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Grammar Tip of the Week
message 51:
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Ruth
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Feb 05, 2015 09:12AM
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I know you are busy, so it is very kind of you to take the time. I know I appreciate it.
Mod
elegy -- a mournful song or poem
eulogy -- a funeral oration or, by extension, a laudatory speech
source: Garner's Modern American Usage
Funny, my Merriam Webster from 1995 says of "alright": "a spelling not yet considered acceptable" 20 years later it seems that it still is not considered acceptable, although it has an entry in the dictionary. I like it though because it's shorter and before I have read this thread it never occured to me that it could be wrong.
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PORTMANTEAU WORDS -- "Lewis Carroll improvised this term to denote words formed by combining the sounds and meanings of two different words.... Carroll gave us chortle (chortle + snort) and galumph (gallop + triumph)."
Other examples:
Amerasian (American + Asian)
breathalyzer (breath + analyzer)
emoticon (emotion + icon)
Franglais (Francais + Anglais)
jazzercise (jazz + exercise)
motel (motor + hotel)
simulcast (simultaneous + broadcast)
smog (smoke + fog)
televangelist (television + evangelist)
source: Garner's Modern American Usage
Care to make up your own...?
Has "disrespect" always been a verb or it it something new?
Mod
Disrespect, then, is something old (like me).
"Called out of retirement." That explaines why it sounded new to me. Thanks.
Mod
et al. "Et al." is the abbreviated form of the Latin phrase et alii (= and others), which is used only in reference to people, whereas etc. is used in reference to things. Since alii is abbreviated, it always takes a period. But American writers commonly mispunctuate it et al, et. al. or et. al -- all wrong."
Despite its appearance above, it should not be italicized. It is best confined to lists, parenthetical matter, and citations.
source: Garner's Modern American Usage
Mod
et al. "Et al." is the abbreviated form of the Latin phrase et alii (= and others), which is used only in reference to people, whereas etc. is used in reference to things. Since al..."
Just learned something new.
Me too. Very interesting. Had never thought about the people and thing difference. Knew it though... come to think about it. Fascinating, how much we absorb of a second language which we speak only some of the time.
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assure; ensure; insure
"A person assures (makes promises to, convinces) other people...; a person ensures (makes certain) that things occur or that events take place.... To put it a little technically, if the verb is in the active voice, a predicate beginning with that should be introduced by the verb ensure.
"Insure should be restricted to financial contexts involving indemnification; it should refer to what insurance companies do.... Intransitively, insure is commonly followed by the preposition against (insure against loss); it may also be used transitively (insure one's valuables)."
source: Garner's Modern American Usage
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archetype; prototype
"These words are close in meaning, but a distinction between them should be encouraged. As commonly used, archetype means "an ideal, a standard or typical example," and most often applies to living things, especially human characteristics (Mother Teresa was an archetype of benevolence). Prototype, by contrast, means "the original type that has served as a model for successors"; it most often refers to a physical model of a mechanical invention (the investors may want to see a prototype).
"Inconsistently enough, the corresponding adjectives are archetypal and prototypical. The several by-forms (archetypic, archetypical, prototypal, and prototypic) are needless variants."
source: Garner's Modern American Usage
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beyond the pale
"This phrase, which means "bizarre, outside the bounds of civilized behavior," derives from the legal sense of pale from English history ('a district or territory within specific bounds, or subject to a particular jurisdiction'). In medieval Ireland, the district around Dublin, settled by the English and considered a law-abiding area, was known as the Pale or within the Pale. The land beyond that area was characterized as wild 'bandit country.' Today, whatever is beyond the pale is a forbidden area or subject."
source: Garner's Modern American Usage
I need to get a volume of Garner's.If I were a disparate, would I be lauded to go "within the pale"? Does that phrase exist or is it assumed?
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Sun., Feb. 15
causality; causation
"These words have a fine distinction. Causality = the principle of causal relationship; the relation of cause and effect (causality is a very large subject in philosophy).
"Causation = (1) the causing or producing of an effect (multiple causation complicates the analysis); or (2) the relation of cause and effect (the principles of causation weren't even considered). True, sense 2 of causation overlaps with the meaning of causality. But generally that sense is best left to causality.
