D

daisy: A slang intensive, and as an equivalent for “fine” or “charming,” applied to persons and things, sometimes carelessly as “a daisy time,” for “a pleasant time.” In speaking of a woman, “Ain’t she a daisy” is a vulgar way of saying “Isn’t she charming.”

damage should never be used for “cost” or “charge.” Damage is injury or harm as to character, person, or estate; cost and charge involve or imply expenditure of money.

dance, to lead one a: A colloquialism for “to divert one from a desired course, and thus create delay in its accomplishment.” There is but little in the expression to recommend it.

dander is a vulgarism for “anger” and as such should not be used.

dangerous: Avoid the vulgar use of this term in the sense of “dangerously ill.” A man near death may be dangerously ill, but he can not be dangerous.

dare, durst or dared, daring: “You daresn’t” “he durstn’t” are frequently used—the former always incorrectly, the latter generally so; for in nine cases out of ten, where the expression is used, the speaker desires to signify the present and not the past. The form is inelegant, but under certain conditions may be grammatically correct. You dare not; he dares not (daresn’t): this for the present. In the past only, he durst not (or durstn’t).

dead, deceased: Discriminate between these words. One may refer correctly to a dead man or a dead horse, but the word deceased is applied correctly only to human beings.

dead slow: A colloquialism for “lacking in spirit or liveliness, dull or tedious;” applied indiscriminately to persons or things.

deal: Used sometimes loosely for serve. Do not say “Deal the potatoes;” here serve is preferable.

debase. Compare DEMEAN.

decease should never be used as a verb.

deceive: Deception implies the production of a false impression. It is necessary, therefore, to distinguish between the accomplishment of this object and the bare attempt. Yet one frequently hears the expression “he is deceiving me,” when it is clear that (as the attempt is unsuccessful) the idea intended to be conveyed is “he is attempting to deceive me.”

decided, decisive: These terms are not exactly synonymous. A decided fact is one that is unmistakable and beyond dispute; a decisive fact is one that terminates a discussion. A decided victory is not necessarily a battle decisive of a campaign.

deduction is frequently confounded with induction. The in- mounts up from facts to law and is the process of inferring general conclusions from particular cases; the de- descends from law to facts and is that which is deduced from premises or principles. Induction is termed analysis; deduction, synthesis.

deface, disfigure: Discriminate between these words. Persons deface things, for to deface implies a deliberate act of destruction; but disfiguration may take place to person or thing by the operation of either. Thus, an inscription or bond is defaced, but facial beauty is disfigured by smallpox or the weight of care.

delusion, illusion: Discriminate carefully between these terms. A delusion is a mental error arising from false views or an unbalanced state of mind; an illusion is an unreal image which is presented to the senses. A mirage is an optical illusion.

demean signifies “to behave” and does not mean debase or degrade. A man demeans (i. e., comports) himself as a gentleman; but even if he should demean himself as a churl, the verb would not imply a lowering of his dignity or debasement; his debasement would result alone from the conduct he pursued.

denominate. Compare NOMINATE.

depositary, depository: Discriminated in the best usage, depositary denoting a person with whom, and depository a place in which anything is deposited for safe-keeping.

depravation, depravity: These terms are not synonymous. Depravation is the act or process of depraving or corrupting; depravity is the condition of being depraved.

desert. Compare ABANDON.

desert, dessert: Discriminate carefully between these words. A desert is a barren waste; an uncultivated and uninhabited wilderness; a dessert is a service, as of fruits or sweetmeats, at the close of a dinner.

despatch: This word may be spelt correctly either “despatch” or “dispatch,” notwithstanding the fact that some writers condemn the word “dispatch.”

develop is to “unfold” or “bring to light by degrees” and should not be used for “expose” which means to “reveal or lay bare,” without regard to manner.

device, devise: Discriminate carefully between these words. A device is something designed, invented, or constructed for a special purpose or for promoting an end, and may be used in either a good or bad sense. A devise is a gift of lands by a last will and testament. Compare BEQUEST.

die: A word often misapplied especially by persons accustomed to use inane superlatives as “She died with laughing”; “I thought she’d have died.” Die, as a hyperbole, means, “to have a great desire for,” and this sense is an undesirable perversion.

