through a mirror, darkly/in a mirror, darkly
Here’s an error with a very distinguished heritage.
When in 1 Corinthians 13:12 Paul tries to express the imperfection of mortal understanding, he compares our earthly vision to the dim and wavery view reflected by a typical Roman-era polished bronze mirror. Unfortunately, the classic King James translation rendered his metaphor rather confusingly as “For now we see through a glass, darkly.” By the time of the Renaissance, mirrors were made of glass and so it was natural for the translators to call the mirror a “glass,” though by so doing they obscured Paul’s point. Why they should have used “through” rather than the more logical “in” is unclear, but it has made many people think that the image is of looking through some kind of magical glass mirror like that in Lewis Carroll’s Through the Looking Glass.
Although most other translations use more accurate phrasing (“as in a mirror,” “a blurred image in a mirror,” etc.), the King James is so influential that its misleading rendering of the verse is overwhelmingly more popular than the more accurate ones. It’s not really an error to quote the KJV, but if you use the image, don’t make the mistake of suggesting it has to do with a dirty window rather than a dim mirror.
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The Week's End Extra from the Archives: "Eggcorns" (April 16, 2012).
Friday, January 31, 2014
Thursday, January 30, 2014
Oriental/Asiatic/Asian: Common Errors in English Usage Entry for Thursday, January 30, 2014
Oriental/Asiatic/Asian
“Oriental” is generally considered old-fashioned now, and many find it offensive. “Asian” is preferred, but not “Asiatic.” It’s better to write the nationality involved, for example “Chinese” or “Indian,” if you know it. “Asian” is often taken to mean exclusively “East Asian,” which irritates South Asian and Central Asian people.
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In his most recent post, Paul Brians talks literally about metaphors and proverbs.
“Oriental” is generally considered old-fashioned now, and many find it offensive. “Asian” is preferred, but not “Asiatic.” It’s better to write the nationality involved, for example “Chinese” or “Indian,” if you know it. “Asian” is often taken to mean exclusively “East Asian,” which irritates South Asian and Central Asian people.
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In his most recent post, Paul Brians talks literally about metaphors and proverbs.
Wednesday, January 29, 2014
practicle/practical : Common Errors in English Usage Entry for Wednesday, January 29, 2014
practicle/practical
Some words end in “-icle” and others in “-ical” without the result being any difference in pronunciation. But when you want somebody really practical, call on good old Al.
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Paul Brians' latest blog posts address the baldfaced/barefaced controversy and some interesting background about bazaar/bizarre.
Some words end in “-icle” and others in “-ical” without the result being any difference in pronunciation. But when you want somebody really practical, call on good old Al.
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Paul Brians' latest blog posts address the baldfaced/barefaced controversy and some interesting background about bazaar/bizarre.
Tuesday, January 28, 2014
center of attraction/center of attention: Common Errors in English Usage Entry for Tuesday, January 28, 2014
center of attraction/center of attention
“Center of attraction” makes perfect sense, but the standard phrase is “center of attention.”
“Center of attraction” makes perfect sense, but the standard phrase is “center of attention.”
Monday, January 27, 2014
crochet/crotchet/crotchety: Common Errors in English Usage Entry for Monday, January 27, 2014
crochet/crotchet/crotchety
Although all of these words are derived from a common ancestor meaning “hook” and are related to “crook,” they have taken on different meanings in modern English. Those who do needlework with a crochet hook crochet. Your peculiar notions are your crotchets. And a crabby old person like Bob Cratchit’s boss is crotchety. There are various other technical uses for “crotchet,” but people who use them usually know the correct spelling. Just remember that “crochet” goes only with goods made with a crochet hook.
Although all of these words are derived from a common ancestor meaning “hook” and are related to “crook,” they have taken on different meanings in modern English. Those who do needlework with a crochet hook crochet. Your peculiar notions are your crotchets. And a crabby old person like Bob Cratchit’s boss is crotchety. There are various other technical uses for “crotchet,” but people who use them usually know the correct spelling. Just remember that “crochet” goes only with goods made with a crochet hook.
