Bryan A. Garner

trope. “Trope” (/trohp/) means (1) a figure of speech, esp. a word or phrase used metaphorically, or (2) a motif. Sense 1 is the traditional one — e.g.: “And yet he has held on to the trope of product-launch-as-birth; as recently as the days following the launch of the iPhone, he surprised someone who’s known …

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trooper; trouper. “Trooper” = (1) a cavalry soldier or horse; (2) a police officer mounted on horseback; or (3) a state police officer. “Trouper” = (1) a member of an acting troupe; (2) one who handles adversity well; or (3) a loyal, dependable person. The proper expression, then, is “real trouper” (sense 2), not *”real …

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Miscellaneous Entries. transatlantic; *trans-Atlantic. The former is the standard spelling — on both sides of the Atlantic. “Transpacific” follows the same standard. transcendent; transcendental. “Transcendent” = surpassing or excelling others of its kind; preeminent. It is loosely used by some writers in the sense “excellent.” “Transcendental” = supernatural; mystical; metaphysical; superhuman. The adverbial forms are …

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troop; troupe. Both “troop” and “troupe” have their origins in the medieval French term “troupeau,” meaning “crowd” or “herd.” “Troop” = an assembled unit of soldiers {a troop of parachutists}. The plural form “troops” signifies soldiers {the troops were deployed along the crest of the ridge} and is usually modified by an adjective to indicate …

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Garner’s Usage Tip of the Day trompe l’oeil; *trompe d’oeil; *tromp d’oeil; *trump l’oeil. “Trompe l’oeil,” meaning “deceives the eye,” is by far the most common spelling of this gallicism. It’s the one recorded in most dictionaries. “*trompe d’oeil” is less common. *”Tromp d’oeil” and *”trump l’oeil” are needless variants. The phrase can apply to …

Garner’s Usage Tip of the Day: trompe l’oeil; *trompe d’oeil; *tromp d’oeil; *trump l’oeil. Read More »

trek, n. “Trek” derives from the Dutch “trekken” (= “to march or travel”). It’s occasionally misspelled *”treck” — e.g.: o “Jordan Pond is a good spot to begin your mountain-bike treck [read ‘trek’] northward past Eagle Lake to Bar Harbor.” Judith Wynn, “Work of Art,” Boston Herald, 7 Aug. 1997, at 52. o “Hawaii’s many …

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treble; triple. These words are distinguishable though sometimes interchangeable. Outside baseball contexts {he tripled to deep right field}, “trebled” is a common term — e.g.: o “The last time Congress ‘reformed’ campaign finance, it trebled the amount of money that is taken out of the Treasury (your money) and given to presidential candidates.” Theo Lippman …

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Miscellaneous Entries. toxicology; toxology. “Toxicology” = the science of poisons. “Toxology” = the branch of knowledge dealing with archery. tradable. So spelled — not “tradeable.” trademark; tradename. Today in American English, “tradenames” identify businesses; “trademarks” identify goods produced by or services provided by businesses. Each term is now preferably written as one word. traffic, v.i., …

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tread / trod / trodden. So inflected. “Trod” is a variant past participle. Although many American dictionaries (surprisingly) list ‘untrod’ as the standard adjective in preference to ‘untrodden,” the latter form is four times as common. Many writers, unfortunately, have tried to make “trod” into a present-tense verb. They’re treading heavily on the language — …

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trawl, vb.; troll, vb. “Trawl” = to fish with a large cone-shaped net (called a trawl) that is dragged on the bottom of a sea or lake. “Troll” = v.t., (1) to roll (something) around and around; (2) to sing robustly; (3) to pull through water; v.i., (4) to catch fish by dragging a lure …

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transpire. The traditionally correct meaning of this word is “to pass through a surface; come to light; become known by degrees.” But that sense is now beyond redemption, though writers should be aware of it. Today, of course, the popular use of “transpire” is as a formal word equivalent to “happen,” “occur,” or “take place.” …

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transparency. During the accounting scandals of 2001, when elaborate financial arrangements of major corporations were exposed as frauds on their stockholders, “transparency” became a vogue word for no-nonsense openness with information — e.g.: “‘Transparency in financial reporting, both to investors and internally, would make a big difference,’ [Michael] Synk added.” Mark Watson, “Seminar Will Look …

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transgender; transgendered. The precise meaning of this new term (dating only to the mid-1970s) is hard to pin down, but it’s most commonly used as a broad adjective describing people whose self-identity does not match the sex they were labeled with at birth — e.g.: “[Dr. Norman] Spack subjects his patients to a lengthy evaluation …

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Miscellaneous Entries. total, vb., makes “totaled” and “totaling” in American English, “totalled” and “totalling” in British English. to the effect that is often verbose for “that.” totting up (= adding up, calculating) is sometimes incorrectly made *”toting up” (which means “carrying up”) — e.g.: “Toting [read ‘Totting’] up a lifetime of 35 campaigns, in primaries …

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toward. “Toward” implies movement. It shouldn’t be used when the sentence would be served by “to” or “against” — e.g.: o “The parks and recreation department has no objections toward [read ‘to’] selling the West Suffield School.” Rubaina Azhar, “Suffield Holds Off on Sales,” Hartford Courant, 14 Mar. 1997, at B1. o “Perhaps he should …

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