LawProse Lessons

Split Infinitives (3). Today: Justified Splits. A number of infinitives are best split. Perhaps the most famous is from the 1960s television series Star Trek, in which the opening voice-over included this phrase: "to boldly go where no man [or, in the revival of the 1980s and 1990s, 'where no one'] has gone before." The […]

Split Infinitives (2). Today: Splits to Be Avoided. If a split is easily fixed by putting the adverb at the end of the phrase and the meaning remains the same, then avoiding the split is the best course. Split: "It is not necessary to here enlarge upon those points." Unsplit: "It is not necessary to

Split Infinitives (1). Today: Generally. H.W. Fowler divided the English-speaking world into five classes: (1) those who neither know nor care what a split infinitive is; (2) those who do not know, but care very much; (3) those who know and condemn; (4) those who know and approve; and (5) those who know and distinguish

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

spitting image (2). Today: And *"splitting image." This odd variant, another chip off the old "spit and image" block, usually appears as a pun. But occasionally (and sadly), a sober-sided writer will err with it — e.g.: o "He's the splitting image [read 'spitting image'] of his brother, Tampa Bay Buccaneers' cornerback Ronde Barber. And

spitting image (1). Today: Etymology. "Spitting image" (= the exact likeness; an identical duplicate) is actually a corruption of "spit and image," from the notion of God's using spit and dust to form the clay to make Adam in his image. As far back as the early 1800s, the phrase "the very spit of" was

spit. "Spit" (= to expectorate) is inflected in three possible ways: "spit / spat / spat," "spit / spat / spit," and "spit / spit / spit." Good authority can be found for the first two; the third finds less enthusiastic support. The recommendation here is to follow the first, as good writers generally do

Miscellaneous Entries. spill / spilled / spilled. So inflected. The archaic past form "spilt" still sometimes appears in metaphorical references to "spilt milk" ("Don't cry over spilt milk"), but "spilled milk" is somewhat more common. spiral, vb., makes "spiraled" and "spiraling" in American English, "spiralled" and "spiralling" in British English. spiritual; spiritualistic; spirituous; *spiritous; spirituel;

Miscellaneous Entries. speechify = to deliver a speech. The word is used in a mocking or derogatory way. speed / sped / sped. The best past-tense and past-participial form is "sped," not *"speeded" — except in the phrasal verb "speed up" (= to accelerate) {she speeded up to 80 m.p.h.}. Language-Change Index — *"speeded" for

spasmodic; *spasmodical; *spasmatic; spastic. "Spasmodic" = (1) of, relating to, or characterized by a spasm; or (2) intermittent, sporadic, unsustained. *"Spasmodical" and *"spasmatic" are needless variants. "Spasmatic" is labeled "rare or obsolete" by the Shorter Oxford English Dictionary, but of those two labels only "rare" is accurate — e.g.: o "Likewise, human history is a

spartan; sparse. "Spartan" is the antonym of "luxurious," and "sparse" the antonym of "luxuriant." But there the similarities end. In ancient Greece, the people of Sparta were known as being stoical, frugal, simple, laconic, brave, disciplined, and indifferent to comfort or luxury. From them we get the adjective "spartan," which describes someone with the qualities

sow, vb. Part A: Inflection: sow / sowed / sown. In the past participle, *"sowed" is a variant form. In modern print sources, "sown" predominates by a 6-to-1 ratio. Part B: Sowing wild oats. To "sow" is to scatter seed. By extension, to "sow one's wild oats" is to engage in youthful promiscuity or other

sour grapes. This is one of the most commonly misused idiomatic metaphors. It is not a mere synonym of "envy" or "jealousy." Rather, as in Aesop's fable about the fox who wanted the grapes he could not reach, "sour grapes" denotes the human tendency to disparage as undesirable what one really wants but can't get

Miscellaneous Entries. sound bite. So spelled — not *"sound byte." E.g.: "Although this was a fairly logical prediction to make, knowing the teams, their styles, and their media sound bytes [read 'bites'] throughout the week, Kawakami hit the nail on the head." "For His Next Trick: Tonight's Winning Lottery Numbers," L.A. Times, 22 Mar. 1997,

Sound of Prose (2). Today: Awkward Repetition. Too much repeating of sounds can enfeeble your style, especially if two different forms of the same root appear close together — e.g.: o "The major role of legislative liaisons is to answer legislators' [read 'lawmakers'] questions about the impact of proposed legislation [read 'bills'] on various agencies."

Sound of Prose (1). Today: Undue Alliteration or Rhyme. Every writer is occasionally guilty of having a tin ear. But the effective writer is self-trained not to write in a way that distracts with undue alliteration, unconscious puns, accidental rhyming, or unseemly images. These clunkers are sure to irritate some readers. And although clunkers are