of certain characters, Sir Peter +and Sir Antony, for instance, is not equaled," etc. _Rendition_ means +the act of yielding possession, surrender, as the _rendition_ of a town +or fortress. The sentence above should read, "The excellence of Mr. +Gilbert's _rendering_," etc. _Rendition_ is also sometimes improperly +used for _performance_. + +REPLY. See ANSWER. + +REPUTATION. See CHARACTER. + +RESIDE. A big word that Mr. Wouldbe uses where Mr. Is uses the little +word _live_. + +RESIDENCE. In speaking of a man's domicile, it is not only in better +taste but more correct to use the term _house_ than _residence_. A man +has a _residence_ in New York, when he has lived here long enough to +have the right to exercise the franchise here; and he may have a _house_ +in Fifth Avenue where he _lives_. People who _are_ live in houses; +people who _would be_ reside in residences. The former _buy_ things; the +latter _purchase_ them. + +REST. See BALANCE. + +RESTIVE. Some of the dictionaries, Richard Grant White, and some other +writers, contend that this word, when properly used, means unwilling to +go, standing still stubbornly, obstinate, stubborn, and nothing else. In +combating this opinion, Fitzedward Hall says: "Very few instances, I +apprehend, can be produced, from our literature, of this use of +_restive_." Webster gives impatient, uneasy, as a second meaning; and +this is the sense in which the word is nearly always used. + +RETIRE. It is only the over-nice who use _retire_ in the sense of _go to +bed_. + +REVEREND--HONORABLE. Many persons are in doubt whether they should or +should not put _the_ before these adjectives. Emphatically, yes, they +should. See "Words and Their Uses," by Richard Grant White, for a full +discussion of the question; also "Good English," by Edward S. Gould. + +RHETORIC. The art which has for its object the rendering of language +effective is called _rhetoric_. Without some study of the art of +composition, no one can expect to write well, or to judge the literary +work of others. + + "True ease in writing comes from art, not chance, + As those move easiest who have learned to dance." + +RIDE--DRIVE. Fashion, both in England and in this country, says that we +must always use the second of these words when we speak of going out in +a carriage, although _ride_ means, according to all the lexicographers, +"to be carried on a horse or other animal, or in any kind of vehicle or +carriage." + +RIGHT. Singularly enough, this word is made, by some people, to do +service for _ought_, _in duty bound_, under _obligation_ to; thus, "You +had a _right_ to tell me," meaning, "You should have told me." "The +Colonists contended that they _had no right_ to pay taxes," meaning, +"They were _under no obligation_ to pay taxes," i. e., that it was +unjust to tax them. + +RIGHT HERE. The expressions "right here" and "right there" are +Americanisms. Correctly, "just here" and "just there." + +ROLLING. The use of this participial adjective in the sense of +undulating is said to be an Americanism. Whether an Americanism or not, +it would seem to be quite unobjectionable. + +RUBBERS. This word, in common with _gums_ and _arctics_, is often, in +defiance of good taste, used for _overshoes_. + +SABBATH. This term was first used in English for Sunday, or Lord's day, +by the Puritans. Nowadays it is little used in this sense. The word to +use is _Sunday_. + +SARCASM. Bain says that _sarcasm_ is vituperation softened in the +outward expression by the arts and figures of disguise--epigram, +innuendo, irony--and embellished with the figures of illustration. Crabb +says that _sarcasm_ is the indulgence only of personal resentment, and +is never justifiable. + +SATIRE. The holding up to ridicule of the follies and weaknesses of +mankind, by way of rebuke, is called _satire_. Satire is general rather +than individual, its object being the reformation of abuses. A +_lampoon_, which has been defined as a _personal satire_, attacks the +individual rather than his fault, and is intended to injure rather than +to reform. + +Said Sheridan: "Satires and lampoons on particular people circulate more +by giving copies in confidence to the friends of the parties than by +printing them." + +SAW. The imperfect tense of the verb _to see_ is carelessly used by good +writers and speakers when they should use the perfect; thus, "I never +_saw_ anything like it before," when the meaning intended is, "I _have_ +never [in all my life] _seen_ anything like it before [until now]." We +say properly, "I never _saw_ anything like it _when I was in Paris_"; +but, when the period of time referred to extends to the time when the +statement is made, it must be _have seen_. Like mistakes are made in +the use of other verbs, but they are hardly as common; yet we often hear +such expressions as, "I _was_ never in Philadelphia," "I never _went_ to +the theatre in my life," instead of _have been_ in Philadelphia, and +_have gone_ to the theatre. + +SECTION. The use of this word for region, neighborhood, vicinity, part +(of the town or country), is said to be a Westernism. A _section_ is a +division of the public lands containing six hundred and forty acres. + +SEEM--APPEAR. Graham, in his "English Synonymes," says of these two +words: "What _seems_ is in the mind; what _appears_ is external. Things +_appear_ as they present themselves to the eye; they _seem_ as they are +represented to the mind. Things _appear_ good or bad, as far as we can +judge by our senses. Things _seem_ right or wrong as we determine by +reflection. Perception and sensation have to do with appearing; +reflection and comparison, with seeming. When things are not what they +_appear_, our senses are deceived; when things are not what they _seem_, +our judgment is at fault." + +"No man had ever a greater power over himself, or was less the man he +_seemed_ to be, which shortly after _appeared_ to everybody, when he +cared less to keep on the mask."--Clarendon. + +SELDOM OR EVER. This phrase should be "seldom _if_ ever," or "seldom or +_never_." + +SERAPHIM. This is the plural of _seraph_. "One of the _seraphim_." "To +Thee cherubim and seraphim continually do cry." See CHERUBIM. + +SET--SIT. The former of these two verbs is often incorrectly used for +the latter. To _set_; imperfect tense, _set_; participles, _setting_, +_set_. To _sit_; imperfect tense, _sat_; participles, _sitting_, _sat_. +To _set_ means to put, to place, to plant; to put in any place, +condition, state, or posture. We say, to _set_ about, to _set_ against, +to _set_ out, to _set_ going, to _set_ apart, to _set_ aside, to _set_ +down (to put in writing). To _sit_ means to rest on the lower part of +the body, to repose on a seat, to perch, as a bird, etc. We say, "_Sit_ +up," i. e., rise from lying to sitting; "We will _sit_ up," i. e., will +not go to bed; "_Sit_ down," i. e., place yourself on a seat. We _sit_ a +horse and we _sit_ for a portrait. Garments _sit_ well or otherwise. +Congress _sits_, so does a court. "I have _sat_ up long enough." "I have +_set_ it on the table." We _set_ down figures, but we _sit_ down on the +ground. We _set_ a hen, and a hen _sits_ on eggs. We should say, +therefore, "as cross as a _sitting_ [not, as a _setting_] hen." + +SETTLE. This word is often inelegantly, if not incorrectly, used for +_pay_. We _pay_ our way, _pay_ our fare, _pay_ our hotel-bills, and the +like. See, also, LOCATE. + +SHALL AND WILL. The nice distinctions that should be made between these +two auxiliaries are, in some parts of the English-speaking world, often +disregarded, and that, too, by persons of high culture. The proper use +of _shall_ and _will_ can much better be learned from example than from +precept. Many persons who use them, and also _should_ and _would_, with +well-nigh unerring correctness, do so unconsciously; it is simply habit +with them, and they, though their culture may be limited, will receive a +sort of verbal shock from Biddy's inquiry, "_Will_ I put the kettle on, +ma'am?" when your Irish or Scotch countess would not be in the least +disturbed by it. + + SHALL, _in an affirmative sentence, in the first person, and_ WILL _in + the second and third persons, merely announce future action_. Thus, "I + _shall_ go to town to-morrow." "I _shall_ not; I _shall_ wait for + better weather." "We _shall_ be glad to see you." "I _shall_ soon be + twenty." "We _shall_ set out early, and _shall_ try to arrive by + noon." "You _will_ be pleased." "You _will_ soon be twenty." "You + _will_ find him honest." "He _will_ go with us." + + SHALL, _in an affirmative sentence, in the second and third persons, + announces the speaker's intention to control_. Thus, "You _shall_ hear + me out." "You _shall_ go, sick or well." "He _shall_ be my heir." + "They _shall_ go, whether they want to go or not." + + WILL, _in the first person, expresses a promise, announces the + speaker's intention to control, proclaims a determination_. Thus, "I + _will_ [I promise to] assist you." "I _will_ [I am determined to] have + my right." "We _will_ [we promise to] come to you in the morning." + + SHALL, _in an interrogative sentence, in the first and third persons, + consults the will or judgment of another; in the second person, it + inquires concerning the intention or future action of another_. Thus, + "_Shall_ I go with you?" "When _shall_ we see you again?" "When + _shall_ I receive it?" "When _shall_ I get well?" "When _shall_ we get + there?" "_Shall_ he come with us?" "_Shall_ you demand indemnity?" + "_Shall_ you go to town to-morrow?" "What _shall_ you do about it?" + + WILL, _in an interrogative sentence, in the second person, asks + concerning the wish, and, in the third person, concerning the purpose + or future action of others_. Thus, "_Will_ you have an apple?" "_Will_ + you go with me to my uncle's?" "_Will_ he be of the party?" "_Will_ + they be willing to receive us?" "When _will_ he be here?" + + _Will_ can not be used interrogatively in the first person singular or + plural. We can not say, "_Will_ I go?" "_Will_ I help you?" "_Will_ I + be late?" "_Will_ we get there in time?" "_Will_ we see you again + soon?" + + Official courtesy, in order to avoid the semblance of compulsion, + conveys its commands in the _you-will_ form instead of the strictly + grammatical _you-shall_ form. It says, for example, "You _will_ + proceed to Key West, where you will find further instructions awaiting + you." + + A clever writer on the use of _shall_ and _will_ says that whatever + concerns one's beliefs, hopes, fears, likes, or dislikes, can not be + expressed in conjunction with _I will_. Are there no exceptions to + this rule? If I say, "I think I _shall_ go to Philadelphia to-morrow," + I convey the impression that my going depends upon circumstances + beyond my control; but if I say, "I think I _will_ go to Philadelphia + to-morrow," I convey the impression that my going depends upon + circumstances within my control--that my going or not depends on mere + inclination. We certainly must say, "I fear that I _shall_ lose it"; + "I hope that I _shall_ be well"; "I believe that I _shall_ have the + ague"; "I hope that I _shall_ not be left alone"; "I fear that we + _shall_ have bad weather"; "I _shall_ dislike the country"; "I _shall_ + like the performance." The writer referred to asks, "How can one say, + 'I _will_ have the headache'?" I answer, Very easily, as every young + woman knows. Let us see: "Mary, you know you promised John to drive + out with him to-morrow; how _shall_ you get out of it?" "Oh, I _will_ + have the headache!" We request that people _will_ do thus or so, and + not that they _shall_. Thus, "It is requested that no one _will_ leave + the room." + + _Shall_ is rarely, if ever, used for _will_; it is _will_ that is used + for _shall_. Expressions like the following are common: "Where _will_ + you be next week?" "I _will_ be at home." "We _will_ have dinner at + six o'clock." "How _will_ you go about it?" "When _will_ you begin?" + "When _will_ you set out?" "What _will_ you do with it?" In all such + expressions, when it is a question of mere future action on the part + of the person speaking or spoken to, the auxiliary must be _shall_, + and not _will_. + + _Should_ and _would_ follow the regimen of _shall_ and _will_. _Would_ + is often used for _should_; _should_ rarely for _would_. Correct + speakers say, "I _should_ go to town to-morrow if I had a horse." "I + _should_ not; I _should_ wait for better weather." "We _should_ be + glad to see you." "We _should_ have started earlier, if the weather + had been clear." "I _should_ like to go to town, and _would_ go if I + could." "I _would_ assist you if I could." "I _should_ have been ill + if I had gone." "I _would_ I were home again!" "I _should_ go fishing + to-day if I were home." "I _should_ so like to go to Europe!" "I + _should_ prefer to see it first." "I _should_ be delighted." "I + _should_ be glad to have you sup with me." "I knew that I _should_ be + ill." "I feared that I _should_ lose it." "I hoped that I _should_ see + him." "I thought I _should_ have the ague." "I hoped that I _should_ + not be left alone." "I was afraid that we _should_ have bad weather." + "I knew I _should_ dislike the country." "I _should_ not like to do + it, and _will_ not [determination] unless compelled to." + +SHIMMY. "We derive from the French language our word +_chemise_--pronounced _shemmeeze_. In French, the word denotes a man's +shirt, as well as the under garment worn by women. In this country, it +is often pronounced by people who should know better--_shimmy_. Rather +than call it _shimmy_, resume the use of the old English words _shift_ +and _smock_. Good usage unqualifiedly condemns _gents_, _pants_, _kids_, +_gums_, and _shimmy_."