The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation (12 page)

See
coarse, course
.

See
collide, crash
.

To many people, a
craven scoundrel
is a flagrant or shameless rogue, not a spineless one. But
craven
means “cowardly,” “weak.”

Criteria
is the plural of
criterion
, a standard used for judging, deciding, or acting. The sentence
Honesty is our chief criteria
is ungrammatical; there can't be only one
criteria
. Make it
Honesty is our chief criterion
or
Honesty is one of our chief criteria
. Your criteria
are
your standards, plural.

Those who know that
criteria
is plural aren't out of the woods yet either: many believe the singular is “criterium.” And there are some who will reveal to you their “criterias.”

Often unnecessary. What is the difference between
I'm currently writing a book
and
I'm writing a book
?

I run five miles on a daily basis
. In most cases, the windy and unwieldy
on a daily basis
can be replaced with
daily
or
every day
.

John B. Bremner, in
Words on Words
, states unequivocally, “The word is plural.” This one is thorny, because the singular,
datum
, is virtually nonexistent in English. Many people see
data
as a synonym for “information,” and to them,
These data are very interesting
sounds downright bizarre. Maybe, but it's also correct. Theodore M. Bernstein, in
The Careful Writer
, says, “Some respected and learned writers have used
data
as a singular. But a great many more have not.”

Something
definite
is exact, clearly defined, with no ambiguity. But
definite
does not necessarily mean “correct”:
George has a definite belief that two and two are five
.

Something
definitive
is authoritative, the best, the last word:
This is the definitive biography of Lincoln
.

See
connote, denote
.

The noun
desert
refers to a desolate area. As a verb, it means “to abandon.”

A
dessert
is the final course of a meal.

Many misspell the phrase
just deserts
, meaning “proper punishment.” In that usage,
deserts
is derived from
deserve
.

“Syme despised him and slightly disliked him,” wrote George Orwell in the novel
1984
. Orwell knew that, strictly speaking,
despise
means “to look down on” but not necessarily “to dislike,” although that's usually part of the deal.

Device
: an invention.

Devise
: to invent.

Different from
is the standard phrase. Traditionalists obstinately avoid
different than
, especially in simple comparisons, such as
You are different from me
.

More-liberal linguists point out that a sentence like
It is no different for men than it is for women
is clear and concise, and rewriting it with
different from
could result in a clumsy clunker like
It is no different for men from the way it is for women
.

They may have a point, but many fine writers have had no problem steering clear of
different than
for their entire careers.

Be careful when using
dilemma
as a synonym for
predicament
. The
di
- in
dilemma
(like that in
dichotomy
or
dioxide
) indicates
two
: if you have a dilemma, it means you're facing two tough choices.

To
disburse
is to distribute or pay out money or other financial assets.

Use
disperse
when something other than money is being distributed:
The agency dispersed pamphlets after the meeting
.

Disperse
also means “to scatter” or “make disappear”:
The police dispersed the unruly mob
.

The two are often confused.
Discomfit
originally meant “to defeat utterly.” It has come to mean “to fluster,” “to embarrass.”

Discomfort
is usually used as a noun meaning “anxiety,” “nervousness.”

Discreet
: careful not to attract attention, tactful.

Discrete
: separate, detached.

People often write
discrete
when they mean
discreet
. The situation is not helped by
discretion
, the noun form of
discreet
.

You can be both uninterested and disinterested, or one but not the other.
Disinterested
means “impartial”;
uninterested
means “unconcerned” or “apathetic.”

Many would interpret
The judge was disinterested
to mean that the judge didn't care. But the sentence actually means that the judge was unbiased. Huge difference there. Would you rather have a judge who's fair or one who wants to go home?

What is often thought of as a
dock
is actually a
pier
or
wharf
. The book
Modern American Usage
(edited by Jacques Barzun, et al.) defines a
dock
as “the water-filled space in which the ship comes to rest. The
pier
is the structure on which the passengers stand or alight.” Would Otis Redding's song still be a masterpiece if he'd called it
Sittin' on the Pier of the Bay
?

