year end and year out/year in and year out: Common Errors in English Usage Entry for Thursday, December 31, 2015 + News About the Future of the Calendar

year end and year out/year in and year out 
When something goes on continually, it is traditional to say it happens “year in and year out,” meaning “from the beginning of the year to its end—and so on year after year.”

The mistaken form “year end and year out” doesn’t make sense because “year end” and “year out” both refer to the same part of the year, so no time span is being described.

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The latest podcast is about changes in style for the coming year.

This is the tenth year of the Common Errors in English Usage calendar. To celebrate, we are bringing back some of our favorite interesting, funny, but sometimes merely silly entries through the years before going on hiatus in 2016. However, look for a weekly mailing with a featured entry and cartoon beginning January 6.

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New Podcast Episode is Up / finalize/finish: Common Errors in English Usage Entry for Wednesday, December 30, 2015

finalize/finish, put into final form 
“Finalize” is very popular among bureaucrats, but many people hate it. Avoid it unless you know that everyone in your environment uses it too.

___________
The latest podcast is about changes in style for the coming year.

End-of-year sale on the book: Use the coupon code FIFTEEN to get Common Errors in English Usage 3rd Edition at $4 off the cover price. Order through wmjasco.com.

This is the tenth year of the Common Errors in English Usage calendar. To celebrate, we are bringing back some of our favorite interesting, funny, but sometimes merely silly entries through the years before going on hiatus in 2016.

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cleanup/clean up: Common Errors in English Usage Entry for Tuesday, December 29, 2015

cleanup/clean up 
“Cleanup” is usually a noun: “The cleanup of the toxic waste site will cost billions of dollars.” “Clean” is a verb in the phrase “clean up”: “You can go to the mall after you clean up your room.”

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End-of-year sale on the book: Use the coupon code FIFTEEN to get Common Errors in English Usage 3rd Edition at $4 off the cover price. Order through wmjasco.com.

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suit/suite: Common Errors in English Usage Entry for Monday, December 28, 2015

suit/suite 
Your bedroom suite consists of the bed, the nightstand, and whatever other furniture goes with it. Your pajamas would be your bedroom suit.

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This week's podcast: The Solstice and Celestial Terms.

End-of-year sale on the book: Use the coupon code FIFTEEN to get Common Errors in English Usage 3rd Edition at $4 off the cover price. Order through wmjasco.com.

This is the tenth year of the Common Errors in English Usage calendar. To celebrate, we are bringing back some of our favorite interesting, funny, but sometimes merely silly entries through the years before going on hiatus in 2016.

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select/selected: Common Errors in English Usage Entry for Sunday, December 27, 2015

select/selected 
“Select” means “special,” “chosen because of its outstanding qualities.” If you are writing an ad for a furniture store offering low prices on some of its recliners, call them “selected recliners,” not “select recliners,” unless they are truly outstanding and not just leftovers you’re trying to move out of the store.

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This week's podcast: The Solstice and Celestial Terms.

End-of-year sale on the book: Use the coupon code FIFTEEN to get Common Errors in English Usage 3rd Edition at $4 off the cover price. Order through wmjasco.com.

This is the tenth year of the Common Errors in English Usage calendar. To celebrate, we are bringing back some of our favorite interesting, funny, but sometimes merely silly entries through the years before going on hiatus in 2016.

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reticent/hesitant: Common Errors in English Usage Entry for Saturday, December 26, 2015

reticent/hesitant 
“Reticent” most often means “reluctant to speak.” It can also mean “reserved” or “restrained,” though conservatives prefer to use it to apply only to speech. If you’re feeling nervous about doing something, you’re hesitant: “I’m hesitant about trying to ride a unicycle in public.” “Hesitant” is by far the more common word; so if you hesitate to choose between the two, go with “hesitant.”

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This week's podcast: The Solstice and Celestial Terms.

End-of-year sale on the book: Use the coupon code FIFTEEN to get Common Errors in English Usage 3rd Edition at $4 off the cover price. Order through wmjasco.com.

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poinsetta/poinsettia: Common Errors in English Usage Entry for Friday, December 25, 2015

poinsetta/poinsettia 
Those showy plants that appear in the stores around Christmas are “poinsettias,” named after American diplomat John R. Poinsett who introduced them into the US from Mexico. The Latin ending “-ia” is seldom pronounced as spelled, but that’s no justification for misspelling the word as “poinsetta.”

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This week's podcast: The Solstice and Celestial Terms.

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pre-Madonna/prima donna: Common Errors in English Usage Entry for Thursday, December 24, 2015

pre-Madonna/prima donna 
The leading soprano in an opera is the prima donna (Italian for “leading lady”). As an insult, “prima donna” implies that the person under discussion is egotistical, demanding, and doesn’t work well as part of a team.

Don’t write “pre-Madonna” unless you intend to discuss the era before the singer Madonna became popular.

___________
Paul Brians’ latest blog post discusses an unusual slip of the tongue.

This week's podcast: The Solstice and Celestial Terms.

End-of-year sale on the book: Use the coupon code FIFTEEN to get Common Errors in English Usage 3rd Edition at $4 off the cover price. Order through wmjasco.com.

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blunt/brunt: Common Errors in English Usage Entry for Wednesday, December 23, 2015

blunt/brunt 
Some people mistakenly substitute the adjective “blunt” for the noun “brunt” in standard expressions like “bear the brunt.” “Brunt” means “main force.”

___________
This week's podcast: The Solstice and Celestial Terms.

End-of-year sale on the book: Use the coupon code FIFTEEN to get Common Errors in English Usage 3rd Edition at $4 off the cover price. Order through wmjasco.com.

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This week on the podcast it's the language of the solstice/Today's entry is specie/species: Common Errors in English Usage Entry for Tuesday, December 22, 2015

specie/species 
In both the original Latin and in English “species” is the spelling of both the singular and plural forms. Amphiprion ocellaris is one species of clownfish. Many species of fish are endangered by overfishing.

Specie is a technical term referring to the physical form of money, particularly coins.

___________
New podcast episode: The Solstice and Celestial Terms.

End-of-year sale on the book: Use the coupon code FIFTEEN to get Common Errors in English Usage 3rd Edition at $4 off the cover price. Order through wmjasco.com.

This is the tenth year of the Common Errors in English Usage calendar. To celebrate, we are bringing back some of our favorite interesting, funny, but sometimes merely silly entries through the years before going on hiatus in 2016.

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autobiography/biography: Common Errors in English Usage Entry for Monday, December 21, 2015

autobiography/biography 
When you write the story of your own life, you write an autobiography; but when you write the story of someone else’s life, it’s just a plain old biography.

 


___________
In Paul Brians’ latest blog post he tracks his recent appearance in the New York Times.

This week on the podcast, it’s the magi(c) of Christmas.

End-of-year sale on the book: Use the coupon code FIFTEEN to get Common Errors in English Usage 3rd Edition at $4 off the cover price. Order through wmjasco.com.

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legend/myth: Common Errors in English Usage Entry for Sunday, December 20, 2015

legend/myth 
Myths are generally considered to be traditional stories whose importance lies in their significance, like the myth of the Fall in Eden; whereas legends can be merely famous deeds, like the legend of Davy Crockett. In common usage “myth” usually implies fantasy. Enrico Caruso was a legendary tenor, but Hogwarts is a mythical school. Legends may or may not be true. But be cautious about using “myth” to mean “untrue story” in a mythology, theology, or literature class, where teachers can be quite touchy about insisting that the true significance of a myth lies not in its factuality but in its meaning for the culture that produces or adopts it.

 
















___________
This week on the podcast, it’s the magi(c) of Christmas.

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crafts: Common Errors in English Usage Entry for Saturday, December 19, 2015

crafts 
When referring to vehicles, “craft” is both singular and plural. Two aircraft, many watercraft, etc. Do not add an S.

But when referring to hobbies and skills such as “woodcrafts” or “arts and crafts” adding an S in the plural form is standard.

___________
This week on the podcast, it’s the magi(c) of Christmas.

End-of-year sale on the book: Use the coupon code FIFTEEN to get Common Errors in English Usage 3rd Edition at $4 off the cover price. Order through wmjasco.com.

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fearful/fearsome: Common Errors in English Usage Entry for Friday, December 18, 2015

fearful/fearsome 
To be “fearful” is to be afraid. To be “fearsome” is to cause fear in others. Remember that someone who is fierce is fearsome rather than fearful.

___________
This week on the podcast, it’s the magi(c) of Christmas.

End-of-year sale on the book: Use the coupon code FIFTEEN to get Common Errors in English Usage 3rd Edition at $4 off the cover price. Order through wmjasco.com.

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song/work or composition: Common Errors in English Usage Entry for Thursday, December 17, 2015

song/work or composition 
When you’re writing that cultural event report based on last night’s symphony concert, don’t call the music performed “songs.” Songs are strictly pieces of music which are sung—by singers. Instrumental numbers may be called “works,” “compositions,” or even “pieces.” Be careful, though: a single piece may have several different movements; and it would be wrong to refer to the Adagio of Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata as a “piece.” It’s just a piece of a piece.

___________
This week on the podcast, it’s the magi(c) of Christmas.

Today is Beethoven's baptism day (1770). His date of birth is not known for sure.

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Book Sale Continues/New Podcast Episode/Today's Entry: easedrop/eavesdrop: Common Errors in English Usage Entry for Wednesday, December 16, 2015

easedrop/eavesdrop 
The area under the eaves right next to the front of a building used to be called the “eavesdrop,” and somebody listening in secretively from such a position came to be called an “eavesdropper.” Unfortunately, so few people distinctly pronounce the V in “eavesdrop” that many are misled into misspelling it “easedrop.”

___________
This week on the podcast, it’s the magi(c) of Christmas.

End-of-year sale on the book: Use the coupon code FIFTEEN to get Common Errors in English Usage 3rd Edition at $4 off the cover price. Order through wmjasco.com.

This is the tenth year of the Common Errors in English Usage calendar. To celebrate, we are bringing back some of our favorite interesting, funny, but sometimes merely silly entries through the years before going on hiatus in 2016.

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open/unlocked/unlatched: Common Errors in English Usage Entry for Tuesday, December 15, 2015

open/unlocked/unlatched 
Many people refer to doors as being “open” when they mean to say they are merely unlocked. Telling people to leave a house open may mislead them into making the place more inviting to casual intruders than you intend if you really only want it to be unlocked. And you may unnecessarily alarm the driver if you report from the back seat of a car that one of the doors is open when you mean that it is merely unlatched.

___________
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sentence fragments: Common Errors in English Usage Entry for Monday, December 14, 2015

sentence fragments 
There are actually many fine uses for sentence fragments. Here’s a brief scene from an imaginary Greek tragedy composed entirely of fragments:

Menelaus: Aha! Helen!
Helen (startled): Beloved husband!
Menelaus: Slut!
Paris (entering, seeing Menelaus): Oops. ’Bye.
Menelaus: Not so fast! (stabs Paris).
Paris: Arrggh!

But some people get into trouble by breaking a perfectly good sentence in two: “We did some research in newspapers. Like the National Enquirer.” The second phrase belongs in the same sentence with the first, not dangling off on its own.

A more common kind of troublesome fragment is a would-be sentence introduced by a word or phrase that suggests it’s part of some other sentence: “By picking up the garbage the fraternity had strewn around the street the weekend before got the group a favorable story in the paper.” Just lop off “by” to convert this into a proper complete sentence.

___________
This week on the Common Errors in English Usage podcast, the topic is steam.

End-of-year sale on the book: Use the coupon code FIFTEEN to get Common Errors in English Usage 3rd Edition at $4 off the cover price. Order through wmjasco.com.

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cut the muster/cut the mustard: Common Errors in English Usage Entry for Sunday, December 13, 2015

cut the muster/cut the mustard 
Some people insist that the original phrase is “cut the muster” rather than the seemingly nonsensical “cut the mustard.” This etymology seems plausible at first. Its proponents often trace it to the American Civil War. We do have the analogous expression “to pass muster,” which probably first suggested this alternative; but although the origins of “cut the mustard” are somewhat obscure, the latter is definitely the form used in all sorts of writing throughout the 20th century. No advocate of the rival form has ever documented an authentic instance of its use in a 19th-century context. Common sense would suggest that a person cutting a muster is not someone being selected as fit, but someone eliminating the unfit.

___________
This week on the Common Errors in English Usage podcast, the topic is steam.

End-of-year sale on the book: Use the coupon code FIFTEEN to get Common Errors in English Usage 3rd Edition at $4 off the cover price. Order through wmjasco.com.

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astrology/astronomy: Common Errors in English Usage Entry for Saturday, December 12, 2015

astrology/astronomy 
Modern astronomers consider astrology an outdated superstition. You’ll embarrass yourself if you use the term “astrology” to label the scientific study of the cosmos. In writing about history, however, you may have occasion to note that ancient astrologers, whose main goal was to peer into the future, incidentally did some sound astronomy as they studied the positions and movements of celestial objects.

___________
This week on the Common Errors in English Usage podcast, the topic is steam.

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religiosity/piety: Common Errors in English Usage Entry for Friday, December 11, 2015

religiosity/piety 
The main modern use of “religiosity” is to describe exaggerated or ostentatious showing off of one’s religiousness. A better word to label the quality of being truly religious is “piety.”

___________
This week on the Common Errors in English Usage podcast, the topic is steam.

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walk the talk/walk the walk: Common Errors in English Usage Entry for Thursday, December 10, 2015

walk the talk/walk the walk 

Aristotle’s followers are said to have discussed philosophy while walking about with him—hence their name: “peripatetics.” I suppose they could have been said to “walk the talk.”

For the rest of us, the saying is “if you’re going to talk the talk, you’ve got to walk the walk”—a modern version of old sayings like “actions speak louder than words” and “practice what you preach.” Another early form of the expression was “walk it like you talk it.”

Many people now condense this to “walk the talk,” which makes a sort of sense (act on your speech), but strikes those who are more familiar with the original form as confused.

___________
This week on the Common Errors in English Usage podcast, the topic is steam.

End-of-year sale on the book: Use the coupon code FIFTEEN to get Common Errors in English Usage 3rd Edition at $4 off the cover price. Order through wmjasco.com.

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Book Sale Continues + New Podcast Episode

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full proof/foolproof: Common Errors in English Usage Entry for Wednesday, December 9, 2015

full proof/foolproof 
If you want to get credit for solving a complicated mathematical problem, you will have to provide a full proof. But if you’re trying to make something as easy as possible, you want to make it foolproof—so simple even a fool couldn’t screw it up.

___________
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n’/’n’: Common Errors in English Usage Entry for Tuesday, December 8, 2015

n’/’n’ 
In your restaurant’s ad for “Big ’n’ Juicy Burgers,” remember that the apostrophes substitute for both omitted letters in “and”—the A and the D—so strictly speaking it’s not enough to use just one, as in “Big n’ Juicy.”

By so doing, you’ll improve on the usage of McDonald’s, which has actually created the registered trademark “Big N’ Tasty.”

___________
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chick/chic: Common Errors in English Usage Entry for Monday, December 7, 2015 chick/chic

chick/chic 
Something fashionable can be labeled with the French adjective chic, but it is definitely not chic to spell the word “chick” or “sheek.”

___________
This week on the Common Errors in English Usage podcast, the topic is commas.
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drastic/dramatic: Common Errors in English Usage Entry for Sunday, December 6, 2015

drastic/dramatic 
“Drastic” means “severe” and generally has negative or frightening associations. Drastic measures are not just extreme, they are likely to have harmful side-effects. Don’t use this word or “drastically” in a positive or neutral sense. A drastic rise in temperature should be seen as downright dangerous, not just surprisingly large. Often when people use phrases like “drastic improvement,” they mean “dramatic” instead.

___________
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tow the line/toe the line: Common Errors in English Usage Entry for Saturday, December 5, 2015

tow the line/toe the line 
“Toe the line” has to do with lining your toes up on a precise mark, not with pulling on a rope.
However, if you have to take your kids along when you visit friends, you have them not in toe, but in tow.




___________
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posses/possess: Common Errors in English Usage Entry for Friday, December 4, 2015

posses/possess 
Posses chase after bank robbers. If you own something, you possess it.

___________
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wreckless/reckless: Common Errors in English Usage Entry for Thursday, December 3, 2015

wreckless/reckless 
This word has nothing to do with creating the potential for a wreck. Rather it involves not reckoning carefully all the hazards involved in an action. The correct spelling is therefore “reckless.”

___________
Happy birthday, Genevra Mudge (1880).

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New Podcast Episode Is Up + Order the book and get $4 (and free shippping within the US) + canon/cannon: Common Errors in English Usage Entry for Wednesday, December 2, 2015

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Today’s Entry:

canon/cannon 
“Canon” used to be such a rare word that there was no temptation to confuse it with “cannon”: a large piece of artillery. The debate over the literary canon (a list of officially approved works) and the popularity of Pachelbel’s Canon (an imitative musical form commonly called a round) have changed all that—confusion is rampant. Just remember that the big gun is a “cannon.” All the rest are “canons.” Note that there are metaphorical uses of “cannon” for objects shaped like large guns, such as a horse’s “cannon bone.”

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actual fact/actually: Common Errors in English Usage Entry for Tuesday, December 1, 2015

actual fact/actually 
“In actual fact” is an unnecessarily complicated way of saying “actually.”

___________
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