difference: Careful note should be made of the appropriate prepositions. The Standard Dictionary says: “Difference between the old and the new; differences among men; a difference in character; of action, of style; (less frequently) a difference (controversy) with a person; a difference of one thing from (incorrectly to) another.”

different from: Different to, though common in England, is not sustained by good authority. The best literary usage is uniformly from, following the analogy of the verb differ; one thing differs from or is different from another.

differ from, differ with: One thing may differ from another, or one person may differ from another, as in physique; but one person may differ with another in opinion.

dippy: An extreme vulgarism for “mentally unbalanced.”

direct should not be used where address is intended. Do not say “Direct your letters to me at Cook’s;” say, rather, “Address your letters,” etc.

directly, which means “in a direct or straight course or manner,” and so “without medium,” has not unnaturally been extended to signify “without medium or intervention of time; immediately.” American critics have objected to this use, but in England it is popular.

disappoint: Since disappoint implies frustration or defeat, one cannot be agreeably disappointed; rather agreeably surprised.

discharge. Compare ASSUME.

discreet, discrete: Both words are derived from the Latin discretus, pp. of discerno, dis + cerno, separate, and formerly discreet was also spelt discrete, and even had the meaning of “separate, distinct,” which sense now belongs exclusively to discrete. Discreet is used with the signification of “evincing discernment, judicious, prudent.”

discern, discriminate: The latter word is often treated as synonymous with distinguish, and there is etymological reason for this, as both words mean to separate, but to discern is to “distinguish by the difference or differences; differentiate.” “What we discern we see apart from all other objects; what we discriminate we judge apart, or recognize by some special mark or manifest difference. We discriminate by real differences; we distinguish by outward signs.”

disfigure. Compare DEFACE.

disremember: Avoid this term as provincial and archaic, and use forget instead.

dissociate is preferable to disassociate; for associate is from the Latin ad, to, + socius, united, whereas dissociate is from the Latin dis-, used with separative force, and socius. Disassociate is therefore nothing more or less than uniting to and at the same time severing from. The word, then, though used, is illogically formed and should be avoided.

distinguish. See DISCRIMINATE.

divers, diverse; By inattentive persons not infrequently interchanged. Divers implies severalty; diverse, difference. Hence we say; “The Evangelists narrate events in divers manners,” but “The views of the two parties were quite diverse.”

do: Often used unnecessarily. Do not say, “I shall succeed as others have done before me.” Here “done” is pleonastic. But do may be used where it is purely auxiliary to a missing verb, as “I shall succeed as others do” (succeed).

dock is not a synonym for wharf although it is often used as such. The dock is water, the wharf is the abutting land or landing.

donate: Incorrectly used as simply meaning give. As meaning to bestow as a gift or donation, it has been vehemently objected to by some critics, but the word has certainly acquired a place in popular use, and is no more rendered unnecessary by the previous existence of give than donation is by the previous existence of gift. Donate should be used of the bestowal of important, ceremonious, or official gifts only.—Standard Dictionary.

done: Avoid using the past participle of verbs instead of the imperfect. Do not say, “You done it,” or “you seen it,” when you mean “you did it,” or “you saw it.” Nor use the past tense for the perfect participle, as in, “If you had came” when you mean “If you had come.”

don’t is a contraction of do not, and in this sense is permissible; but as signifying does not, the proper contraction for which is doesn’t, its use is inaccurate. In writing, the uncontracted forms are much to be preferred, though in conventional speech the abbreviations are accepted.

don’t believe, don’t think: “I don’t believe I’ll go”; “I don’t think it will rain”; solecisms now in almost universal use. Say, rather, “I believe I will not go”; “I think it will not rain.”

don’t make no error. See ERROR.

dopey: A vulgar substitute for “sleepy; dull; thick-headed.”

dose, doze: Discriminate carefully between these words. That which a physician prescribes is a dose; that which a sleepy patient may fall into is a doze.

do tell! An exclamation of surprise the equivalent of which is “Is it possible!”—an inane provincialism to be avoided.

doubt. See WHETHER.

doubt but that: In this phrase but is superfluous as it does not add anything to the sense.

dozen: Exercise care in writing or uttering this word. If a number precedes, then dozen forms the correct plural: if not, the plural is formed by adding an s. Say “six dozen sheep,” but “many dozens of cattle.”

