The auxiliaries may and might are often used interchangeably. Most of the time, interchanging them doesn’t seem to matter. Strictly speaking, might is the past form of may, but may often occurs in past tense constructions, and might is used in sentences about the present or future. Both may and might are used when the … Read more
Numerous readers wrote to correct me regarding the following entry in my post about commonly confused words that begin with M: 5. meter / metre Both words are nouns. A meter is a measuring device, like a gas meter. Metre is a metric unit or a type of rhythm in verse. American speakers wrote to point out that the … Read more
The word Luddite originated in the nineteenth century as a label for an organized group of English workers and their sympathizers who set out to destroy manufacturing machinery in the midlands and north of England between 1811 and 1816. These enemies of the new technology were called Luddites, Ludds, and Ludders. Luddite is the term … Read more
In British politics, blue is associated with Britain’s conservative party, the Tories, whereas red is associated with the Labour Party. The same association of blue with political conservatism was once common in US politics, but now red is associated with the conservative party. This change became fixed following the presidential election of 2000. The reversal … Read more
A reader asks about a word that means “a person who owns and manages a restaurant”: I recently saw the term “restauranteer” on someone’s resume. I’ve heard of musketeers, and even mountaineers; but I thought restauranteurs and connoisseurs were in a different category? The reader may be surprised to know that the Word spellchecker flags … Read more
A reader asks, What is the difference between ‘inspiring’ and ‘inspirational’? Some speakers see no difference. Here, for example, in a headline and the text that follows it, the two words are used interchangeably to refer to the same speech: Headline Carina “La Reina” Moreno Gives Inspirational Speech to Late Graduating Students in Her Community … Read more
The idiom “to kick the bucket,” meaning “to die,” has been used in English since the eighteenth century. The term “bucket list” makes its earliest appearance on the Ngram Viewer in 1962, forty-five years before it was popularized by the movie The Bucket List (2007). A “bucket list” is a list of things that a … Read more
A passage in a newspaper article prompted this email from a reader: I’m grimacing at a Virginia newspaper passage:”…the first paid event held at the commons area, which might set precedence for future events…” I assume the author is not saying that this might make the future events come first. Please discuss the difference between … Read more
This summer I enlarged my vocabulary while participating in an online film course. Among the words new to me are diegesis [DYE-uh-JEE-sis] and diegetic [DYE-uh-JET- ik]. The terms are barely a blip on the Ngram Viewer until the 1970s, when they were introduced into the context of film studies in 1973 by an essay written … Read more
One kind of preposition error is to follow a verb with a preposition when one is not needed. descend INCORRECT: Sunita Gale and her husband descend down Highclere Castle’s majestic staircase. Caption, Today site. CORRECT : Sunita Gale and her husband descend Highclere Castle’s majestic staircase. Descend is a transitive verb that means “to move from a higher to a lower position.” … Read more
The verbs avenge and revenge mean basically the same thing, but avenge is widely perceived as having nobler connotations than revenge. Both words, like the English word vindicate, derive from the Latin verb vindicare/vendicare: “to claim, to set free, to punish.” In early usage, all three words, vindicate, avenge, and revenge meant, “to punish” or … Read more
A reader wonders about the use of these words in the media: Please explain the difference between “migrants” and “refugees.” The news has provided nonstop coverage of migrants flocking to Europe from the Middle East and northern Africa. It seems to me these people should be more accurately described as refugees. Why are they suddenly … Read more