Garner’s Usage Tip of the Day

Miscellaneous Entries. libido. Although dictionaries once recorded /li-BIY-doh/ as the preferred pronunciation, /li-BEE-doh/ is now the established preference in American English. licorice (/LiK-uh-rish/) is the standard spelling. “Liquorice” is a variant form. This word shouldn’t be confused with its uncommon homophones, “lickerish” (= lascivious, lecherous) and “liquorish” (= tasting like liquor). lie/lay/lain. So inflected (except …

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load, n.; lode. Although they have similar etymologies, their meanings have fully diverged. “Load” (in its basic senses) means “a quantity that can be carried at one time” or, by extension, “a burden” {a load of work} {a load off my mind}. “Lode” carries the narrow meaning “a deposit of ore,” as well as the …

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literally. “Literally” = (1) with truth to the letter; or (2) exactly; according to the strict sense of the word or words. “Literally” in the sense “truly, completely” is a slipshod extension — e.g.: “Behavioralists and postbehavioralists alike, literally or figuratively, learn what they know of science from the natural sciences, from the outside.” (Read: …

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lip-sync, vb.; lip-synch. To lip-sync, of course, is to move one’s lips silently in synchronization with recorded vocals, whether one’s own or someone else’s. Although the dictionaries are split between the “sync” and “synch” forms, the incontestable leader in print is “lip-sync” by a 2-to-1 ratio. But the agent noun is “lip-syncer,” pronounced anomalously with …

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Miscellaneous Entries. know, through careless error, is sometimes written “now” — e.g.: “Gempler said he didn’t now [read ‘know’] why the union produced the report.” Hannelore Sudermann, “Teamsters Attack Apple Industry Over Core Issues,” Spokesman-Rev. (Spokane), 23 July 1997, at A10. knowledgeable. So spelled – not ‘knowledgable.’ known /nohn/ is often mispronounced /NOH-uhn/, as if …

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like (2). Today: “Like” as a Conjunction. In traditional usage, “like” is a preposition that governs nouns and noun phrases, not a conjunction that governs verbs or clauses. Its function is adjectival, not adverbial. Hence one does not write, properly, “The story ended like it began,” but “The story ended as it began.” If we …

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like (1). Today: As a Preposition. The object of a preposition should be in the objective case — you say “They are very much like us,” not “They are very much like we.” Apart from the second person (in which the form remains the same), writers often get confused on this point, as with first-person …

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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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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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levy, v.t. “Levy” = (1) “to impose (as a fine or a tax) by legal sanction” {the court levied a fine of $500}; (2) “to conscript for service in the military” {the troops were soon levied}; (3) “to wage (a war)” {the rebels then levied war against the government}; or (4) to take or seize …

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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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