Garner’s Usage Tip of the Day

Miscellaneous Entries. resister; resistor. “Resister” = one who resists. “Resistor” is the electrical term. resolution; motion. These terms carry distinct meanings in parliamentary procedure. When a deliberative assembly passes a “resolution,” the assembly is formally expressing its opinion about something — but no official action is taken. But when an assembly member raises a “motion,” …

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root around. “Root around” (= to poke about) is preferably so spelled — not *”rout around” or *”route around.” But the illogical slips are fairly common — e.g.: o “Maybe he should rout [read ‘root’] around in the attic for that pirate flag.” “The Fall of an American Icon,” BusinessWeek, 5 Feb. 1996, at 34. …

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roofed. “Roofed,” not *”rooved,” is the correct form — e.g.: o “These new state farms and cooperatives — clusters of tin-rooved [read ‘tin-roofed’] huts nestling in valleys — have been attacked repeatedly by the rebels.” Peter Ford, “What War Means for Nicaragua’s Peasants,” Christian Science Monitor, 10 July 1987, Int’l §, at 1. o “Salt …

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roof, n. The plural is “roofs,” not *”rooves.” But the mistaken plural occurs with some frequency — e.g.: o “But the view from the classroom (which his son uses to run a cramming school) is of rooves [read ‘roofs’] and television aerials, so the farmers’ cause seems already lost.” “The Last of the Left,” Economist, …

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Miscellaneous Entries. reprise; reprisal. “Reprise” = (1) /ri-PRIYZ/ an annual deduction, duty, or payment out of a manor or estate, as an annuity or the like; or (2) /ri-PREEZ/ (in music) a repetition of a theme or (in the performing arts) a repetition of a performance or role. “Reprisal” /ri-PRIY-zuhl/ = an act of retaliation, …

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role; roll. These are sometimes confused. “Roll” has many senses, including breadstuff, but the only sense that causes problems is “a list or register; roster” {the teacher took roll}. “Role,” by contrast, means “a function or part, as in a drama.” E.g.: o “She has no children with names such as Johnny, John, Peter, Paul, …

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rock ‘n’ roll; rock-‘n’-roll; rock’n’roll; rock and roll; rock-and-roll; rock & roll. Each of these is listed in at least one major American dictionary. “Rock ‘n’ roll” is probably the most common; appropriately, it has a relaxed and colloquial look. “Rock and roll” and “rock-and-roll” are somewhat more formal than the others and therefore not …

Garner’s Usage Tip of the Day: rock ‘n’ roll; rock-‘n’-roll; rock’n’roll; rock and roll; rock-and-roll; rock & roll. Read More »

rite of passage; rite de passage. Because the English expression is synonymous with (and more recognizable than) the French one, the latter should be considered an unnecessary gallicism. Occasionally, “rite” is misspelled “right” in this phrase — e.g.: o “Many consider drinking a normal right-of-passage [read ‘rite of passage’] for college students and complain about …

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ring/rang/rung; ringed. Senses that relate to encircling take the regular “-ed” inflections in the past tense and past participle {the enemy ringed the encampment}. Senses that relate to sound — the more usual senses — take the irregular inflections “ring/rang/rung” {the telephone rang}. The past-participial “rung” is often misused as a simple-past verb — e.g.: …

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Miscellaneous Entries. repetitive; repetitious; *repetitional; *repetitionary. The first two terms are undergoing differentiation. “Repetitive” generally means “repeating; containing repetition” {repetitive cadences}. It is a largely colorless term. “Repetitious,” which has taken on pejorative connotations, means “full of tedious repetitions” {a highly repetitious essay in need of pruning}. *”Repetitional” and *”repetitionary” are needless variants of “repetitive.” …

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riff; rift (2). Today: “rift.” “Rift” arose in Middle English in the sense “a fissure or divide; a split or crack” — the meaning it still carries. E.g.: “Word out of Washington is that Bondra wants to change teams because of a rift with coach Ron Wilson.” Nancy Marrapese-Burrell, “End-of-the-Year Sale,” Boston Globe, 1 Oct. …

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riff; rift (1). Today: “riff.” These two are sometimes confused. “Riff” is now largely confined to jazz and pop-music contexts. It refers to a melodic phrase, usually repeated and often played in unison by several instruments; sometimes it’s a variation on a tune, and it may be either an accompaniment to a solo or the …

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rife; ripe. While a tree may be “rife” (= abundant) with fruit, and that fruit may be “ripe” (= fully mature), the terms are unrelated. To confuse them is a surprisingly common malapropism — e.g.: o “Iowa State . . . made an impression in Florida, ripe [read ‘rife’] with high school players coach Dan …

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rid/rid/rid. *”Ridded” is a variant form to be avoided — e.g.: o “The fish-eating public had a heyday the last time Williams and Badger were ridded [read ‘rid’] of non-game fish.” Rich Landers, “State Won’t Take Chance with Rotenone,” Spokesman-Rev. (Spokane), 21 Sept. 1995, at C1. o “When the night was over, Shaw had made …

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rhyme; rime. “Rhyme” means generally (1) “the correspondence of sound in words or lines of verse”; or (2) “a poem or poetry.” “Rime” means “the icy crystals on a freezing surface; frost.” Because of this long-standing differentiation, “rime” as a variant of “rhyme” ought to be discouraged. Historically, though, “rime” is correct for “poetry.” But …

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rhetoric. “Rhetoric” = (1) the art of using language persuasively; the rules that help one achieve eloquence; (2) the persuasive use of language; (3) a treatise on persuasive language; and (4) prose composition as a school subject. These are the main senses outlined in the OED, which also records “ironical or jocular” uses from the …

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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. renege; renegue; *renig. The first is the preferred form in American English; the second is the standard spelling in British English, although the first is making inroads. *”Renig” is a variant spelling in American English. renounceable; *renunciable. The latter is a needless variant. rent, n.; rental, n. Generally, prefer “rent” instead of the …

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rewrite. “Rewrite” is both noun and verb, although “write” itself cannot be a noun. E.g.: o “The play, meanwhile, could stand a good rewrite.” Scott Collins, “‘Pants on Fire’: A Smothered Attempt,” L.A. Times, 21 Oct. 1994, at 26. o “A good rewrite of the Endangered Species Act would balance the costs and benefits of …

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Remote Relatives (2). Today: With “that,” “who,” and “whose.” Remote relatives (relative-pronoun construction separated from their antecedents) are most common with “which” clauses. But other relatives get their share. The relative pronoun “that” is almost as troublesome, and when used remotely is even more likely to cause confusion — e.g.: “C-130 aircraft packed with radio …

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