draft, draught: Exercise care in using these words. A draft is an order drawn by one person or firm on another for the payment of money to a third; a draught is a current of air passing through a channel or entering by an aperture. These words are pronounced alike and modern American practise favors the spelling of draft for both.

drive: Critics have seen fit to cavil at the distinction between drive and ride, objecting that the coachman drives the lady, and asking whether traveling by train or trolley-car is a ride or drive. The popular idea is that one rides in a public conveyance but drives when in a private carriage. As a matter of convenience, however, the old-time distinction so far as it concerns riding on horseback and driving in a carriage is good, and in no way encroaches on the question of travel submitted. Horse-back exercise and a carriage drive are essentially exercises for pleasure and so not to be confounded with travel; but if there were no distinguishing expression for the two, we should have to add a qualifying term to “ride,” to indicate the form of recreation enjoyed. Again, on the legal principle of Qui facit per alium facit per se (He who does a thing by another does it himself), the lady who commissions her coachman to drive, is herself the author of his driving, and drives.

drunk: In modern usage of the verb this word is confined to the past participle. It is therefore not now proper to say “They drunk his health” say, rather, “They drank his health.” Do not say “I have drank” when you mean “I have drunk.”

dry up! A vulgar imperative for “be quiet” or “stop talking” and as such not used in refined circles.

dubersome: Of a vacillating nature, doubtful: an absurd corruption of dubious to be avoided.

due, owing: Words now often used interchangeably. Due should be limited in its use to that which has to be paid, the word owing being indicative of the source of the existing condition. An obligation may be discharged as being due to a man’s estate or his character. A man’s wealth is owing to inheritance, good fortune, toil or thrift.

Dutch: Often misapplied to the Germans from a mistaken idea of the spelling of the German word Deutsch. The Dutch are Hollanders, and the Germans are “Deutsch” in Germany.

E

each, every: These words should never be used with pronouns or verbs in the plural.

each other: Strictly applied to two only, whereas one another implies more than two. “The two friends congratulated each other” (i. e., each one the other). “This commandment I give unto you that ye love one another:” Yet this expression is now used carelessly as a reciprocal pronoun; and Whittier writes “To worship rightly is to love each other.”

effect, affect: Distinguish carefully between these terms. To effect means to accomplish; to affect, to influence. By concerted action men may effect reforms which shall affect their condition.

egg. Compare BAD.

either: An adjective denoting “one or the other of two” often used incorrectly with a plural verb; as, “Either are likely to sail.” Now, inasmuch as “either” means “one or the other” of two the verb in the sentence should be in the singular and to be correct the sentence should be “Either is likely to sail.” However, in its best and strictest usage either, as has already been said, means “one or the other of these,” as, “either horn of a dilemma”; but there is authority for its use as “any” and “each of two” or “both.” The former of these is, however, a distinctly improper use, and the latter—though sanctioned by “on either side one, and Jesus in the midst,” (John xix, 18) is better left unsaid.

either you or I are (am or is) right: Which should it be? You are; I am; who is—which of the two? The complete sentence is clearly “Either you (are right) or I (am right).” If the pronoun had been coupled, as in “Both you and I” the plural verb would of course follow; but the very fact of this would seem to indicate that where they are distinctly disjoined, as here, the verb should not be plural and should therefore be singular. Yet who could say “either you or I am right.” Peculiar as it is—it being impossible to say either “you is” or “I is” the solution is to be found in the use of is; and the correct rendering is, “Either you or I—one of us,—is right.” Dr. Latham cites the rule thus, “Wherever the word either or neither precedes the pronouns, the verb is in the third person.” He adds a second rule to the effect that if the disjunctive is without the word either or neither, then the verb agrees with the first of the two pronouns. He would therefore say “either you or I is right,” but “you or I are right.” It is, however, questionable whether usage bears with him.

elder, eldest; older, oldest: Discriminate carefully between these terms. Elder and eldest are correctly applied only to persons and usually only to persons in the same family, as, “his elder brother.” Older and oldest are used of persons or things without any restriction, “the oldest inhabitant”; “the older road is now closed.”

else: E. S. Gould and certain other critics take exception to a possessive use of this word, upon which the former says “A comparatively modern and a superlatively ridiculous custom has been introduced by putting not the noun but the adjective, else, in the possessive case.... Else, in the way it is used, means besides ... [one] might as well say somebody besides’s, etc. The proper construction of the several phrases is somebody’s else, nobody’s else.”

