The War On Words by Bob Yearick

Close, But No Cigar I heard a man at the Democratic Convention say, “We are all in agreeance with Joe Biden.” This word got much press more than a decade ago when rocker Fred Durst, lead singer of Limp Bizkit, uttered this at the Grammy Awards: “I just really hope we’re all in agreeance that this war should go away as soon as possible.” Wordsmiths responded with derision, saying it should be agreement. Then some Oxford English Dictionary expert contended that it was a word, but he admitted it had gone out of use in the early 1700s, then made a comeback in the 18th and early 19th centuries. But since then it has again fallen into disuse. Bottom line: it’s wrong. Go with agreement.

Media Watch • Matt Breen, in The Philadelphia Inquirer: “Pete Mackanin said he is not sure how long Bianco will be out for.” The non-rule about not ending a sentence in a preposition is silly (As Winston Churchill allegedly said, “That is the kind of nonsense up with which I will not put.”), but in this case the “for” is totally useless and amateurish. • USA Today: "What do you get when you cross a international pop star with . . ." Proof once again that “an” is disappearing from the language. Remember, the rule is to use an before a word starting with a vowel sound. Otherwise, use a. • Phillies radio broadcaster Scott Franzke: “He is leaving a lot of space between he and the shortstop.” Franzke thus joins his TV counterpart, Tom McCarthy, in not recognizing that prepositions such as between require the objective pronoun, him. • Wall Street Journal: “The most basic tenant of the decision is that . . . the death penalty must be decided by the jury.” The correct word is tenet, meaning principle, rule, not tenant, meaning a renter of land or property. • The University of Pennsylvania Gazette: “The Pentagon people came to us instead of we going over there.” Should be “us,” of course – again, object of the preposition. And from an Ivy League publication yet. • The News Journal: “Wendell Smallwood didn’t have a big viewing party, just him and his immediate family at their home in Smyrna.” Here, the subjective case is needed – he. • Keith Pompey, in the Inquirer, scored a double: “In addition to being solid from the three-point line, the Sixers are getting a good locker room guy.” This is a dangling modifier; it’s the guy who’s good from the three-point line, not the Sixers. Same story: “They want to have a face-to-face meeting with Waiters to squash the concerns about the South Philly native.” The word is quash. Common mistake.

Department of Redundancies Dept. (Note that the word of the month, tautology, describes this department.) There are phrases that have been accepted for years that simply don’t pass muster here. Two examples: • Compare and contrast. This is a classic tautology popular with high school teachers everywhere. Note to them: just make it compare. If one is comparing two things, there will naturally be contrasts. • Sooner rather than later. This is a favorite of loquacious people, especially those in TV and radio. Just make it “soon.” Movie Gaffes Herewith a new category, in which we point out misuses, misspellings, and general semi-literacy in random movies. In 2012’s Parental Guidance, Bill Crystal says to Bette Midler: “You must've sang that to the kids a hundred times.” Sung is the past participle of sing. From Manhunter (1986): A headline in a newspaper reads “FBI Persues Pervert.” That’s pursues. Noticed any movie gaffes? Send ‘em in. Word of the Month:

tau·tol·o·gy Pronounced tôˈtäləjē, it’s a noun meaning the saying of the same thing twice in different words; a redundancy.

Quotation of the Month Custom decides, and if you and I, the people responsible for custom, are careless or indifferent, our English speech will go to the dogs. —B.L.K. Henderson, Chats About Our Mother Tongue (1927).

Here, for your reading pleasure (I hope) is my next column, approximately three weeks prior to publication.

The War on Words

By Bob Yearick

A monthly column in which we attempt, however futilely, to defend the English language against misuse and abuse

Media Watch

·         Philadelphia Eagles play-by-play man Merrill Reese, in September: “The team must find a way to make a 360-degree turn.” He meant 180 degrees, but unfortunately the Eagles continued to play badly, which would amount to a 360.

·         From The News Journal, courtesy of Larry Nagengast, O&A contributing writer: "‘It hasn't changed a wit since Pete du Pont created it 30 years ago,’ Perkins said.” The word is whit, meaning the least bit; an iota.

·         TNJ again, this time from a column by Carron Phillips: “(David Simon, author of The Wire) was a former journalist in the city of Baltimore.” Either he is a former journalist, or he was a journalist. And “the city of”? Redundant.

·         From The Newark Post: “Lang said the building shrunk by 20 to 25 percent.” The past tense of shrink is shrank. Then again, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids has confused an entire generation of moviegoers.

·         Xfinity headline: “The problem with mens’ growing waistlines.” Amazing how many people think mens is the plural of man. There is no such word, unless an apostrophe is inserted between the n and the s.

