LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE. 



193 



Caption (for heading''. Not sanctioned by good 

 writer*. 



Casket (for coffin"). A newspaper writer facetiously 

 intimated that a man in a, casket is not quite so dead as 

 a man in a coffin. 



Citizen (for person). A citizen is a person who has 

 certain political rights. To say "Several citizens car- 

 ried tho victims of the accident into a shop," would be 

 as absurd as to say. ' several church members." 



Come (for go). ' I aui coming to pay you a visit." 

 Coining is right. 



Commence to (for begin). Oinit to. We begin to 

 wri te. We commence writing. 



Compulsion (for obligation). The former is a phys- 

 ical, the latter a moral, necessity. 



Confess to (for confess). ' I confess to a little curios- 

 ity on this subject." The natural rejoinder was, " Well, 

 did the little curiosity absolve you :' ' ' 



Construe (for construct). Writers construct ; read- 

 ers construe. 



Consummate (for perform). , " The marriage was con- 

 summated [performed] at Paris, last April." 



Contemptible (for contemptuous). "To a gentle- 

 man who, at the close of a flerce_ dispute with Person, 

 exclaimed, 'My opinion of you is most comtemptible, 

 sir," he retorted, ' J never knew an opinion of yours that 

 was not contemptible.' " 



Continual (for continuous). A continuous action is 

 one which is uninterrupted ; continual is that which is 

 constantly renewed and recurring, though it may be in- 

 terrupted'as frequently as i t is renewed. 



Continue on is often erroneously used for continue. 



Corporeal, frequently misused for corporal, esi>e- 

 cially of punishment. 



Cortege (for procession). A cortege is a procession, 

 but every procession is not a cortege. 



Credible (for credulous). " He is very credible [credu- 

 lous]." 



Creditable (for credible). " I am creditably [credi- 

 bly] informed." 



Dead and buried, dead and gone, and similar expres- 

 sions are to be deprecated. Those who have died have 

 usually been buried, and they are also gone. 



Dearest. "A gentleman once began a letter to his 

 bride, thus : ' My dearest Maria.' The wife replied: 

 ' My dear John, I beg that you will mend either your 

 morals or your grammar. You call me your "dearest 

 Maria": am I then to understand that you have other 

 Marias?' " 



Deduction (for Induction). Induction is the mental 

 process by which we ascend to the delivery of special 

 truths; deduction is the process by which the law gov- 

 erning particulars is derived from a knowledge of the 

 law governing the class to which particulars belong. 



Demoralized (for scared). "The horse, in addition 

 to losing all the hair on his tail, became considerably 

 demoralized." 



Departure. To take one's departure is a corruption 

 of the accurate form, " to take one's leave." 



Differ -with, in opinion; differ from, in appear- 

 ance. 



Die with, (for die of). A man dies of smallpox, not 

 with smallpox. 



Dock (for wharf or pier). A dock is an open place 

 without a roof, into which anything is received, and 

 where it is inclosed for safetv. The shipping around a 

 city lies at wharfs and piers, but goes into docks. 



Done should be used only with has, had, or have ; 

 frequently misused for did. 



Don't (for doesn't). Don't is the contraction for do 

 not ; doesn't the contraction for does not. 



Doubt but (for doubt). " I have no doubt but that it 



Each, and every (often followed by a plural verb). 

 ' When I consider "how each of these professions are [is] 

 crowded." 



Emblem (for motto, sentiment). The figure is the 

 emblem; not the accompanying motto. 



Enthuse (for inspirit). This word is not sanctioned 

 I iv good usage. 



Epithet (as necessarily decrying). Is usually and 

 erroneously applied to derogative adjectives. 



Equally as well (for equally well). "He plays 

 equally as well [equally well]." 



Every once in a while is an absurd and meaningless 

 expression. 



Every (for entire or all). " Rendered them every 

 assistance," is absurdly wrong. Every is separated, and 

 can be applied only to 'a whole composed of many indi- 

 s. It i^ always singular in number. 



