Garner’s Usage Tip of the Day

self-addressed stamped envelope. Though sometimes condemned, this phrase is now firmly entrenched in American English (especially in the abbreviated form SASE). “Self-addressed” isn’t merely “addressed by oneself,” but commonly means “addressed for return to the sender.” The prefix “self-” prevents vagueness: an envelope that’s merely addressed could be addressed to anybody. How should one pronounce …

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seldom. Because this word is an adverb as well as an adjective, the nonword *"seldomly" is never (not merely seldom) needed — e.g.: o “Hogan was a man so focused that he seldomly [read ‘seldom’] noticed what was going on around him.” Jeff Babineau, “Hogan’s Legacy,” Orlando Sentinel, 3 Aug. 1997, at C4. o “There, …

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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. salvage, n. ; selvage. “Salvage” = (1) the rescue of property (as at sea or from fire); or (2) the discovery and extraction of something valuable or useful from rubbish. “Selvage” = the edging of cloth. sanguine, in the sense “optimistic, confident,” is sometimes confounded with “sanguinary” (= [1] involving bloodshed; or [2] …

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segue. “Segue” is a noun (meaning “a seamless transition”) and an intransitive verb (meaning “to transition smoothly”). (It’s also a transitive verb, but only in music.) The misspelling *"segway" (except in the trademarked company name) is particularly embarrassing — e.g.: o “[Barack Obama] applauded the work of junior Joe Pearson, of Barrington, who works under …

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see / saw / seen. So inflected. Using the past tense for the past participle, and vice versa, is typical of dialect. Usually these errors occur only in reported speech — e.g.: o “‘If I was [read ‘had been’] here on time, I would have saw [read ‘seen’] what happened and the guy or gal …

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Scylla and Charybdis, between. As described by Homer, Scylla /SiL-uh/ was a sea monster who had six heads (each with a triple row of teeth) and twelve feet. Though primarily a fish-eater, she was capable of snatching and devouring (in one swoop) six sailors if their ship ventured too near her cave in the Strait …

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scurfy; scurvy, adj. “Scurfy” means “(of an organism) full of dandruff or similar white flakes occurring as a result of disease or parasites.” E.g.: “Right about now is the time to treat euonymus scale (the scurfy white stuff) on euonymus and pachysandra and other scale insects on mugo pines, lilacs, peach, plum and cherry trees.” …

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Scotch, adj. & n. ; Scottish, adj. ; Scots, adj. & n. As adjectives, “Scots” generally applies to people {Scotsman} and Scottish to things {Scottish golf}. But the distinction is far from rigid. Some things, usually those associated with people, have names that use “Scots” instead of “Scottish,” e.g., “Scots law,” “Scots Guards,” “Scots goose,” …

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Miscellaneous Entries. sale. Something “for sale” is simply being offered for a specified price. Something “on sale” is being offered at a discounted price. salesperson; salesman. To avoid sexism, prefer the former. “Salesperson” seems to be one of the few words in which “-person” isn’t particularly grating. salesroom; saleroom. The former is standard in American …

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scissors. As a term for the cutting instrument, scissors has been treated as a plural since the 14th century, and that is the preferred modern construction {where are the scissors?}. But the phrase “a pair of scissors,” which first appeared in the 15th century, is singular because the noun “pair” controls the verb, not the …

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schism. “Schism” (= division, separation) is now almost always used figuratively — e.g.: o “But then the remaining members of the family arrive, and with them the signs of schism.” David Delman, “Crime Reveals Underside of Happy American Family,” Times Union (Albany), 4 Apr. 1995, at C2. o “The issue has also created a schism …

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scarify. “Scarify” (from “scar”) means (1) “to make superficial marks or incisions in; cut off skin from”; (2) “to break up the surface of (the ground) with a spiked machine [a scarifier] for loosening soil or building roads”; or (3) “to pain by severe criticism.” Sense 1 is most common — e.g.: “Buy scarified Bahia …

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say; state, vb. Whenever possible, use “say” rather than “state.” The latter typically sounds stilted. But there is a substantive as well as a tonal difference: “say” means “to tell; to relate,” while “state” means “to set out (formally); to make a specific declaration.” Theodore Bernstein, the assistant managing editor of The New York Times, …

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Miscellaneous Entries. saccharin(e). "Saccharin" is the noun {saccharin is a known carcinogen}, "saccharine" the adjective {saccharine television shows}. sacerdotal (= priestly) is best pronounced /sas-uhr-DOH-tuhl/; /sak-/ is a variant pronunciation. sacrosanct, literally "most sacred," is now often ironic. Sometimes the irony appears unintentional — e.g.: "Ray Kroc, who founded the McDonald’s empire, wrote that the …

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saw / sawed / sawed. The past participle “sawn” is mostly archaic except in British English. “Sawed-off” is the overwhelming favorite in American English, “sawn-off” the overwhelming favorite in British English. But in the past few decades, “sawn-off” (whether in reference to shotguns, antlers, or branches) has made small inroads against “sawed-off” in American writing. …

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save. “Save,” in the sense “except,” is an archaism best avoided. But as the following examples illustrate, it still occasionally appears — e.g.: o “Everyone, save [read except] for a handful of brief, part-time employees, came back.” Lauri Githens, “The Club That Wouldn’t Die,” Buffalo News, 1 Apr. 1994, Gusto §, at 16. o “He …

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SAT. This term originated in 1926 as an initialism for the “Scholastic Aptitude Test,” developed by Princeton psychology professor (and eugenicist) Carl C. Brigham from an IQ test he had created for the U.S. Army during World War I. It was first administered to high-school students that same year, and was later adopted by Harvard. …

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Miscellaneous Entries. rotary; rotatory. “Rotary” is the everyday adjective describing something that spins on an axis, esp. a mechanical object {rotary razor}. In technical and scientific writing, “rotatory” describes something subject to or causing a spinning force {optical rotatory dispersion}. route is pronounced either /root/ or /rowt/. For quite some time, pronunciation specialists have heavily …

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sanctionable. Like “sanction,” “sanctionable”carries a double sense of approval and disapproval. Most often, “sanctionable” means “deserving punishment” — e.g.: “‘It had never been suggested that a physician’s discussion of marijuana as a medical option was illegal or otherwise sanctionable,’ the suit states.” Mike McKee, “Doctors Fight Back on Prop 215,” Recorder (S.F.), 15 Jan. 1997, …

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