LawProse Lessons

fortuitous; fortunate. Strictly speaking, “fortuitous” means “occurring by chance.” E.g.: “Unless the victim dies, the law cannot assume that the transgressor really meant to kill — even though whether the victim lives or dies might be entirely fortuitous.” Jerome H. Skolnick, “A Capital Offense Spared by Luck?” L.A. Times, 27 Aug. 1993, at B7. But […]

especial; special. Traditionally, “especial” (= distinctive, significant, peculiar) is the opposite of “ordinary” {the press is usually given especial access}. “Special” (= specific, particular) is the opposite of “general” {this community has special concerns}, though increasingly “special” is driving out “especial.” “Especial” is so rarely used in American English today — even in learned journals

diffuse; defuse, vb. To “diffuse” something is to disperse it from a single source. To “defuse” is to make something threatening safe, especially a dangerous situation or a bomb (by deactivating it). “Diffuse” can have very different connotations, depending on its context, because of how dispersal can work. When dye is dropped into water, as

Zeugma (2). Today: Erroneous Uses. Sometimes zeugma is a kind of grammatical error, as when a single word refers to two or more words in the sentence when it properly applies to only one of them. One type, the nontransferable auxiliary, plagues writers who habitually try to express their ideas in the alternative — e.g.:

Zeugma (1). Today: Witty Uses. This figure of speech, literally a “yoking together,” involves a word’s being a part of two constructions. Sometimes it results in a grammatical error, but sometimes it’s simply a felicitous way of phrasing an idea. For example, sometimes a verb or preposition is applied to two other words in different

Miscellaneous Entries zombie; *zombi. The first spelling so predominates today — 500-to-1 in a 2008 LexisNexis search — that the original term is almost a lifeless corpse. *”Zombi” derives from “nzambi,” the Bantu name of a West African python deity thought to raise the dead. A generally disparaging term in common use (in the sense

yours. “Yours,” an absolute possessive, is sometimes wrongly written *”your’s” — e.g.: o “‘So, when’s this big party of your’s [read ‘yours’] happening?’ asks the salesman.” Peter Goddard, “Imperial Esso Man Still Slick as Ever,” Toronto Star, 5 Aug. 2000, Entertainment §, at 9. o “I believe all men have consciences that guide them; let

your. “Your,” the possessive form of the second person, is sometimes misused for “you’re,” the contraction of “you are.” Often, as in the second example below, the error is that of the journalist who reports speech: o “Just saying your [read ‘you’re’] going to get fit this year doesn’t mean you will unless you define

you can’t eat your cake and have it too; you can’t have your cake and eat it too. The second phrasing, now the more common one, is sometimes stigmatized: “The first form makes sense: once you’ve eaten the damned thing, you can no longer have it. Not so the later, corrupt form: you can have

yoke; yolk. “Yoke” = (1) a twice-curved, usu. wooden beam with U-shaped brackets beneath to enclose the necks of two oxen or other draft animals {after a struggle, the oxen were fitted into the yoke}; or (2) a pair of animals suitable for yoking {a yoke of oxen}. “Yolk” = the yellow center of an

Miscellaneous Entries zetetic; *zetetick. The adjective meaning “proceeding by inquiry or investigation” is preferably spelled “zetetic” (OED & W3). The Center for Scientific Anomalies at Eastern Michigan University publishes a journal called The Zetetic Scholar, devoted to the skeptical analysis of paranormal claims. zibeline (= of or relating to sables) is the preferred spelling. *”Zibelline”

yet. Part A: Beginning Sentences with. Like other coordinating conjunctions, “yet” is perfectly acceptable as a sentence-starter. It’s a rank superstition to believe otherwise. E.g.: o “Yet if a student can — and this is most difficult and unusual — draw back, get a critical distance on what he clings to, come to doubt the

Today: “You all.” Many speakers in the South and Southwest, even highly educated ones, use the uncontracted “you all” as the plural form of “you.” This is a convenient usage, since “you” alone can be either singular or plural — and therefore is sometimes ambiguous. True, “you all” is unlikely to spread beyond regional usage.

y’all (2). Today: Number. Although the traditional use of “y’all” is plural, and although many Southerners have stoutly rejected the idea that it’s ever used as a singular, there does seem to be strong evidence that it can refer to a single person — for example, “See y’all later” spoken to someone without a companion.

y’all (1). Today: Spelling. This sturdy Southernism is most logically “y’all,” not *”ya’ll.” Only the “you” of “you all” is contracted. And in modern print sources, “y’all” is ten times as common. So *”ya’ll” (which misleadingly resembles “he’ll,” “she’ll,” and “we’ll”) deserves an edit — e.g.: o “If ya’ll [read ‘y’all’] want to stink up

Miscellaneous Entries yogurt; *yoghurt. The Turkish loanword “yogurt” (= a thick cultured dairy product) is so spelled. *”Yoghurt,” a variant spelling common (but not dominant) in British English, is rare in American English. In fact, “yogurt” is more than 200 times as common as *”yoghurt” in American print sources. *”Yoghourt” and *”yogourt” are likewise variant

Xmas. This abbreviation for Christmas is popular in advertising. The prejudice against it is unfounded and unfortunate. The X is not a Roman X but a Greek chi — the first letter in “Christ” (Gk. “Christos”). “Xmas” has no connection with Generation X, X-ray, or X as an algebraic variable. According to the late poet