Bryan A. Garner

LawProse Lesson #197: Using ellipsis dots with quotations.

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Using ellipsis dots with quotations. Lawyers frequently need ellipsis dots because of the abundant quotations in legal writing—quotations that often need trimming. Properly used, ellipses are perfectly respectable and often necessary to avoid both the reproduction of extraneous words (a time-waster) and any suspicion that the writer has tampered with the quotation’s meaning (a credibility-waster). …

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Garner’s Usage Tip of the Day: lifelong; livelong.

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lifelong; livelong. “Lifelong” = lasting for all or most of one’s life {Seymour’s lifelong dream was to conduct the New York Philharmonic}. Livelong = (of a time period, esp. a day or a night) whole, entire {“the eyes of Texas are upon you, all the livelong day”}. Confusion of these words isn’t as rare as …

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Garner’s Usage Tip of the Day: liable

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liable. “Liable” (= subject to or exposed to) should not be used merely for “likely.” “Liable” best refers to something the occurrence of which risks being permanent or recurrent — e.g.: o “What you don’t know is liable to hurt you — and your building.” Maureen Patterson, “See You in Court!” Buildings, Feb. 1997, at …

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LawProse Lesson #196: “Notwithstanding”

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Notwithstanding. “Notwithstanding is much too ponderous for everyday life. Say in spite of or despite.” — Rudolf Flesch, The ABC of Style 207 (1964). After 50 years, Flesch’s sentiment still holds true for most writing—even most legal writing. There are two main problems with notwithstanding. First, it’s a cumbersome connector that bogs down your prose. In legal writing, …

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Garner’s Usage Tip of the Day: Miscellaneous Entries.

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Miscellaneous Entries. kindergarten. This German loanword for “children’s garden” has been in use in English since at least the mid-18th century with its foreign spelling intact. It is sometimes misspelled as if it were anglicized — e.g.: “Lexington is the largest school in the state for the profoundly deaf and hard-of-hearing, and educates students from …

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Garner’s Usage Tip of the Day: let’s you and I.

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let’s you and I. First, think of “let’s” (= let us). “Us” is in the objective case. Another form of the phrase (still in the objective case) would be “let you and me” (“you and me” agreeing with “us”). The construction “let you and I” is ungrammatical — and fairly rare. But what about “let’s …

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Garner’s Usage Tip of the Day: lest (2).

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lest (2). Today: Mood Following “lest.” “Lest” is best followed by a verb in the subjunctive mood, not the indicative, because “lest” points to something that is merely possible, not definite — e.g.: “The Bosnian Serb military leader is reportedly leery of leaving the self-proclaimed republic of Srpska, lest he be dragged off to The …

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LawProse Lesson #195: “Due to” what?

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Due to what? Traditionally, due functions as either a noun meaning “something owed” {The players finally gave their coach his due.} or an adjective meaning “adequate” or “appropriate” {due process} {with all due respect}. The phrase due to most traditionally functions as an adjective meaning “attributable to.” Linguistic conservatives think that the phrase is best used (1) after a …

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Garner’s Usage Tip of the Day: less (3).

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less (3). Today: Two Last Things. Part A: And “lesser.” “Lesser,” like “less,” refers to quantity, but it is confined to use as an adjective before a singular noun and following an article {a lesser crime} or alone before a plural noun {lesser athletes}, thus performing a function no longer idiomatically possible with “less.” Dating …

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Garner’s Usage Tip of the Day: less (2).

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less (2). Today: “One fewer” or “one less“? If, in strict usage, “less” applies to singular nouns and “fewer” to plural nouns, the choice is clear: “one less golfer” on the course, not “one fewer golfer.” This is tricky only because “less” is being applied to a singular count noun, whereas it usually applies to …

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Garner’s Usage Tip of the Day: less (1).

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less (1). Today: And “fewer.” Strictly, “less” applies to singular mass nouns {less water} and “fewer” applies to plural count nouns {fewer interruptions}. An exception occurs when the plural count nouns are divisible units of measurements that essentially function as mass nouns {less than $5 a day}. Only if the units of measure are clearly …

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Garner’s Usage Tip of the Day: Miscellaneous Entries.

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Miscellaneous Entries. kaffeeklatsch, a German loanword meaning “a coffee-drinking group that engages in leisurely conversation,” is so spelled. “Coffee klatsch” and “coffee klatch” are variant forms. kaleidoscope. So spelled. Kazakhstan. So spelled — with the medial “-h-.” The inhabitants of this former Soviet republic are called “Kazakhs.” kebab; kabob; kebob; cabob. The first of these …

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LawProse Lesson #194: Portmanteau words.

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Portmanteau words. A portmanteau is a type of luggage with two separate sections. A portmanteau word is formed by combining the sounds and meanings of two different words. Linguists also call such a word a blend. Most portmanteaus merge the initial part of one word with the end of another: smog (smoke + fog) and infomercial (information + commercial). Others …

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Garner’s Usage Tip of the Day: lens.

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lens. So spelled — not “lense.” But the misspelling occurs fairly often, as something like a back-formation from the plural — e.g.: o “Raunchy Lisa ‘Left Eye’ Lopez — who got her nickname after wearing a condom over one lense [read ‘lens‘] of her glasses — makes no apologies for her behaviour.” John Dingwall, “Latest …

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Garner’s Usage Tip of the Day: lend — lent — lent.

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lend — lent — lent. So inflected. “Lended” is a frequent error — e.g.: o “The $27 black windbreakers emblazoned with ‘Crown Casting Co.’ lended [read ‘lent‘] credibility in the final minutes before ‘Action!’” Ann E. Donlan, “54 Bad ‘Actors’ Answer Police ‘Casting Call,’” Boston Herald, 9 June 1997, at 5. o “Kukoc lended [read …

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Garner’s Usage Tip of the Day: legal holiday; bank holiday.

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legal holiday; bank holiday. A “legal holiday” is a day designated by law as a holiday, accompanied by the closing of most public offices and paid leave for most public employees. Observance of a legal holiday by the private sector is voluntary. A legal holiday may be established by the national government (e.g., July 4 …

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LawProse Lesson #193: Words of the Year 2014

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Words of the Year 2014. In keeping with a recently established tradition, various lexicographic departments have announced their Words of the Year. For 2014, Oxford Dictionaries picked vape. Although it originated as an abbreviated form of vapor or vaporize, Oxford gave vape its own entry in August 2014. The verb means “to inhale and exhale the vapor …

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Garner’s Usage Tip of the Day: Miscellaneous Entries.

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Miscellaneous Entries. junta; junto. Of Spanish origin, “junta” (= a political or military group in power, esp. after a coup d’état) is pronounced either /HOON-tuh/ or /JUHN-tuh/. It is much more common in American English than its altered form, “junto” /JUHN-toh/, which has undergone slight differentiation to mean “a self-appointed committee having political aims.” Ernest …

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Garner’s Usage Tip of the Day: Legalese.

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Legalese. Despite popular prejudices, not all uses of legal language are bad. But unnecessarily complex legal jargon — or “legalese” — is widely viewed by legal scholars as the source of many problems: (1) it alienates people from their legal system; (2) it besots its users — namely, lawyers — who think they’re being more …

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