·         From the New York Times: “Sen. Marco Rubio has been laying low for much of the summer . . .” Similarly, Peter MacArthur on WDEL: “The toy was found laying in 18 inches of water.” Lay means to place; lie means to recline or rest. In both cases, the correct word is lying.  

·         Actor William Shatner, in a USA Today interview, speaking of negative inclinations: “The older you get, either the further buried they become or they become extant.” He meant extinct. Extant means virtually the opposite: existing. (In fairness to Capt. Kirk, the writer may have misheard him.)

·         Lini Kadaba in The Philadelphia Inquirer: “A good mood ‘has a positive affect on creativity,’ he says.” That’s the verb. Effect is the noun.

·         A reader heard a KYW radio report about a hostage situation in which the reporter said authorities had moved into the building in order to talk with the hostage-taker “verbally, instead of on the phone.” We’re guessing the reporter meant “in person.”

Department of Redundancies Dept.

Courtesy of Sports Illustrated, here’s a double redundancy that never occurred to me: The Los Angeles Angels. In Spanish, los means the and angeles means angels.

Getting Political Continuing our mining of the presidential campaign for War gold: MSNBC reporter Peter Alexander, prefacing a question to a Joe Biden aide: “Based on your loyalty to he and his platform . . .” To is a preposition; it calls for the objective case –him!

Also, Terry Plowman, editor of Delaware Beach Life, notes that a presidential candidate’s town hall meeting has devolved into simply “a town hall.” Says Terry: “I always think it sounds weird when a TV reporter says something like, ‘Hillary Clinton will hold a town hall this morning.’ I get a picture of Superwoman holding a building in the air.”

Notes of All Sorts:

My newest pet peeve: “Reach out to,” as in, “I’ll reach out to my friends in the industry.” Whatever happened to “contact,” “call” or a simple “ask”?

And what’s with all the extra prepositions in such phrases as focus in on, welcome in, met up with, over top of, adding on, underneath of and off of.

Ever notice? People have a problem with the participle of the verb “to drink.” It’s drunk: I have drunk, I had drunk. May sound strange, but it’s not drank. (Similarly, shrunk and shrank – see Media Watch.)

And a Reminder

The War on Words, a paperback collection of columns from 2007 to 2011, makes a great stocking stuffer. Get it at Ninth Street Books in Wilmington, Hockessin Bookshelf, or call O&A at 655-6483. Cost is $9.95 plus $3 shipping. Credit cards accepted.

 Quotation of the Month:

"It would be an excellent thing for the purity and vigour of English if an Act of Parliament were passed making it a criminal offence to distort, mispronounce and murder our English words." S.P.B. Mais, The Writing of English (1935).

 Follow me on Twitter: @thewaronwords.

Seen a good (bad) one lately? Send candidates to [email protected].

Buy The War on Words paperback at outandaboutnow.com, at Ninth Street Books in Wilmington, the Hockessin Book Shelf, or on Amazon.

The War on Words

By Bob Yearick

A monthly column in which we attempt, however futilely, to defend the English language against misuse and abuse.

Media Watch

Notes from all over as we clean out some of our media files:

·         Rob Ellis on 97.5 The Fanatic: “You wonder what’s going on with he and the Phillies.” Like many broadcasters, Rob just can’t bring himself to use the oh-so-inelegant objective case, him.

·         Carron Phillips, in the News Journal: “After being followed and monitored, police arrested them.” It was the people the police arrested who were being followed and monitored, not the police.

·         Call this “Away All Boats”: Katty Kay of the BBC: “The boat sunk.” CBS radio correspondent: “The boat has sank.” The past tense of sink is sank; the past participle is sunk.

·         Jon Offredo in the News Journal: “. . . the judge which . . .” That would be “the judge who.”

·         WDEL commercial for a financial adviser: “That being said, there’s some great vehicles out there . . .” The contraction “there’s” trips up many in the media, who pair a singular verb (is) with a plural noun – in this case, vehicles. Make it “there are some great vehicles.”

·         Nancy Armour in USA Today, noting that Tiger Woods’ kids tagged along with him on the course: “Charlie, 6, followed a few steps behind, proudly toting three of his dad’s irons that were almost as big as him.” Yo, Nance, just complete the sentence; make it “as big as he is.”

·         And finally, two examples of the pronoun failing to agree with its antecedent (corrections in parentheses):

1.      Peter McArthur on WDEL: “A very familiar name threw their (his or her) name into the ring.”

2.      CNN announcer:  “Four died and one is fighting for their (his/her) life.”

Department of Redundancies Dept.