Execute does not mean to put to death. The law is 

 executed when the criminal is nanged or imprisoned. 



Expect (for suppose). Expect refers only to that 

 which is to come, and which, therefore, is looked for. 

 We cannot expect backward. 



Female (for woman). A vulgar misuse of English. 



From out (for from). " From out the castle. 



Farther, further. Farther properly signifies dis- 

 tance, further degree or quantity. ' As" he walked far- 

 ther he saw they were further along with the work." 



Future (for subsequent). " Her future life was vir- 

 tuous and fortunate." 



First two. Often written and spoken, two first. 



Gent and pants. " Let these words go together, like 

 the things they signify. The one always wears the 

 other." 



Gentleman, lady (for man, woman). The most im- 

 portant rule to observe is that where adjectives are 

 used the nouns must be man, woman not a polite 

 gentleman, or a lovely lady ; but a polite man, a lovely 

 woman. 



Girl (for daughter). A father, on being requested by 

 a rich and vulgar fellow for permission to marry " one 

 of his girls," gave this rather crushing reply : " Cer- 

 tainly. Which one would you prefer the waitress or 

 the cook ? " ,., 



Graduated (for was graduated). Students do not 

 graduate, but are graduated. " I graduated [was grad- 

 uated] in 1876." 



Great, big. Frequently used for large. 



Gums (for overshoes). "Emily is outside, cleaning 

 her gums upon the mat." 



Get signifies possession obtained by exertion. " He 

 has [not nas got] red hair." 



Had ought (for ought). " You had ought to have 

 been with me." 



Haven't no. Omit no. Do not use two words mean- 

 ing no in the same sentence. 



Healthy, healthful, wholesome. Healthy refers 

 to living things. " The man is healthy." " The food is 

 wholesome." " The surroundings are "wholesome." 



Is (for are). "Their general scope and tendency is [are] 

 not remembered at all." 



It is I (not me). It is he (not him). It is she (not 

 her). 



Jewelry (for particular jewels). Its use in the latter 

 sense is always to be preferred. Think of Cornelia 

 pointing to the Gracchi, " These are my jewelry." 



Kids (for kid gloves). Colloquial and should not be 

 used. 



Last (for latest). " I have received your latest [not 

 last] letter." 



Lay (for lie). Remember that lay expresses transitive 

 action, and lie means rest. We lay the book on the table 

 and the book lies where we have placed it. 



Learn (for teach). Learn means to acquire knowl- 

 edge ; teach, to impart it. This use of learn is found in 

 respectable writers, but is now deemed improper, as 

 well as inelegant. 



Leave (without an object). "Anna Louise Carey will 

 leave the stage," announces an exchange. "Thanks, 

 Annie; we were afraid you would take the stage with 

 you. So kind to leave it'," rejoins the critic. 



Leave (for let). " Leave [let] me be." 



Let's (for let). " Well, farmer, let's you and I go by 

 ourselves." 



Liable. Frequentlv misused for likely. 



Lit (for lighted). Much censured as an Americanism. 



Look (followed by an adverb). " Miss Marlowe looked 

 charmingly." Just as correct to say " Miss Marlowe 

 I looked gladly, or madlv, or sadly, or delightedly." 



Loan (for" lend). The former word is a noun, the 

 ! verbal form of which is to lend. 



Mutual (for common). It should always convey a 

 i sense of reciprocity. 



Nice is now applied to a sermon, to a jam-tart, to a 

 young man, in short, to everything. The word should 

 be used with extreme caution. 



Nor (for than, after comparative). " Better nor fifty 

 bushel." 



Notion (for inclination). "1 have auction to go." 

 Of course incorrect. 



None isetymologically singular. " None but the brave 

 deserves the fair," wrote Dryden. 



Off of (for off). "A yard off of the cloth." 



Over his signature (for under his signature). A let- 

 ter is issued under ,or by the authority of the writer's 

 signature. 



Particle (for at all). As " not a particle," for "not 

 . at alL" 



