Bryan A. Garner

tenure; tender. “Tenure” (= [1] a holding by right, as of an elected office; [2] the time spent in such an office; or [3] an entitlement to a professional position, esp. at a university, with protection against dismissal) is sometimes used where the intent was “tender,” vb. (= to offer something, esp. in settlement of […]

tenterhooks. A tenter is a frame for stretching cloth to dry, and tenterhooks are the hooks or nails placed in the tenter to hold the cloth. The set phrase “on tenterhooks,” then, refers to being stretched, therefore strained and nervous. Because the unfamiliar word “tenterhook” is rarely seen outside that phrase, it is prone to

tentative. “Tentative” (/TEN-tuh-tiv/) is often mispronounced, and therefore mistakenly written, as if the word were *”tenative” — e.g.: o “At the all-star break, he was making 42 percent (126 of 300) of his field goals, looking tenative [read ‘tentative’] with the ball.” David Aldridge, “Harvey Grant Has Found That He Could Get to Like Starting

Miscellaneous Entries. termagant (= a quarrelsome, overbearing woman) is pronounced /TUHR-muh-guhnt/, not /-juhnt/. terminus; terminal, n. “Terminus” = the place at the end of a travel route, esp. a railroad or bus line. The plural is “termini” or (much less commonly) “terminuses.” “Terminal” = a station on a transportation route. terra cotta. The noun is

Tenses (6). Today: Threatened Obsolescence of Perfect Tenses. Perhaps the heading here is overdrawn, but a distressingly large number of educated speakers of English seem at least mildly hostile to perfect tenses. There are three: the present perfect, the past perfect (or pluperfect), and the future perfect. And they’re worth some attention. First, the present

Tenses (5). Today: Sequence Errors with “seemed” and “appeared.” The infinitive-related problem with sequence of tenses occurs frequently with the verbs “seemed” and “appeared” — e.g.: o “Ripken appeared to have enjoyed [read ‘appeared to enjoy’] passing Kinugasa more than he enjoyed passing Gehrig.” Mark Maske, “Officially, Ripken Is on Top of the World,” Wash.

Tenses (4). Today: Sequence Errors with Infinitives. An exceedingly common sequence-of-tenses problem occurs with infinitives, which, when put after past-tense verbs, are often wrongly made perfect infinitives — e.g.: o “Remembering how busy General Maxwell Taylor must have been as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in 1963, how would you have liked to

Tenses (3). Today: Errors in Sequence of Tenses. Examples may be readily found in which the primary sequence of tenses is mangled — e.g.: “Mrs. Yager faces a possible sentence of up to 60 years in prison, although neither side expects that the maximum sentence would [read ‘will’] be imposed if she was [read ‘is’]

Tenses (2). Today: Sequence of Tenses. The term “sequence of tenses” refers to the relationship of tenses in subordinate clauses to those in principal clauses. Generally, the former follow from the latter. In careful writing, the tenses agree both logically and grammatically. The basic rules of tense sequence are easily stated, although the many examples

Tenses (1). Today: Generally. The following shows the basic tenses in English with the verb “be” conjugated in the indicative mood, showing the singular and plural forms for the first, second, and third person. Present Tense 1st person: I am / We are 2nd person: You are / You are 3rd person: He, she, or

Miscellaneous Entries. tenderfoot (= a newcomer or beginner) forms the plural “tenderfoots,” as the majority of dictionaries recommend. tendinitis; *tendonitis. “Tendinitis” = inflammation of a tendon. *"Tendonitis" is incorrectly arrived at by association with the spelling of the noun “tendon.” Tennessean; *Tennesseean. The first is standard; the second is a variant spelling. Although the final

Tennyson. The formal name of the 19th-century poet laureate is “Alfred, Lord Tennyson.” But writers often mistakenly write *”Lord Alfred Tennyson” — e.g.: o “Harrogate had become the culture capital of Northern England, attracting such celebrities as Charles Dickens, Lord Alfred Tennyson [read ‘Alfred, Lord Tennyson’], George Bernard Shaw and Sir Edward Elgar, as well

tenet. “Tenet” (= a doctrine or basic belief, dogma) is sometimes confounded with the similar-sounding “tenant” (= [1] one who has a leasehold, a lessee; or [2] an inhabitant, dweller). The result is linguistically untenable — e.g.: o “The Clinton legislation, which embraces many of the tenants [read ‘tenets’] supported in education legislation passed in

tendentious (3). Today: For “tendinitis.” A surprising error is the substitution of “tendentious” for “tendinitis” (= inflammation of tendons in a joint). It probably results from trigger-happy users of spell-checkers — e.g.: o “‘However, I don’t think my body can go another year at this intensity. I have had some lower back problems and patellar

tendentious (2). Today: For “contentious.” “Tendentious” (= one-sided) is occasionally confused with “contentious” (= combative) — e.g.: o “The structure represents Selig’s vision for his sport — the opportunity to soar beyond the tendentious [read ‘contentious’] labor struggles that have bedeviled baseball for decades and into an era of not only prosperity, but peace.” Teri

tendentious (1). Today: Generally. “Tendentious” = (of a writing, etc.) tending to promote a given viewpoint; biased. The word appears much more commonly in British English than in American English — e.g.: o “The Whitehall information code says no press release should contain tendentious or politically biased material.” David Hencke, “Whitehall Press Officers Sound Off,”

teenage, adj.; *teen-age; *teenaged; *teen-aged. The first is the standard spelling. The others are variant forms. telephonic. Although “telephone” ordinarily serves as its own adjective {telephone call} {telephone directory}, “telephonic” proves useful to avoid miscues in some contexts — e.g.: “Just when you thought you were learning to live with voice mail, a new telephonic