           We loved this headline on a delawareonline video: “Florida officials captured, euthanized and killed an alligator that bit off a woman's arm.” Euthanize, of course, means to kill humanely. We’re thinking the headline writer may have thought euthanize means anesthetize. The head was changed a while later.

A/An (again)

As noted previously, we’re convinced that the word “an” is unknown to many people. Two examples:

·         The woman who shot a giraffe in Africa posted on YouTube: “What a amazing animal.”

·         A reader reports that the Zaikka Indian Grill at 9th and King in Wilmington has good food, but a banner ad there starts out, "Plan a event."

To review: An is used before singular nouns that begin with a vowel sound. A comes before singular nouns beginning with a consonant sound.

Getting Political

Now that the presidential race has begun, we’re sure the candidates will provide War with plenty of fodder. Here’s one from Jeb Bush:  “At this time in the polls, my father was just an asterick.” Yo, Jeb, that’s asterisk.

Missing on Misnomer

Many people misuse misnomer, which means “a wrong or inaccurate name or designation.” It does not mean “a popular misconception or misunderstanding.” E.g., “The common misnomer [misunderstanding] is that all Division 1 football programs operate in the black.” On the other hand, to call this year’s edition of the Philadelphia Phillies “the Fightin’ Phils” is a true misnomer.

Our Readers Write (or email)

Reader Larry Kerchner reports that “awesomesauce" (a word War has never heard) has been added to the Oxford Dictionary. Larry’s comment: “I think there should be a hold on any new words until people learn the old ones. Or half of the old ones. Or, for the love of God, some of the old ones!”

Word of the Month

tenebrous

Pronounced TEN-uh-bruhs, it’s an adjective meaning dark, gloomy or obscure.

Quotation of the Month: “If something expands our power of expression it is good, but if it limits it, it is bad. It is very bad indeed when words with clearly different meanings are used interchangeably. Distinction expands our scope for expression. Its removal constrains it.” John Humphrys, Lost for Words: The Mangling and Manipulating of the English Language (2004).

Follow me on Twitter: @thewaronwords.

Seen a good (bad) one lately? Send candidates to [email protected].

Buy The War on Words paperback at outandaboutnow.com, at Ninth Street Books in Wilmington, the Hockessin Book Shelf, or on Amazon.

Sorry, but in the column just posted, that first line of the text should read “the prisoner who HANGED herself,” not “hung herself.” Had a brain freeze there. Hanged applies when an actual hanging is involved. Otherwise, it’s hung.

The War on Words

By Bob Yearick

A monthly column in which we attempt, however futilely, to defend the English language against misuse and abuse

 Media Watch

·         MSNBC, on a report about the prisoner who hung herself in a Texas jail: “Some are questioning the efficacy of the report.” Efficacy means effectiveness. The word should have been authenticity, veracity, accuracy.

·         A reader cites two examples of CNN’s ignorance of possessive pronouns: “Four died and one is fighting for their life,” and “A man fired over a dozen shots, then got back in their car.” One and individual are singular, so the proper possessive is his.

·         A WDEL announcer, trying too hard to sound cultured: “Police are looking for whomever fired the shots.” It’s “whoever.” When there is a dependent clause, choose whoever or whomever based on the verb in that clause, regardless of the rest of the sentence. In this case, whoever fired the shots. On the other hand, the sentence “we all have a right to criticize whomever we choose” is correct because whomever is the object of choose.

·         Reader Bob Maguire submits this from a News Journal editorial by Carron J. Phillips:  “Could the country's first black president precede America's first female commander-and-chief?” Bob, an Air Force veterans, says, “I am quite familiar with the title of commander-in-chief, but have never heard of a commander and chief.”

Phillies Follies

We seem to have accumulated a plethora of items attesting to the fact that our favorite baseball team commits errors off the field as well as on it. Here they are in one ugly mashup:  

·         Reader Ed Weirauch saw this quote from former Phillies Manager Ryne Sandberg, who was referring to Chase Utley: “That’s something that me and him will stay in communication with.” Wow! And we thought Charlie Manuel mangled the language.

·         Word Warrior Walt DelGiorno reports that the Phils advertised a day for kids at Citizens Bank Park thus: “Kid’s Opening Day.” As Walt points out, “That must be one special kid.”

·         From the Philadelphia Inquirer:  “Mike Schmidt trotted onto the Veterans Stadium turf donning a wig and sunglasses.” Using “don” to mean “to wear” seems to be the latest misguided linguistic trend. Don refers to the act of putting on clothes, not wearing them.

