SenseforSmell. "She sensed the fragrance of roses." Society English.
SetforSit. "A setting hen."
SetteeforSettle. This word belongs to the peasantry of speech.
SettleforPay. "Settle the bill." "I shall take it now and settle for it later."
ShadesforShade. "Shades of Noah! how it rained!" "O shades of Caesar!" A shade is a departed soul, as conceived by the ancients; one to each mortal part is the proper allowance.
ShowforChance, orOpportunity. "He didn't stand a show." Say, He had no chance.
SickforIll. Good usage now limits this word to cases of nausea, but it is still legitimate in sickly, sickness, love-sick, and the like.
SideforAgree, orStand. "I side with the Democrats." "He always sided with what he thought right."
SideburnsforBurnsides. A form of whiskers named from a noted general of the civil war, Ambrose E. Burnside. It seems to be thought that the word side has something to do with it, and that as an adjective it should come first, according to our idiom.
Side-hillforHillside. A reasonless transposition for which it is impossible to assign a cause, unless it is abbreviated from side o' the hill.
SidewaysforSidewise. SeeEndways.
SinceforAgo. "He came here not long since and died."
SmartforBright, orAble. An Americanism that is dying out. But "smart" has recently come into use for fashionable, which is almost as bad.
SnapforPeriod(of time) orSpell. "A cold snap." This is a word of incomprehensible origin in that sense; we can know only that its parents were not respectable. "Spell" is itself not very well-born.
So—as. SeeAs—as.
SoforTrue. "If you see it in the Daily Livercomplaint it is so." "Is that so?" Colloquial and worse.
Solemnize. This word rightly means to make solemn, not to perform, or celebrate, ceremoniously something already solemn, as a marriage, or a mass. We have no exact synonym, but this explains, rather than justifies, its use.
SomeforSomewhat. "He was hurt some."
SoonforWillingly. "I would as soon go as stay." "That soldier would sooner eat than fight." Say, rather eat.
SpaceforPeriod. "A long space of time." Space is so different a thing from time that the two do not go well together.
SpendforPass. "We shall spend the summer in Europe." Spend denotes a voluntary relinquishment, but time goes from us against our will.
SquareforBlock. "He lives three squares away." A city block is seldom square.
SquirtforSpurt. Absurd.
StandandStand forforEndure. "The patient stands pain well." "He would not stand for misrepresentation."
StandpointforPoint of View, orViewpoint.
StateforSay. "He stated that he came from Chicago." "It is stated that the president is angry." We state a proposition, or a principle, but say that we are well. And we say our prayers—some of us.
Still Continue. "The rain still continues." Omit still; it is contained in the other word.
Stock. "I take no stock in it." Disagreeably commercial. Say, I have no faith in it. Many such metaphorical expressions were unobjectionable, even pleasing, in the mouth of him who first used them, but by constant repetition by others have become mere slang, with all the offensiveness of plagiarism. The prime objectionableness of slang is its hideous lack of originality. Until mouth-worn it is not slang.
StopforStay. "Prayer will not stop the ravages of cholera." Stop is frequently misused for stay in another sense of the latter word: "He is stopping at the hotel." Stopping is not a continuing act; one cannot be stopping who has already stopped.
Stunt. A word recently introduced and now overworked, meaning a task, or performance in one's trade, or calling,—doubtless a variant of stint, without that word's suggestion of allotment and limitation. It is still in the reptilian stage of evolution.
SubsequentforLater, orSucceeding. Legitimate enough, but ugly and needless. "He was subsequently hanged." Say, afterward.
SubstantiateforProve. Why?
Success. "The project was a success." Say, was successful. Success should not have the indefinite article.
Such AnotherforAnother Such. There is illustrious authority for this—in poetry. Poets are a lawless folk, and may do as they please so long as they do please.
SuchforSo. "He had such weak legs that he could not stand." The absurdity of this is made obvious by changing the form of the statement: "His legs were such weak that he could not stand." If the word is an adverb in the one sentence it is in the other. "He is such a great bore that none can endure him." Say, so great a bore.
Suicide. This is never a verb. "He suicided." Say, He killed himself, or He took his own life. SeeCommit Suicide.
Supererogation. To supererogate is to overpay, or to do more than duty requires. But the excess must be in the line of duty; merely needless and irrelevant action is not supererogation. The word is not a natural one, at best.
SureforSurely. "They will come, sure." Slang.