On this subject the Standard Dictionary says: “The expressions some one else, any one else, every one else, somebody else, which are in good usage, are treated as substantive phrases and have the possessive inflection upon else; as, somebody else’s umbrella; but some people prefer to treat them as elliptical expressions; as, the umbrella is somebody’s else (i. e., other than the person previously mentioned).”

embryo: The plural of this word is formed by the adding of “s” not “es” as in potatoes.

emerge, immerge: Discriminate carefully between these terms. To emerge is to come out of; issue or proceed from something; to reappear as in a new state; as, “the butterfly emerges from the chrysalis.” To immerge is to plunge into anything, especially a fluid; or to disappear; as, “some heavenly bodies immerge in the light of the sun.”

emigrant, immigrant: These words are to be carefully distinguished with regard, not to the person but to the country from which or to which a person comes. The e = ex, out of; the im = in, into. The emigrant from Ireland is an immigrant when he lands in New York.

eminent, imminent: Discriminate carefully between these words. Eminent means distinguished, prominent, conspicuous. Imminent means impending; threatening.

The spelling indorse which follows the medieval Latin is that preferred in law and commerce; endorse, a spelling which follows middle English analogy, is the preferred form according to literary usage.

enjoy: A word often misused. Do not say “I enjoy bad health” nor “I enjoy good health,” when you suffer from illness or are in a perfect state of health. One enjoys health (here good is superfluous), but how can one enjoy bad health?

enthuse, said to be of journalistic origin, is characterized as slang by the Standard Dictionary, meaning “manifest enthusiasm or delight.”

enthusiast, fanatic: Discriminate carefully between these words. An enthusiast is one who is ardently zealous in any pursuit; a fanatic is one whose mind is imbued with excessive or extravagant notions on religious subjects.

equanimity of mind. A pleonasm since equanimity means “evenness of mind.”

error, don’t you make no: An ungrammatical and therefore incorrect phrase sometimes used to assert a fact; say, rather, “make no error.”

eruption, irruption: Discriminate carefully between these words. An eruption is a bursting forth as from inclosure or confinement. An irruption is a sudden incursion; an invasion.

euphemism. Compare EUPHUISM.

euphuism is often improperly used for euphemism. Added to the Greek eu, well, is phyē, nature, in the former, and phēmi, speak, in the latter. The former is general and denotes a style, an affectation of speech or writing, whereas euphemism is particular and denotes a figure of speech.

event: Care should be exercised in the use of this word. It means strictly a happening; that which happens or comes to pass as distinguished from a thing that exists. In interlocutory proceedings a defendant was granted costs (which happened to be considerable) in any event. The plaintiff was shrewd enough to drop all further proceedings, and consequently there was no event so the heavy costs which he would have had to pay fell upon his opponent.

eventuate: Although some writers condemn the use of this word as a synonym for “happen” the use is recorded by modern dictionaries and may be considered good English. Originally and in a restricted sense eventuate meant “to culminate in some result”; now, it means also “to be the issue of.”

even up: A slang expression much used in the South and West to signify “get even with; exact compensation from”: an undesirable phrase.

ever: Where ever is intended to be used as an adverb of degree and not an adverb of time, it is improper to substitute never (not ever) for the word. If the substitution be made, it must be with the understanding that the thought of the sentence is changed from degree to time. “If he run ever so well, he can not win” is not correctly expressed by “If he run never so well,” etc., unless the thought intended to be conveyed is “If he run, and run so well, as never in his life before, he can not win.” The tendency has been to use both ever so and never so loosely and vaguely.

ever so: The phrases ever so great, little, much, many, etc., meaning “very” or “exceedingly great,” etc., may be carefully discriminated from never so great, little, etc., meaning “inconceivably great, little,” etc. Compare NEVER SO.

every: A collective pronominal singular that is sometimes incorrectly used with a verb in the plural. Do not say “Every passenger of the two hundred aboard were detained at the dock.” Say, rather, “Every passenger ... was detained.”

every confidence: The phrase is objected to by some critics on the ground that “every is distributive, referring to a number of things that may be considered separately, while confidence is used as a mass-noun.” The adjective, therefore, as signifying all or entire, is not permitted, though the phrase is accepted by many as being elliptical, the words “sort of” being understood after every; but implicit confidence is a preferable phrase.