·         In another Schmitty item, the former All-Star third baseman and now mediocre weekend color analyst claimed he was a “Phillies alumni.” Sorry, Mike; you were great, but you’re only one person. So you’re an alumnus.

Niceties

·         “Problematic” used to mean “uncertain,” not "presenting a problem.” Likewise, a “conundrum” is a riddle or anything that puzzles. It does not mean, as some people seem to think, “a problem.”

·         And let’s clear this up once and for all: The correct expression is “I couldn’t care less,” not, as many people think, “I could care less.” Think about it: If you are trying to express a complete lack of caring, why would you indicate that you must care a little by saying it’s possible for you to care less?

·         And finally, there is no need for “of” in such phrases as “not that big of a deal.”

How Long, Oh, Lord, How Long?

(In which we chronicle the continued abuse of the apostrophe)

From a News Journal obituary: “He then pursued his PhD from John’s Hopkins University.” Who is this John? Does he have a last name?

 Literally of the Month

Upon learning that actor Tom Selleck was in trouble for stealing water for his California ranch, Nancy Johnson of the 93.7 “Wakeup Crew” naturally went right to: “Tom Selleck has landed in hot water – literally.”

 Pronunciation

Etcetera is pronounced pretty much as it’s spelled. There is no k in it. It is not pronounced EK-setera.

Word of the Month

pathography

Pronounced puh-THOG-ruh-fee, it’s a noun meaning a biography that focuses on the negative. The opposite is a hagiography.

 Quotation of the Month:

“Rightly or wrongly, most people consider language as an index of culture, breeding, upbringing, personality, sometimes even of intelligence, decency, and integrity. Under the circumstances, it is unwise, not to say harmful, to pay no heed to your language.” Mario Pei, Language for Everybody (1956).

Follow me on Twitter: @thewaronwords.

Seen a good (bad) one lately? Send candidates to [email protected].

The War on Words

By Bob Yearick

A monthly column in which we attempt, however futilely, to defend the English language against misuse and abuse

 Media Watch

A radio commercial for a Philadelphia bakery calls for the return to “a kindler and simpler world.” Just think of how many people had to read, hear and approve that phrase.

Our movie reviewer, the inimitable Mark Fields, spotted a review of A Little Chaos that claimed one character’s “troubled past puts the breaks on any intimacy . . .” That would be brakes.

Radio sports talker Dan Patrick is becoming one of our regulars. His latest: “Don’t over-exaggerate (about the abilities of a certain NBA player).” How does one over-exaggerate?

Local attorney Tom Neuberger, in a News Journal editorial, wrote that “Former Sen. Frank Church . . . reigned in the NSA.” That’s reined in. (One can reign by keeping a strong hand on the reins.)

 A reader reports that a News Journal story about the Nectar Café reported that the owner “wanted to run a health-conscience breakfast café.” Maybe the owner’s conscience was involved, but conscious was the needed word here.

 Philadelphia Inquirer sports writers continue to have trouble ferreting out the subject in some sentences. E.g., Keith Pompey: “Embid’s participation in next month’s Rocky Mountain Revue and NBA summer leagues are in jeopardy.” Subject of the sentence is participation, not leagues, so the verb should be is.

One of countless hosts of Good Morning America, reporting that a cat attacked its owner: “It came clawing at he and his wife.” Would she have used the same pronoun if the cat had attacked only the owner: “It came clawing at he”?

 Similarly, Sam Amick, in USA TODAY: “. . . a video of he and his wife.”

 Department of Redundancies Dept.

From a story in The News Journal: “. . . including a more than $1 million dollar property on Rehoboth Bay.” Note the $ -- that eliminates the need for the word “dollar.” This is a style mistake that a veteran writer should never make.

Headline from a Visitannapolis.org press release: “Annapolis Named One of the Top Ten Best All-American Vacations for 2015.” As opposed to, say, the bottom ten best?

A political commentator on WDEL, reporting on Republican presidential candidates gathering in Iowa, committed the dreaded double-is: “the significance of it is is that . . .”

U. S. women’s soccer coach: “For me personally, I look at it as an amazing opportunity.” One first-person reference per sentence, please.

Notes from All Over

A memo from the New Castle County Chamber of Commerce warned that “. . . ad placements are on a first-come, first-serve basis.” This common mistake somehow misinterprets a simple concept: If you arrive first, you will be served first.

 In an email, a friend used the term “hair lip” (don’t ask why). The correct spelling is hare, as in a rabbit.

Rick Perry, in announcing his presidential candidacy, intoned thusly:  “I see Americans drownding in debt.” The glasses haven’t made him smarter.