Friday, January 24, 2014
phrasal verbs vs. nouns: The Weekend Edition—Common Errors in English Usage Entry for Friday–Sunday, January 24–26, 2014
phrasal verbs vs. nouns
Phrasal verbs make up a huge category of expressions in English that careless users often misspell by substituting one-word noun forms for the standard two-word phrasal verb; for instance: it would have been a mistake for me to have written “Phrasal verbs makeup a huge category.” It is fine to write “I didn’t want to put on my makeup” (“makeup” is a noun) or “I had to take the makeup exam.” (In this example “makeup” is a noun acting like an adjective modifying another noun—“exam.” What kind of exam was it? A makeup exam.) Such nouns are often hyphenated, at least early in their history (it used to be common to write “make-up exam,” and that is still fine); but there is a strong tendency for such hyphenated forms to evolve into single words. If both versions are current, the hyphenated form is usually the more formal one.
Most phrasal verbs consist of a verb and adverb combined. Note that some of the adverbs involved can also function as prepositions, but don’t let this confuse you. In the phrase “cool down the broth” “down” is an adverb. Some do actually consist of a verb and a preposition, but these rarely cause problems. You aren’t likely to write “would you lookafter my cat while I’m gone?”
If the word involved is immediately preceded by “a,” “an,” or “the,” you probably need the one-word noun form. If it’s immediately preceded by “to,” you probably need the two-word phrasal verb. If you’re tempted to use a one-word spelling elsewhere, try using a two-word or hyphenated form instead. If it looks better, it probably is.
The Week's End Extra from the Archives: "Screening for 'Screed Door'" (June 22, 2012).
Phrasal verbs make up a huge category of expressions in English that careless users often misspell by substituting one-word noun forms for the standard two-word phrasal verb; for instance: it would have been a mistake for me to have written “Phrasal verbs makeup a huge category.” It is fine to write “I didn’t want to put on my makeup” (“makeup” is a noun) or “I had to take the makeup exam.” (In this example “makeup” is a noun acting like an adjective modifying another noun—“exam.” What kind of exam was it? A makeup exam.) Such nouns are often hyphenated, at least early in their history (it used to be common to write “make-up exam,” and that is still fine); but there is a strong tendency for such hyphenated forms to evolve into single words. If both versions are current, the hyphenated form is usually the more formal one.
Most phrasal verbs consist of a verb and adverb combined. Note that some of the adverbs involved can also function as prepositions, but don’t let this confuse you. In the phrase “cool down the broth” “down” is an adverb. Some do actually consist of a verb and a preposition, but these rarely cause problems. You aren’t likely to write “would you lookafter my cat while I’m gone?”
If the word involved is immediately preceded by “a,” “an,” or “the,” you probably need the one-word noun form. If it’s immediately preceded by “to,” you probably need the two-word phrasal verb. If you’re tempted to use a one-word spelling elsewhere, try using a two-word or hyphenated form instead. If it looks better, it probably is.
The Week's End Extra from the Archives: "Screening for 'Screed Door'" (June 22, 2012).
Thursday, January 23, 2014
exception proves the rule: Common Errors in English Usage Entry for Thursday, January 23, 2014
exception proves the rule
The Latin original of this saying dates back over two millennia to Cicero. It means if you make an exception to a rule, a rule must exist. If you say “in case of fire students may use the emergency exits” it is clear that the rule is that normally students are not supposed to use those exits. Few people understand this point and they misuse the phrase “the exception proves the rule” to mean that a rule is not really a rule unless there is an exception to it. This makes no sense. It’s better to simply avoid this misleading phrase.
The Latin original of this saying dates back over two millennia to Cicero. It means if you make an exception to a rule, a rule must exist. If you say “in case of fire students may use the emergency exits” it is clear that the rule is that normally students are not supposed to use those exits. Few people understand this point and they misuse the phrase “the exception proves the rule” to mean that a rule is not really a rule unless there is an exception to it. This makes no sense. It’s better to simply avoid this misleading phrase.
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