Bryan A. Garner

tie. “Tie” makes, in the present participle, “tying.” *”Tieing,” though common, is incorrect — e.g.: o “Cam Neely scored the tieing [read ‘tying’] and winning goals as Boston improved to 8-0-2 in its last 10 games against the Islanders.” Doug Chapman, “Islanders Marooned by Bruins, Who Can’t Be Beaten,” Providence J.-Bull., 19 Mar. 1995, at …

Garner’s Usage Tip of the Day: tie. Read More »

thus. “Thus” has four meanings: (1) in this or that manner {one does it thus}; (2) so {thus far}; (3) hence, consequently; and (4) as an example. In senses 3 and 4, “thus,” when it begins a clause, should usually have a comma after it. “Thus” itself being an adverb, it needs no “-ly.” Although …

Garner’s Usage Tip of the Day: thus. Read More »

thrust / thrust / thrust. So inflected. *”Thrusted” is a quite common error — e.g.: o “They thrusted [read ‘thrust’] pens, paper, footballs and jerseys over the fence top for Young to sign.” Gary Swan, “Young Already Trying to Run 49ers’ Camp,” S.F. Chron., 20 July 1998, at C1. o “Kournikova thrusted [read ‘thrust’] her …

Garner’s Usage Tip of the Day: thrust / thrust / thrust. Read More »

throes of, in the. In this phrase, meaning “struggling in the process of (something very painful or difficult)” {in the throes of childbirth}, “throes” is sometimes mistakenly spelled “throws” — e.g.: “‘I turned on the light and observed my much-loved pet in the throws [read ‘throes’] of a grand mal seizure.’” Liz Quinlan, “A Painful …

Garner’s Usage Tip of the Day: throes of, in the. Read More »

Miscellaneous Entries. throw / threw / thrown. So inflected. *”Throwed” is dialectal, appearing mostly in reported speech of nonstandard speakers — e.g.: “‘He just changed direction on me real fast and throwed me,’ he [a cowboy] said.” Dan R. Barber, “Hell on Hooves,” Dallas Morning News, 17 May 2001, at S1. *thru, a variant spelling …

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

thought leader. “Thought leader” (= a person or company with a reputation for innovation and success in a field) is a vogue word that has been around since the 1970s — e.g.: “To get the message across, Monsanto will aim its television advertising at people who write letters to editors and speak out on public …

Garner’s Usage Tip of the Day: thought leader. Read More »

thoroughgoing. “Thoroughgoing” (a solid word) means “thorough,” but it connotes zeal or ardor. It is not, therefore, merely a needless variant of “thorough” — e.g.: o “There is no question the charter needs a thoroughgoing review and rewrite.” “L.A. City Elections,” L.A. Times, 16 Mar. 1997, at M4. o “[The governor] hasn’t risked one iota …

Garner’s Usage Tip of the Day: thoroughgoing. Read More »

Garner’s Usage Tip of the Day Third World. Originally, this term denoted the group of underdeveloped nations (especially in Africa and Asia) not aligned with either Western democracies (i.e., the “First World” — or “Free World”) or Communist countries (i.e., the “Second World”) during the Cold War. But as the world turns, so does the …

Garner’s Usage Tip of the Day: Third World. Read More »

*these kind of; *these type of; *these sort of. These are illogical forms that, in a bolder day, would have been termed illiteracies. Today they merely brand the speaker or writer as slovenly. They appear most commonly in reported speech, but sometimes not — e.g.: o “What’s disheartening about this, from the Lebanon point of …

Garner’s Usage Tip of the Day: *these kind of; *these type of; *these sort of. Read More »

thesaurus. The plurals “thesauruses” and “thesauri” occur with equal frequency. The homegrown “thesauruses” is probably better — e.g.: o “In addition, there are the computerized thesauruses included in most word-processing programs.” Leslie T. Sharpe & Irene Gunther, Editing Fact and Fiction 204 (1994). o “Thesauruses also increased in popularity, rising from 22nd in terms of …

Garner’s Usage Tip of the Day: thesaurus. Read More »

Miscellaneous Entries. threnody /THREN-uh-dee/ (= a funeral song; elegy) is the usual spelling. *”Threnode” is a variant. threshold. So spelled. *”Threshhold” is a common misspelling — e.g.: “We dared to cross the threshhold [read ‘threshold’] from sophisticated, drawing-room, strangulated drollery to the wilderness where we not only faced the lion’s roar but smelled the breath …

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

there is; there are (2). Today: Number with. The number of the verb is controlled by whether the inverted subject that follows “there is” or “there are” is singular or plural. Mistakes are common — e.g.: o “He said there is [read ‘are’] several truckloads of nuclear waste.” Frank Munger, “State Bans DOE Nuke Waste,” …

Garner’s Usage Tip of the Day: there is; there are (2). Read More »

there is; there are (1). Today: As Signals of Clutter. These phrases, though sometimes useful, can also be the enemies of a lean writing style, as several commentators have observed — e.g.: o “The trouble with ‘there’ has nothing to do with grammar or with ‘correctness’ of any kind. It’s a perfectly proper word, and …

Garner’s Usage Tip of the Day: there is; there are (1). Read More »

therefore (2). Part A: Run-on Sentences. One should take care not to create run-on sentences by joining two independent clauses with “therefore” — e.g.: “Byfield had hired him for a ridiculous reason: ‘He grew up in New York, therefore I liked him.’” Kenneth Whyte, “Let Byfields Be Byfields,” Saturday Night, 1 Feb. 1996, at 15 …

Garner’s Usage Tip of the Day: therefore (2). Read More »

therefore (1). Today: Punctuation Around. One must take care in the punctuation of “therefore.” When a comma appears before “therefore,” the preceding word gets emphasized {it was John, therefore, who deserved the accolades} (suggesting that somebody else got the accolades but didn’t deserve them). Or you can reverse the order of the words to put …

Garner’s Usage Tip of the Day: therefore (1). Read More »

there. “There” for “they’re” or “their” is an embarrassing confusion of homophones. It’s the type of solecism one expects from a grade-school student, not from a professional writer or editor. But it is a common inadvertence in journalism — e.g.: o “And that’s where these radio stations are really missing the boat, because there [read …

Garner’s Usage Tip of the Day: there. Read More »