every which way: A pleonastic colloquialism for “every way”; “in all directions”; either of which phrases may be used in preference.

evidence, testimony: These words are often used as if they were interchangeable. Greenleaf says “Testimony, from the Latin, testis, a witness, is, however, only a species of evidence through the medium of witnesses. The word evidence, in legal acceptation, includes all the means by which any alleged matter of fact, the truth of which is submitted to investigation, is established or disproved.” (Evidence, vol. i. ch. 1, p. 3.) Again “Evidence rests upon our faith in human testimony, as sanctioned by experience” (vol. i. ch. 10, p. 70). We may have the testimony of a traveler that a fugitive passed his way; but his footprints in the sand are evidence of the fact.

evident. Compare APPARENT.

exasperate. Compare AGGRAVATE.

executer, executor: Discriminate carefully between these words. An executer is one who performs some act; a doer. An executor is one who in law administers an estate.

exceed, excel: Formerly exceed (from the Latin ex, forth, + cedo, go, = to go beyond the mark) had for one of its meanings excel (from the Latin ex, out, + celsus, raised, = to go beyond in something good or praiseworthy; outdo). Now these words must be distinguished. This is to be particularly noted in the derivatives excessive and excellent—the former signifying an excess in that which ought not to be exceeded, the latter in that where it is praiseworthy to exceed. It is, therefore, not correct to speak of weather as being excessively cold; say rather, very or exceedingly cold.

except, unless: These words are not synonymous. Avoid such locutions as “You will not enjoy it except you earn it.” Say rather, “You will not enjoy it unless you earn it.”

exceptionable is to be distinguished from exceptional. Exceptionable conduct is that which is out of the common and forms the exception to the rule.

excise, customs, tolls: Distinguish from each other. Mill in his “Political Economy” says:

exodus: Sometimes misused for exit or departure. Do not say “I made a hasty exodus”; say, rather, “My exit (or departure) was hasty.”

expect is commonly misused for think, believe, suppose; also for suspect. Expect refers to the future, not to the past or present, usually with the implication of interest or desire. Yet “I expect it is,” or even “I expect it was,” is very common.

expect likely, expect probably. The Standard Dictionary says of these careless locutions, it is not the expectancy, but the future event, that is likely or probable. One may say “I think it is likely,” “I think it [the act, event, or the like] probable,” or “It seems likely” or “probable.” When another person’s expectancy is matter of conjecture, one may say “You probably expect to live many years”; i. e., “I think it probable that you expect,” etc.; but “Probably you expect,” etc., would be better.

F

face the music: Slang for to confront with boldness anything of an unpleasant character or any task especially difficult: a metonymic but inelegant phrase.

fade away: In modern parlance a slang phrase first introduced by Thackeray (Vanity Fair, ch. 60, p. 540), and meaning “disappear or vanish mysteriously.” The phrase is in good usage, however, in the sense of “to pass away gradually; vanish; die out;” as, “religious animosity would of itself fade away” (Macaulay, Hist. of England, vol. 2, p. 134).

faint, feint, and feign all come from the French, feindre, which is derived from the Latin, fingo, shape. The first two, similarly pronounced, have very different significations. Faint means a sudden loss of consciousness or swoon; feint signifies a deceptive move or pretense. To feign is to make a false show of; pretend.

fake: Slang term for imposition; fraud; also, fictitious or manufactured news. Expressive but inelegant.

fakement: Slang for an act of fraud. Less desirable than preceding and equally inelegant.

fanatic. Compare ENTHUSIAST.

farewell: When separated by a pronoun farewell is written as two words; as, fare you well. Exception has been taken to Byron’s pathetic lines

but this is hypercriticism for here the pronoun is nothing but the Anglo-Saxon dative.

farther, further: Farther should be used to designate longitudinal distance; further to signify quantity or degree. Thus, “How much farther have we to go?” “Proceed no further along that course.”

fault: The different meanings of this word should be clearly distinguished. A man perplexed or one who has made a mistake is at fault; if he has done anything for which he may be blamed he is in fault. A hound is at fault when he has lost the scent.

faun, fawn: Homophones each with a distinct meaning. Faun is from the Latin Faunus, god of agriculture and of shepherds, and signifies a god of the woods; fawn, from the Anglo Saxon faegen, fain, signifies to seek favor by cringing and subserviency.