And we wonder: Why do people say and write “preventative” when “preventive” is easier to say and write/spell?

 Pronunciation

In the word machination -- the devising of secret, cunning, or complicated plans and schemes -- the first syllable is properly pronounced mak, not mash.

 Word of the Month

enervate

As a verb, it means to deprive of strength or vitality and is pronounced eN-uhr-vayt. As an adjective, it means deprived of strength; weakened, and is pronounced i-NUHR-vit.

Quotation of the Month:

“For too long people who care about language have allowed themselves to be represented as authoritarian monsters wanting to impose their views on everyone else. Some do and they will fail. Many more are just worried about the way things are going and would like to feel their voices are being heard. They want to be able to engage in the argument and try to have some influence in the battle over usage. Let battle now be joined.” John Humphrys, Lost for Words: The Mangling and Manipulating of the English Language (2004). To which we add, Hear, hear!

 Follow me on Twitter: @thewaronwords.

Seen a good (bad) one lately? Send candidates to [email protected].

Buy The War on Words paperback at outandaboutnow.com, at Ninth Street Books in Wilmington, the Hockessin Book Shelf, or on Amazon.

Oregon man accused of killing parents, found in freezer

       Associated Press       

The story concerns a man being charged, AFTER his parents were found in  a freezer.  But as written, it appears that he was charged, and then later he was found in a freezer.  Am I correct?

The War on Words

By Bob Yearick

A monthly column in which we attempt, however futilely, to defend the English language against misuse and abuse

 Niceties

·         A News Journal columnist, describing a letter from his Uncle Tony: “[It was] written . . . on thick, unlined stationary.” It was stationery that Uncle Tony wrote on, although he was probably stationary at the time.

·         Similarly, many people don’t know that a hangar is where planes are kept, while hangers are used to store clothes in your closet.

·         A WDEL announcer called an earthquake “a trembler.” An understandable mistake, since the word is temblor.

Grammar-Challenged Slogans

In the spirit of the old-time ad that claimed Miller Lite contained “a third less calories,” we note a trend among advertisers to sacrifice good grammar in the name of supposedly clever slogans. Some that we’ve noticed (all of which seem to be in the form of commands):

·         “Achieve Greater”—Goldey Beacom College.

·         “Go Further” – Ford (Farther, referring to distance, would be more accurate).

·         “Live Fearless” -- Independence Blue Cross.

We’re sure there are more. Send in your examples.

Media Watch

·         Call this the buried subject. A caption in the News Journal read: “A list of target infrastructures were released by DelDOT . . .” The subject of the sentence is not infrastructures but list, so it should be “was released.”

·         Again, from TNJ: “‘It’s important to always air on the side of caution,’ says Kevin Charles.”  The word the reporter was groping for, of course, was err.

·         The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Zach Berman: “That meant the Eagles had one fewer passer on the roster." Usually, fewer is missing where it should be used. In this case, it’s mistakenly used in place of less. Remember, fewer is reserved for plurals.

·         Sports radio host Dan Patrick, speaking of a guest’s songwriting efforts: “He hasn’t quite flushed that out yet.” Like many people, Dan confuses “flushed out” with the proper “fleshed out.”

Kudos

           Despite an unending deluge of bad grammar, punctuation, syntax and pronunciation in the media and elsewhere, we find the occasional bright spot. This month, we present three of those shining lights.

           First, in what would normally fall under “Literally of the Month,” we call attention to one of our own writers – the estimable Larry Nagengast. In his story on the Riverfront in the June issue, Larry mentioned Legends Stadium (later renamed Frawley Stadium), and wrote this: “At the time [1992], the stadium was, literally and figuratively, pretty much the only diamond on the banks of the Christina.” That, my friends, is the way to use “literally.”

And under a new category, Word Warrior, we congratulate reader Walt DelGiorno. A retired teacher and tireless grammarian, Walt watches (and plays) a lot of golf, and finds most golf announcers and shows woefully lacking in language skills. He noticed that CBS broadcasts inserted incorrect apostrophes in references to pars -- e.g., “par 3’s, par 4’s, and par 5’s.” He emailed the network about the error and received no answer. But a short while later, he noticed that CBS had removed the offending apostrophes. We have used several of Walt’s items in the past, and he always refuses credit, but in this case we talked him into allowing us to publish his name. Congratulations, Walt DelGiorno, our very first Word Warrior.

Do you have an achievement in the War on Words that would qualify you as our second Word Warrior? Send it in.

And finally: I’m a big fan of Game of Thrones, and Stannis Baratheon recently became my favorite character on the show. In an early episode this season, someone said, “That will mean less enemies for all of us.” “Fewer,” the stellar Stannis corrected. To which we add, bravo!