--"Vulgarisms and Other Errors of Speech." + +SHOULD. See OUGHT. + +SICK--ILL. These words are often used indiscriminately. _Sick_, however, +is the stronger word, and generally the better word to use. _Ill_ is +used in England more than with us: there _sick_ is generally limited to +the expressing of nausea; as, "sick at the stomach." + +SIGNATURE, OVER OR UNDER? A man writes _under_, not _over_, a signature. +Charles Dickens wrote _under_ the signature of "Boz"; Mr. Samuel L. +Clemens writes _under_ the signature of "Mark Twain." The reason given +in Webster's Dictionary for preferring the use of _under_ is absurd; +viz., that the paper is _under_ the hand in writing. The expression is +elliptical, and has no reference to the position either of the signature +or of the paper. "Given under my hand and seal" means "under the +guarantee of my signature and my seal." "Under his own signature" or +"name" means "under his own character, without disguise." "Under the +signature of Boz" means "under the disguise of the assumed name Boz." We +always write _under_ a certain date, though the date be placed, as it +often is, at the bottom of the page. + +SIGNS. In one of the principal business streets of New York there is a +sign which reads, "German Lace Store." Now, whether this is a store that +makes a specialty of German laces, or whether it is a store where all +kinds of lace are sold, kept by a German or after the German fashion, is +something that the sign doubtless means to tell us, but, owing to the +absence of a hyphen ("German-Lace Store," or "German Lace-Store"), does +not tell us. Nothing is more common than erroneous punctuation in signs, +and gross mistakes by the unlettered in the wording of the simplest +printed matter. + +The bad taste, incorrect punctuation, false grammar, and ridiculous +nonsense met with on signs and placards, and in advertisements, are +really surprising. An advertisement tells us that "a pillow which +assists in procuring sleep is a _benediction_"; a placard, that they +have "Charlotte _de_ Russe" for sale within, which means, if it means +anything, that they have for sale somebody or something called Charlotte +of Russian; and, then, on how many signs do we see the possessive case +when the plural number is intended! + +SIMILE. In rhetoric, a direct and formal comparison is called a +_simile_. It is generally denoted by _like_, _as_, or _so_; as, + + "I have ventured, + _Like_ little wanton boys that swim on bladders, + These many summers in a sea of glory." + + "Thy smile is _as_ the dawn of vernal day."--Shakespeare. + + "_As_, down in the sunless retreats of the ocean, + Sweet flow'rets are springing no mortal can see; + _So_, deep in my bosom, the prayer of devotion, + Unheard by the world, rises silent to thee."--Moore. + + "'Tis with our judgments _as_ with our watches; none + Go just alike, yet each believes his own."--Pope. + + "Grace abused brings forth the foulest deeds, + _As_ richest soil the most luxuriant weeds."--Cowper. + +"_As_ no roads are so rough as those that have just been mended, _so_ no +sinners are so intolerant as those who have just turned +saints."--"Lacon." + +SIN. See CRIME. + +SINCE--AGO. Dr. Johnson says of these two adverbs: "Reckoning time +toward the present, we use _since_; as, 'It is a year _since_ it +happened': reckoning from the present, we use _ago_; as, 'It is a year +_ago_.' This is not, perhaps, always observed." + +Dr. Johnson's rule will hardly suffice as a sure guide. _Since_ is often +used for _ago_, but _ago_ never for _since_. _Ago_ is derived from the +participle _agone_, while _since_ comes from a preposition. We say +properly, "not long" or "some time _ago_ [agone]." _Since_ requires a +verbal clause after it; as, "_Since_ I saw you"; "_Since_ he was here." + +SING. Of the two forms--_sang_ and _sung_--for the imperfect tense of +the verb to _sing_, the former--_sang_--is to be preferred. + +SIT. See SET. + +SLANG. The slang that is heard among respectable people is made up of +genuine words, to which an arbitrary meaning is given. It is always low, +generally coarse, and not unfrequently foolish. With the exception of +_cant_, there is nothing that is more to be shunned. We sometimes meet +with persons of considerable culture who interlard their talk with slang +expressions, but it is safe to assert that they are always persons of +coarse natures. + +SMART. See CLEVER. + +SMELL OF. See TASTE OF. + +SO. See AS; SUCH; THAT. + +SO MUCH SO. "The shipments by the coast steamers are very large, _so +much so_ [large?] as to tax the capacity of the different +lines."--"Telegram," September 19, 1881. The sentence should be, "The +shipments by the coast steamers are very large, _so large_ as to tax," +etc. + +SOLECISM. In rhetoric, a solecism is defined as an offense against the +rules of grammar by the use of words in a wrong construction; false +syntax. + +"Modern grammarians designate by _solecism_ any word or expression which +does not agree with the established usage of writing or speaking. But, +as customs change, that which at one time is considered a _solecism_ may +at another be regarded as correct language. A _solecism_, therefore, +differs from a _barbarism_, inasmuch as the latter consists in the use +of a word or expression which is altogether contrary to the spirit of +the language, and can, properly speaking, never become established as +correct language."--"Penny Cyclopædia." See, also, BARBARISM. + +SOME. This word is not unfrequently misused for _somewhat_; thus, "She +is _some_ better to-day." It is likewise often misused for _about_; +thus, "I think it is _some_ ten miles from here": read, "_about_ ten +miles from here." + +SPECIALTY. This form has within a recent period been generally +substituted for _speciality_. There is no apparent reason, however, why +the _i_ should be dropped, since it is required by the etymology of the +word, and is retained in nearly all other words of the same formation. + +SPECIOUS FALLACY. A _fallacy_ is a sophism, a logical artifice, a +deceitful or false appearance; while _specious_ means having the +appearance of truth, plausible. Hence we see that the very essence of a +_fallacy_ is its _speciousness_. We may very properly say that a +_fallacy_ is more or less _specious_, but we can not properly say that a +fallacy _is_ specious, since without speciousness we can have no +fallacies. + +SPLENDID. This poor word is used by the gentler sex to qualify well-nigh +everything that has their approval, from a sugar-plum to the national +capitol. In fact, _splendid_ and _awful_ seem to be about the only +adjectives some of our superlative young women have in their +vocabularies. + +STANDPOINT. This is a word to which many students of English seriously +object, and among them are the editors of some of our daily papers, who +do not allow it to appear in their columns. The phrase to which no one +objects is, _point of view_. + +STATE. This word, which properly means to make known specifically, to +explain particularly, is often misused for _say_. When _say_ says all +one _wants_ to say, why use a more pretentious word? + +STOP. "Where are you _stopping_?" "At the Metropolitan." The proper word +to use here is _staying_. _To stop_ means to cease to go forward, to +leave off; and _to stay_ means to abide, to tarry, to dwell, to sojourn. +We _stay_, not _stop_, at home, at a hotel, or with a friend, as the +case may be. + +STORM. Many persons indulge in a careless use of this word, using it +when they mean to say simply that it rains or snows. To a _storm_ a +violent commotion of the atmosphere is indispensable. A very high wind +constitutes a storm, though it be dry. + +STRAIGHTWAY. Here is a good Anglo-Saxon word of _two_ syllables whose +place, without any good reason, is being usurped by the Latin word +_immediately_, of _five_ syllables. + +STREET. We live _in_, not _on_--meet our acquaintances _in_, not +_on_--things occur _in_, not _on_--houses are built _in_, not _on_, the +street, and so forth. + +STYLE. This is a term that is used to characterize the peculiarities +that distinguish a writer or a composition. Correctness and clearness +properly belong to the domain of _diction_; simplicity, conciseness, +gravity, elegance, diffuseness, floridity, force, feebleness, +coarseness, etc., belong to the domain of _style_. + +SUBJUNCTIVE MOOD. This mood is unpopular with not a few now-a-day +grammarians. One says that it is rapidly falling into disuse; that, in +fact, there is good reason to suppose it will soon become obsolete. +Another says that it would, perhaps, be better to abolish it entirely, +as its use is a continual source of dispute among grammarians and of +perplexity to schools. Another says that it is a universal +stumbling-block; that nobody seems to understand it, although almost +everybody attempts to use it. + +That the subjunctive mood is much less used now than it was a hundred +years ago is certain, but that it is obsolescent is very far from +certain. It would not be easy, I think, to find a single contemporary +writer who does not use it. That it is not always easy to determine what +form of it we should employ is very true; but if we are justified in +abolishing it altogether, as Mr. Chandler suggests, because its correct +use is not always easy, then we are also justified in abolishing the use +of _shall_ and _will_, and of the prepositions, for surely their right +use is likewise at times most puzzling. Meanwhile, most persons will +think it well to learn to use the subjunctive mood properly. With that +object in view, one can not, perhaps, do better than to attend to what +Dr. Alexander Bain, Professor of Logic in the University of Aberdeen, +says upon the subject. In Professor Bain's "Higher English Grammar" we +find: + +"In subordinate clauses.--In a clause expressing a condition, and +introduced by a conjunction of condition, the verb is sometimes, but not +always, in the subjunctive mood: 'If I _be_ able,' 'if I _were_ strong +enough,' 'if thou _should_ come.' + +"The subjunctive inflexions have been wholly lost. The sense that +something is wanting appears to have led many writers to use indicative +forms where the subjunctive might be expected. The tendency appears +strongest in the case of 'wert,' which is now used as indicative (for +'wast') only in poetical or elevated language. + +"The following is the rule given for the use of the subjunctive mood: + +"When in a conditional clause it is intended to express doubt or denial, +use the subjunctive mood.[30] 'If I _were_ sure of what you tell me, I +would go.' + +"When the conditional clause is _affirmative_ and _certain_, the verb is +_indicative_: 'If that _is_ the case' (as you now tell me, and as I +believe), 'I can understand you.' This is equivalent to a clause of +assumption, or supposition: 'That being the case,' 'inasmuch as that is +the case,' etc. + +"As _futurity_ is by its nature uncertain, the subjunctive is +extensively used for future conditionality: 'If it _rain_, we shall not +be able to go'; 'if I _be_ well'; 'if he _come_ shortly'; 'if thou +_return_ at all in peace'; 'though he _slay_ me, yet will I trust in +him.' These events are all in the uncertain future, and are put in the +subjunctive.