favor in the sense of “resemble” is a colloquialism, the use of which is not recommended.

feel good, feel well: Distinguish carefully between these phrases. Good signifies having physical qualities that are useful, or that can be made productive of comfort, satisfaction, or enjoyment, as, a good view, good flour; well signifies having physical health, free from ailment; as, “two are sick, the rest are well.” Compare GOOD.

felicitate, congratulate: The distinction in the meanings of these words should be carefully noted. To felicitate is to pronounce one happy and in the strict sense, applies to self alone; congratulate is to wish joy to another. In recent years congratulate has been applied to one’s self, and felicitate to another; thus the application of the meanings of these words have been reversed by careless usage.

female: An opprobrious or contemptuous epithet for woman. Female should be restricted to its correct use. Do not say “With that modesty so characteristic of a female”; say rather, “... so characteristic of a woman.” Compare LADY.

fermentation, fomentation: Exercise care in the use of these words. Fermentation is a chemical decomposition of an organic compound; fomentation, is the act of treating with warm water.

fetch. Compare BRING.

few: Sometimes used incorrectly for “in some measure”; “to an extent”; “somewhat”; “rather”; as, “Did you enjoy yourself?” “Just a few.” Few is correctly applied to quantity and incorrectly to quality; therefore, its use as in the illustration given here is not good English.

final: Sometimes misused in such a sentence as “the final completion of the work.” This is inadmissible, for completion necessarily implies finality.

financial, monetary, pecuniary: Discriminate carefully between these words. Financial is applied correctly to public funds or to the revenue of a government. Monetary and pecuniary apply only to transactions between individuals.

finish. Compare COMPLETE.

fire: As this verb possesses the sense of impel, explode, discharge, as by using fire; as, “fire a mine or gun,” it has been humorously applied to discharge from employment, as “fire a clerk.” But the usage is slang, and as such is avoided by careful speakers.

first: Say the “first two” rather than the “two first,” for unless they be bracketed equal there can not be two firsts. For a similar reason the expression seen in cars, “Smoking on the four rear seats,” is equally incorrect. There can not be four rear (or last) seats; but there can be “the last four seats.” As meaning the four seats collectively which are situated at the rear, the phrase has its only justification.

first-rate is an adjectival not an adverbial expression. One may say correctly, “He is a first-rate walker,” but not that “he walks first-rate.”

fish: When speaking of fish collectively this word represents the plural; speaking of fish severally the plural is formed by the addition of es.

fix: The colloquial use of this noun for a position involving embarrassment or a dilemma or predicament has not the sanction of literary usage. Do not say “I am in a bad fix” say, rather, “... in a bad condition.” As a verb, it is better unused in the sense of set or arrange. As meaning “put into thorough adjustment or repair,” with the word up added, it is sanctioned by popular usage; but the expression is thought inelegant and indefinite. Some more discriminating term is to be preferred. Fix, in the sense of “disable, injure, or kill,” and “fix up” in the sense of “dress elegantly,” are vulgarisms.

flap-doodle: An inelegant term for “pretentious silly talk characterized by an affectation of superior knowledge.” Twaddle is a preferable synonym. Compare FLUB-DUB.

flash for ostentatious display, as of money, is inelegant. Display is a preferable word.

flew is often misused for fled. Do not say “He flew the city” when you mean that he fled from it.

flies on: “There are no flies on him,” is a slang phrase not used by persons accustomed to refined diction.

flock: A word sometimes misapplied. Do not say “a flock of girls;” say, rather, “a bevy of girls” and “a flock of sheep.” Flock is correctly applied to a company or collection of small animals as sheep, goats, rabbits, or birds.

flop is an inelegant word used sometimes to denote change of attitude on a subject. Do not say “He flopped over to the other side”; say, rather, “He went over....”

flub-dub: A slang term used to designate a literary work that is worthless.

fondling, foundling: Discriminate carefully between these words. A fondling is a person fondled or caressed; a foundling is a deserted infant whose parents are unknown.

fooling: The use of the word in the sense of “deceiving” has been condemned by certain writers as a “very vulgar vulgarism,” but is permissible, having the sanction not only of good literary authority but of modern dictionaries. See Tennyson’s “Gareth and Lynette” (st. 127): “Worse than being fool’d of others is to fool one’s self.”

