This is one of those silly typos which your spelling checker won’t catch: gods are sacred, the damned in Hell are scared.
Wednesday, April 9, 2014
sacred/scared: Common Errors in English Usage Entry for Wednesday, April 9, 2014
sacred/scared
This is one of those silly typos which your spelling checker won’t catch: gods are sacred, the damned in Hell are scared.
This is one of those silly typos which your spelling checker won’t catch: gods are sacred, the damned in Hell are scared.
Tuesday, April 8, 2014
weiner/wiener: Common Errors in English Usage Entry for Tuesday, April 8, 2014
weiner/wiener
The Vienna sausage from the city the Austrians call Wien inspired the American hot dog, or wiener. Americans aren’t used to the European pronunciation of IE as “ee” and often misspell the word as “weiner.”
The Vienna sausage from the city the Austrians call Wien inspired the American hot dog, or wiener. Americans aren’t used to the European pronunciation of IE as “ee” and often misspell the word as “weiner.”
Monday, April 7, 2014
ringer/wringer: Common Errors in English Usage Entry for Monday, April 7, 2014
ringer/wringer
Old-fashioned washing machines lacked a spin cycle. Instead, you fed each piece of wet clothing between two rotating cylinders which would wring the excess water out of the cloth. This led to the metaphorical saying according to which someone put through an ordeal is said to have been put “through the wringer.”
Few people remember those old wringer washers, and many of them now mistakenly suppose the spelling of the expression should be “through the ringer.” This error has been reinforced by the title of a popular album by the band Catch 22: Washed Up and Through the Ringer.
Old-fashioned washing machines lacked a spin cycle. Instead, you fed each piece of wet clothing between two rotating cylinders which would wring the excess water out of the cloth. This led to the metaphorical saying according to which someone put through an ordeal is said to have been put “through the wringer.”
Few people remember those old wringer washers, and many of them now mistakenly suppose the spelling of the expression should be “through the ringer.” This error has been reinforced by the title of a popular album by the band Catch 22: Washed Up and Through the Ringer.
Friday, April 4, 2014
discretion is the better part of valor: The Weekend Edition—Common Errors in English Usage Entry for Friday–Sunday, April 4–6, 2014
discretion is the better part of valor
In Shakespeare’s Henry IV, Part I when Prince Hal finds the cowardly Falstaff pretending to be dead on the battlefield, the prince assumes he has been killed. After the prince leaves the stage, Falstaff rationalizes “The better part of Valour, is Discretion; in the which better part, I haue saued my life” (spelling and punctuation from the First Folio, Act 5, Scene 3, lines 3085–3086).
Falstaff is saying that the best part of courage is caution, which we are to take as a joke. Truly courageous people may be cautious, but caution is not the most important characteristic of courage.
This passage is loosely alluded to in the saying “discretion is the better part of valor,” which is usually taken to mean that caution is better than rash courage or that discretion is the best kind of courage. Only Shakespeare scholars are likely to be annoyed by this usage.
However, those who take “discretion” in this context to mean the quality of being discreet—cautiously quiet—are more likely to annoy their readers.
Much more of a problem are misspellings like “descretion,” “disgression,” “digression,” and “desecration.” Unless you are deliberately punning, stick with “discretion.”
__________
The Week's End Extra from the Archives: "How to verify standard English usage: an explicit guide" (December 11, 2012).
In Shakespeare’s Henry IV, Part I when Prince Hal finds the cowardly Falstaff pretending to be dead on the battlefield, the prince assumes he has been killed. After the prince leaves the stage, Falstaff rationalizes “The better part of Valour, is Discretion; in the which better part, I haue saued my life” (spelling and punctuation from the First Folio, Act 5, Scene 3, lines 3085–3086).
Falstaff is saying that the best part of courage is caution, which we are to take as a joke. Truly courageous people may be cautious, but caution is not the most important characteristic of courage.
This passage is loosely alluded to in the saying “discretion is the better part of valor,” which is usually taken to mean that caution is better than rash courage or that discretion is the best kind of courage. Only Shakespeare scholars are likely to be annoyed by this usage.