SurviveforLive, orPersist. Survival is an outliving, or outlasting of something else. "The custom survives" is wrong, but a custom may survive its utility. Survive is a transitive verb.
SustainforIncur. "He sustained an injury." "He sustained a broken neck." That means that although his neck was broken he did not yield to the mischance.
TalentedforGifted. These are both past participles, but there was once the verb to gift, whereas there was never the verb "to talent." If Nature did not talent a person the person is not talented.
TantamountforEquivalent. "Apology is tantamount to confession." Let this ugly word alone; it is not only illegitimate, but ludicrously suggests catamount.
TastyforTasteful. Vulgar.
Tear DownforPull Down. "The house was torn down." This is an indigenous solecism; they do not say so in England.
Than Whom. SeeWhom.
The. A little word that is terribly overworked. It is needlessly affixed to names of most diseases: "the cholera," "the smallpox," "the scarlet fever," and such. Some escape it: we do not say, "the sciatica," nor "the locomotor ataxia." It is too common in general propositions, as, "The payment of interest is the payment of debt." "The virtues that are automatic are the best." "The tendency to falsehood should be checked." "Kings are not under the control of the law." It is impossible to note here all forms of this misuse, but a page of almost any book will supply abundant instance. We do not suffer so abject slavery to the definite article as the French, but neither do we manifest their spirit of rebellion by sometimes cutting off the oppressor's tail. One envies the Romans, who had no article, definite or indefinite.
The Following. "Washington wrote the following." The following what? Put in the noun. "The following animals are ruminants." It is not the animals that follow, but their names.
The Same. "They cooked the flesh of the lion and ate the same." "An old man lived in a cave, and the same was a cripple." In humorous composition this may do, though it is not funny; but in serious work use the regular pronoun.
Thenas an Adjective. "The then governor of the colony." Say, the governor of the colony at that time.
Those KindforThat Kind. "Those kind of things." Almost too absurd for condemnation, and happily not very common out of the class of analphabets.
ThoughforIf. "She wept as though her heart was broken." Many good writers, even some devoid of the lexicographers' passion for inclusion and approval, have specifically defended this locution, backing their example by their precept. Perhaps it is a question of taste; let us attend their cry and pass on.
ThriftyforThriving. "A thrifty village." To thrive is an end; thrift is a means to that end.
ThroughforDone. "The lecturer is through talking." "I am through with it." Say, I have done with it.
To. As part of an infinitive it should not be separated from the other part by an adverb, as, "to hastily think," for hastily to think, or, to think hastily. Condemnation of the split infinitive is now pretty general, but it is only recently that any one seems to have thought of it. Our forefathers and we elder writers of this generation used it freely and without shame—perhaps because it had not a name, and our crime could not be pointed out without too much explanation.
ToforAt. "We have been to church," "I was to the theater." One can go to a place, but one cannot be to it.
Total. "The figures totaled 10,000." Say, The total of the figures was 10,000.
TransactionforAction, orIncident. "The policeman struck the man with his club, but the transaction was not reported." "The picking of a pocket is a criminal transaction." In a transaction two or more persons must have an active or assenting part; as, a business transaction, Transactions of the Geographical Society, etc. The Society's action would be better called Proceedings.
TranspireforOccur,Happen, etc. "This event transpired in 1906." Transpire (trans, through, andspirare, to breathe) means leak out, that is, become known. What transpired in 1906 may have occurred long before.
TriflingforTrivial. "A trifling defect"; "a trifling error."
TrustforWealthy Corporation. There are few trusts; capitalists have mostly abandoned the trust form of combination.
Try an Experiment. An experiment is a trial; we cannot try a trial. Say, make.
Try andforTry to. "I will try and see him." This plainly says that my effort to see him will succeed—which I cannot know and do not wish to affirm. "Please try and come." This colloquial slovenliness of speech is almost universal in this country, but freedom of speech is one of our most precious possessions.
UglyforIll-natured,Quarrelsome. What is ugly is the temper, or disposition, not the person having it.
Under-handedandUnder-handedlyforUnder-hand.SeeOff-handed.
Unique. "This is very unique." "The most unique house in the city." There are no degrees of uniqueness: a thing is unique if there is not another like it. The word has nothing to do with oddity, strangeness, nor picturesqueness.
United Statesas a Singular Noun. "The United States is for peace." The fact that we are in some ways one nation has nothing to do with it; it is enough to know that the word States is plural—if not, what is State? It would be pretty hard on a foreigner skilled in the English tongue if he could not venture to use our national name without having made a study of the history of our Constitution and political institutions. Grammar has not a speaking acquaintance with politics, and patriotic pride is not schoolmaster to syntax.
