Five Parallelism Problems in In-Line Lists

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Constructing an in-line list — a series of items in a sentence — seems like a straightforward task, but writers frequently err in their attempts to produce parallel structure. The following sentences illustrate some of the pitfalls of parallel construction and how to fix them.

1. “You can pay using your bank account, debit, or credit cards.”
This list refers to two types of financial resources: a bank account and a card (two types of which are mentioned). The sentence structure mistakenly suggests that the list consists of three elements, rather than two (“your bank account” and “a debit or credit card”), one of which is a compound item — one consisting of two or more nouns or noun phrases. The following revision reflects the correct organization: “You can pay using your bank account or a debit or credit card.”

2. “Her writing was accurate, complete, and demonstrated attention to detail.”
Of the three items in this list, two are accompanied by verbs, but the writer has erroneously assumed that complete can share the verb that precedes accurate. It can do so, but only if accurate and complete are linked with a conjunction rather than separated by a comma: “Her writing was accurate and complete and demonstrated attention to detail.”

3. “It’s free, secure, and takes no time at all.”
This sentence suffers from the same slight but clumsy error as the one in the preceding example. It can be solved in the same way (“It’s free and secure, and it takes no time at all”) — a comma is required before the conjunction in this case because the pronoun’s presence makes the second clause an independent one. Alternatively, each item in the list can be assigned its own pronoun: “It’s free, it’s secure, and it takes no time at all.”

4. “The pension system divested in firms doing business with apartheid-era South Africa, avoided oil and energy investments in Iran, and it dropped tobacco companies from its portfolio in 2008.”
Here, too, the problem is of inconsistency of structure, but because the subject is a noun and the sentence is more complex, the simple error might not be apparent. Basically, each segment of the sentence needs a subject noun or a pronoun as if it were a distinct sentence, or, better, all segments must share the subject: “The pension system divested in firms doing business with apartheid-era South Africa, avoided oil and energy investments in Iran, and dropped tobacco companies from its portfolio in 2008.” (Alternatively, the comma following Africa could be replaced by and, but the lengthy sentence is better served by a rest-stop comma rather than another move-along conjunction.)

5. “There’s the Coke bottle and the old glove and sailboats gliding along the bay.”
This sentence (referring to iconic features at a baseball stadium) almost works in its relaxed state, unhindered by internal punctuation. But the lack of a comma suggests that all three things glide along the bay. A comma after “old glove” will catch that noun phrase and the preceding one, reserving the gliding action for the sailboats alone: “There’s the Coke bottle and the old glove, and sailboats gliding along the bay.”

How to Correct an Awkward Interruptive Phrase

When writers interrupt themselves to expand a thought, they must take care to ensure that they retain a parallel balance on the structure they’ve built. Here are three sentences thrown off balance, followed by solutions that will help the writers (and their readers) keep on their feet.

1. “High school students who carry a poor or no understanding of evolution into college are less likely to pick careers in the biological and geological sciences.”
This sentence is technically correct, but the juxtaposition of the modifiers poor and no is awkward. This revision somewhat eases the effort to modify poor: “High school students who carry a poor, or no, understanding of evolution into college are less likely to pick careers in the biological and geological sciences.” (Alternatively, parentheses or a pair of em dashes could replace the commas.)

However, this version, though longer, is more elegant: “High school students who carry a poor understanding of evolution into college, or none at all, are less likely to pick careers in the biological and geological sciences.”

2. “She has proven herself willing and capable of making progress with challenging ideas and procedures.”
The problem with this sentence is that the two qualities are presented in nonparallel forms. If the second of the two qualities is omitted from the sentence, it clumsily reads, “She has proven herself willing of making progress with challenging ideas and procedures.”

The sample sentence here, like the preceding example, benefits from a more relaxed syntax, in this case one in which each adjective is associated with a distinct verb phrase appropriate for its form: “She has proven herself willing to make, and capable of making, progress with challenging ideas and procedures.” (And, again, parentheses or em dashes can be used in place of commas.)

Or, more simply, replace “capable of” with “able to” and change the verb phrase to “to make”: “She has proven herself willing and able to make progress with challenging ideas and procedures.”