[31] + +"A future result or consequence is expressed by the subjunctive in such +instances as these: 'I will wait till he _return_'; 'no fear lest dinner +_cool_'; 'thou shalt stone him with stones, that he _die_'; 'take heed +lest at any time your hearts _be_ overcharged with surfeiting.' + +"Uncertainty as to a past event may arise from our own ignorance, in +which case the subjunctive is properly employed, and serves the useful +purpose of distinguishing our ignorance from our knowledge. 'If any of +my readers _has_ looked with so little attention upon the world around +him'; this would mean--'as I know that they have.' The meaning intended +is probably--'as I do not know whether they have or not,' and therefore +the subjunctive 'have' is preferable. 'If ignorance _is_ bliss,' which I +(ironically) admit. Had Gray been speaking seriously, he would have +said, 'if ignorance _be_ bliss,' he himself dissenting from the +proposition. + +"A wish contrary to the fact takes the subjunctive: 'I wish he _were_ +here' (which he is not). + +"An intention not yet carried out is also subjunctive: 'The sentence is +that you _be_ imprisoned.' + +"The only correct form of the future subjunctive is--'if I should.' We +may say, 'I do not know whether or not I _shall_ come'; but 'if I shall +come,' expressing a condition, is not an English construction. 'If he +will' has a real meaning, as being the present subjunctive of the verb +'will': 'if he be willing,' 'if he have the will.' It is in accordance +with good usage to express a future subjunctive meaning by a present +tense; but in that case the form must be strictly subjunctive, and not +indicative. 'If any member _absents_ himself, he shall forfeit a penny +for the use of the club'; this ought to be either 'absent,' or 'should +absent.' 'If thou _neglectest_ or _doest_ unwillingly what I command +thee, I will rack thee with old cramps'; better, 'if thou _neglect_ or +_do_ unwillingly,' or 'if thou should neglect.' The indicative would be +justified by the speaker's belief that the supposition is sure to turn +out to be the fact. + +"The past subjunctive may imply denial; as, 'if the book _were_ in the +library (as it is not), it should be at your service.' + +"'If the book _be_ in the library,' means, 'I do not know whether it be +or not.' We have thus the power of discriminating _three_ different +suppositions. 'If the book _is_ in the library' (as I know it is); 'if +it _be_' (I am uncertain); 'if it _were_' (as I know it is not). So, 'if +it rains,' 'if it rain,' 'if it rained.' 'Nay, and the villains march +wide between the legs, as if they _had_ gyves on,' implying that they +had not. + +"The same power of the past tense is exemplified in 'if I _could_, I +would,' which means, 'I can not'; whereas, 'if I can, I will,' means 'I +do not know.' + +"The past subjunctive may be expressed by an inversion: '_Had_ I the +power,' '_were_ I as I have been.' + +"In Principal Clauses.--The principal clause in a conditional statement +also takes the subjunctive form when it refers to what is future and +contingent, and when it refers to what is past and uncertain, or denied. +'If he should try, he _would_ succeed'; 'if I had seen him, I _should_ +have asked him.' + +"The usual forms of the subjunctive in the principal clause are 'would,' +'should,' 'would have,' 'should have'; and it is to be noted that in +this application the second persons take the inflexional ending of the +indicative: 'shouldst,' 'wouldst.' + + "'If 'twere done when 'tis done, then 't_were_ (would be) well + It _were_ (should be) done quickly.' + +"The English idiom appears sometimes to permit the use of an indicative +where we should expect a subjunctive form. 'Many acts, that _had_ been +otherwise blamable, were employed'; 'I _had_ fainted, unless I had +believed,' etc. + + "'Which else _lie_ furled and shrouded in the soul.' + +"In 'else' there is implied a conditional clause that would suit 'lie'; +or the present may be regarded as a more vivid form of expression. 'Had' +may be indicative; just as we sometimes find pluperfect indicative for +pluperfect subjunctive in the same circumstances in Latin. We may refer +it to the general tendency, as already seen in the uses of 'could,' +'would,' 'should,' etc., to express conditionality by a past tense; or +the indicative may be used as a more direct and vivid mode. 'Had' may be +subjunctive; 'I _had_ fainted' is, in construction, analogous to 'I +_should_ have fainted'; the word for futurity, 'shall,' not being +necessary to the sense, is withdrawn, and its past inflexion transferred +to 'have.' Compare Germ. _würde haben_ and _hätte_." + +In addition to the foregoing, we find in Professor Bain's "Composition +Grammar" the following: + +"The case most suited to the subjunctive is _contingent futurity_, or +the expression of an event unknown absolutely, as being still in the +future: 'If to-morrow _be_ fine, I will walk with you.' + +"'Unless I _were_ prepared,' insinuates pretty strongly that I am or am +not prepared, according to the manner of the principal clause. + + "'What's a tall man unless he _fight_?' + + "'The sword hath ended him: so shall it thee, + Unless thou _yield_ thee as my prisoner.' + + "'Who but must laugh, if such a man there _be_? + Who would not weep, if Atticus _were_ he?' + +"'I am to second Ion if he _fail_'; the failing is left quite doubtful. +'I should very imperfectly execute the task which I have undertaken if I +_were_ merely to treat of battles and sieges.' Macaulay thus implies +that the scope of his work is to be wider than mere battles and sieges. + +"The subjunctive appears in some other constructions. 'I hope to see the +exhibition before _it close_'; 'wait till he _return_'; 'thou shall +stand by the river's brink against he _come_'; 'take heed lest passion +_sway_ thy judgment'; 'speak to me, though it _be_ in wrath'; 'if he +_smite_ him with an instrument of iron so that he _die_, he is a +murderer'; 'beware this night that thou _cross_ not my footsteps' +(Shelley). + +"Again. 'Whatever this _be_'; 'whoever he _be_'; 'howe'er it _be_' +(Tennyson); and such like. + + "'And _as long_, O God, _as_ she + _Have_ a grain of love for me, + So long, no doubt, no doubt, + Shall I nurse in my dark heart, + However weary, a spark of will + Not to be trampled out.' + +"The Future Subjunctive is given in our scheme of the verb as 'should' +in all persons: 'If I should, if thou should, if he should.' In old +English, we have 'thou _shouldst_': 'if thou, Lord, _shouldst_ mark +iniquities.' + +"An inverted conditional form has taken deep root in our language, and +may be regarded as an elegant and forcible variety. While dispensing +with the conjunction, it does not cause ambiguity; nevertheless, +conditionality is well marked. + +"'_If_ you _should_ abandon your Penelope and your home for Calypso, +----': '_should_ you abandon ----.' + + "'_Go_ not my horse the better, + I must become a borrower of the night + For a dark hour or twain.' + + "'Here had we now our country's honor roof'd + _Were_ the graced person of our Banquo present.' + + "'_Be_ thou a spirit of health or goblin damn'd, + _Bring_ with thee airs from heaven or blasts from hell, + _Be_ thy intents wicked or charitable, + Thou com'st in such a questionable shape + That I will speak to thee.' + + "'_Come_ one, _come_ all, this rock shall fly + From its firm base as soon as I.'--Scott. + +"The following examples are given by Mätzner: + +"'Varney's communications, _be_ they what they might, were operating in +his favor.'--Scott. + +"'Governing persons, _were_ they never so insignificant intrinsically, +have for most part plenty of Memoir-writers.'--Carlyle. + +"'Even _were_ I disposed, I could not gratify the reader.'--Warren. + +"'Bring them back to me, _cost_ what it may.'--Coleridge, 'Wallenstein.' + +"'And _will_ you, _nill_ you, I will marry you.'--'Taming of the Shrew.' + +"_Were_ is used in the principal clause for 'should be' or 'would +be.'[32] + + "'I _were_ (=should be) a fool, not less than if a panther + Were panic-stricken by the antelope's eye, + If she escape me.'--Shelley. + + "'Were you but riding forth to air yourself, + Such parting _were_ too petty.' + +"'He _were_ (=would be) no lion, were not Romans hinds.' + + "'Should he be roused out of his sleep to-night, ... + It _were_ not well; indeed it _were_ not well.'--Shelley. + +"_Had_ is sometimes used in the principal clause for 'should have' or +'would have.'[33] + +"'Had I known this before we set out, I think I _had_ (= would have) +remained at home.'--Scott. + + "'Hadst thou been kill'd when first thou didst presume, + Thou _hadst_ not lived to kill a son of mine.' + + "'If he + Had killed me, he _had_ done a kinder deed.' + + "'For once he _had_ been ta'en or slain, + An it had not been his ministry.'--Scott. + + "'If thou hadst said him nay, it _had_ been sin.'[34] + +"'_Had_ better, rather, best, as lief, as well, etc.,' is a form that is +explained under this heading. 'Had' stands for 'would have.' The +exploded notion that 'had' is a corrupted 'would' must be guarded +against. + +"'I _had_ as lief not be.' That is--'I _would_ as lief _have_ not (_to_) +be' = 'I would as willingly (or as soon) have non-existence.' + +"'_Had_ you rather Cæsar were living----?' '_Would_ you rather _have_ +(_would_ you _prefer_ that) Cæsar were living?' + +"'He _had_ better reconsider the matter' is 'he _would_ better _have_ +(_to_) reconsider the matter.' + + "'I _had_ rather be a kitten and cry mew + Than one of these same metre ballad-mongers; + I _had_ rather hear a brazen canstick turned.' + +"Let us compare this form with another that appears side by side with it +in early writers. (Cp. Lat. 'habeo' and 'mihi est.') + +"The construction of 'had' is thus illustrated in Chaucer, as in--Nonne +Prestes Tale, 300: + + "'By God, I _hadde_ levere than my scherte, + That ye hadde rad his legend, as I have.' + +"Compare now: + + "'Ah _me were levere_ with lawe _loose_ my lyf + Then so to fote hem _falle_.'--Wright, 'Polit. S.' + +"Here 'were' is unquestionably for 'would be'; and the whole expression +might be given by 'had,' thus: 'Ah, _I hadde_ levere ----,' '(to) +_loose_' and '(to) _falle_,' changing from subjects of 'were' to objects +of 'hadde.' + +"So, in the Chaucer example above, if we substitute 'be' for 'have,' we +shall get the same meaning, thus: 'By God, _me were_ levere ----.' The +interchange helps us to see more clearly that 'hadde' is to be explained +as subjunctive for 'would have.'" See INDICATIVE AND SUBJUNCTIVE. + +SUCH. "I have never before seen _such_ a large ox." By a little +transposing of the words of this sentence, we have, "I have never before +seen an ox _such_ large," which makes it quite clear that we should say +_so large an ox_ and not _such a large ox_. As proof that this error in +the use of _such_ is common, we find in Mr. George Washington Moon's +"Dean's English and Bad English," the sentence, "With all due deference +to _such_ a high authority on _such_ a very important matter." With a +little transposing, this sentence is made to read, "With all due +deference to an authority _such_ high on a matter _such_ very +important." It is clear that the sentence should read, "With all due +deference to _so_ high an authority on _so_ very important a matter." +The phrases, _such_ a handsome, _such_ a lovely, _such_ a long, _such_ +narrow, etc., are incorrect, and should be _so_ handsome, _so_ lovely, +_so_ long, and so on. + +SUMMON. This verb comes in for its full share of mauling. We often hear +such expressions as "I will _summons_ him," instead of _summon_ him; +and "He was _summonsed_," instead of _summoned_. + +SUPERFLUOUS WORDS. "Whenever I try to write well, I _always_ find I can +do it." "I shall have finished by the _latter_ end of the week." "Iron +sinks _down_ in water." "He combined _together_ all the facts." "My +brother called on me, and we _both_ took a walk." "I can do it _equally_ +as well as he." "We could not forbear _from_ doing it." "Before I go, I +must _first_ be paid." "We were compelled to return _back_." "We forced +them to retreat _back_ fully a mile." "His conduct was approved _of_ by +everybody." "They conversed _together_ for a long time." "The balloon +rose _up_ very rapidly." "Give me another _one_." "Come home as soon as +_ever_ you can." "Who finds him _in_ money?" "He came in last _of all_." +"He has _got_ all he can carry." "What have you _got_?" "No matter what +I have _got_." "I have _got_ the headache." "Have you _got_ any +brothers?" "No, but I have _got_ a sister." All the words in _italics_ +are superfluous. + +SUPERIOR. This word is not unfrequently used for able, excellent, +gifted; as, "She is a _superior_ woman," meaning an _excellent_ woman; +"He is a _superior_ man," meaning an _able_ man. The expression _an +inferior man_ is not less objectionable. + +SUPPOSITITIOUS. This word is _properly_ used in the sense of put by a +trick into the place or character belonging to another, spurious, +counterfeit, not genuine; and _improperly_ in the sense of conjectural, +hypothetical, imaginary, presumptive; as, "This is a _supposititious_ +case," meaning an _imaginary_ or _presumptive_ case. "The English critic +derived his materials from a stray copy of some _supposititious_ indexes +devised by one of the 'Post' reporters."