Garner’s Usage Tip of the Day

solecism. Generally, "solecism" (/SAHL-uh-siz-uhm/) refers to a grammatical or syntactic error, often a gross mistake. E.g.: "I once spoke French well enough to teach in a Marseille lycee — but that was 25 years ago and today I could hardly string two sentences together without committing some gross solecism." Michael Dirda, "The Lingo Kid," Wash. …

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sola topi. "Sola topi" (= a pith helmet, originating in India, made from the sola plant) is sometimes misspelled *"solar topi" — e.g.: o "But she kept the English cricketing cap and the solar [read 'sola'] topi." Joan Bridgman, "Mad Dogs, Englishwomen and Nureyev," Contemp. Rev., 1 Apr. 1995, at 213. o "The most unusual …

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Miscellaneous Entries. Smithsonian Institution. This is the name — not *"Smithsonian Institute." smoky, adj., is so spelled — not *"smokey." But the lovable mascot's name is "Smokey Bear." smolder (= to burn slowly without flame) is the standard spelling. "Smoulder" is a chiefly British English variant. sodomite; *sodomist. The first outnumbers the second by a …

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soi-disant. “Soi-disant” = self-proclaimed. This French affectation is inferior both to the translation just given and to “self-styled.” E.g.: o “What it may need instead is an establishment with the nerve to tell the soi-disant [read ‘self-proclaimed’] victims: Stop kvetching.” Michael S. Greve, “Remote Control Tuning for Speech,” Wash. Times, 9 Nov. 1996, at D3. …

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so (2). Today: For “very” and in “so therefore.” In traditional usage, “so” is a comparative adverb {so cold I could die} {so cumbersome that I don’t want it} {he’s not so tall as she is}. Gradually, speakers and writers began dropping the final part of the comparison {he’s so tall!} {she’s so smart} {it’s …

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so (1). Today: Beginning Sentences with. Like “And” and “But,” “So” is a good word for beginning a sentence. Each of these three is the informal equivalent of a heavier and longer conjunctive adverb (“Additionally,” “However,” and “Consequently” or “Therefore”). Rhetoric, not grammar, is what counts here. The shorter word affords a brisker pace — …

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*snuck. *”Snuck” is a nonstandard past tense and past participle of “sneak” common in American speech and writing. The standard past form is “sneaked.” Surprisingly, though, *”snuck” appears half as often as “sneaked” in American writing — e.g.: o “They include all that weird wording snuck [read ‘sneaked’] into bills to assure that the gravy …

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snoot. In the April 2001 issue of Harper’s, the late David Foster Wallace introduced his family’s acronym for "syntax nudnik of our time" or, alternatively, "Sprachegefhl necessitates our ongoing tendance." (A fuller version of Wallace’s influential essay, purportedly a review essay of the first edition of this book, appears in Wallace’s Consider the Lobster [2006], …

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smooth, vb.; *smoothen. The latter is a needless variant — e.g.: "But eventually, Dr. Toaff insists, the knobs and bulges will smoothen [read 'smooth'] out." Natalie Angier, "One Woman’s Decision Against a Hysterectomy," N.Y. Times, 18 Feb. 1997, at C1. The verb is often misspelled *"smoothe," doubtless on the analogy of "soothe" and "teethe" — …

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sly. “Sly” (= wily, cunning, sneaky) preferably makes “slyer,” “slyest,” and “slyly.” But some writers use the variant spellings *”slier,” *”sliest,” and *”slily” — e.g.: o “The land has been creeping slily [read ‘slyly’] out to sea for the last twenty centuries or so.” Steven Moore, “The Beast in the Vatican,” Wash. Post, 15 Sept. …

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slough (2). Today: Misspelled "sluff" as a Verb. "Slough off" (= [1] to shed an outer skin; or [2] to cast off, discard) is sometimes incorrectly written *"sluff off" (a phonetic spelling) — e.g.: "As he delves deeper into a lousy world in which people steal children for money, he expands, sluffs [read 'sloughs'] off …

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Language-Change Index. The third edition of Garner’s Modern American Usage reflects several new practices. Invariably inferior forms, for example, are now marked with asterisks preceding the term or phrase, a marking common in linguistics. The most interesting new feature is the Language-Change Index. Its purpose is to measure how widely accepted various linguistic innovations have …

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Miscellaneous Entries. skill-less — so hyphenated — is sometimes misspelled *"skilless." E.g.: "Regardless of what people think, it's not a skilless [read ‘skill-less’] job," said a clerk at a West End Safeway. Mike Sadava, No Stores to Shut if Strike Hits Safeway, Edmonton J., 21 Mar. 1997, at B3. skim milk; *skimmed milk. Though the …

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slink / slunk / slunk. So inflected. *"Slank" and *"slinked" are nonstandard variants in the past tense and past participle — e.g.: o "The advent of the riders bruited by scurvid curs that howled woundedly and slank [read ‘slunk’] among the crumbling walls." Cormac McCarthy, Blood Meridian, Or, The Evening Redness in the West 97 …

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sling / slung / slung. So inflected. As a past-tense form, "slang" is dialectal. As a past participle meaning "placed in a sling," "slinged" can be convenient, but it can also be startlingly ambiguous — e.g.: "Pediatric experts such as Dr. William Sears claim slinged babies are more alert." Sue Gleiter, "Baby on Board: Sling …

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slew, n. "Slew" (= a large number), which most commonly appears in the phrase "whole slew," is sometimes miswritten "slough" (= a stagnant bogpronounced /sloo/) — e.g.: o "Watch for a whole slough [read 'slew'] of indictments to be issued today stemming from a major cargo theft ring involving baggage handlers at O’Hare Airport." Michael …

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slay / slew / slain (1). Today: Generally. "Slay" = (1) to kill; or (2) to overwhelm, often with delight. In sense 1, the verb has gradually been disappearing from common use except in poetry, headlines, and references to crime victims — e.g., "her son was slain by a stranger in 2002." Even that usage …

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Slang (3) Today: The Middle Road. So where does the truth lie? Perhaps somewhere in between the two views. If the focus is on speech, then slang undoubtedly has its place in every normal person's mouth. Some will use it more than others. It grows out of a desire for novelty (freshness), experience shared with …

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Slang (2). Today: More Reactions. Although prescriptive linguists are often depicted as stern opponents of slang, the most prescriptive of them all saw its place: "A little racy slang may well be used in the course of one's daily talk; it sometimes expresses that which otherwise would be difficult, if not impossible, of expression." Richard …

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Slang (1). Today: Generally. "Slang," a notoriously difficult term to define, has potentially four characteristics: (1) it is markedly lower in dignity than standard English; (2) it typically surfaces first in the language of people with low status or with a low level of responsibility; (3) it is more or less taboo in the discourse …

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