UnkemptforDisordered,Untidy, etc. Unkempt means uncombed, and can properly be said of nothing but the hair.
UseforTreat. "The inmates were badly used." "They use him harshly."
UtterforAbsolute,Entire, etc. Utter has a damnatory signification and is to be used of evil things only. It is correct to say utter misery, but not "utter happiness;" utterly bad, but not "utterly good."
VariousforSeveral. "Various kinds of men." Kinds are various of course, for they vary—that is what makes them kinds. Use various only when, in speaking of a number of things, you wish to direct attention to their variety—their difference, one from another. "The dividend was distributed among the various stockholders." The stockholders vary, as do all persons, but that is irrelevant and was not in mind. "Various persons have spoken to me of you." Their variation is unimportant; what is meant is that there was a small indefinite number of them; that is, several.
VentilateforExpress, Disclose, etc. "The statesman ventilated his views." A disagreeable and dog-eared figure of speech.
VerbalforOral. All language is verbal, whether spoken or written, but audible speech is oral. "He did not write, but communicated his wishes verbally." It would have been a verbal communication, also, if written.
VestforWaistcoat. This is American, but as all Americans are not in agreement about it it is better to use the English word.
VicinityforVicinage, orNeighborhood. "He lives in this vicinity." If neither of the other words is desired say, He lives in the vicinity of this place, or, better, He lives near by.
View of. "He invested with the view of immediate profit." "He enlisted with the view of promotion." Say, with a view to.
VulgarforImmodest,Indecent. It is fromvulgus, the common people, the mob, and means both common and unrefined, but has no relation to indecency.
WayforAway. "Way out at sea." "Way down South."
WaysforWay. "A squirrel ran a little ways along the road." "The ship looked a long ways off." This surprising word calls loudly for depluralization.
WedforWedded. "They were wed at noon." "He wed her in Boston." The word wed in all its forms as a substitute for marry, is pretty hard to bear.
Well. As a mere meaningless prelude to a sentence this word is overtasked. "Well, I don't know about that." "Well, you may try." "Well, have your own way."
WetforWetted. SeeBet.
WhereforWhen. "Where there is reason to expect criticism write discreetly."
WhichforThat. "The boat which I engaged had a hole in it." But a parenthetical clause may rightly be introduced by which; as, The boat, which had a hole in it, I nevertheless engaged. Which and that are seldom interchangeable; when they are, use that. It sounds better.
WhipforChastise, orDefeat. To whip is to beat with a whip. It means nothing else.
WhiskersforBeard. The whisker is that part of the beard that grows on the cheek. SeeChin Whiskers.
WhoforWhom. "Who do you take me for?"
WhomforWho. "The man whom they thought was dead is living." Here the needless introduction of was entails the alteration of whom to who. "Remember whom it is that you speak of." "George Washington, than whom there was no greater man, loved a jest." The misuse of whom after than is almost universal. Who and whom trip up many a good writer, although, unlike which and who, they require nothing but knowledge of grammar.
Widow Woman. Omit woman.
WillandShall. Proficiency in the use of these apparently troublesome words must be sought in text-books on grammar and rhetoric, where the subject will be found treated with a more particular attention, and at greater length, than is possible in a book of the character of this. Briefly and generally, in the first person, a mere intention is indicated by shall, as, I shall go; whereas will denotes some degree of compliance or determination, as, I will go—as if my going had been requested or forbidden. In the second and the third person, will merely forecasts, as, You (or he) will go; but shall implies something of promise, permission or compulsion by the speaker, as, You (or he) shall go. Another and less obvious compulsion—that of circumstance—speaks in shall, as sometimes used with good effect: In Germany you shall not turn over a chip without uncovering a philosopher. The sentence is barely more than indicative, shall being almost, but not quite, equivalent to can.
Win out. Like its antithesis, "lose out," this reasonless phrase is of sport, "sporty."
WinforWon. "I went to the race and win ten dollars." This atrocious solecism seems to be unknown outside the world of sport, where may it ever remain.
WithoutforUnless. "I cannot go without I recover." Peasantese.
WitnessforSee. To witness is more than merely to see, or observe; it is to observe, and to tell afterward.
Would-be. "The would-be assassin was arrested." The word doubtless supplies a want, but we can better endure the want than the word. In the instance of the assassin, it is needless, for he who attempts to murder is an assassin, whether he succeeds or not.