--"Nation." Here is a correct +use of the word. + +SWOSH. There is a kind of ill-balanced brain in which the reflective and +the imaginative very much outweight the perceptive. Men to whom this +kind of an organization has been given generally have active minds, but +their minds never present anything clearly. To their mental vision all +is ill-defined, chaotic. They see everything in a haze. Whether such men +talk or write, they are verbose, illogical, intangible, +will-o'-the-wispish. Their thoughts are phantomlike; like shadows, they +continually escape their grasp. In their talk they will, after long +dissertations, tell you that they have not said just what they would +like to say; there is always a subtle, lurking something still +unexpressed, which something is the real essence of the matter, and +which your penetration is expected to divine. In their writings they are +eccentric, vague, labyrinthine, pretentious, transcendental,[35] and +frequently ungrammatical. These men, if write they must, should confine +themselves to the descriptive; for when they enter the essayist's +domain, which they are very prone to do, they write what I will venture +to call _swosh_. + +We find examples in plenty of this kind of writing in the essays of Mr. +Ralph Waldo Emerson. Indeed, the impartial critic who will take the +trouble to examine any of Mr. Emerson's essays at all carefully, is +quite sure to come to the conclusion that Mr. Emerson has seen +everything he has ever made the subject of his essays very much as +London is seen from the top of Saint Paul's in a fog. + +Mr. Emerson's definition of Nature runs thus: "Philosophically +considered, the universe is composed of Nature and the Soul. Strictly +speaking, therefore, all that is separate from us, all which philosophy +distinguishes from the _Not Me_--that is, both Nature and Art, and all +other men, and my own body--must be ranked under this name 'NATURE.' In +enumerating the values of Nature and casting up their sum, I shall use +the word in both senses--in its common and in its philosophical import. +In inquiries so general as our present one, the inaccuracy is not +material; no confusion of thought will occur. _Nature_, in the common +sense, refers to essences unchanged by man: space, the air, the river, +the leaf. _Art_ is applied to the mixture of his will with the same +things, as in a house, a canal, a picture, a statue. But his operations, +taken together, are so insignificant--a little chipping, baking, +patching, and washing--that in an impression so grand as that of the +world on the human mind they do not vary the result." + +In "Letters and Social Aims" Mr. Emerson writes: "Eloquence is the power +to translate a truth into language perfectly intelligible to the person +to whom you speak. He who would convince the worthy Mr. Dunderhead of +any truth which Dunderhead does not see, must be a master of his art. +Declamation is common; but such possession of thought as is here +required, such practical chemistry as the conversion of a truth written +in God's language into a truth in Dunderhead's language, is one of the +most beautiful and cogent weapons that is forged in the shop of the +Divine Artificer." + +The first paragraph of Mr. Emerson's "Essay on Art" reads: "All +departments of life at the present day--Trade, Politics, Letters, +Science, or Religion--seem to feel, and to labor to express, the +identity of their law. They are rays of one sun; they translate each +into a new language the sense of the other. They are sublime when seen +as emanations of a Necessity contradistinguished from the vulgar Fate by +being instant and alive, and dissolving man, as well as his works, in +its flowing beneficence. This influence is conspicuously visible in the +principles and history of Art." + +Another paragraph from Mr. Emerson's "Essay on Eloquence": "The orator, +as we have seen, must be a substantial personality. Then, first, he must +have power of statement--must have the fact, and know how to tell it. In +a knot of men conversing on any subject, the person who knows most about +it will have the ear of the company, if he wishes it, and lead the +conversation, no matter what genius or distinction other men there +present may have; and, in any public assembly, him who has the facts, +and can and will state them, people will listen to, though he is +otherwise ignorant, though he is hoarse and ungrateful, though he +stutters and screams." + +Mr. Emerson, in his "Essay on Prudence," writes: "There are all degrees +of proficiency in knowledge of the world. It is sufficient to our +present purpose to indicate three. One class live to the utility of the +symbol, esteeming health and wealth a final good. Another class live +above this mark to the beauty of the symbol, as the poet and artist, and +the naturalist and man of science. A third class live above the beauty +of the symbol to the beauty of the thing signified; these are wise men. +The first class have common sense; the second, taste; and the third, +spiritual perception. Once in a long time a man traverses the whole +scale, and sees and enjoys the symbol solidly; then, also, has a clear +eye for its beauty; and, lastly, whilst he pitches his tent on this +sacred volcanic isle of nature, does not offer to build houses and +barns thereon, reverencing the splendor of God which he sees bursting +through each chink and cranny." + +Those who are wont to accept others at their self-assessment and to see +things through other people's eyes--and there are many such--are in +danger of thinking this kind of writing very fine, when in fact it is +not only the veriest _swosh_, but that kind of swosh that excites at +least an occasional doubt with regard to the writer's sanity. We can +make no greater mistake than to suppose that the reason we do not +understand these rhetorical contortionists is because they are so subtle +and profound. We understand them quite as well as they understand +themselves. At their very best, they are but incoherent diluters of +other men's ideas. They have but one thing to recommend them--honesty. +They believe in themselves. + +"Whatever is dark is deep. Stir a puddle, and it is deeper than a +well."--Swift. + +SYNECDOCHE. The using of the name of a part for that of the whole, the +name of the whole for that of a part, or the using of a definite number +for an indefinite, is called, in rhetoric, _synecdoche_. "The bay was +covered with _sails_"; i. e., with _ships_. "The man was old, careworn, +and gray"; i. e., literally, _his hair_, not the man, was gray. "_Nine +tenths_ of every man's happiness depends on the reception he meets with +in the world." "He had seen seventy _winters_." "Thus spoke the +_tempter_": here the part of the character is named that suits the +occasion. + +"His roof was at the service of the outcast; the unfortunate ever found +a welcome at his threshold." + +TAKE. I copy from the "London Queen": "The verb _to take_ is open to +being considered a vulgar verb when used in reference to dinner, tea, or +to refreshments of any kind. 'Will you _take_' is not considered _comme +il faut_; the verb in favor for the offering of civilities being _to +have_." According to "The Queen," then, we must say, "Will you _have_ +some dinner, tea, coffee, wine, fish, beef, salad," etc. + +TASTE OF. The redundant _of_, often used, in this country, in connection +with the transitive verbs _to taste_ and _to smell_, is a Yankeeism. We +_taste_ or _smell_ a thing, not taste _of_ nor smell _of_ a thing. The +neuter verbs _to taste_ and _to smell_ are often followed by _of_. "If +butter _tastes of_ brass." "For age but _tastes of_ pleasures." + + "You shall stifle in your own report, + and _smell of_ calumny."--Shakespeare. + +TAUTOLOGY. Among the things to be avoided in writing is _tautology_, +which is _the repeating of the same thought_, whether in the same or in +different words. + +TAUTOPHONY. "A regard for harmony requires us, in the progress of a +sentence, to avoid repeating a sound by employing the same word more +than once, or using, in contiguous words, similar combinations of +letters. This fault is known as _tautology_."--Dr. G. P. Quackenbos, +"Advanced Course of Composition and Rhetoric," p. 300. Dr. Quackenbos is +in error. The repetition of the same _sense_ is tautology, and the +repetition of the same _sound_, or, as Dr. Quackenbos has it, "the +repeating of a sound by employing the same word more than once, or by +using in contiguous words similar combinations of letters," is +_tautophony_. + +TEACH. To impart knowledge, to inform, to instruct; as, "_Teach_ me how +to do it"; "_Teach_ me to swim"; "He _taught_ me to write." The +uncultured often misuse _learn_ for _teach_. See LEARN. + +TENSE. The errors made in the use of the tenses are manifold. The one +most frequently made by persons of culture--the one that everybody +makes would, perhaps, be nearer the fact--is that of using the +_imperfect_ instead of the _perfect_ tense; thus, "I never _saw_ it +played but once": say, _have seen_. "He was the largest man I ever +_saw_": say, _have seen_. "I never in my life _had_ such trouble": say, +_have had_. Another frequent error, the making of which is not confined +to the unschooled, is that of using two verbs in a past tense when only +one should be in that time; thus, "I intended to _have gone_": say, _to +go_. "It was my intention to _have_ come": say, _to come_. "I expected +to _have found_ you here": say, _to find_. "I was very desirous to _have +gone_": say, _to go_. "He was better than I expected to _have found_ +him": say, _to find_. + +Among other common errors are the following: "I _seen_ him when he +_done_ it": say, "I _saw_ him when he _did_ it." "I should have _went_ +home": say, _gone_. "If he had _went_": say, _gone_. "I wish you had +_went_": say, _gone_. "He has _went_ out": say, _gone_. "I _come_ to +town this morning": say, _came_. "He _come_ to me for advice": say, +_came_. "It _begun_ very late": say, _began_. "It had already _began_": +say, _begun_. "The following toasts were _drank_": say, _drunk_. "His +text was that God _was_ love": say, _is_ love. Another error is made in +such sentences as these: "If I had _have_ known": say, _had known_. "If +he had _have_ come as he promised": say, _had come_. "If you had _have_ +told me": say, _had told_. + +TESTIMONY. See EVIDENCE. + +THAN. _Than_ and _as_ implying comparison have the same case after as +before them. "He owes more than _me_": read, than _I_--i. e., more than +_I owe_. "John is not so old as _her_": read, as _she_--i. e., as _she +is_. We should say, then, "He is stronger than _she_," "She is older +than _he_," "You are richer than _I_," etc. But it does not always +happen that the nominative case comes after _than_ or _as_. "I love you +more than _him_," "I give you more than _him_," "I love you as well as +_him_"; that is to say, "I love you more than _I love him_," "I give you +more than _I give him_," "I love you as well as _I love him_." Take away +_him_ and put _he_ in all these cases, and the grammar is just as good, +but the meaning is quite different. "I love you as well as _him_," means +that I love you as well _as I love him_; but, "I love you as well as +_he_," means that I love you as well _as he loves you_. + +THAN WHOM. Cobbett, in his "Grammar of the English Language," says: +"There is an erroneous way of employing _whom_, which I must point out +to your particular attention, because it is so often seen in very good +writers, and because it is very deceiving. 'The Duke of Argyll, _than +whom_ no man was more hearty in the cause.' 'Cromwell, _than whom_ no +man was better skilled in artifice.' A hundred such phrases might be +collected from Hume, Blackstone, and even from Drs. Blair and Johnson. +Yet they are bad grammar. In all such cases, _who_ should be made use +of: for it is _nominative_ and not objective. 