Garner’s Usage Tip of the Day

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 …

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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 …

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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,” …

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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 …

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“Tend” = (1) to be predisposed to [something]; or (2) to look after or care for. Sense 2 is a Middle English shortening of “attend.” It is sometimes wrongly made “tender,” more commonly in British English than in American English — e.g.: o “She witnessed Neilson fall repeatedly into her carefully tendered [read ‘tended’] flower …

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These verbs have distinct uses that most native speakers of English instinctively understand. Idiomatically speaking, you “say” that something is so, or you “tell” someone that something is so. “Tell,” in other words, needs a personal direct object. You don’t “tell” that something is so — e.g.: o “After reviewing emergency procedures, he told [read …

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taxwise = (1) adv., viewed with taxes in mind {today, real estate is a better investment taxwise than it was a few years ago}; or (2) adj., (of an investment) undertaken in a way that minimizes taxes {the fund encourages taxwise investing}; (of an investor) prudent in taking measures to avoid taxes {when you set …

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“Teemed with” (= to abound; be in plentiful supply) should be followed by a count noun {the pond is teeming with fish} {our suggestion box is teeming with slips}. But sometimes it’s misused for “rich in,” when applied to abstract noncount nouns — e.g.: o “Lancaster County is teeming with [read ‘rich in’] history.” Donald …

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So inflected. *”Teached” is a form that isn’t taught anywhere and is no part of standard English. But it sometimes appears — e.g.: o “Bert John Berghorst worked with the Hope Summer Repertory Theatre and formerly teached [read ‘taught’] at the West Ottawa schools.” “Teacher, Theater Figure Discovered Dead in Home,” Grand Rapids Press, 26 …

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Today: And “taunt,” n. & vb. “Taunt is both a verb (“to provoke with sarcasm or insults”) and a noun (“a sarcastic, provocative gibe”). Unfortunately, writers are increasingly confusing that word with the adjective “taut” (= tightly stretched [literally or figuratively]) — e.g.: o “He and Tucker, who goes by the name Chongo, tinkered with …

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Today: And “taught.” “Taut” (= [1] tightly stretched; [2] tense; or [3] well-disciplined) is surprisingly often written “taught” (the past tense of “teach”) — e.g.: o “Taught [read ‘Taut’] ropes sprawling this way and that anchored them to the ground.” Charlene Baumbich, “Memorable Days and Nights at Camp,” Chicago Trib., 22 July 1990, at 1. …

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“Tantalize” = to torment by sight or promise of a desired thing kept just out of reach. The verb “tantalize” is derived from the Greek myth about Tantalus, the son of Zeus and the nymph Pluto. After becoming the king of Lydia, he offended the gods by divulging their secrets to mortals. Because the father …

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This phrase (meaning “shocked or stunned, usu. by something someone has done”) is sometimes wrongly written — or wrongly said — *"taken back." E.g.: o “Never one to be taken back [read ‘taken aback’] by a new situation, even at the age of eight, Paula had learned a technique for disarming people.” Walter B. Barbe, …

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“Take is inflected “take/took/taken.” The form *"tooken" is low dialect. It occasionally shows up in quoted speech — e.g.: o “And how he absolutely hated ‘to get tooken [read ‘taken’] out of a ball game.’” Garret Mathews, “Ol’ Diz Would Have Struck Out in Broadcasting Today,” Evansville Courier & Press, 22 Jan. 1999, at B1 …

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In sailing, a “tack” is a change in course made by turning the vessel or the sail so that the wind strikes the other side of the sail. To change “tack,” then, is to change course. Sometimes writers using this idiom pick the more familiar “tact” (= discretion, diplomacy), possibly because the idiom suggests an …

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“Table” has nearly opposite senses in American English and British English. By “tabling” an item, Americans mean postponing discussion for a later time, while Britons mean putting forward for immediate discussion. Thus Americans might misunderstand the following sentences: o “MPs from both sides of the Commons will tomorrow table parliamentary questions demanding to know what …

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talk to; talk with. The first suggests a superior’s advising or reprimanding or even condescending {I want to talk to you about the work you’re doing}. The second suggests a conversation between equals, with equal participation {I want to talk with you about our project}. The distinction is chiefly relevant when the parties have different …

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Today: Ambiguities. Occasionally an ambiguity arises with synesis — e.g.: “There is now a variety of antidepressant drugs that can help lift these people out of their black moods.” If the sense of “a variety of” is “several,” then “are” is the appropriate verb; if the sense of the phrase is “a type of,” then …

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Today: Nouns of Multitude. Among the common nouns of multitude are “bulk,” “bunch,” “flood,” “handful,” “host,” “majority,” “mass,” “minority,” “multitude,” “percentage,” “proportion,” and “variety.” Each of these is frequently followed by “of” [+ plural noun] [+ plural verb]. Though singular in form, these nouns can justifiably take plural verbs — e.g.: o “Republicans in California …

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