She drug Joe out of his office at midnight
. When did “drug” replace
dragged
as the past tense of
drag
? The answer is: It didn't, and it couldn't, and it better not.

Dual
: double; having two parts.

Duel
: a two-sided conflict (noun); to fight a duel (verb).

See
anxious, eager
.

See
affect, effect
.

e.g., i.e
.

These two helpful abbreviations are often used interchangeably, a sorry mistake that impoverishes the language. The term
i.e
. means “that is to say” or “in other words,” whereas
e.g
. means “for example.”

To illustrate:
Artists like Marlon Brando and James Dean (i.e., the so-called
“
method actors
”
) electrified audiences in the 1950s
. Compare that sentence with
The so-called
“
method actors
”
(e.g., Marlon Brando and James Dean) electrified audiences in the 1950s
.

It has come to mean “barely get by”:
I eke out a living as a writer
. But its traditional meaning is either “to supplement”:
I eke out my living as a writer by working a day job
, or “to make the most of”:
We eked out the small amount of food we had left
.

See
allude, elude, refer
.

Emigrate
: to leave one country in order to live in another country.
Emigrate
takes the preposition
from
, as in
He emigrated from Russia to America
. It is incorrect to say. “He emigrated to America.”

Immigrate
: to enter a new country with the intention of living there.
Immigrate
takes the preposition
to
, as in
He immigrated to America from Russia
. It is incorrect to say, “He immigrated from Russia.”

Eminent
: prominent; distinguished:
an eminent scholar
.

Imminent
: about to happen:
in imminent danger
.

When we have
empathy
, we are able to put ourselves in other people's place and even feel their pain, or think we do.

Sympathy
is more removed than
empathy
. When we have
sympathy
, we may not suffer along with those who are hurting, but we have compassion and are often willing to help.

Emulate
means “to try to be as good or successful as.”

Imitate
means “to copy or fashion oneself after.”

A sentence like
He tried to emulate her
is repeating itself: He
tried to try
to be as good as she was. We don't “try to emulate.” When we
emulate
, we're already trying.

This word is frequently misused: the “enormity” of football linemen these days, or the “enormity” of the task.
Enormity
has nothing to do with something's size. For that, we have such words as
immensity, vastness, hugeness
, and
enormousness
.

Enormity
is an ethical, judgmental word meaning “great wickedness,” “a monstrous crime.”
The enormity of Jonestown
doesn't mean Jonestown was a huge place, but rather that it was the site of a hugely outrageous tragedy.

See
assure, ensure, insure
.

Many writers, editors, scholars, and critics regard
enthuse
and
enthused
as unserious and unacceptable.

An
epitaph
is a tribute inscribed on a tombstone in honor of the person buried there.

An
epithet
, unlike an epitaph, is often an insult based on race, class, religion, politics, etc.:
The mob was shouting racial epithets
.

Otherwise, an epithet is a kind of nickname. It is a word or brief phrase that illustrates a defining trait of someone or something:
Alexander the Great, the wine-dark sea
.

The epitome of
means “the essence of.” It does not mean “the best,” “the height of.”
Sam is the epitome of humility
means that Sam is a perfect example of a humble person. It doesn't necessarily mean that he's one of the humblest men who ever lived.

It's often confused with
worthwhile
. But
erstwhile
means “previous” or “one-time.”
My erstwhile assistant
does not mean “my valuable assistant.” It means “my former assistant” and nothing more.

etc., et al
.

These abbreviations are a scholarly way of saying, “You get the point.”

The term
etc
. means “and the rest,” “and so on.” It is usually placed at the end of a short list of things to save the writer (and reader) the trouble of going on needlessly.

When a list of people, rather than things, is involved, use
et al
. in place of
etc.: Joe Smith, Ray Jones, et al., led the team to victory
.

Both
etc
. and
et al
. require periods, even midsentence.

The two-word term
every day
is an adverbial phrase that answers the questions
when
or
how often
, as in
I learn something new every day
.

As one word,
everyday
is an adjective that means “ordinary” or “part of a daily routine”:
These are my everyday clothes
.

To
exacerbate
is to make a difficult situation worse or more intense:
The humidity exacerbated the intense heat
.