'No man was more hearty in +the cause _than he was_'; 'No man was better skilled in artifice _than +he was_.'[36] It is a very common Parliament-house phrase, and therefore +presumably _corrupt_; but it is a Dr. Johnson phrase, too: 'Pope, _than +whom_ few men had more vanity.' The Doctor did not say, 'Myself, _than +whom_ few men have been found more base, having, in my dictionary, +described a pensioner as a slave of state, and having afterward myself +become a pensioner.' + +"I differ in this matter from Bishop Lowth, who says that 'The relative +_who_, having reference to no verb or preposition understood, but only +to its antecedent, when it follows _than_, is _always in the objective +case_; even though the pronoun, if substituted in its place, would be in +the nominative.' And then he gives an instance from Milton. 'Beelzebub, +_than whom_, Satan except, none higher sat.' It is curious enough that +this sentence of the Bishop is, itself, ungrammatical! Our poor +unfortunate _it_ is so placed as to make it a matter of doubt whether +the Bishop meant it to relate to _who_ or to _its antecedent_. However, +we know its meaning; but, though he says that _who_, when it follows +_than_, is always in the objective case, he gives us no reason for this +departure from a clear general principle; unless we are to regard as a +reason the example of Milton, who has committed many hundreds, if not +thousands, of grammatical errors, many of which the Bishop himself has +pointed out. There is a sort of side-wind attempt at reason in the +words, 'having reference to no _verb_ or _preposition_ understood.' I do +not see the _reason_, even if this could be; but it appears to me +impossible that a noun or pronoun can exist in a grammatical state +without having reference to some _verb_ or _preposition_, either +expressed or understood. What is meant by Milton? 'Than Beelzebub, none +_sat_ higher, except Satan.' And when, in order to avoid the repetition +of the word Beelzebub, the relative becomes necessary, the full +construction must be, 'no devil sat higher _than who_ sat, except +Satan'; and not, 'no devil sat higher _than whom_ sat.'[37] The +supposition that there can be a noun or pronoun which has reference to +_no verb_ and _no preposition_, is certainly a mistake." + +Of this, Dr. Fitzedward Hall remarks, in his "Recent Exemplifications of +False Philology": "That any one but Cobbett would abide this as English +is highly improbable; and how the expression--a quite classical +one--which he discards can be justified grammatically, except by calling +its _than_ a preposition, others may resolve at their leisure and +pleasure." + +THANKS. There are many persons who think it in questionable taste to use +_thanks_ for _thank you_. + +THAT. The best writers often appear to grope after a separate employment +for the several relatives. + +"'THAT' _is the proper restrictive, explicative, limiting, or defining +relative_. + +"'_That_,' the neuter of the definite article, was early in use as a +neuter relative. All the other oldest relatives gradually dropt away, +and 'that' came to be applied also to plural antecedents, and to +masculines and feminines. When 'as,' 'which,' and 'who' came forward to +share the work of 'that,' there seems to have arisen not a little +uncertainty about the relatives, and we find curious double forms: 'whom +that,' 'which that,' 'which as,' etc. Gower has, 'Venus _whose_ priest +_that_ I am'; Chaucer writes--'This Abbot _which that_ was an holy man,' +'his love _the which that_ he oweth.' By the Elizabethan period, these +double forms have disappeared, and all the relatives are used singly +without hesitation. From then till now, 'that' has been struggling with +'who' and 'which' to regain superior favor, with varying success. 'Who' +is used for persons, 'which' for things, in both numbers; so is 'that'; +and the only opportunity of a special application of 'that' lies in the +important distinction between coördination and restriction. Now, as +'who' and 'which' are most commonly preferred for coördination, it would +be a clear gain to confine them to this sense, and to reserve 'that' for +the restrictive application alone. This arrangement, then, would _fall +in with the most general use of 'that,' especially beyond the limits of +formal composition_. + +"The use of 'that' solely as restrictive, with 'who' and 'which' solely +as coördinating, _also avoids ambiguities_ that often attend the +indiscriminate use of 'who' and 'which' for coördinate and for +restrictive clauses. Thus, when we say, 'his conduct surprised his +English friends, _who_ had not known him long,' we may mean either that +his English friends generally were surprised (the relative being, in +that case, _coördinating_), or that only a portion of them--namely, the +particular portion that had not known him long--were surprised. In this +last case the relative is meant to define or explain the antecedent, and +the doubt would be removed by writing thus: 'his English friends _that_ +had not known him long.' So in the following sentence there is a similar +ambiguity in the use of 'which': 'the next winter _which_ you will spend +in town will give you opportunities of making a more prudent choice.' +This may mean, either 'you will spend next winter in town' ('which' +being coördinating), or 'the next of the winters when you are to live in +town,' let that come when it may. In the former case, 'which' is the +proper relative; in the latter case, the meaning is restrictive or +defining, and would be best brought out by 'that': 'the next winter +_that_ you will spend in town.' + +"A further consideration in favor of employing 'that' for explicative +clauses is the unpleasant effect arising from the _too frequent +repetition of 'who' and 'which.'_ Grammarians often recommend 'that' as +a means of varying the style; but this end ought to be sought in +subservience to the still greater end of perspicuity. + +"The following examples will serve further to illustrate the distinction +between _that_, on the one hand, and _who_ and _which_, on the other: + +"'In general, Mr. Burchell was fondest of the company of children, +_whom_ he used to call harmless little men.' 'Whom' is here +idiomatically used, being the equivalent of '_and them_ he used to +call,' etc. + + "'Bacon at last, a mighty man, arose, + _Whom_ a wise king and nation chose + Lord Chancellor of both their laws.' + +Here, also, 'whom' is equal to 'and him.' + +"In the following instance the relative is restrictive or defining, and +'that' would be preferable: 'the conclusion of the "Iliad" is like the +exit of a great man out of company _whom_ he has entertained +magnificently.' Compare another of Addison's sentences: 'a man of polite +imagination is let into a great many pleasures _that_ the vulgar are not +capable of receiving.' + +"Both relatives are introduced discriminatingly in this passage:--'She +had learned that from Mrs. Wood, _who_ had heard it from her husband, +_who_ had heard it at the public-house from the landlord, _who_ had been +let into the secret by the boy _that_ carried the beer to some of the +prisoners.' + +"The following sentences are ambiguous under the modern system of using +'who' for both purposes:--'I met the boatman _who_ took me across the +ferry.' If 'who' is the proper relative here, the meaning is, 'I met the +boatman, _and he_ took me across,' it being supposed that the boatman is +known and definite. But if there be several boatmen, and I wish to +indicate one in particular by the circumstance that he had taken me +across the ferry, I should use 'that.' 'The youngest boy _who_ has +learned to dance is James.' This means either 'the youngest boy is +James, _and he_ has learned to dance,' or, 'of the boys, the youngest +that has learned to dance is James.' This last sense is restrictive, and +'that' should be used. + +"Turning now to 'which,' we may have a series of parallel examples. 'The +court, _which_ gives currency to manners, should be exemplary': here the +meaning is 'the court should be exemplary, _for the court_ gives +currency to manners.' 'Which' is the idiomatic relative in this case. +'The cat, _which_ you despise so much, is a very useful animal.' The +relative here also is coördinating, and not restrictive. If it were +intended to point out one individual cat specially despised by the +person addressed, 'that' would convey the sense. 'A theory _which_ does +not tend to the improvement of practice is utterly unworthy of regard.' +The meaning is restrictive; 'a theory _that_ does not tend.' The +following sentence is one of many from Goldsmith that give 'that' +instead of 'which':--'Age, _that_ lessens the enjoyment of life, +increases our desire of living.' Thackeray also was fond of this usage. +But it is not very common. + +"'Their faith tended to make them improvident; but a wise instinct +taught them that if there was one thing _which_ ought not to be left to +fate, or to the precepts of a deceased prophet, it was the artillery'; a +case where 'that' is the proper relative. + +"'All words, _which_ are signs of complex ideas, furnish matter of +mistake.' This gives an erroneous impression, and should be 'all words +_that_ are signs of complex ideas.' + +"'In all cases of prescription, the universal practice of judges is to +direct juries by analogy to the Statute of Limitations, to decide +against incorporeal rights _which_ have for many years been +relinquished': say instead, 'incorporeal rights _that_ have for many +years,' and the sense is clear. + +"It is necessary for the proper understanding of 'which' to advert to +its peculiar function of referring to a whole clause as the antecedent: +'William ran along the top of the wall, _which_ alarmed his mother very +much.' The antecedent is obviously not the noun 'wall,' but the fact +expressed by the entire clause--'William ran,' etc. 'He by no means +wants sense, _which_ only serves to aggravate his former folly'; namely, +(not 'sense,' but) the circumstance 'that he does not want sense.' 'He +is neither over-exalted by prosperity, nor too much depressed by +misfortune; _which_ you must allow marks a great mind.' 'We have done +many things _which_ we ought not to have done,' might mean 'we ought not +_to have done many things_'; that is, 'we ought to have done few +things.' 'That' would give the exact sense intended: 'we have done many +things _that_ we ought not to have done.' 'He began to look after his +affairs himself, _which_ was the way to make them prosper.' + +"We must next allude to the cases where the relative is governed by a +preposition. We can use a preposition before 'who' and 'which,' but when +the relative is 'that,' the preposition must be thrown to the end of the +clause. Owing to an imperfect appreciation of the genius of our +language, offense was taken at this usage by some of our leading writers +at the beginning of last century, and to this circumstance we must refer +the disuse of 'that' as the relative of restriction.[38] + +"'It is curious that the only circumstance connected with Scott, and +related by Lockhart, _of which_ I was a witness, is incorrectly stated +in the "Life of Sir Walter."'--Leslie's 'Memoirs.' The relative should +be restrictive: '_that_ I was a witness _of_.' + +"'There are many words _which_ are adjectives _which_ have nothing to do +with the qualities of the nouns _to which_ they are put.'--Cobbett. +Better: 'there are many words _that_ are adjectives _that_ have nothing +to do with the qualities of the nouns (_that_) they are put _to_.' + +"'Other objects, _of which_ we have not occasion to speak so frequently, +we do not designate by a name of their own.' This, if amended, would be: +'other objects _that_ we have not occasion to speak _of_ so frequently, +we do not,' etc. + +"'Sorrow for the dead is the only sorrow _from which_ we refuse to be +divorced': 'the only sorrow (_that_) we refuse to be divorced _from_.' + +"'Why, there is not a single sentence in this play _that_ I do not know +the meaning _of_.'--Addison. + +"'Originality is a thing we constantly clamor _for_, and constantly +quarrel _with_.'--Carlyle. + +"'A spirit more amiable, but less vigorous, than Luther's would have +shrunk back from the dangers _which_ he braved and surmounted': '_that_ +he braved'; 'the dangers _braved_ and _surmounted_ by him.' + +"'Nor is it at all improbable that the emigrants had been guilty of +those faults _from which_ civilized men _who_ settle among an +uncivilized people are rarely free.'--Macaulay. 