for and to: These words are often added at the end of a sentence by careless speakers but are redundant. Do not say “Less than you think for”; nor “Where are you going to?”

forget it: When used as the equivalent of “don’t talk about it,” is a vulgarism that can not be too severely condemned.

forsake. Compare ABANDON.

fort, forte: These two words similarly pronounced must be distinguished. In each case the derivation is the same (the Latin fortis strong), and although there is an alternative spelling of fort for “forte” it is not the favored form. A fort signifies a fortification held by a garrison; forte is that in which an individual chiefly excels.

fracas: A fracas is a brawl or an uproar, not a part of the human anatomy. Therefore, avoid such expressions as “He was stabbed in the fracas.” Say, rather, “During the fracas he was stabbed.”

fraud: Just as cheat has been made to do duty both for the act and the person committing the act, so in colloquial usage has fraud been made to represent not only the act but also its perpetrator. It has even been extended to “a deceptive or spurious thing.” These usages of fraud are, however, not to be recommended.

freeze: This word has nothing in common with frieze save the pronunciation. The former is an Anglo-Saxon term, whereas the latter comes from the French frise, for fraise, a ruff. To freeze is to convert into ice, congeal; to frieze is to provide with a frieze, which is, in architecture, the middle division of an entablature.

freeze to: An inelegant colloquialism for “cling to,” sometimes found in literature as in Kipling’s “Mine Own People,” p. 209.

frequently. Compare COMMONLY.

fresh in the sense of “full of ignorant conceit and presumption” is slang and as such is avoided by persons careful with their diction.

friend: Carefully distinguish between friend and acquaintance. The former is an acquaintance who has been admitted to terms of intimacy, and who is regarded with a certain amount of affectionate regard. A person to whom one has received a bare introduction is an acquaintance—nothing more.

frieze. Compare FREEZE.

from: A preposition often incorrectly used for “of.” From should not be used elliptically. Do not say “He died from pneumonia” when you mean “from the effects of pneumonia.” Here effect suggests the cause from which the result proceeded. “He died of pneumonia” is correct.

froze: A term sometimes misused for frozen. Froze is the imperfect of the verb freeze, while frozen is a participial adjective. It is incorrect to say, “My hands are froze,” here frozen should be used.

-ful. The plural of compounds ending in -ful, as spoonful is formed in the same manner as the plural of other nouns of regular formation—by the simple addition of a final “s,” as, spoonfuls. So when a physician prescribes medicine to be taken by the spoonful more than once a day, these are correctly spoken of as spoonfuls. But supposing more than one medicine is to be taken and that the medicines do not assimilate thus requiring more than one spoon to administer them; then it would be correct to refer to the different doses as spoons full, since the words denote more than one spoon full. Spoonfuls denote one spoon filled more than once.

fulfil: Remember that in this word the “l” is not doubled but that it is in fulfilling.

full, fuller: Terms sometimes incorrectly used. A “full cup,” is a cup completely filled, therefore it would seem illogical to say “my cup is fuller than yours.” As a rule all words that in themselves express the idea of completion or perfection should be used only in the positive degree. A perfection greater than itself is inconceivable, yet in literature, and with speakers who are accustomed to a careful choice of words, this form of expression has been permitted for comparison in the absence of an absolute standard of measurement.

full: A coarse substitute for “intoxicated.”

funeral: A term sometimes misused for “affair,” or “business,” as in the phrase “Not my funeral” meaning “No business of mine.” The use is not to be commended.

funny: As a colloquialism signifying “queer” this adjective should be used with care. It is better retained for signification of that which is mirth-provoking or ludicrous. Funny is sometimes used incorrectly to imply silly impropriety, as in the phrase, “Don’t get funny.” Such usage should be avoided.

further. Compare FARTHER.

future, the: Used sometimes to signify the present; as, “I shall be happy to accept”—this is not what is meant. The meaning is “I am happy to accept, for I shall be happy to come,” or “(Because) I shall be happy to (come I am happy to) accept”; and the elliptical result is that there is elision of the words in parentheses. In a recent lawsuit the plaintiff lost $10,000 because a so-called guarantee was given in these terms: “I will guarantee” instead of “I (hereby do) guarantee.” The guarantee provided had never been asked for, given, or obtained. The credulous victim had accepted a promise, without condition, for a performance; and he lost. Time has improved his knowledge of the force of the English tongue.