To
exaggerate
(note the double
g
) is to overstate, to stretch the truth:
He exaggerated when he said it was the hottest day on record
.

See
accept, except
.

Factious
means “characterized by dissent and internal disputes.” A factious group is liable to split off into
factions
.

Fractious
means “irritable,” “quarrelsome,” “ill-tempered.”

Faint
: to go unconscious.

Feint
: a distracting move meant to throw an opponent off guard (from
feign
).

Fair
: an exhibition (noun); just, impartial (adjectives).

Fare
: payment for travel (noun); to have an experience (verb); to go through something (verb):
How did you fare on your test?

The general rule:
farther
refers to real, physical distance:
Let's walk a little farther
.

Further
deals with degree or extent:
Let's discuss this further
.

When something or someone
fazes
you, you are disturbed or troubled:
Her behavior doesn't faze me
.

A
phase
is a period or chapter:
He's going through a difficult phase right now
.

Feat
: an extraordinary act or accomplishment.

Feet
: twelve-inch increments; appendages below the ankles.

Here's a seemingly innocent sentence:
I now have two less reasons for going
. Make it
two fewer reasons
. If you can count the commodity (two reasons),
less
will be wrong. You have
less justification
, but
fewer reasons
.

Exception: When the amount is
one
, such a sentence should read, “I now have
one
reason
fewer
” or “
one less
reason, but not “
one fewer
reason.” Admittedly, this is a head-scratcher, but that's English for you.

Use
less
for specific measurements of money, distance, time, or weight:
It costs less than a million dollars. We walked less than fifty feet. Less than thirty minutes had passed. It weighs less than five pounds
. The book
Modern American Usage
explains why: “We take a
million dollars
as a sum of money, not as a number of units;
fifty feet
as a measure of distance, not as one foot added to forty-nine other feet;
thirty minutes
as a stretch of time, exactly like half an hour…and the quantitative
less
is therefore correct in comparisons;
fewer
would sound absurd.”

Fir
: a type of tree.

Fur
: animal hair.

See
secondly, thirdly, fourthly
.

Flair
: style; talent.

Flare
: to erupt; to blaze.

Let's see:
flammable
means “combustible.”
Inflammable
means “combustible.” Any questions?

He was a rebel who flaunted the rules
. That sentence is incorrect. Make it
flouted the rules
. To
flout
is to ignore, disregard, defy.

To
flaunt
is to make a big display:
She flaunted her diamond necklace
.

Flea
: a type of insect.

Flee
: to run away.

One way to avoid confusing these two verbs is to think of
flounder
, the fish. Something that is
floundering
is thrashing around helplessly, like a fish out of water.

Founder
means “to fail.” If a business is
floundering
, it is in distress but may yet be saved. If a business
founders
, nothing can revive it.

Flour
: an edible powder prepared by grinding grains.

Flower
: the bloom of a plant.

Many permissive editors allow
forego
in place of
forgo
. But
forego
means “to go before,” “precede”:
A good stretching session should forego rigorous exercise
.

To
forgo
is to abstain from, do without:
If you forgo a good stretching session, you might pull a muscle
.

A
foreword
is an introduction, usually to a book. It's sometimes confused with
forward
, meaning “ahead,” “forth.”

See
latter
.

Forth
: onward.

Fourth
: coming directly after whatever is third.

Fortuitous
is a chronically misunderstood word. To purists, it most emphatically does not mean “lucky” or “fortunate”; it simply means “by chance.” You are
fortunate
if you win the lottery
fortuitously
, but you can also get flattened by a truck
fortuitously
.

Foul
: tainted; sickening.

Fowl
: edible bird or birds.

See
factious, fractious
.

A curious term for
gift
.

Many people take
fulsome
to mean “abundant” or “lavish.” But be wary of writing the likes of
He received a fulsome tribute
or
Please accept my fulsome apology
. The word actually means something darker: “excessive,” “fawning,” even “disgusting.”

Fun
is a noun, not an adjective. Sentences like
It was a fun time
or the ghastly
It was so fun
have no place in serious writing.

See
fir, fur
.

See
farther, further
.