'Nor is it at all +improbable that the emigrants had been guilty of _the_ faults _that_ +(_such_ faults _as_) civilized men _that settle_ (_settling_, or +_settled_) among an uncivilized people are rarely free _from_.' + +"'Prejudices are notions or opinions _which_ the mind entertains without +knowing the grounds and reasons of them, and _which_ are assented to +without examination.'--Berkeley. The 'which' in both cases should be +'that,' but the relative may be entirely dispensed with by participial +conversion: 'prejudices are notions or opinions _entertained_ by the +mind without knowing the grounds and reasons of them, and _assented_ to +without examination.' + +"The too frequent repetition of 'who' and 'which' may be avoided by +resolving them into the conjunction and personal or other pronoun: 'In +such circumstances, the utmost that Bosquet could be expected to do was +to hold his ground, (_which_) _and this_ he did.'"--Bain's "Higher +English Grammar." + +This word is sometimes vulgarly used for _so_; thus, "I was _that_ +nervous I forgot everything"; "I was _that_ frightened I could hardly +stand." + +THE. Bungling writers sometimes write sheer nonsense, or say something +very different from what they have in their minds, by the simple +omission of the definite article; thus, "The indebtedness of the +English tongue to the French, Latin and Greek is disclosed in almost +every sentence framed." According to this, there is such a thing as a +French, Latin and Greek tongue. Professor Townsend meant to say: "The +indebtedness of the English tongue to the French, _the_ Latin, and _the_ +Greek," etc. + +THEN. The use of this word as an adjective is condemned in very emphatic +terms by some of our grammarians, and yet this use of it has the +sanction of such eminent writers as Addison, Johnson, Whately, and Sir +J. Hawkins. Johnson says, "In his _then_ situation," which, if brevity +be really the soul of wit, certainly has much more soul in it than "In +the situation he then occupied." However, it is doubtful whether _then_, +as an adjective, will ever again find favor with careful writers. + +THENCE. See WHENCE. + +THINK FOR. We not unfrequently hear a superfluous _for_ tacked to a +sentence; thus, "You will find that he knows more about the affair than +you think _for_." + +THOSE KIND. "_Those_ kind of apples _are_ best": read, "_That_ kind of +apples _is_ best." It is truly remarkable that many persons who can +justly lay claim to the possession of considerable culture use this +barbarous combination. It would be just as correct to say, "Those flock +of geese," or "Those drove of cattle," as to say, "Those _sort_ or +_kind_ of people." + +THOSE WHO. This phrase, applied in a restrictive sense, is the modern +substitute for the ancient idiom _they that_, an idiom in accordance +with the true meaning of _that_. + +"'_They that_ told me the story said'; 'Blessed are _they that_ mourn'; +'and Simon and _they that_ were with him'; 'I love _them that_ love me, +and _they that_ seek me early shall find me'; '_they that_ are whole +have no need of a physician'; 'how sweet is the rest of _them that_ +labor!' 'I can not tell who to compare them to so fitly as to _them +that_ pick pockets in the presence of the judge'; '_they that_ enter +into the state of marriage cast a die of the greatest contingency' (J. +Taylor). + + "'_That_ man hath perfect blessedness + _Who_ walketh not astray,' + +if expressed according to the old idiom would be, '_the_ man +hath--_that_ walketh.' + +"'That' and 'those,' as demonstrative adjectives, refer backward, and +are not therefore well suited for the forward reference implied in +making use of 'that which' and 'those who' as restrictive relatives. It +is also very cumbrous to say '_that_ case _to which_ you allude' for +'the case (_that_) you allude _to_.' + +"Take now the following: 'The Duke of Wellington is not one of _those +who_ interfere with matters _over which_ he has no control': 'the Duke +is not one of _them that_ interfere in matters _that_ they have no +control _over_ (matters _that_ they can not control, _beyond their +control_, _out of their province_).' If 'them that' sounds too +antiquated, we may adopt as a convenient compromise, 'the Duke is not +one of _those that_'; or, 'the Duke is not one to _interfere_ in matters +out of his province'; 'the duke is not one _that interferes_ with _what_ +he has no control _over_.'"--Bain. + +THREADBARE QUOTATIONS. Among the things that are in bad taste in +speaking and writing, the use of threadbare quotations and expressions +is in the front rank. Some of these _usés et cassés_ old-timers are the +following: "Their name is legion"; "hosts of friends"; "the upper ten"; +"Variety is the spice of life"; "Distance lends enchantment to the +view"; "A thing of beauty is a joy for ever"; "the light fantastic toe"; +"own the soft impeachment"; "fair women and brave men"; "revelry by +night"; "A rose by any other name would smell as sweet." + +TO. It is a well-established rule of grammar that _to_, the sign of the +infinitive mood, should not be used for the infinitive itself: thus, "He +has not done it, nor is he likely _to_." It should be, "nor is he likely +_to do it_." + +We often find _to_, when the sign of the infinitive, separated by an +adverb from the verb to which it belongs. Professor A. P. Peabody says +that no standard English writer makes this mistake, and that, so far as +he knows, it occurs frequently with but one respectable American writer. + +Very often _to_ is used instead of _at_; thus, "I have been _to_ the +theatre, _to_ church, _to_ my uncle's, _to_ a concert," and so on. In +all these cases, the preposition to use is clearly _at_, and not _to_. +See, also, AND. + +TO THE FORE. An old idiomatic phrase, now freely used again. + +TONGUE. "Much _tongue_ and much judgment seldom go +together."--L'Estrange. See LANGUAGE. + +TOWARD. Those who profess to know about such things say that etymology +furnishes no pretext for the adding of _s_ to _ward_ in such words as +_backward_, _forward_, _toward_, _upward_, _onward_, _downward_, +_afterward_, _heavenward_, _earthward_, and the like. + +TRANSFERRED EPITHET. This is the shifting of a qualifying word from its +proper subject to some allied subject. Examples: + + "The little fields made green + By husbandry of many _thrifty years_." + +"He plods his _weary way_." "Hence to your _idle bed_!" By this figure +the diction is rendered more terse and vigorous; it is much used in +verse. For the sake of conciseness, it is used in prose in such phrases +as the _lunatic asylum_, the _criminal court_, the _condemned cell_, +the _blind asylum_, the _cholera hospital_, the _foundling asylum_, and +the like. + + "Still in harmonious intercourse they lived + The rural day, and talked the flowing heart." + +"There be some who, with everything to make them happy, plod their +discontented and melancholy way through life, less grateful than the dog +that licks the hand that feeds it." + +TRANSPIRE. This is one of the most frequently misused words in the +language. Its primary meaning is to evaporate insensibly through the +pores, but in this sense it is not used; in this sense we use its twin +sister _per_spire. _Transpire_ is now properly used in the sense of to +escape from secrecy, to become known, to leak out; and improperly used +in the sense of to occur, to happen, to come to pass, and to elapse. The +word is correctly used thus: "You will not let a word concerning the +matter _transpire_"; "It _transpires_ [leaks out] that S. & B. control +the enterprise"; "Soon after the funeral it _transpired_ [became known] +that the dead woman was alive"; "It has _transpired_ [leaked out] that +the movement originated with John Blank"; "No report of the proceedings +was allowed to _transpire_"; "It has not yet _transpired_ who the +candidate is to be." The word is incorrectly used thus: "The Mexican war +_transpired_ in 1847"; "The drill will _transpire_ under shelter"; "The +accident _transpired_ one day last week"; "Years will _transpire_ before +it will be finished"; "More than a century _transpired_ before it was +revisited by civilized man." + +TRIFLING MINUTIÆ. The meaning of _trifles_ and of _minutiæ_ is so nearly +the same that no one probably ever uses the phrase _trifling minutiæ_ +except from thoughtlessness. + +TRUSTWORTHY. See RELIABLE. + +TRY. This word is often improperly used for _make_. We _make_ +experiments, not _try_ them, which is as incorrect as it would be to +say, _try_ the _attempt_, or the _trial_. + +UGLY. In England, this word is restricted to meaning ill-favored; with +us it is often used--and not without authority--in the sense of +ill-tempered, vicious, unmanageable. + +UNBEKNOWN. This word is no longer used except by the unschooled. + +UNDERHANDED. This word, though found in the dictionaries, is a +vulgarism, and as such is to be avoided. The proper word is _underhand_. +An _underhand_, not an _underhanded_, proceeding. + +UNIVERSAL--ALL. "He is _universally_ esteemed by _all_ who know him." If +he is _universally_ esteemed, he must be esteemed by _all_ who know him; +and, if he is esteemed by _all_ who know him, he must be _universally_ +esteemed. + +UPWARD OF. This phrase is often used, if not improperly, at least +inelegantly, for _more than_; thus, "I have been here for _upward of_ a +year"; "For _upward of_ three quarters of a century she has," etc., +meaning, for _more than_ three quarters of a century. + +UTTER. This verb is often misused for _say_, _express_. To _utter_ means +to _speak_, to _pronounce_; and its derivative _utterance_ means the +act, manner, or power of uttering, vocal expression; as, "the utterance +of articulate sounds." We _utter_ a cry; _express_ a thought or +sentiment; _speak_ our mind; and, though prayers are _said_, they may be +_uttered_ in a certain tone or manner. "Mr. Blank is right in all he +_utters_": read, _says_. "The court _uttered_ a sentiment that all will +applaud": read, _expressed_ a sentiment. + +The primary meaning of the adjective _utter_ is outer, on the outside; +but it is no longer used in this sense. It is now used in the sense of +complete, total, perfect, mere, entire; but he who uses it +indiscriminately as a synonym of these words will frequently utter +_utter_ nonsense--i. e., he will utter that which is without the pale of +sense. For example, we can not say _utter_ concord, but we can say +_utter_ discord--i. e., without the pale of concord. + +VALUABLE. The following sentence, which recently appeared in one of the +more fastidious of our morning papers, is offered as an example of +extreme slipshodness in the use of language: "Sea captains are among the +most _valuable_ contributors to the Park aviary." What the writer +probably meant to say is, "Sea captains are among those whose +contributions to the Park aviary are the most valuable." + +VAST. This word is often met with in forcible-feeble diction, where it +is used instead of _great_ or _large_ to qualify such words as number, +majority, multitude, and the like. Big words and expletives should be +used only where they are really needed; where they are not really +needed, they go wide of the object aimed at. The sportsman that hunts +small game with buck-shot comes home empty-handed. + +VERACITY. The loss would be a small one if we were to lose this word and +its derivatives. Truth and its derivatives would supply all our needs. +In the phrase so often heard, "A man of truth and veracity," _veracity_ +is entirely superfluous, it having precisely the same meaning as truth. +The phrase, "A big, large man," is equally good diction. + +VERBIAGE. An unnecessary profusion of words is called _verbiage_: +verbosity, wordiness. + +"I thought what I read of it _verbiage_."--Johnson. + +Sometimes a better name than verbiage for wordiness would be +_emptiness_. Witness: "Clearness may be developed and cultivated in +three ways, (_a_) By constantly practicing in heart and life the +thoughts and ways of honesty and frankness." The first sentence +evidently means, "Clearness may be _attained_ in three ways"; but what +the second sentence means--if it means anything--is more than I can +tell. Professor L. T. Townsend, "Art of Speech," vol. i, p. 130, adds: +"This may be regarded as the surest path to greater transparency of +style." The transparency of Dr. Townsend's style is peculiar. Also, p. +144, we find: "The laws and rules[1] thus far laid down[2] furnish ample +foundation for[3] the general statement that an easy and natural[4] +expression, an exact verbal incarnation of one's thinking,[5] together +with the power of using appropriate figures, and of making nice +discriminations between approximate synonyms,[6] each being an important +factor in correct style, are attained in two ways.