"Causation should not be used for cause -- e.g. 'Similarly, if affirmative action was the causation [read cause] of White male labor displacement, the unemployment statistics would reflect such displacement.' Byron A. Ellis, 'The Displacement Myth,' Baltimore Afro-Am., 5 Aug. 1995, at A5."
source: Garner's Modern American Usage
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sensuous; sensual
"Although these words derive from the same root (sens-, meaning "appeal to the senses"), they have undergone differentiation. Sensuous = of or relating to the five senses; arousing any of the five senses. The word properly has no risqué connotations, though it is gravely distorted by hack novelists...
"Sensual = relating to gratification of the senses, esp. sexual; salacious; voluptuous (sensual desires). This is the word intended by the hack novelists who erroneously believe that sensuous carries sexy overtones."
Source: Garner's Modern American Usage
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empathy; sympathy
"Empathy is the ability to imagine oneself in another person's position and to experience all the sensations connected with it. Sympathy is compassion for or commiseration with another."
source: Garner's Modern American Usage
Newengland wrote: "Tues., Feb. 17empathy; sympathy
"Empathy is the ability to imagine oneself in another person's position and to experience all the sensations connected with it. Sympathy is compassion for or comm..."
Can you have sympathy for yourself?
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metonymy
"The use of a word or phrase to represent not just what it denotes but something it is closely associated with; specifically, a metaphor by which something related to another thing becomes the word for that other thing. For example, the Beltway refers to political Washington; Broadway refers to the New York theater; the Crown refers to a monarchy; gray hairs refers to old age; Wall Street refers to investments for American stock markets."
adjective form = metonymic
source: Garner's Modern American Usage
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morpheme
"The smallest meaningful unit of a language; a word or part of a word that cannot be divided into smaller parts. For instance outgoing can be broken down into the preposition out, the verb go, and the suffix -ing, but none of those components can be further broken down, so they are morphemes. The word girls consists of two morphemes: girl and the plural suffix -s. But mahogany cannot be divided into smaller meaningful units."
source: Garner's Modern American Usage
I can never remember the difference between metonymy and synecdoche.
Mod
synecdoche
"A metaphor by which a part of something refers to the whole of it, or the whole for the part... Thus wheels can refer to a car, threads to a suit, blades to ice skates, and breaking bread to having a meal."
Source: Garner's Modern American Usage
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neither
"As a pronoun, neither is construed as a singular. That is, it should take a singular verb, and any word for which neither is an antecedent should also be singular. Thus, neither of the offers was a good one is grammatically better than neither of the offers were good ones."
source: Garner's Modern American Usage
But it sounds awkward to the ear, at least to me.
Mod
Ah, I get it now. Duh what a dunce I am. Thanks for the clarification. Can't blame my teachers for my lack of interest.
Mod
unique
"The best known incomparable adjective is unique. Because something is either unique or not unique, there can be no degrees of uniqueness. Hence more unique and very unique are incorrect. Yet something may be almost unique or not quite unique -- if, for example, there were two such things extant. The Hope Diamond is unique; a Gutenberg Bible is almost unique. The diamond is not 'more unique,' though."
source: Garner's Modern American Usage
Thank you NE for the clarification. Examples help.
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unique
"The best known incomparable adjective is unique. Because something is either unique or not unique, there can be no degrees of uniqueness. ..."
Very unique sets my teeth on edge, and you hear it all the time.
Mod
If one word does the job, why would you use two or more? Redundancies to avoid:
absolute necessity
actual fact
advance planning
basic fundamentals
brief respite
closely scrutinize
collaborate together
combine together
completely full
connect together
consensus of opinion
entirely eliminate
fellow colleagues
few in number
free gift
future forecast
future plans
general consensus of opinion
interact with each other
many... abound
merge together
mingle together
mix together
mutual advantage of both
new innovation
new recruit
pair of twins
pause for a moment
plead a plea
pooled together
reason is because
reelected for another term
refer back
regress back
serious crisis
still continues to
surrounded on all sides
temporary reprieve
throughout the entire
unfilled vacancy
visible to the eye
List thanks to Garner's Modern American Usage
Mod
Ruth wrote: "Plus the message I got at the gas pump one day. PLEASE REINSERT CARD AGAIN"Good one.
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ratiocination vs. rationalization
Ratiocination (rash-ee-os-e-nay-shen) = the process or act of reasoning.
Rationalization = (1) an act or instance of explaining (away) by bringing into conformity with reason; or (2) (colloquial) the finding of "reasons" for irrational or unworthy behavior. Sense 2 is responsible for the negative connotations of the word.
source: Garner's Modern American Usage
I am envious.I am jealous.
