Write It Right. A Little Blacklist of Literary Faults

by Ambrose Bierce

  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.

  Poisonous for Venomous

  Hemlock is poisonous, but a rattlesnake is venomous.

  Politics

  The word is not plural because it happens to end with s.

  Possess for Have

  "To possess knowledge is to possess power." Possess is lacking in naturalness and unduly emphasizes the concept of ownership.

  Practically for Virtually

  This error is very common. "It is practically conceded." "The decision was practically unanimous." "The panther and the cougar are practically the same animal." These and similar misapplications of the word are virtually without excuse.

  Predicate for Found, or Base

  "I predicate my argument on universal experience." What is predicated of something is affirmed as an attribute of it, as omnipotence is predicated of the Deity.

  Prejudice for Prepossession

  Literally, a prejudice is merely a prejudgment – a decision before evidence – and may be favorable or unfavorable, but it is so much more frequently used in the latter sense than in the former that clarity is better got by the other word for reasonless approval.

  Preparedness for Readiness

  An awkward and needless word much used in discussion of national armaments, as, "Our preparedness for war."

  Preside

  "Professor Swackenhauer presided at the piano." "The deviled crab table was presided over by Mrs. Dooley." How would this sound? "The ginger pop stand was under the administration of President Woolwit, and Professor Sooffle presided at the flute."

  Pretend for Profess

  "I do not pretend to be infallible." Of course not; one does not care to confess oneself a pretender. To pretend is to try to deceive; one may profess quite honestly.

  Preventative for Preventive

  No such word as preventative.

  Previous for Previously

  "The man died previous to receipt of the letter."

  Prior to for Before

  Stilted.

  Propose for Purpose, or Intend

  "I propose to go to Europe." A mere intention is not a proposal.

  Proposition for Proposal

  "He made a proposition." In current slang almost anything is a proposition. A difficult enterprise is "a tough proposition," an agile wrestler, "a slippery proposition," and so forth.

  Proportions for Dimensions

  "A rock of vast proportions." Proportions relate to form; dimensions to magnitude.

  Proven for Proved

  Good Scotch, but bad English.

  Proverbial for Familiar

  "The proverbial dog in the manger." The animal is not "proverbial" for it is not mentioned in a proverb, but in a fable.

  Quit for Cease, Stop

  "Jones promises to quit drinking." In another sense, too, the word is commonly misused, as, "He has quit the town." Say, quitted.

  Quite

  "She is quite charming." If it is meant that she is entirely charming this is right, but usually the meaning intended to be conveyed is less than that – that she is rather, or somewhat, charming.

  Raise for Bring up, Grow, Breed, etc

  In this country a word-of-all-work: "raise children," "raise wheat," "raise cattle." Children are brought up, grain, hay and vegetables are grown, animals and poultry are bred.

  Real for Really, or Very

  "It is real good of him." "The weather was real cold."

  Realize for Conceive, or Comprehend

  "I could not realize the situation." Writers caring for precision use this word in the sense of to make real, not to make seem real. A dream seems real, but is actually realized when made to come true.

  Recollect for Remember

  To remember is to have in memory; to recollect is to recall what has escaped from memory. We remember automatically; in recollecting we make a conscious effort.

  Redeem for Retrieve

  "He redeemed his good name." Redemption (Latin redemptio, from re and dimere) is allied to ransom, and carries the sense of buying back; whereas to retrieve is merely to recover what
was lost.

  Redound for Conduce

  "A man's honesty redounds to his advantage." We make a better use of the word if we say of one (for example) who has squandered a fortune, that its loss redounds to his advantage, for the word denotes a fluctuation, as from seeming evil to actual good; as villification may direct attention to one's excellent character.

  Refused

  "He was refused a crown." It is the crown that was refused to him. See Given.

  Regular for Natural, or Customary

  "Flattery of the people is the demagogue's regular means to political preferment." Regular properly relates to a rule (regula) more definite than the law of antecedent and consequent.

  Reliable for Trusty, or Trustworthy

  A word not yet admitted to the vocabulary of the fastidious, but with a strong backing for the place.

  Remit for Send

  "On receiving your bill I will remit the money." Remit does not mean that; it means give back, yield up, relinquish, etc. It means, also, to cancel, as in the phrase, the remission of sins.

  Rendition for Interpretation, or Performance

  "The actor's rendition of the part was good." Rendition means a surrender, or a giving back.

  Reportorial

  A vile word, improperly made. It assumes the Latinized spelling, "reporter." The Romans had not the word, for they were, fortunately for them, without the thing.

  Repudiate for Deny

  "He repudiated the accusation."

  Reside for Live

  "They reside in Hohokus." Stilted.

  Residence for Dwelling, or House

  See Mansion.

  Respect for Way, or Matter

  "They were alike in that respect." The misuse comes of abbreviating: the sentence properly written might be, They were alike in respect of that – i.e., with regard to that. The word in the bad sense has even been pluralized: "In many respects it is admirable."

  Respective

  "They went to their respective homes." The adjective here (if an adjective is thought necessary) should be several. In the adverbial form the word is properly used in the sentence following: John and James are bright and dull, respectively. That is, John is bright and James dull.