[7] (1) Through +moral[8] and mental discipline. (2) Through continuous and intimate[9] +acquaintance with such authors as best exemplify those attainments."[10] + +1. Would not _laws_ cover the whole ground? 2. _En passant_ I would +remark that Dr. Townsend did not make these laws, though he so +intimates. 3. I suggest the word _justify_ in place of these four. 4. +What is natural is easy; _easy_, therefore, is superfluous. 5. If this +means anything, it does not mean more than the adjective _clear_ would +express, if properly used in the sentence. 6. _Approximate_ synonyms!! +Who ever heard of any antagonistic or even of dissimilar synonyms? 7. +The transparency of this sentence is not unlike the transparency of +corrugated glass. 8. What has morality to do with correctness? 9. An +intimate acquaintance would suffice for most people. 10. Those +attainments! What are they? Dr. Townsend's corrugated style makes it +hard to tell. + +This paragraph is so badly conceived throughout that it is well-nigh +impossible to make head, middle, or tail of it; still, if I am at all +successful in guessing what Professor Townsend wanted to say in it, +then--when shorn of its redundancy and high-flown emptiness--it will +read somewhat like this: "The laws thus far presented justify the +general statement that a clear and natural mode of expression--together +with that art of using appropriate figures and that ability properly to +discriminate between synonyms which are necessary to correctness--is +attained in two ways. (1) By mental discipline. (2) By the study of our +best authors." + +The following sentence is from a leading magazine: "If we begin a system +of interference, _regulating men's gains_, bolstering here, _in order to +strengthen this interest_, [and] repressing _elsewhere_ [there], in +order to equalize wealth, we shall do _an_ [a] _immense_ deal of +mischief, and without bringing about a more agreeable condition of +things _than now_ [we] shall _simply_ discourage enterprise, repress +industry, and check material growth _in all directions_." Read without +the eighteen words in italics and with the four inclosed. + +"Nothing disgusts sooner than the empty pomp of language." + +VICE. See CRIME. + +VICINITY. This word is sometimes incorrectly used without the possessive +pronoun; thus, "Washington and vicinity," instead of "Washington and +_its_ vicinity." The primary meaning of _vicinity_ is nearness, +proximity. In many of the cases in which vicinity is used, +_neighborhood_ would be the better word, though _vicinity_ is perhaps +preferable where it is a question of mere locality. + +VOCATION--AVOCATION. These words are frequently confounded. A man's +_vocation_ is his profession, his calling, his business; and his +_avocations_ are the things that occupy him incidentally. Mademoiselle +Bernhardt's _vocation_ is acting; her _avocations_ are painting and +sculpture. "The tracing of resemblances among the objects and events of +the world is a constant _avocation_ of the human mind." + +VULGAR. By the many, this word is probably more frequently used +improperly than properly. As a noun, it means the common people, the +lower orders, the multitude, the many; as an adjective, it means coarse, +low, unrefined, as "the _vulgar_ people." The sense in which it is +misused is that of immodest, indecent. The wearing, for example, of a +gown too short at the top may be _indecent_, but is not _vulgar_. + +WAS. "He said he had come to the conclusion that there _was_ no God." +"The greatest of Byron's works _was_ his whole work taken +together."--Matthew Arnold. What is true at all times should be +expressed by using the verb in the present tense. The sentences above +should read _is_, not _was_. + +WHARF. See DOCK. + +WHAT. "He would not believe but _what_ I did it": read, but _that_. "I +do not doubt _but what_ I shall go to Boston to-morrow": read, doubt +_that_. We say properly, "I have nothing _but what_ you see"; "You have +brought everything _but what_ I wanted." + +WHENCE. As this adverb means--unaided--_from_ what place, source, or +cause, it is, as Dr. Johnson styled it, "a vicious mode of speech" to +say _from whence_, Milton to the contrary notwithstanding. Nor is there +any more propriety in the phrase _from thence_, as _thence_ +means--unaided--from that place. "_Whence_ do you come?" not "_From +whence_ do you come?" Likewise, "He went _hence_," not "_from hence_." + +WHETHER. This conjunction is often improperly repeated in a sentence; +thus, "I have not decided whether I shall go to Boston or _whether I +shall go_ to Philadelphia." + +WHICH. This pronoun as an _interrogative_ applies to _persons_ as well +as to _things_; as a _relative_, it is now made to refer to _things +only_. + +"_Which_ is employed in coördinate sentences, where _it_, or _they_, and +a conjunction might answer the purpose; thus, 'At school I studied +geometry, _which_ (and it) I found useful afterward.' Here the new +clause is something independent added to the previous clause, and not +limiting that clause in any way. So in the adjectival clause; as, 'He +struck the poor dog, _which_ (and it, or although it) had never done him +harm.' Such instances represent the most accurate meaning of _which_. +_Who_ and _which_ might be termed the COÖRDINATING RELATIVES. + +"_Which_ is likewise used in _restrictive_ clauses that limit or explain +the antecedent; as, 'The house _which_ he built still remains.' Here the +clause introduced by _which_ specifies, or points out, the house that is +the subject of the statement, namely, by the circumstance that a certain +person built it. As remarked with regard to _who_, our most idiomatic +writers prefer _that_ in this particular application, and would say, +'The house _that_ he built still remains.'" + +"_Which_ sometimes has a special reference attaching to it, as the +neuter relative: 'Cæsar crossed the Rubicon, _which_ was in effect a +declaration of war.' The antecedent in this instance is not _Rubicon_, +but the entire clause. + +"There is a peculiar usage where _which_ may _seem_ to be still +regularly used in reference to persons, as in 'John is a soldier, +_which_ I should like to be,' that is, 'And I should like _to be a +soldier_.'" See THAT. + +WHO. There are few persons, even among the most cultivated, who do not +make frequent mistakes in the use of this pronoun. They say, "_Who_ did +you see?" "_Who_ did you meet?" "_Who_ did he marry?" "_Who_ did you +hear?" "_Who_ did he know?" "_Who_ are you writing to?" "_Who_ are you +looking at?" In all these sentences the interrogative pronoun is in the +objective case, and should be used in the objective form, which is +_whom_, and not _who_. To show that these sentences are not correct, and +are not defensible by supposing any ellipsis whatsoever, we have only to +put the questions in another form. Take the first one, and, instead of +"Who did you see?" say, "Who saw you?" which, if correct, justifies us +in saying, "Who knew he," which is the equivalent of "Who did he know?" +But "Who saw you?" in this instance, is clearly not correct, since it +says directly the opposite of what is intended. + +_Who_ was little used as a relative till about the sixteenth century. +Bain says: "In modern use, more especially in books, _who_ is frequently +employed to introduce a clause intended to restrict, define, limit, or +explain a noun (or its equivalent); as, 'That is the man _who_ spoke to +us yesterday.'" + +"Here the clause introduced by _who_ is necessary to define or explain +the antecedent _the man_; without it, we do not know who _the man_ is. +Such relative clauses are typical _adjective_ clauses--i. e., they have +the same effect as adjectives in limiting nouns. This may be called the +RESTRICTIVE use of the relative. + +"Now it will be found that the practice of our most idiomatic writers +and speakers is to prefer _that_ to _who_ in this application. + +"_Who_ is properly used in such coördinate sentences as, 'I met the +watchman, _who_ told me there had been a fire.' Here the two clauses are +distinct and independent; in such a case, _and he_ might be substituted +for _who_. + +"Another form of the same use is when the second clause is of the kind +termed adverbial, where we may resolve _who_ into a personal or +demonstrative pronoun and conjunction. 'Why should we consult Charles, +_who_ (_for he_, _seeing that he_) knows nothing of the matter?' + +"_Who_ may be regarded as a modern objective form, side by side with +_whom_. For many good writers and speakers say '_who_ are you talking +of?' '_who_ does the garden belong to?' '_who_ is this for?' '_who_ +from?'" etc. + +If this be true--if _who may_ be regarded as a modern objective form, +side by side with _whom_--then, of course, such expressions as "_Who_ +did you see?" "_Who_ did you meet?" "_Who_ did he marry?" "_Who_ were +you with?" "_Who_ will you give it to?" and the like, are correct. That +they are used colloquially by well-nigh everybody, no one will dispute; +but that they are _correct_, few grammarians will concede. See THAT. + +WHOLE. This word is sometimes most improperly used for _all_; thus, "The +_whole_ Germans seem to be saturated with the belief that they are +really the greatest people on earth, and that they would be universally +recognized as being the greatest, if they were not so exceeding modest." +"The whole Russians are inspired with the belief that their mission is +to conquer the world."--Alison. + +WHOLESOME. See HEALTHY. + +WHOSE. Mr. George Washington Moon discountenances the use of _whose_ as +the possessive of _which_. He says, "The best writers, when speaking of +inanimate objects, use _of which_ instead of _whose_." The correctness +of this statement is doubtful. The truth is, I think, that good writers +use that form for the possessive case of _which_ that in their judgment +is, in each particular case, the more euphonious, giving the preference, +perhaps, to _of which_. On this subject Dr. Campbell says: "The +possessive of _who_ is properly _whose_. The pronoun _which_, +originally indeclinable, had no possessive. This was supplied, in the +common periphrastic manner, by the help of the preposition and the +article. But, as this could not fail to enfeeble the expression, when so +much time was given to mere conjunctives, all our best authors, both in +prose and verse, have now come regularly to adopt, in such cases, the +possessive of _who_, and thus have substituted one syllable in the room +of three, as in the example following: 'Philosophy, _whose_ end is to +instruct us in the knowledge of nature,' for 'Philosophy, _the_ end _of +which_ is to instruct us.' Some grammarians remonstrate; but it ought to +be remembered that use, well established, must give law to grammar, and +not grammar to use." + +Professor Bain says: "_Whose_, although the possessive of _who_, and +practically of _which_, is yet frequently employed for the purpose of +restriction: 'We are the more likely to guard watchfully against those +faults _whose_ deformity we have seen fully displayed in others.' This +is better than 'the deformity _of which_ we have seen.' 'Propositions of +_whose_ truth we have no certain knowledge.'--Locke." Dr. Fitzedward +Hall says that the use of _whose_ for _of which_, where the antecedent +is not only irrational but inanimate, has had the support of high +authority for several hundred years. + +WIDOW WOMAN. Since widows are always women, why say a widow _woman_? It +would be perfectly correct to say a _widowed_ woman. + +WIDOWHOOD. There is good authority for using this word in speaking of +men as well as of women. + +WITHOUT. This word is often improperly used instead of _unless_; as, +"You will never live to my age _without_ you keep yourself in breath and +exercise"; "I shall not go _without_ my father consents": properly, +_unless_ my father consents, or, _without_ my father's consent. + +WORST. We should say _at the worst_, not _at worst_. + +WOVE. The past participle of the verb _to weave_ is _woven_. "Where was +this cloth _woven_?" not _wove_. + +YOU ARE MISTAKEN. See MISTAKEN. + +YOU WAS. Good usage does, and it is to be hoped always will, consider +_you was_ a gross vulgarism, certain grammarians to the contrary +notwithstanding. _You_ is the form of the pronoun in the second person +plural, and must, if we would speak correctly, be used with the +corresponding form of the verb. The argument that we use _you_ in the +singular number is so nonsensical that it does not merit a moment's +consideration. It is a custom we have--and have in common with other +peoples--to speak to one another in the second person plural, and that +is all there is of it. The Germans speak to one another in the _third_ +person plural. The exact equivalent in German of our _How are you?