Word of the Month

futilitarian

Pronounced fyoo-til-i-TAR-ee-uhn, it can be an adjective or a noun meaning 1) devoted to futile pursuits or 2) holding the belief that human striving is useless. A writer of a grammar column fits the first definition.

Quotation of the Month:

“Readiness to use clichés is generally a result of indifference to the finer shades in the use of language.” -- G.L. Brook, Words in Everyday Life 17 (1981).

Follow me on Twitter: @thewaronwords.

Seen a good (bad) one lately? Send candidates to [email protected].

Buy The War on Words paperback at outandaboutnow.com, at Ninth Street Books in Wilmington, the Hockessin Book Shelf, or on Amazon.

We hate the phrase, but here’s a “sneak peek” at the July column that will appear in Out & About Magazine when it hits the streets around July 1.

The War on Words

By Bob Yearick

A monthly column in which we attempt, however futilely, to defend the English language against misuse and abuse

 Niceties

·         A News Journal columnist, describing a letter from his Uncle Tony: “[It was] written . . . on thick, unlined stationary.” It was stationery that Uncle Tony wrote on, although he was probably stationary at the time.

·         Similarly, many people don’t know that a hangar is where planes are kept, while hangers are used to store clothes in your closet.

·         A WDEL announcer called an earthquake “a trembler.” An understandable mistake, since the word is temblor.

Grammar-Challenged Slogans

In the spirit of the old-time ad that claimed Miller Lite contained “a third less calories,” we note a trend among advertisers to sacrifice good grammar in the name of supposedly clever slogans. Some that we’ve noticed (all of which seem to be in the form of commands):

·         “Achieve Greater”—Goldey Beacom College.

·         “Go Further” – Ford (Farther, referring to distance, would be more accurate).

·         “Live Fearless” -- Independence Blue Cross.

We’re sure there are more. Send in your examples.

Media Watch

·         Call this the buried subject. A caption in the News Journal read: “A list of target infrastructures were released by DelDOT . . .” The subject of the sentence is not infrastructures but list, so it should be “was released.”

·         Again, from TNJ: “‘It’s important to always air on the side of caution,’ says Kevin Charles.”  The word the reporter was groping for, of course, was err.

·         The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Zach Berman: “That meant the Eagles had one fewer passer on the roster." Usually, fewer is missing where it should be used. In this case, it’s mistakenly used in place of less. Remember, fewer is reserved for plurals.

·         Sports radio host Dan Patrick, speaking of a guest’s songwriting efforts: “He hasn’t quite flushed that out yet.” Like many people, Dan confuses “flushed out” with the proper “fleshed out.”

Kudos

           Despite an unending deluge of bad grammar, punctuation, syntax and pronunciation in the media and elsewhere, we find the occasional bright spot. This month, we present three of those shining lights.

           First, in what would normally fall under “Literally of the Month,” we call attention to one of our own writers – the estimable Larry Nagengast. In his story on the Riverfront in the June issue, Larry mentioned Legends Stadium (later renamed Frawley Stadium), and wrote this: “At the time [1992], the stadium was, literally and figuratively, pretty much the only diamond on the banks of the Christina.” That, my friends, is the way to use “literally.”

And under a new category, Word Warrior, we congratulate reader Walt DelGiorno. A retired teacher and tireless grammarian, Walt watches (and plays) a lot of golf, and finds most golf announcers and shows woefully lacking in language skills. He noticed that CBS broadcasts inserted incorrect apostrophes in references to pars -- e.g., “par 3’s, par 4’s, and par 5’s.” He emailed the network about the error and received no answer. But a short while later, he noticed that CBS had removed the offending apostrophes. We have used several of Walt’s items in the past, and he always refuses credit, but in this case we talked him into allowing us to publish his name. Congratulations, Walt DelGiorno, our very first Word Warrior.

Do you have an achievement in the War on Words that would qualify you as our second Word Warrior? Send it in.

And finally: I’m a big fan of Game of Thrones, and Stannis Baratheon recently became my favorite character on the show. In an early episode this season, someone said, “That will mean less enemies for all of us.” “Fewer,” the stellar Stannis corrected. To which we add, bravo!

Word of the Month

futilitarian

Pronounced fyoo-til-i-TAR-ee-uhn, it can be an adjective or a noun meaning 1) devoted to futile pursuits or 2) holding the belief that human striving is useless. A writer of a grammar column fits the first definition.

Quotation of the Month:

“Readiness to use clichés is generally a result of indifference to the finer shades in the use of language.” -- G.L. Brook, Words in Everyday Life 17 (1981).