3. “He has shown leadership in guiding, indeed sometimes demanding of them, to keep their focus on the task at hand.”
There is no easy fix for this sentence, but it can be fixed — it just requires more significant reorganization. Relocate the ill-fitting parenthetical that interrupts an otherwise coherent sentence, tagging it onto the end of the sentence, and reword it so that the verb form matches that of the verb phrase that immediately follows the subject: “He has shown leadership in guiding them to keep their focus on the task at hand — indeed, he sometimes even demands that they do so.”

Plural But Singular in Construction

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In the dictionary, when you’re looking up a noun that ends in s, you’re apt to find a notation like this: “noun plural but singular in construction.” What does that mean?

This description refers to words like news that appear to be plural but take a singular verb (hence the word construction, meaning “sentence structure,” not “appearance”). One category of words plural in appearance but singular in use is that of intellectual pursuits and their associated academic disciplines: For mathematics, physics, and the like, we use a singular verb: “Mathematics is difficult for him”; “The physics is staggeringly complex.” However, similar terms may use singular or plural verbs depending on the sense: “Statistics is not my favorite subject”; “The statistics are valid.”

In other contexts, usage varies. Gymnastics is treated singularly (“Gymnastics is an Olympic sport”), but calisthenics takes a plural verb (“Calisthenics are boring”). Both words refer to a routine of physical activities, but noun-verb agreement is inconsistent.

Some words that are plural but refer to a unified pair of objects, such as (eye)glasses, pants, and scissors, are nevertheless associated with plural verbs: “My glasses are missing”; “These pants have gotten too tight”; “The scissors are dull.”

Words in several other categories are categorical exceptions: Proper names, composition titles, and words used as words are always singular, even if they are plural in form:

• Acme and Sons is a highly rated company.
• Spats is a downtown bar.
• Demons is a terrible movie.
• Shades is a best-selling novel.
• Hits is an informal word meaning “search returns.”
• Aussies is a nickname for Australians.

A few words appear to be plural but are in fact taken directly from other languages in which s at the end of a word does not denote a plural form. For example, biceps (from Latin) is singular, though many people refer to the muscle in the front of one upper arm as a bicep, and kudo (from Greek) is widely employed as the singular form of kudos — meaning “praise” or “prestige” — though the latter form is singular. (Bicep and kudo are back-formations — linguistic innovations of varying legitimacy — but are not advisable in formal writing.)

Rarely, you’ll see a word that is plural in both appearance and usage, though the literal meaning of the word is singular. For example, whereabouts means “location,” but one writes that a person’s whereabouts are unknown (even though a person can be in only one location at once).

Five Examples of the Need for Multiple Hyphenation

Complex and compound phrasal adjectives, in which more than two words unite to modify a noun that follows the phrase, pose a challenge for many writers. How many hyphens are required, and where do they go? These examples demonstrate the proper application of hyphens in such cases.

1. “He broke the 21-year old world record at the tournament.”

Hyphenation errors frequently occur in references to age or duration. In this case, the reference seems to be to an old record of a 21-year nature, but it can mean only that a record that has stood for 21 years has been broken. The record is 21 years old, so those three terms should be hyphenated together: “He broke the 21-year-old world record at the tournament.” (Or, if the number is spelled out, “He broke the twenty-one-year-old world record at the tournament.”)

2. “The project exemplifies his wheeling and dealing ways.”

The ways described involve wheeling and dealing. Because the two verbs are often used in tandem as an idiom referring to underhanded negotiations, they and the intervening conjunction should all be linked: “The project exemplifies his wheeling-and-dealing ways.”

3. “They’re taking a wait and see approach.”

As with “wheeling and dealing,” “wait and see” is an idiom; it means that observers will refrain from interference or deliberation until a catalyzing event occurs. All the words in the phrase should be hyphenated together: “They’re taking a wait-and-see approach.”

4. “He sustained non-life threatening injuries in the accident.”

As styled, the central phrase seems to refer to threatening injuries not associated with life. But the reference applies to injuries that are not threatening to life. Although non would normally be attached directly to a root word (for example, in nonprofit), in this case, because it is associated with the entire phrase “life-threatening injuries,” it is correctly attached to life with a hyphen. But life-threatening is a stock phrasal adjective, and a hyphen should connect those two terms here as well: “He sustained non-life-threatening injuries in the accident.”

