Bryan A. Garner

wean. “Wean” means either “to cause (a child or young animal) to become accustomed to food other than the mother’s milk” or, by extension, “to withdraw (a person) gradually from a source of dependence.” Thus, a person is typically “weaned off” something — e.g.: o “Skeptics have claimed this decline in caseload would slow and …

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*way which. *”Way which” is erroneous for “way in which.” E.g.: “This column has as its main goal the empowerment of you, the reader, about ways which [read ‘ways in which’] you can become more informed and thereby take more responsibility for your own health.” Glenn Ellis, “Using Herbs as a Method of Preventive Medicine,” …

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way(s). In the sense “the length of a course or distance,” “way” is the standard term {a long way}. “Ways” is dialectal. So it’s surprising to find “ways” in serious journalism — e.g.: “This is premature, of course; Fox still has a ways to go [read ‘some way to go’?] before it’s a full-fledged network.” …

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Miscellaneous Entries. verbatim; literatim; ipsissima verba. These apparent synonyms carry slight nuances. “Verbatim” = word for word. “Literatim” = letter for letter. Sometimes the phrase “verbatim et literatim” is seen. “Ipsissima verba” (lit., “the selfsame words”) = the exact language used by someone quoted (Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary [11th ed.]). verdict refers to a jury’s pronouncement. …

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waylay / waylaid / waylaid. Occasionally the past tense or past participle is misspelled *”waylayed” — e.g.: o “Keggi’s career was waylayed [read ‘waylaid’] in 1993 when she drank some bad water and was stricken with lingering symptoms from E-Coli bacteria.” Paul Harber, “They’re Going the Distance,” Boston Globe, 24 Apr. 1997, at C10. o …

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water under the bridge; water over the dam. Both phrases allude to time gone by and events passed. What the latter phrase adds to the former is the connotation of missed opportunities — e.g.: o “Whether other prosecutions should have taken place under the Intelligence Identities Protection Act is another question, and it appears at …

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watermark; water-mark; water mark. “Watermark” = (1) a line made by a body of water at its surface (as in a flood) and used to gauge the water’s depth; or (2) a faint identifying mark pressed into fine paper during manufacture, or an analogous identifier embedded in a computer file by software. The word in …

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Language-Change Index. The third edition of Garner’s Modern American Usage reflects several new practices. Invariably inferior forms, for example, are now marked with asterisks preceding the term or phrase, a marking common in linguistics. The most interesting new feature is the Language-Change Index. Its purpose is to measure how widely accepted various linguistic innovations have …

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Miscellaneous Entries. veld /velt/ (= an open, nearly treeless grassland) is the standard spelling. *”Veldt” is a variant (chiefly in South African English). vendor (= one who sells) is the standard spelling. *”Vender” is a variant. “Vendor” is pronounced /VEN-duhr/, not /VUN-dor/. venerable = (of people) worthy of being venerated, revered, or highly respected and …

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wary; weary. To be “wary” of something is to be on one’s guard against it: cautious, watchful, and perhaps worried. E.g.: “Consumers remain wary of anthrax sent through the mail.” Stephanie Miles, “Apparel E-tailers to Spruce Up for Holidays,” Wall Street J., 6 Nov. 2001, at B6. To be “weary” is to be physically fatigued …

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wanton; reckless. In law, the word “wanton” usually denotes a greater degree of culpability than “reckless” does. A reckless person is generally fully aware of the risks and may even be trying and hoping to avoid harm. A wanton person may be risking no more harm than the reckless person, but he or she is …

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want, n. The usual sense, of course, is “something desired” or “a desire.” But “want” has a long history as a formal word meaning “lack,” especially in the phrase “for want of.” Though this sense formerly had a literary cast, today it is fairly common even in informal writing — e.g.: o “The Republican incumbent, …

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Miscellaneous Entries. variable, adj.; variant, adj.; variational; *variative. “Variable” = subject to variation; characterized by variations. “Variant” = differing in form or in details from the one named or considered, differing thus among themselves (Concise Oxford Dictionary). “Variational” = of, pertaining to, or marked or characterized by variation. *”Variative” shares the senses of “variational”; because …

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waiver. “Waiver” (= voluntary relinquishment of a right or advantage) is primarily a noun; “waver” (= to vacillate) is primarily a verb. It is a fairly common solecism to misuse “waiver” for “waver” — e.g.: o “But when the defense lawyer found out the judge was waivering [read ‘wavering’], Mr. Polanski left the country.” Caryn …

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waive. Part A: Narrowing of Sense. This word has undergone what linguists call “specialization,” its primary sense having gotten narrower with time. Originally, “waive” was just as broad as “abandon” {the fleeing thief waived the stolen goods}. But today, “waive” means “to relinquish voluntarily (something that one has the right to expect)” {the popular entertainer …

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waistband. “Waistband” is sometimes, in a gross error, written *”wasteband” — e.g.: o “The women sucked in their breath and tried to push their belly-buttons into fleshy balloons over their wastebands [read ‘waistbands’].” Rebecca Walsh, “Dancers at Fest Bare Their Bellies, Escape Daily Grind,” Salt Lake Trib., 28 Aug. 1994, at B1. o “He allegedly …

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waist; waste. Substituting “waste” for “waist” is most often a pun — e.g.: “County Is Waste-Deep in Reduction/Recycling Assistance” (headline), Tampa Trib., 9 Nov. 2008, Local News §, at 3. But not always — e.g.: o “Johnny Campbell, 22, tied a tow chain around his waste [read ‘waist’] and waded through waste-deep [read ‘waist-deep’] water …

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