Follow me on Twitter: @thewaronwords.

Seen a good (bad) one lately? Send candidates to [email protected].

Buy The War on Words paperback at outandaboutnow.com, at Ninth Street Books in Wilmington, the Hockessin Book Shelf, or on Amazon.

The War on Words

By Bob Yearick

A monthly column in which we attempt, however futilely, to defend the English language against misuse and abuse

           Note: Many of the errors listed below could have been prevented by spell check.

The Missing Comma

           Some people use too many commas. But one area where many of us neglect the required comma is in greetings. For example: Happy anniversary, Joan. Thanks, Mom. Please respond quickly, everyone.

           So remember that the next time you’re on Facebook sending birthday greetings to Cousin Larry.

Pet Peeve No. 210

           One of my many pet peeves is the disappearance of the word “lend” from our vocabulary. Remember “Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ear”? Today, it would be “loan me your ear.” Doesn’t have a good ring to it, does it? I prefer “loan” strictly as a noun. It is acceptable as a verb when it denotes the lending of money (as distinguished from the lending of things). Even then, lend is preferable. Everyone, please note.

Department of Redundancies Dept.

A story came to me for editing that contained this phrase: “The general rule of thumb is . . .” A rule of thumb is “a general principle regarded as roughly correct.”

 Subject/Verb Agreement

           The media continues to miss the mark when it comes to this basic tenet of grammar. Examples:

·         Submitted by reader Jane Buck: “There’s been many fewer soirees this century” – from a New York Times email alert. Soirees is plural, so it should read “There have been fewer.”

·         Similarly, from a headline in the News Journal: “ There's other revenue sources than taxpayer revenue.” There are sources.

·         Again from the News Journal: “Schools give a test called ‘Accuplacer’ to determine whether students’ knowledge of basic math and writing skills meet standards.” It requires a little work, but the writer should have ferreted out the subject, which is knowledge. Therefore, the verb should be meets.

·         Joe Juliano, in the Philadelphia Inquirer sports pages: “Players knowing the coaches have been a major factor [in Penn State’s improvement].” Knowing is the subject, so the verb should be has been.

Pass the Relish

Anthony Gargano on Philly’s 97.5 FM: “I relish in the excitement about the draft.”

You can’t “relish in” something. You simply relish a victory – no “in” required. You can, however, “revel in” a victory. The similarity of these two expressions seems to cause a mix-up, even among more literate writers, such as the News-Journal’s Maureen Milford:  “[Ellen Kullman’s defenders] . . . relish in that [support] since she took the helm in 2009.”

This gaffe is threatening to take over the No. 1 spot from the execrable “hone in” for “home in.”

Writers of all abilities and literacy levels, please note.

  Media Watch

  ·         “Alex Ovechkin scores while laying on his stomach” – ESPN announcer. To lay is to place something. To lie is to recline or be prone. The Washington Capitals star was lying on his stomach when he scored. ·         

From USA Today’s Jon Saraceno: “Instead, Mayweather took a different

tact quietly deploying a subtle psychological-warfare approach. . .” Tack was the word Jon was groping for. Nautical in origin, a tack is a course or an approach. When switching courses or taking a different approach, one changes tack. Tact is sensitivity in social situations. Some people, like Saraceno, think of it as short for tactic. And as an aside, “quietly deploying a subtle approach”? A little redundant.

·         Reader Larry Kerchner reports that a WDEL TrafficWatch reporter commented on the traffic on the bridge "over top I-95.” Says Larry: “I think the traffic under bottom I-95 was okay.”

·         From the News Journal: “He wishes more police would emulate the example of Det. Shane Sowden, who kept he and his wife Cecelia apprised at every step of the investigation.” The verb kept requires the objective pronoun him. We wonder: Would the writers (this was a co-bylined piece) have written “he” if the wife was not involved – “who kept he apprised”?

·         News Journal again: “[the law requiring motorcycle riders] to wear a helmet is in legislative purgatory.” That would be limbo, since it’s being held in suspension, not being punished.

Word of the Month:

frangible

Pronounced FRAN-juh-buhl, it’s an adjective meaning readily broken; breakable.

Quotation of the Month:

“Readiness to use clichés is generally a result of indifference to the finer shades in the use of language.” -- G.L. Brook, Words in Everyday Life 17 (1981).

Follow me on Twitter: @thewaronwords.

Seen a good (bad) one lately? Send candidates to [email protected].

You can’t “relish in” something. You simply relish a victory – no “in” required. You can, however, “revel in” something, such as a victory. The similarity of the two expressions seems to cause this mix-up, even among more literate writers, such as the Wilmington (DE) #News-Journal’s Maureen Milford.