However, those who take “discretion” in this context to mean the quality of being discreet—cautiously quiet—are more likely to annoy their readers.
Much more of a problem are misspellings like “descretion,” “disgression,” “digression,” and “desecration.” Unless you are deliberately punning, stick with “discretion.”
__________
The Week's End Extra from the Archives: "How to verify standard English usage: an explicit guide" (December 11, 2012).
Thursday, April 3, 2014
just so happens/just happen: Common Errors in English Usage Entry for Thursday, April 3, 2014
just so happens/just happen
Traditionally the expression “just so happens” is used only with the subject “it,” with the word “so” providing emphasis: “Thank you for inviting me to your softball game, but it just so happens to be on the same date as my wedding, as you very well know since you are supposed to be my best man.” Expressions such as the following are popular but non-traditional: “I just so happen,” “she just so happens,” “they just so happen,” etc. In each of these cases, the “so” should be omitted.
Traditionally the expression “just so happens” is used only with the subject “it,” with the word “so” providing emphasis: “Thank you for inviting me to your softball game, but it just so happens to be on the same date as my wedding, as you very well know since you are supposed to be my best man.” Expressions such as the following are popular but non-traditional: “I just so happen,” “she just so happens,” “they just so happen,” etc. In each of these cases, the “so” should be omitted.
Wednesday, April 2, 2014
acapella, a capella/a cappella: Common Errors in English Usage Entry for Wednesday, April 2, 2014
acapella, a capella/a cappella
In referring to singing unaccompanied by instruments, the traditional spelling is the Italian one, a cappella: two words, two Ps, two Ls. The Latin spelling a capella is learned, but in the realm of musical terminology, we usually stick with Italian. The one-word spelling “acapella” is widely used by Americans, including by some performing groups, but musical experts generally regard this as an error.
In referring to singing unaccompanied by instruments, the traditional spelling is the Italian one, a cappella: two words, two Ps, two Ls. The Latin spelling a capella is learned, but in the realm of musical terminology, we usually stick with Italian. The one-word spelling “acapella” is widely used by Americans, including by some performing groups, but musical experts generally regard this as an error.
Tuesday, April 1, 2014
blonde/blond: Common Errors in English Usage Entry for Tuesday, April 1, 2014
blonde/blond
Few people will care which spelling you use, but there are some interesting points to observe about “blonde” and “blond.”
In the original French and in traditional English usage, “blonde” is female and “blond” is male: it’s “a blonde woman” and “a blond man.”
Hair itself has no gender in English, but we usually use the female spelling in the phrase “blonde hair.” Similarly, furniture made of light-colored wood is most often referred to as “blonde.”
When someone is referred to as “a blonde” we almost always think of a woman, even if the spelling used is “a blond.” Feminists point out that typically only women are reduced to their hair color in this way, and that it can be offensive. Note that there is a whole category of “blonde jokes” stereotyping these women as air-headed. However, when the word refers specifically to hair color in a useful way, no one is likely to object: “She is a blonde with very light skin, so she has to use a lot of sunscreen.”
Oddly, we rarely use the French masculine spelling brunet. Anyone can have brunette hair, although “brunettes” like “blondes” are usually assumed to be women.
Few people will care which spelling you use, but there are some interesting points to observe about “blonde” and “blond.”
In the original French and in traditional English usage, “blonde” is female and “blond” is male: it’s “a blonde woman” and “a blond man.”
Hair itself has no gender in English, but we usually use the female spelling in the phrase “blonde hair.” Similarly, furniture made of light-colored wood is most often referred to as “blonde.”
When someone is referred to as “a blonde” we almost always think of a woman, even if the spelling used is “a blond.” Feminists point out that typically only women are reduced to their hair color in this way, and that it can be offensive. Note that there is a whole category of “blonde jokes” stereotyping these women as air-headed. However, when the word refers specifically to hair color in a useful way, no one is likely to object: “She is a blonde with very light skin, so she has to use a lot of sunscreen.”
Oddly, we rarely use the French masculine spelling brunet. Anyone can have brunette hair, although “brunettes” like “blondes” are usually assumed to be women.
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