  Responsible

  "The bad weather is responsible for much sickness." "His intemperance was responsible for his crime." Responsibility is not an attribute of anything but human beings, and few of these can respond, in damages or otherwise. Responsible is nearly synonymous with accountable and answerable, which, also, are frequently misused.

  Restive for Restless

  These words have directly contrary meanings; the dictionaries' disallowance of their identity would be something to be thankful for, but that is a dream.

  Retire for Go to Bed

  English of the "genteel" sort. See Genteel.

  Rev. for The Rev

  "Rev. Dr. Smith."

  Reverence for Revere

  Ride for Drive

  On horseback one does drive, and in a vehicle one does ride, but a distinction is needed here, as in England; so, here as there, we may profitably make it, riding in the saddle and driving in the carriage.

  Roomer for Lodger

  See Bedder and Mealer – if you can find them.

  Round for About

  "They stood round." See Around.

  Ruination for Ruin

  Questionably derived and problematically needful.

  Run for Manage, or Conduct

  Vulgar – hardly better than slang.

  Say for Voice

  "He had no say in determining the matter." Vulgar.

  Scholar for Student, or Pupil

  A scholar is a person who is learned, not a person who is learning.

  Score for Win, Obtain, etc

  "He scored an advantage over his opponent." To score is not to win a point, but to record it.

  Second-handed for Second-hand

  There is no such word.

  Secure for Procure

  "He secured a position as book-keeper." "The dwarf secured a stick and guarded the jewels that he had found." Then it was the jewels that were secured.

  Seldom ever

  A most absurd locution.

  Self-confessed

  "A self-confessed assassin." Self is superfluous: one's sins cannot be confessed by another.

  Sensation for Emotion

  "The play caused a great sensation." "A sensational newspaper." A sensation is a physical feeling; an emotion, a mental. Doubtless the one usually accompanies the other, but the good writer will name the one that he has in mind, not the other. There are few errors more common than the one here noted.

  Sense for Smell

  "She sensed the fragrance of roses." Society English.

  Set for Sit

  "A setting hen."

  Settee for Settle

  This word belongs to the peasantry of speech.

  Settle for Pay

  "Settle the bill." "I shall take it now and settle for it later."

  Shades for Shade

  "Shades of Noah! how it rained!" "O shades of Caesar!" A shade is a departed soul, as conceived by the ancients; one to each mortal part is the proper allowance.

  Show for Chance, or Opportunity

  "He didn't stand a show." Say, He had no chance.

  Sick for Ill

  Good usage now limits this word to cases of nausea, but it is still legitimate in sickly, sickness, love-sick, and the like.

  Side for Agree, or Stand

  "I side with the Democrats." "He always sided with what he thought right."

  Sideburns for Burnsides

  A form of whiskers named from a noted general of the civil war, Ambrose E. Burnside. It seems to be thought that the word side has something to do with it, and that as an adjective it should come first, according to our idiom.

  Side-hill for Hillside

  A reasonless transposition for which it is impossible to assign a cause, unless it is abbreviated from side o' the hill.

  Sideways for Sidewise

  See Endways.

  Since for Ago

  "He came here not long since and died."

  Smart for Bright, or Able

  An Americanism that is dying out. But "smart" has recently come into use for fashionable, which is almost as bad.

  Snap for Period (of time) or Spell

  "A cold snap." This is a word of incomprehensible origin in that sense; we can know only that its parents were not respectable. "Spell" is itself not very well-born.

  So – as

  See As – as.

  So for True

  "If you see it in the Daily Livercomplaint it is so." "Is that so?" Colloquial and worse.

  Solemnize

  This word rightly means to make solemn, not to perform, or celebrate, ceremoniously something already solemn, as a marriage, or a mass. We have no exact synonym, but this explains, rather than justifies, its use.

  Some for Somewhat

  "He was hurt some."

  Soon for Willingly

  "I would as soon go as stay." "That soldier would sooner eat than fight." Say, rather eat.

  Space for Period

  "A long space of time." Space is so different a thing from time that the two do not go well together.

  Spend for Pass

  "We shall spend the summer in Europe." Spend denotes a voluntary relinquishment, but time goes from us against our will.

  Square for Block

  "He lives three squares away." A city block is seldom square.

  Squirt for Spurt

  Absurd.

  Stand and Stand for for Endure

  "The patient stands pain well." "He would not stand for misrepresentation."

  Standpoint for Point of View, or Viewpoint

  State for Say

  "He stated that he came from Chicago." "It is stated that the president is angry." We state a proposition, or a principle, but say that we are well. And we say our prayers – some of us.

 
; Still Continue

  "The rain still continues." Omit still; it is contained in the other word.

  Stock

  "I take no stock in it." Disagreeably commercial. Say, I have no faith in it. Many such metaphorical expressions were unobjectionable, even pleasing, in the mouth of him who first used them, but by constant repetition by others have become mere slang, with all the offensiveness of plagiarism. The prime objectionableness of slang is its hideous lack of originality. Until mouth-worn it is not slang.