This gaffe is threatening to take over the Number 1 spot from the execrable “hone in” for “home in.” Like the verb relish, hone (to sharpen) should never be followed by “in.”

Writers of all abilities and literacy levels, please note.

Two great Philadelphia sportswriters died in the past week: Stan Hochman and Sandy Grady. Both were elegant, incisive writers who kept their readers rapt through the years. Grady graduated to political commentary, while Hochman appeared often on television and radio. Both will be sorely missed by literate sports fans.

MAUREEN, WE HARDLY KNEW YE

MEDIA WATCH

The first three below are from the good ol’ Wilmington News Journal:

“However, 10 council staff members are currently at the top of that pay scale, including some whose wages have been stagnate for several years.” Stagnant, the adjective, was needed here. Stagnate is the verb.

·         Subhead from the sports page: “Lydia Olivere makes

seemless move to varsity competition.” Seamless is the proper word. Seemless? Not a word.

·         “The $2.7 million will be split between four different organizations.” Use among when referring to more than two items or people. Oh, and why is “different” needed?

·         From the usually literate Jim Miklaszewski, on NBC: “They apparently stoled the van.” Really, Jim? Haven’t heard that one since grade school.

·         And a reporter on the CBS show Sunday Morning committed the dreaded “whole nother subject” gaffe. As we’ve pointed out before, nother is not a word.

MORE MEDIA

Word Warrior gleanings from a single weekend of electronic sports media monitoring:

·         “Wisconsin commits the least fouls per game in the Big 10.” That’s fewest. Remember: amount or singular = least; number or plural = fewest.

·         “He should return it back” – (ESPN anchor commenting on Phil Mikelson’s broken golf club).

·         “There’s a lot of Kool-Aid being drank down there” (WIP sports talk radio host commenting on the Eagles). It’s drunk, pal.

·         And during the NCAA tournament, Duke Coach Mike Krzyzewski referred to “the powers to be.” That’s powers that be. A moment’s thought by someone as intelligent as Coach K should make him realize his mistake.

MORE CLARIFICATIONS

Krzyzewski’s gaffe brings to mind other words and phrases  people misuse constantly. Among the most obvious is “tongue in cheek,” which is often inexplicably conflated into tongue and cheek.  

A reader pinpoints another common near-miss, noting that she often sees “renown” used in the following way:  “world- renown designer” or “world- renown chef.” The correct adjective is renowned. Renown, meaning fame, celebrity, is a noun.

           Another incredible mistake is the mangling of “all intents and purposes” into “all intensive purposes.” Some people are convinced the latter is correct. Note to them: It’s not.

And a reader says she recently read an article about health insurance that contained this:

“The U.S. Supreme Court is about to take on a challenging case that could change a major tenant of Obamacare.” That’s tenet, which means principle or theory. A tenant, or course, is an occupant or renter.

Gamut and gambit are also frequently confused. An amateurish reviewer, for instance, may laud an actor for “running the emotional gambit from sorrow to joy.” The correct word is gamut, which is a range, or scale. A gambit is a ploy or strategy.

And finally, a letter to the editor of the News Journal spotlights another mix-up: Referring to the Delaware Congressional delegation, the writer asks, “Are they adverse to such meetings?” He meant averse -- unwilling or disinclined . Adverse means unfavorable, contrary or hostile, as in “adverse weather conditions.”

A AND AN

           It’s truly appalling how many people rarely use an. “I am a Eagles fan” is a common refrain in sports talk radio. Using these indefinite articles depends on the sound that begins the next word. If the word begins with a vowel sound (elephant, egg, apple, Eagles), use an. If it begins with a consonant sound (boy, car, bike, zoo), use a. For a silent h (hour), use an. If the h is pronounced (horse), go with a.

DEPARTMENT OF REDUNDANCIES DEPT.

In the popular Netflix series House of Cards, President Underwood’s press secretary reprimands a reporter thusly: “You disrespected your fellow colleagues.”

In the “not necessarily redundant, but superfluous” department, we note that many folks employ the phrase “kind of a” in such sentences as “what

kind of a car do you want?” The “a” is not only superfluous, but unsophisticated.

WORD OF THE MONTH

saturnine

Pronounced SAT-uhr-nyn, it’s an adjective meaning sluggish, gloomy, cold.

Quotation of the Month: “The language is a measure of us and all our foibles and follies.” -- Kenneth G. Wilson, Van Winkle's Return (1987).

Follow me on Twitter: @thewaronwords.

Seen a good (bad) one lately? Send candidates to [email protected].