5. “The soldiers were injured in a rocket-propelled grenade attack.”

This sentence implies that the soldiers were injured in a grenade attack that was rocket propelled — meaning that enemy troops themselves were propelled by rockets as they threw grenades. But the weapons were rocket-propelled grenades. Because this phrase modifies attack, grenade is attached to rocket-propelled: “The soldiers were injured in a rocket-propelled-grenade attack.”

The Basics of Back-Formation

A back-formation is a new word produced by excising an affix, such as producing the verb secrete from the noun secretion. Many back-formations, like that one, acquire respectability, but others, especially more recent coinages, are considered nonstandard, so use them with caution.

Back-formation can be seen as a form of clipping, though the distinction between one category and the other is that clipped forms (ad in place of advertisement, for example) are the same part of speech as the original form, whereas most back-formations are verbs formed from nouns. (Many back-formations are formed from words ending in -tion, such as automate and deconstruct.)

Most back-formations eventually take their place among other standard terms, though they are often initially met with skepticism. For example, curate and donate, now accepted without question (and associated with the high pursuits of art and philanthropy, respectively), were once considered abominations.

Newer back-formations that careful writers are wise to avoid include attrit, conversate, enthuse, incent, liaise, spectate, and surveil. These buzzwords are convenient — hence their creation — but they are widely considered inelegant, and in the case of at least a couple of them, concise synonyms are already available. (To spectate is to watch, and to surveil is to observe.)

Sometimes, a back-formation is derived from a noun describing an action, as with attendee from attendance, or from a noun describing an actor, as with mentee from mentor. Many people consider such terms aberrant, and they are also ill advised in formal writing.

Other back-formations derive from confusion about a base word. Cherry and pea both developed from the assumption that the original terms cherise and pease are plurals. More recently, biceps (and triceps) and kudos have been misunderstood as plurals, resulting in bicep, tricep, and kudo. Although cherry and pea were accepted without reservations into English long ago, bicep, tricep, and kudo are still considered nonstandard.

Another class of back-formations are those shorn of their prefixes for humorous effect, such as gruntled from disgruntled and kempt from unkempt; rarely do such truncations enter the general lexicon.

20 Names of Body Parts and Elements and Their Figurative Meanings

In past weeks, I’ve compiled lists of figurative meanings of the names of sense organs, parts of the head, and parts of the hand. Here’s a roster in which I’ve accumulated such references for other parts and elements of the body.

1. Arm: something resembling an arm in form and/or function, a part of a garment covering the arm, might or power or ability, a component or division, or support

2. Blood: refers to kinship or lineage, or to a quality intrinsic to someone because it’s supposedly a hereditary trait, or to bloodshed; as a verb, refers to providing a hound with a scented object to prompt a hunt, or to introducing to bloodshed or killing

3. Bone: the core, essence, or heart of something, or the design or framework of a composition, or a subject (usually in the idiom “bone of contention”) or an inclination or talent or, more often, the lack thereof (“I don’t have an artistic bone in my body”), or something intended to placate (“Throw him a bone”)

4. Breast: the location of emotion, something resembling a breast, or part of a garment that covers the literal breast (the sometimes-synonym chest first referred to a box and then was applied, by association, to the section of the body)

5. Foot: something resembling a foot in form and/or function, a lower or opposite end or edge or the bottom of something, a standard length, a unit of meter in verse, or a step or speed

6. Heart: courage or fortitude or persistence, affection or compassion or feelings, the center or essential or vital part of something, or a stylized representation of the organ, or one or more playing cards featuring such a symbol or a card game focusing on this suit

7. Hip: an angle of an intersection of parts of a roof

8. Intestine: the phrase “intestinal fortitude,” describing courage, derives from the association of the intestines with bravery (compare the informal synonym guts)

9. Leg: a limblike component, the part of an article of clothing or footwear that covers the leg, part of a journey or race, or one competition among several similar events, or long-term appeal or interest

10. Liver: a grayish and reddish brown, and seen in the expression “lily livered,” meaning “cowardly”

11. Lungs: a respiratory aid or device, or a variation of the literal meaning referring to someone’s capacity for producing loud sounds

