Miscellaneous Entries.
spoonfuls; *spoonsful. The former is preferred.
sports car — not *"sport car" — is the standard term. But "sport coat" and "sport shirt" are more idiomatic than *"sports coat" and *"sports shirt."
sport-utility vehicle; *sports-utility vehicle; *sports-utilities vehicle. The first is standard. The others are variant forms.
spouse. Whenever you know that you're referring to a husband or wife, use one of those terms. "Spouse," which carries a legalistic flavor, should appear only when the context is not sex-specific.
spry (= active and nimble despite advancing age) makes "sprier" and "spriest" — preferably not *"spryer" and *"spryest."
For information about the Language-Change Index, click here.
*Invariably inferior forms.
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Quotation of the Day: "It is not enough to speak, but to speak true." Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night's Dream (as quoted in Walter Nash, An Uncommon Tongue: The Uses and Resources of English 48 (1992)).
