Even considering how many ways the apostrophe can be employed, erroneous use of punctuation mark is endemic. Here are brief discussions of ten categories of apostrophe abuse (including one writers and editors must let stand, even though it may pain them to do so). 1. With Plurals Writing the plural form of a noun in … Read more
Hyphens, for the most part, have been relieved of their duty to connect prefixes to root words (though many people persist in unnecessarily hyphenating such terms as nonprofit). The primary function of the hyphen now is to indicate the interdependence of words that modify a noun, and many writers remain confused about or ignorant of … Read more
Heart appears as the first element in a couple dozen compounds, but the nouns are divided between open compounds (like “heart attack”) and closed compounds (as in the case of heartache), and a couple of adjectives are hyphenated (as with heart-healthy). Is there any method to the madness for these differing styles? Generally, terms associated … Read more
Until recently, I’d assumed that lunch was a clipping of luncheon. Come to find out, the words originated separately. According to the OED, luncheon is of uncertain origin, but lunch is thought to have come from Spanish lonja, “a slice.” Both luncheon and lunch first referred to a thick piece of something, such as “a … Read more
A reader coming across this sentence in Arthur Miller’s An Air-conditioned Nightmare (1945) was puzzled by the use of the word let: Night and day without let the radio drowns us in a hog-wash of the most nauseating, sentimental ditties. Asks the reader, “Could this be a typo for “without let-up”? The English word let functions as a … Read more
Answer is a word of noble pedigree—it dates back nearly a thousand years in its original sense of “swear against” (from Old English andswaru). However, it’s bland and neutral, and a variety of synonyms with more precise connotations exist. Reply often has a sense of a thorough reaction to a communication, though it can simply … Read more
The English language abounds with word describing occupations and professions that are rare or obsolete or are otherwise unusual and hence obscure. Here is an incomplete but extensive list of such terms, along with brief definitions. 1. ackerman: a plowman or oxherder 2. alewife: a proprietor of a tavern 3. alnager: a wool inspector 4. … Read more
What’s the rule for attaching an -ing ending to a one-syllable, short-vowel word ending in -ge? Is the act of doing something too much, for example, an instance of bingeing, or has one been binging? As it turns out, according to Merriam-Webster’s website, the -ing form of binge can be spelled either way, one of … Read more
Scribe, from the Latin term scribere, meaning “to write,” referred to a person who performed the responsibilities of an accountant, a secretary, or both but later denoted any writer. (Scrivener is a synonym from medieval Anglo-French.) The term is rarely used outside of historical contexts but occasionally appears as affected slang to refer to a … Read more
When listing hail as one of the words used to describe precipitation recently, I thought about the other definitions of the word. Hail is also used as an interjection to acclaim (“Hail to the chief!”) or salute (“Hail, fellow well met!”) someone, though it’s an archaic usage rarely applied anymore. This meaning stems from the … Read more
I heard a reporter on NPR refer to something that had been “inundated by water.” Looking online, I found this headline: Family of Five Inundated by Water No Assistance Provided—Belize News In each example, “by water” is redundant. As a transitive verb, inundate means “to overspread with a flood of water.” It does make sense … Read more
An extensive vocabulary surrounds the various subjects pertaining to horses. Below is a list of contemporary and historical words and phrases referring to horses distinguished by characteristics such as color or type of use (but not by breed—hundreds of distinct breeds exist). Some entries also include other meanings for the terms. 1. bay: a reddish-brown … Read more