12. Muscle: physical force, especially for intimidation or persuasion; as a verb, to infiltrate (often in the phrase “muscle in”)

13. Neck: a geographical or structural feature resembling a neck, or a narrow margin (as in the finish of a race), or, informally, a part or region; as a verb, to narrow, or to caress and kiss passionately

14. Shoulder: the side of an artificial or natural structure, as the shoulder of a road or of a mountain; as a verb, to push aside, or to bear, as with responsibility

15. Stomach: courage or fortitude, or desire or inclination, or appetite; in verb form, to put up with or withstand

16. Torso: an artistic representation of the human trunk, or something incomplete or damaged

17. Vein: a channel of water or a bed of mineral in rock or ice, or a quality or style, or an aptitude or mood

18: Viscera: in the adjectival form, visceral, corresponds to the adjective gut (for example, “gut feeling”), meaning “instinctive” (as in “She had a visceral sense that she was in danger”); alternatively, it means “earthy” (“The movie has a visceral tone, with its coarse characters and rough action”)

19. Waist: something resembling a waist in form and/or function (as part of an aircraft or marine vessel), an article (or part of an article) of clothing worn on or around the waist, or a line around the waist or a measurement of the line

20. Womb: a space resembling a womb in form and/or function, or the literal or figurative birthplace of an idea, product, or other physical or intellectual creation

Compound Words in Technological Contexts

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“Cell phone,” or cellphone? “Home page,” or homepage? “Touch screen,” or touchscreen? Should such compounds be open, or closed? We see them both ways, so it’s difficult to know how to treat them — unless you use one simple test: Choose the form based on the context.

The natural progression for styling compound words is open to closed, often (but not always) with a hyphenated form as an interim phase. No ruling body authorizes the transformation, and no pattern or logic regarding the time frame applies from one compound to another. Some compounds stubbornly resist closing (“real estate”) or cling to their hyphens (mind-set), but closure is almost invariably inevitable.

Thus, for example, “sea water” at some arbitrary point transformed into seawater, with a transitional period in which both forms were commonly used, followed by preponderant use of the new form (though the old form nearly always persists to some extent).

Technological terms are a special case, for various reasons, including that they are coined by technologically minded people, who are not necessarily concerned about adherence to grammatical norms, and that, in the case of programming vocabulary, the practical issue of having a single string of characters to enter into a program is integral. Therefore, compounds referring to technological devices and procedures are likely to begin life as closed compounds or to be adopted in technological contexts in closed form.

And that’s the key to knowing how to treat them: In general-purpose publications, you’ll likely see “file name” and “screen saver” and “voice mail,” whereas in high-tech periodicals and on high-tech websites, you’ll probably find filename and screensaver and voicemail. (There are exceptions of course; note that on this site, I have reluctantly adopted website in place of “Web site,” and I have always preferred email to e-mail.) Consider your audience, and style technological terms as appropriate. And when in doubt, depending on the context in which you are writing or editing, consult mainstream or specialized publications for models.

How to Test for Hyphenation in Phrasal Adjectives

One of the most frequent style errors among writers is the omission of one or more hyphens in a phrasal adjective, a phrase consisting of two or more words linked to show that they’re teaming up to modify a noun that follows them. There’s an easy test to help you see that the hyphen is necessary.

When you write a phrase consisting of a noun preceded by two words describing the noun, confirm that the first and second word together modify the third, rather than that the second and third words constitute a compound noun modified by the first word. In the following sentence, for example, the latter holds true: “Indeed, the agency grants authority for community prevention efforts.” Here, “prevention efforts” is an open compound noun modified by community — the sentence does not refer to efforts to prevent community — so no hyphen is required.

Also, note that not every phrasal adjective requires a hyphen. Many open compound nouns (for example, “high school,” “income tax,” and “real estate”) are so well established that they appear in dictionaries as terms in their own right and do not require hyphenation when they are converted into adjectives to modify a noun (for example, “high school student,” “income tax form,” and “real estate agent”).

In a given sentence with a modified noun, ask yourself what kind of thing is being described, then hyphenate accordingly:

1. “This foundation has a feel good name.”