Hey NE, I could use a little help with this one.
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enviable vs. envious
That which is enviable arouses envy or is at least worthy of it. A person who is envious feels or is struck by envy. Envious usually takes the preposition of (envious of her sister's success), but historically has also taken against or at.
jealousy vs. envy
The careful writer distinguishes between these terms. Jealousy is properly restricted to contexts involving emotional rivalry; envy is used more broadly of resentful contemplation of a more fortunate person.
source: Garner's Modern American Usage
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pique verb... (1) to irritate; or (2) to excite or arouse. The most common phrase in sense 2 is pique one's interest.
Pronounced like "peak."
source: Garner's Modern American Usage
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pitiable vs. pitiful vs. piteous vs. pitiless
Pitiable = calling for or arousing pity. E.g.: "Most interesting is the resourcefulness of the little girl, who manages to engage her captor -- who is equal parts monster and pitiable child -- skillful enough to keep herself alive." Chris Petrakos, "A Peach of a Puzzle on Plum Island" Chicago Trib. 18 May 1997.
Etymologically pitiful means "feeling pity," but in modern speech and writing it is almost always used in the sense "contemptible" -- e.g. "How offensive. How disgusting. And what a pitiful way for a serious process to start." Editorial, "Recall Petition Is No Call for City Hall Celebration" Idaho Statesman, 13 Feb. 2003.
The word piteous "had become misused for pitiable as early as Shakespeare's time: for him hearts could be piteous in the active sense and corpses in the passive." Ivor Brown, I Give You My Word & Say the Word 235 (1964). Today piteous is archaic and poetic -- not a word for ordinary uses.
Pitiless = showing no pity. E.g.: "The corporate Caesar pound[s] his chest about his pitiless determination to increase profits." Russell Baker, "Lean, Mean, Love Ya," N.Y. Times, 13 May 1997.
source: Garner's Modern American Usage
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Replete means not "complete," but "abundantly supplied with; full to overflowing."
source: Garner's Modern American Usage
The use of most and almost is frequently confusing to me from a grammatical viewpoint. If I say almost home, i feel that is a complete thought. If I say almost completely home, there seems to be thought schism at work. If I say, "I'm most always late", should I have put an apostrophe in front of most or is it too wrong to fix? What say you.
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Sun., March 1
"This word is sometimes misplaced in a sentence -- e.g. "There is almost a childlike simplicity [read an almost childlike simplicity] in their straightforward depictions." Myra Yellin Outwater, "Early American 'Naive' Art a Surprise for Sophisticates," Morning Call (Allentown, PA), 10 March 1996. Like only, the word almost should be placed immediately before the word it modifies."
source: Garner's Modern American Usage
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hanged vs. hung
"Coats and pictures are hung, and sometimes so are juries. But criminals found guilty of capital offenses are hanged -- at least in some jurisdictions. To be hanged is to be suspended by the neck with a rope or cord for the purpose of causing death... But the mere fact that a person is suspended doesn't mean that hanged -- which implies an attempted killing or self-killing -- is always the right word. If a person is suspended for amusement or through malice, and death isn't intended or likely, then hung is the proper word -- e.g. 'He charges that authorities did little or nothing after he complained at various times of being attacked by dogs, shot at, beaten with a rake and tortured while being hanged [read hung] upside down.' Jeffrey A. Roberts, 'Despite Suit, Gilpin Retains Racial Epithet,' Denver Post, 3 Jan., 1997. In Italy in 1944, Benito Mussolini and his mistress were executed and then their bodies hung upside down, but press reports often say incorrectly that they were hanged."
source: Garner's Modern American Usage
Newengland wrote: "Mon., March 2nd, Dr. Seuss's Birthdayhanged vs. hung
"Coats and pictures are hung, and sometimes so are juries. But criminals found guilty of capital offenses are hanged -- at least in some jur..."
With all respect to the seriousness of the jury system, I am rolling on the floor at all of the possible capital offenses of grammar this evokes.
Mod
deal -- past tense and past participle
"Deal makes dealt, not dealed... The only context in which dealed is standard is in the rhyming set phrase wheeled and dealed."
source: Garner's Modern American Usage
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Nakamura Reality (other topics)Garner's Modern American Usage (other topics)
Garner's Modern American Usage (other topics)
Garner's Modern American Usage (other topics)
Garner's Modern American Usage (other topics)
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