G

galaxy: Exercise care in the use of this word. It signifies any brilliant circle or group; as, a galaxy of beauties or of gems, and is never correctly used of any person or thing of inferior quality.

gall: Correctly used is “an intensely bitter feeling.” When used as a synonym for “cool assurance” or “impudence” it is slang which should be avoided.

gang is correctly applied to a squad of laborers, and others detailed to certain given tasks. But sometimes applied also, usually in an uncomplimentary way, to a company of persons who meet habitually for social intercourse; as, “He sent a letter to the gang at Seelig’s.”

gazebo: A term often misused for “chief person.” A gazebo is a belvedere or elevated summer-house and as such is often the highest point of a building: applied to a person the term is slang.

gee whiz: A slang exclamation of astonishment that it is best to avoid.

geezer: A vulgar term applied, usually in derision to elderly persons, particularly women. Formerly it was used to designate a mummer or other grotesque character.

generally. Compare COMMONLY.

genius, genus: Discriminate carefully between these words. Genius implies the possession of remarkable natural gifts through which their possessor may attain ends or obtain results by intuitive power. Genus is a class or kind. In the natural sciences it is the subordinate of an order, tribe, or family.

gent: As an abbreviation for gentleman this word is not permitted in refined speech; and gentleman is never correctly used for man as a mere indication of sex. Compare LADY.

genteel is sometimes improperly applied to persons who are preferably spoken of as polite or well-bred. If used with regard to persons, it should only be in connection with some specific characteristic, as “a person of genteel speech or appearance,” or to indicate suitability to the condition of a well-bred person, as in the expression “a genteel fortune.”

genuine. Compare AUTHENTIC.

get a gait or move on: Slang phrases for “hasten one’s steps or actions,” which, while it may not be so expressive, is more elegant and refined.

get over: Sometimes used for deny or refute. One doesn’t get over a charge but refutes it.

git: Vulgarism used in the imperative for get out.

go. See WENT.

go back on: A colloquialism for abandon, deceive, play false. Inelegant and not used by persons accustomed to nice discriminations of speech.

going is sometimes used as a synonym for just about. One frequently hears, “I am just going to sing,” from a person who is about to do so. The verb go, in the transitive, is sometimes used loosely in the colloquial sense of “endure” or “wager.” Polite speech does not sanction such locutions as “I can not go that music;” “I will go you a dollar on the race.”

gone: The phrase “He’s been gone this month,” though frequently used, is better rendered thus: “It’s a month since he went.” The verb “to go” does not lend itself agreeably to this treatment which is common with other verbs (as “He has been known and loved for years”), and the expression “this month,” for “this past month,” is somewhat too elliptical to be received with favor.

gone case: A vulgarism sometimes used to denote that the affection bestowed by one person on another of the opposite sex shows him to be serious in his intentions. It is also a vulgarism when applied to one who is in a hopeless condition, as from illness.

good should never be used for well. Do not say, “I feel pretty good” or “she plays that pretty good” when you mean that you “feel pretty well” or that “she plays fairly well.”

go the whole hog: An inelegant phrase used for “to go to the utmost limit.” Carlyle traces the origin of this phrase from the Irish because in Ireland hog was a synonym for a ten penny piece, a coin once current in that country.

graduate: The use of this verb in the intransitive has been condemned by purists but is now well established. Thus, one may correctly say “He was graduated from a university” or, “He graduated from a university.”

grammar: The phrases good grammar and bad grammar have been condemned as false syntax by some persons unfamiliar with the meanings of the word “grammar.” One meaning recorded by the Standard Dictionary is “speech or writing considered with regard to its correctness; propriety of linguistic usage; as, he uses good or bad grammar.”

The New York Herald (March 4, 1906) says: “Good grammar is one of those cheap vulgarisms which most offend the scholarly ear. A phrase is either grammatical or ungrammatical. It can not be characterized as either ‘good’ or ‘bad’ grammar.”

The writer of the foregoing based his criticism on a misunderstanding. The word “grammar” is not like the word “orthography,” a word made up of orthos, correct, and grapho, to write. Grammar does not carry with it the implication of correctness, and modern grammarians bear this out. Prof. Edward Maetzner in his “English Grammar: Methodical, Analytical and Historical,” so defines the term: