Complete Works of Ambrose Bierce (Delphi Classics)

by Ambrose Bierce

Indorse. See Endorse.

  Insane Asylum. Obviously an asylum cannot be unsound in mind. Say, asylum for the insane.

  In Spite of. In most instances it is better to say despite.

  Inside of. Omit the preposition.

  Insignificant for Trivial, or Small. Insignificant means not signifying anything, and should be used only in contrast, expressed or implied, with something that is important for what it implies. The bear’s tail may be insignificant to a naturalist tracing the animal’s descent from an earlier species, but to the rest of us, not concerned with the matter, it is merely small.

  Insoluble for Unsolvable. Use the former word for material substances, the latter for problems.

  Inst., Prox., Ult. These abbreviations of instante mense (in the present month), proximo mense (in the next month) and ultimo mense (in the last month), are serviceable enough in commercial correspondence, but, like A.M., P.M. and many other contractions of Latin words, could profitably be spared from literature.

  Integrity for Honesty. The word means entireness, wholeness. It may be rightly used to affirm possession of all the virtues, that is, unity of moral character.

  Involve for Entail. “Proof of the charges will involve his dismissal.” Not at all; it will entail it. To involve is, literally, to infold, not to bring about, nor cause to ensue. An unofficial investigation, for example, may involve character and reputation, but the ultimate consequence is entailed. A question, in the parliamentary sense, may involve a principle; its settlement one way or another may entail expense, or injury to interests. An act may involve one’s honor and entail disgrace.

  It for So. “Going into the lion’s cage is dangerous; you should not do it.” Do so is the better expression, as a rule, for the word it is a pronoun, meaning a thing, or object, and therefore incapable of being done. Colloquially we may say do it, or do this, or do that, but in serious written discourse greater precision is desirable, and is better obtained, in most cases, by use of the adverb.

  Item for Brief Article. Commonly used of a narrative in a newspaper. Item connotes an aggregate of which it is a unit — one thing of many. Hence it suggests more than we may wish to direct attention to.

  Jackies for Sailors. Vulgar, and especially offensive to seamen.

  Jeopardize for Imperil, or Endanger. The correct word is jeopard, but in any case there is no need for anything so farfetched and stilted.

  Juncture. Juncture means a joining, a junction; its use to signify a time, however critical a time, is absurd. “At this juncture the woman screamed.” In reading that account of it we scream too.

  Just Exactly. Nothing is gained in strength nor precision by this kind of pleonasm. Omit just.

  Juvenile for Child. This needless use of the adjective for the noun is probably supposed to be humorous, like “canine” for dog, “optic” for eye, “anatomy” for body, and the like. Happily the offense is not very common.

  Kind of a for Kind of. “He was that kind of a man.” Say that kind of man. Man here is generic, and a genus comprises many kinds. But there cannot be more than one kind of one thing. Kind of followed by an adjective, as, “kind of good,” is almost too gross for censure.

  Landed Estate for Property in Land. Dreadful!

  Last and Past. “Last week.” “The past week.” Neither is accurate: a week cannot be the last if another is already begun; and all weeks except this one are past. Here two wrongs seem to make a right: we can say the week last past. But will we? I trow not.

  Later on. On is redundant; say, later.

  Laundry. Meaning a place where clothing is washed, this word cannot mean, also, clothing sent there to be washed.

  Lay (to place) for Lie (to recline). “The ship lays on her side.” A more common error is made in the past tense, as, “He laid down on the grass.” The confusion comes of the identity of a present tense of the transitive verb to lay and the past tense of the intransitive verb to lie.

  Leading Question. A leading question is not necessarily an important one; it is one that is so framed as to suggest, or lead to, the answer desired. Few others than lawyers use the term correctly.

  Lease. To say of a man that he leases certain premises leaves it doubtful whether he is lessor or lessee. Being ambiguous, the word should be used with caution.

  Leave for Go away. “He left yesterday.” Leave is a transitive verb; name the place of departure.

  Leave for Let. “Leave it alone.” By this many persons mean, not that it is to be left in solitude, but that it is to be untouched, or unmolested.

  Lengthways for Lengthwise.

  Lengthy. Usually said in disparagement of some wearisome discourse. It is no better than breadthy, or thicknessy.

  Leniency for Lenity. The words are synonymous, but the latter is the better.

  Less for Fewer. “The regiment had less than five hundred men.” Less relates to quantity, fewer, to number.

  Limited for Small, Inadequate, etc. “The army’s operations were confined to a limited area.” “We had a limited supply of food.” A large area and an adequate supply would also be limited. Everything that we know about is limited.

  Liable for Likely. “Man is liable to err.” Man is not liable to err, but to error. Liable should be followed, not by an infinitive, but by a preposition.

  Like for As, or As if. “The matter is now like it was.” “The house looked like it would fall.”

  Likely for Probably. “He will likely be elected.” If likely is thought the better word (and in most cases it is) put it this way: “It is likely that he will be elected,” or, “He is likely to be elected.”

  Line for Kind, or Class. “This line of goods.” Leave the word to “salesladies” and “salesgentlemen.” “That line of business.” Say, that business.

  Literally for Figuratively. “The stream was literally alive with fish.” “His eloquence literally swept the audience from its feet.” It is bad enough to exaggerate, but to affirm the truth of the exaggeration is intolerable.

  Loan for Lend. “I loaned him ten dollars.” We lend, but the act of lending, or, less literally, the thing lent, is a loan.

  Locate. “After many removals the family located at Smithville.” Some dictionaries give locate as an intransitive verb having that meaning, but — well, dictionaries are funny.

  Lots, or a Lot, for Much, or Many. “Lots of things.” “A lot of talk.”

  Love for Like. “I love to travel.” “I love apples.” Keep the stronger word for a stronger feeling.

  Lunch for Luncheon. But do not use luncheon as a verb.

  Mad for Angry. An Americanism of lessening prevalence. It is probable that anger is a kind of madness (insanity), but that is not what the misusers of the word mad mean to affirm.

  Maintain for Contend. “The senator maintained that the tariff was iniquitous.” He maintained it only if he proved it.

  Majority for Plurality. Concerning votes cast in an election, a majority is more than half the total; a plurality is the excess of one candidate’s votes over another’s. Commonly the votes compared are those for the successful candidate and those for his most nearly successful competitor.

  Make for Earn. “He makes fifty dollars a month by manual labor.”

  Mansion for Dwelling, or House. Usually mere hyperbole, a lamentable fault of our national literature. Even our presidents, before Roosevelt, called their dwelling the Executive Mansion.

  Masculine for Male. See Feminine.

  Mend for Repair. “They mended the road.” To mend is to repair, but to repair is not always to mend. A stocking is mended, a road repaired.

  Meet for Meeting. This belongs to the language of sport, which persons of sense do not write — nor read.

  Militate. “Negligence militates against success.” If “militate” meant anything it would mean fight, but there is no such word.

  Mind for Obey. This is a reasonless extension of one legitimate meaning of mind, namely, to heed, to give attention.

  Minus for Lacking, or W
ithout. “After the battle he was minus an ear.” It is better in serious composition to avoid such alien words as have vernacular equivalents.

  Mistaken for Mistake. “You are mistaken.” For whom? Say, You mistake.

  Monarch for King, Emperor, or Sovereign. Not only hyperbolical, but inaccurate. There is not a monarch in Christendom.

  Moneyed for Wealthy. “The moneyed men of New York.” One might as sensibly say, “The cattled men of Texas,” or, “The lobstered men of the fish market.”

  Most for Almost. “The apples are most all gone.” “The returning travelers were most home.”

  Moved for Removed. “The family has moved to another house.” “The Joneses were moving.”

  Mutual. By this word we express a reciprocal relation. It implies exchange, a giving and taking, not a mere possessing in common. There can be a mutual affection, or a mutual hatred, but not a mutual friend, nor a mutual horse.

  Name for Title and Name. “His name was Mr. Smith.” Surely no babe was ever christened Mister.

  Necessaries for Means. “Bread and meat are necessaries of life.” Not so; they are the mere means, for one can, and many do, live comfortably without them. Food and drink are necessaries of life, but particular kinds of food and drink are not.

  Necessities for Necessaries. “Necessities of life are those things without which we cannot live.”

  Née. Feminine of né, born. “Mrs. Jones, née Lucy Smith.” She could hardly have been christened before her birth. If you must use the French word say, née Smith.

  Negotiate. From the Latin negotium. It means, as all know, to fix the terms for a transaction, to bargain. But when we say, “The driver negotiated a difficult turn of the road,” or, “The chauffeur negotiated a hill,” we speak nonsense.

  Neither — or for Neither — nor. “Neither a cat or fish has wool.” Always after neither use nor.

  New Beginner for Beginner.

  Nice for Good, or Agreeable. “A nice girl.” Nice means fastidious, delicately discriminative, and the like. Pope uses the word admirably of a dandy who was skilled in the nice conduct [management] of a clouded cane.

  Noise for Sound. “A noise like a flute”; “a noise of twittering birds,” etc. A noise is a loud or disagreeable sound, or combination or succession of sounds.

  None. Usually, and in most cases, singular; as, None has come. But it is not singular because it always means not one, for frequently it does not, as, The bottle was full of milk, but none is left. When it refers to numbers, not quantity, popular usage stubbornly insists that it is plural, and at least one respectable authority says that as a singular it is offensive. One is sorry to be offensive to a good man.

  No Use. “He tried to smile, but it was no use.” Say, of no use, or, less colloquially, in vain.

  Novel for Romance. In a novel there is at least an apparent attention to considerations of probability; it is a narrative of what might occur. Romance flies with a free wing and owns no allegiance to likelihood. Both are fiction, both works of imagination, but should not be confounded. They are as distinct as beast and bird.

  Numerous for Many. Rightly used, numerous relates to numbers, but does not imply a great number. A correct use is seen in the term numerous verse — verse consisting of poetic numbers; that is, rhythmical feet.

  Obnoxious for Offensive. Obnoxious means exposed to evil. A soldier in battle is obnoxious to danger.

  Occasion for Induce, or Cause. “His arrival occasioned a great tumult.” As a verb, the word is needless and unpleasing.

  Occasional Poems. These are not, as so many authors and compilers seem to think, poems written at irregular and indefinite intervals, but poems written for occasions, such as anniversaries, festivals, celebrations and the like.

  Of Any for Of All. “The greatest poet of any that we have had.”

  Offhanded and Offhandedly. Offhand is both adjective and adverb; these are bastard forms.

  On the Street. A street comprises the roadway and the buildings at each side. Say, in the street. He lives in Broadway.

  One Another for Each Other. See Each Other.

  Only. “He only had one.” Say, He had only one, or, better, one only. The other sentence might be taken to mean that only he had one; that, indeed, is what it distinctly says. The correct placing of only in a sentence requires attention and skill.

  Opine for Think. The word is not very respectably connected.

  Opposite for Contrary. “I hold the opposite opinion.” “The opposite practice.”

  Or for Nor. Probably our most nearly universal solecism. “I cannot see the sun or the moon.” This means that I am unable to see one of them, though I may see the other. By using nor, I affirm the invisibility of both, which is what I wanted to do. If a man is not white or black he may nevertheless be a Negro or a Caucasian; but if he is not white nor black he belongs to some other race. See Neither.

  Ordinarily for Usually. Clumsy.

  Ovation. In ancient Rome an ovation was an inferior triumph accorded to victors in minor wars or unimportant battle. Its character and limitations, like those of the triumph, were strictly defined by law and custom. An enthusiastic demonstration in honor of an American civilian is nothing like that, and should not be called by its name.

  Over for About, In, or Concerning. “Don’t cry over spilt milk.” “He rejoiced over his acquittal.”

  Over for More than. “A sum of over ten thousand dollars.” “Upward of ten thousand dollars” is equally objectionable.

  Over for On. “The policeman struck him over the head.” If the blow was over the head it did not hit him.

  Over with. “Let us have it over with.” Omit with. A better expression is, Let us get done with it.

  Outside of. Omit the preposition.

  Pair for Pairs. If a word has a good plural use each form in its place.

  Pants for Trousers. Abbreviated from pantaloons, which are no longer worn. Vulgar exceedingly.

  Partially for Partly. A dictionary word, to swell the book.

  Party for Person. “A party named Brown.” The word, used in that sense, has the excuse that it is a word. Otherwise it is no better than “pants” and “gent.” A person making an agreement, however, is a party to that agreement.

  Patron for Customer.

  Pay for Give, Make, etc. “He pays attention.” “She paid a visit to Niagara.” It is conceivable that one may owe attention or a visit to another person, but one cannot be indebted to a place.

  Pay. “Laziness does not pay.” “It does not pay to be uncivil.” This use of the word is grossly commercial. Say, Indolence is unprofitable. There is no advantage in incivility.

  Peek for Peep. Seldom heard in England, though common here. “I peeked out through the curtain and saw him.” That it is a variant of peep is seen in the child’s word peek-a-boo, equivalent to bo-peep. Better use the senior word.

  Peculiar for Odd, or Unusual. Also sometimes used to denote distinction, or particularity. Properly a thing is peculiar only to another thing, of which it is characteristic, nothing else having it; as knowledge of the use of fire is peculiar to Man.

  People for Persons. “Three people were killed.” “Many people are superstitious.” People has retained its parity of meaning with the Latin populus, whence it comes, and the word is not properly used except to designate a population, or large fractions of it considered in the mass. To speak of any stated or small number of persons as people is incorrect.

  Per. “Five dollars per day.” “Three per hundred.” Say, three dollars a day; three in a hundred. If you must use the Latin preposition use the Latin noun too: per diem; per centum.

  Perpetually for Continually. “The child is perpetually asking questions.” What is done perpetually is done continually and forever.

  Phenomenal for Extraordinary, or Surprising. Everything that occurs is phenomenal, for all that we know about is phenomena, appearances. Of realities, noumena, we are ignorant.

  Plead (pronounced “pled”
) for Pleaded. “He plead guilty.”

  Plenty for Plentiful. “Fish and fowl were plenty.”

  Poetess. A foolish word, like “authoress.”

  Poetry for Verse. Not all verse is poetry; not all poetry is verse. Few persons can know, or hope to know, the one from the other, but he who has the humility to doubt (if such a one there be) should say verse if the composition is metrical.

  Point Blank. “He fired at him point blank.” This usually is intended to mean directly, or at short range. But point blank means the point at which the line of sight is crossed downward by the trajectory — the curve described by the missile.