_ is, +_How are they?_ Those who would say _you was_ should be consistent, and +in like manner say _you has_ and _you does_. + +YOURS, &C. The ignorant and obtuse not unfrequently profess themselves +at the bottom of their letters "Yours, &c." And so forth! forth what? +Few vulgarisms are equally offensive, and none could be more so. In +printing correspondence, the newspapers often content themselves with +this short-hand way of intimating that the writer's name was preceded by +some one of the familiar forms of ending letters; this an occasional +dunderhead seems to think is sufficient authority for writing himself, +_Yours, &c._ + + +THE END. + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[1] If this is true in England, it is not true in America. Nowhere in +the United States is such "questionable grammar" as this frequently +heard in cultivated circles. + +[2] "It may be confidently affirmed that with good speakers, in the case +of negation, _not me_ is the usual practice."--Bain. This, I confidently +affirm, is not true in America.--A. A. + +[3] Should be, _a text-book for his course_, and not, _for his course a +text-book_. + +[4] Mr. Gould criticises the Dean's _diction_, not his _style_. + +[5] Better, "to revise it." + +[6] "Is _to put them_ in tabular form." + +[7] Bullions' "Grammar" was published in 1867. + +[8] "L. W. K., CLK., LL. D., EX. SCH., T. C., D. Of this reverend +gentleman's personality I know nothing. He does not say exactly what he +means; but what he means is, yet, unmistakable. The extract given above +is from 'Public Opinion,' January 20, 1866." + +[9] "The analysis, taken for granted in this quotation, of 'are being +thrown up' into 'are being' and 'thrown up' will be dealt with in the +sequel, and shown to be untenable." + +[10] "Vol. xlv, p. 504 (1837)." + +[11] "'The Life and Correspondence of the late Robert Southey,' vol. i, +p. 249." + +[12] "Vol. i, p. 338. 'A student who _is being crammed_'; 'that verb is +eternally _being declined_.'--'The Doctor,' pp. 38 and 40 (mono-tome +ed.)." + +[13] "In 'Put Yourself in his Place,' chapter x, he writes: 'She basked +in the present delight, and looked as if she _was being taken_ to heaven +by an angel.'" + +[14] "'Words,' etc., p. 340." + +[15] "Thomas Fuller writes: 'At his arrival, the last stake of the +Christians was _on losing_.'--'The Historie of the Holy Warre,' p. 218 +(ed. 1647)." + +[16] "I express myself in this manner because I distinguish between _be_ +and _exist_." + +[17] "Samuel Richardson writes: 'Jenny, who attends me here, has more +than once hinted to me that Miss Jervis loves to sit up late, either +reading or _being read to_ by Anne, who, though she reads well, is not +fond of the task.'--'Sir Charles Grandison,' vol. iii, p. 46 (ed. 1754). + +"The transition is very slight by which we pass from 'sits being read +to' to 'is being read to.'" + +[18] "I am here indebted to the last edition of Dr. Worcester's +'Dictionary,' preface, p. xxxix." + +[19] "'Words and their Uses,' p. 353." + +[20] "'_It is being_ is simply equal to _it is_. And, in the supposed +corresponding Latin phrases, _ens factus est_, _ens ædificatus est_ (the +obsoleteness of _ens_ as a participle being granted), the monstrosity is +not in the use of _ens_ with _factus_, but in that of _ens_ with _est_. +The absurdity is, in Latin, just what it is in English, the use of _is_ +with _being_, the making of the verb _to be_ a complement to +itself.'--_Ibid._, pp. 354, 355. + +"Apparently, Mr. White recognizes no more difference between +_supplement_ and _complement_ than he recognizes between _be_ and +_exist_. See the extract I have made above, from p. 353." + +[21] "'But those things which, _being not now doing_, or having not yet +been done, have a natural aptitude to exist hereafter, may be properly +said to appertain to the future.'--Harris's 'Hermes,' book I, chap. viii +(p. 155, foot-note, ed. 1771). For Harris's _being not now doing_, which +is to translate μὴ γινόμενα, the modern school, if they pursued +uniformity with more of fidelity than of taste, would have to put _being +not now being done_. There is not much to choose between the two." + +[22] "'Words and their Uses,' p. 343." + +[23] The possessive construction here is, in my judgment, not +imperatively demanded. There is certainly no lack of authority for +putting the three substantives in the accusative. The possessive +construction seems to me, however, to be preferable. + +[24] "The use of the plural for the singular was established as early +the beginning of the fourteenth century."--Morris, p. 118, § 153. + +[25] "Some writers omit the comma in cases where the conjunction is +used. But, as the conjunction is generally employed in such cases for +emphasis, commas ought to be used; although, where the words are very +closely connected, or where they constitute a clause in the midst of a +long sentence, they may be omitted."--Bigelow's "Handbook of +Punctuation." + +[26] "This usage violates one of the fundamental principles of +punctuation; it indicates, very improperly, that the noun _man_ is more +closely connected with _learned_ than with the other adjectives. Analogy +and perspicuity require a comma after _learned_."--Quackenbos. + +[27] Many writers would omit the last two commas in this sentence. + +[28] The commas before and after _particularly_ are hardly necessary. + +[29] The only exception to this rule is the occasional use of the colon +to separate two short sentences that are closely connected. + +[30] "Dr. Angus on the 'English Tongue,' art. 527." + +[31] "In the following passages, the indicative mood would be more +suitable than the subjunctive: 'If thou _be_ the Son of God, command +that these stones be made bread'; 'if thou _be_ the Son of God, come +down from the cross.' For, although the address was not sincere on the +part of the speakers, they really meant to make the supposition or to +grant that he was the Son of God; 'seeing that thou _art_ the Son of +God.' Likewise in the following: 'Now if Christ _be_ preached, that He +rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection +from the dead?' The meaning is, 'Seeing now that Christ _is_ preached.' +In the continuation, the conditional clauses are of a different +character, and 'be' is appropriate: 'But if there _be_ no resurrection +from the dead, then is Christ not risen. And if Christ _be_ not risen, +then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain.' Again, 'If +thou _bring_ thy gift to the altar, and there remember_est_,' etc. +Consistency and correctness require 'remember.'"--Harrison on the +"English Language," p. 287. + +[32] "So, in German, _wäre_ for _würde sein_. 'Hätt' ich Schwingen, +hätt' ich Flügel, nach den Hügeln _zög_' ich hin,' for '_würde_ ich +_ziehen_.'" + +[33] "So, in German, _hätte_ occurs for _würde haben_. 'Wäre er da +gewesen, so _hätten_ wir ihn gesehen,' for 'so _würden_ wir ihn gesehen +_haben_.' _Hätten_ is still conditional, not indicative. In Latin, the +pluperfect _indicative_ is occasionally used; which is explained as a +more vivid form." + +[34] "In _principal_ clauses the inflection of the second person is +always retained: 'thou had_st_,' 'thou would_st_, should_st_,' etc. In +the example, the subordinate clause, although subjunctive, shows, +'had_st_.' And this usage is exceedingly common." + +[35] To those who are not quite clear as to what transcendentalism is, +the following lucid definition will be welcome: "It is the spiritual +cognoscence of psychological irrefragability connected with concutient +ademption of incolumnient spirituality and etherealized contention of +subsultory concretion." Translated by a New York lawyer, it stands thus: +"Transcendentalism is two holes in a sand-bank: a storm washes away the +sand-bank without disturbing the holes." + +[36] "Cromwell--_than he_ no man was more skilled in artifice; or, +Cromwell--no man was more skilled in artifice _than he_ (was)." + +[37] "No devil sat higher than _he_ sat, except Satan." + +[38] "Speaking of Dryden, Hallam says, 'His "Essay on Dramatic Poesy," +published in 1668, was reprinted sixteen years afterward, and it is +curious to observe the changes which Dryden made in the expression. +Malone has carefully noted all these; they show both the care the author +took with his own style, and the change which was gradually working in +the English language. The Anglicism of terminating the sentence with a +preposition is rejected. Thus, "I can not think so contemptibly of the +age I live in," is exchanged for "the age in which I live." "A deeper +expression of belief than all the actor can persuade us to," is altered, +"can insinuate into us." And, though the old form continued in use long +after the time of Dryden, it has of late years been reckoned inelegant, +and proscribed in all cases, perhaps with an unnecessary fastidiousness, +to which I have not uniformly deferred, since our language is of +Teutonic structure, and the rules of Latin and French grammar are not +always to bind us.' + +"The following examples, taken from Massinger's 'Grand Duke of +Florence,' will show what was the usage of the Elizabethan writers:-- + + "'For I must use the freedom I _was born with_.' + + "'In that dumb rhetoric _which_ you _make use of_.' + + "'---- if I had been heir + Of all the globes and sceptres mankind _bows to_.' + + "'---- the name of friend + _Which_ you are pleased to _grace me with_.' + + "'---- wilfully ignorant in my opinion + Of what it did _invite him to_.' + + "'I look to her as on a princess + _I dare not be ambitious of_.' + + "'---- a duty + _That I was born with_.'" + + + + + THE ORTHOËPIST: + + + _A PRONOUNCING MANUAL_, + + CONTAINING ABOUT THREE THOUSAND FIVE HUNDRED + WORDS, INCLUDING A CONSIDERABLE NUMBER OF + THE NAMES OF FOREIGN AUTHORS, ARTISTS, ETC., + THAT ARE OFTEN MISPRONOUNCED. + + By ALFRED AYRES. + +̤ +SELECTIONS FROM THE WORK. + + ạb-dō´mẹn, _not_ ăb´dọ-mĕn. + + ạc-crṳe´, _not_ -crū´. + The orthoëpists agree that _u_, preceded by _r_ in the same syllable, + generally becomes simply _oo_, as in _rude_, _rumor_, _rural_, _rule_, + _ruby_. + + ạl-lŏp´ạ-thy; ạl-lŏp´ạ-thĭst. + + Ăr´ạ-bĭc, _not_ Ạ-rā´bĭc. + + Asia--ā´shẹ-ȧ, _not_ ā´zhȧ. + + ay, _or_ aye (meaning _yes_)--ī. + + aye (meaning _always_)--ā. + + Bĭs´märck, _not_ bĭz´-. + At the end of a syllable, _s_, in German, has invariably its sharp, + hissing sound. + + Cairo--in Egypt, kī´rō; in the United States, kā´rō. + + Courbet--ko̤r´bā´. + + dĕc´ạde, _not_ dẹ-kād´. + + dẹ-cō´roŭs. + The authority is small, and is becoming less, for saying + _dĕc´o-roŭs_, which is really as incorrect as it would be to say + _sŏn´o-roŭs_. + + dĕf´ị-cĭt, _not_ dẹ-fĭç´it. + + dịs̱-dāin´, _not_ dis-. + + dịs̱-hŏn´or, _not_ dis-. + + ĕc-ọ-nŏm´ị-cạl, _or_ ē-cọ-nŏm´ị-cạl. + The first is the marking of a large majority of the orthoëpists. + + ẹ-nēr´vāte. + The only authority for saying _ĕn´er-vāte_ is popular usage; all + the orthoëpists say _e-nẽr´vāte_. + + ĕp´ọc̵h, _not_ ē´pŏc̵h. + The latter is a Websterian pronunciation, which is not even permitted + in the late editions. + + fĭn-ạn-ciēr´. + This much-used word is rarely pronounced correctly. + + Heī´nẹ, _not_ hine. + Final _e_ in German is never silent. + + honest--ŏn´est, _not_ -ĭst, _nor_ -ŭst. + "Hon_est_, hon_est_ Iago," is preferable to "hon_ust_, hon_ust_ Iago," + some of our accidental Othellos to the contrary notwithstanding. + + ĭs̱´ọ-lāte, _or_ ĭs´ọ-late, _not_ ī´sọ-lāt. + The first marking is Walker's, Worcester's, and Smart's; the second, + Webster's. + + + ONE VOL., 18MO, CLOTH. PRICE, $1.00. + + New York: D. APPLETON & CO., 1, 3, & 5 Bond Street. + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Verbalist, by +Thomas Embly Osmun, (AKA Alfred Ayres) + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE VERBALIST *** + +***** This file should be named 22457-8.txt or 22457-8.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/2/2/4/5/22457/ + +Produced by Barbara Tozier, Bill Tozier, Stephen Blundell +and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at +http://www.pgdp.net + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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