Miscellaneous Entries.
voyage; passage. A slight differentiation is possible. “Voyage” denotes a journey, especially by sea. “Passage” is almost synonymous with “voyage” in that sense, but it does not have as much connotation of returning. That is, “passage” usually denotes some sort of one-way change, such as (1) a progression from one place or state to another {life passages}; (2) a route from one place to another {Northwest Passage}; (3) a ticket or other right to transportation {passage to Hawaii}; (4) part of a written work, esp. one read or cited {a passage from Hamlet}; or (5) the act of voting to enact a law {passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Law}.
waft (= [vb.] to float or be carried lightly) is pronounced /wahft/ or /waft/ (rhyming with “raft”).
wagon; waggon. The first is American English; the second is British English.
wainscoting (= wood paneling lining an interior wall) is the standard spelling. *”Wainscotting” is a variant.
waistcoat (= [in British English] a vest) is best pronounced not as it’s spelled, but instead /WES-kuht/.
waiter. If women can be actors and sculptors, then surely they can be waiters. Yet in looking for nonsexist alternatives to waitress, various groups have championed the silly terms *”waitperson” and *”waitron.” Let “waiter” (or, if need be, “server”) do for either sex. Language-Change Index — “waiter” as a gender-neutral term: Stage 5.
*Invariably inferior form.
For information about the Language-Change Index click here.
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Quotation of the Day: “It is to your advantage not to submit a story — either to editors for publication or to an instructor or literary friend for criticism — until you have done everything you can to make it as good as possible.” R.V. Cassill, Writing Fiction 294 (1963).
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