What kind of a name does it have? One designed to make you feel good, not a good name that feels. So, it’s a feel-good name: “This foundation has a feel-good name.”

2. “The small Victorian beach town lifted a decades old ban.”

What kind of a ban is it? One that has lasted for decades, not an old ban that is decades. So, it’s a decades-old ban: “The small Victorian beach town lifted a decades-old ban.”

3. “A truck and a car collided, triggering a seven vehicle crash.”

What kind of crash was it? One involving seven vehicles, not a vehicle crash that is seven. So, it’s a seven-vehicle crash: “A truck and a car collided, triggering a seven-vehicle crash.”

4. “It’s the Bay Area’s fastest growing town.”

What kind of town is it? One that is growing faster than any other, not a growing town that’s fastest. So, it’s the fastest-growing town: “It’s the Bay Area’s fastest-growing town.”

5. “The bumps have been causing two hour delays.”

What kind of delays are they? Ones lasting two hours, not hour delays that are two. So, they’re two-hour delays: “The bumps have been causing two hour delays.”

What Is a Sentence?

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Multiple definitions exist for sentence, and various sources differ in their interpretation of what constitutes a valid sentence and which forms are incorrect. Here’s a brief survey of what a sentence is.

A sentence is generally understood to be a unit of one or more words distinct from preceding and following text. Sentences are categorized as declaratives, or statements (“I walked the dog”), imperatives, or commands (“Walk the dog”), or interrogatives, or questions (“Should I walk the dog?”). A variation of the declarative form is the exclamation, or exclamatory sentence (“I walked the dog!”).

A sentence can be both imperative and exclamatory (in which case the exclamation point preempts the period) or both interrogative and exclamatory (in which case the question mark preempts the exclamation point, though some writers include both in that order — a style considered improper in formal contexts). A sentence can also be both imperative and interrogatory, though the former function overrides the latter one, and such statements are not treated as questions. (“Would you be so kind as to close the door” is simply a more courteous way to direct someone to close the door.)

Traditionally, the first letter of the first word of a sentence is capitalized, although some writers have chosen to eschew capitalization of the first word and perhaps proper nouns. (This style, however, is eccentric and frowned on in formal writing.) Terminal punctuation — a period, a question mark or an exclamation point, or ellipses — is also a general feature.

Sentences usually include a subject and a verb, but those parts of speech are not essential, though they are almost invariably employed in formal writing.

Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary includes the following definition for sentence: “A word, clause, or phrase or a group of clauses or phrases forming a syntactic unit which expresses an assertion, a question, a command, a wish, an exclamation, or the performance of an action, that in writing usually begins with a capital letter and concludes with appropriate end punctuation, and that in speaking is distinguished by characteristic patterns of stress, pitch, and pauses.”

Five Examples of Misplaced Modifiers

You’ve heard that timing is everything. In writing, however, placement takes first place when it comes to conveying meaning. Consider these examples.

1. “So far, the book has only come out in Italian.”

It has only come out in Italian? It hasn’t done anything else in that language? No, it is only in Italian that it has come out. This revision says so clearly: “So far, the book has come out only in Italian.” (The placement of only within a sentence is the most common type of misplaced modifier. It’s forgivable in spoken English, but in writing, it’s best put in its place.)

2. “Then you’ll be able to survive just about anything that life throws at you with confidence and style.”

What, exactly, does life throw at you with confidence and style? Nothing. It’s you, not your life, that exhibits these traits: “Then you’ll be able to survive, with confidence and style, just about anything that life throws at you.”

3. “She broke ground as the first woman to run for president of the United States in 1872.”

This sentence implies that the subject was the first woman to register as a presidential candidate that year. But the meaning is that in that particular year, she became the first such candidate in history. This revision communicates that point: “In 1872, she broke ground as the first woman to run for president of the United States.”

4. “She got a job with an organization that developed policy for youth and children while she was a political science major.”

The impression one gets from this sentence is that the organization carried out its mission only during the duration of the subject’s time at the university. But what it means to say is that she obtained her job with an organization that pursued that objective independently of her tenure, and that she was a student when she did so, as conveyed here: “While she was a political science major, she got a job with an organization that developed policy for youth and children.”

5. “Smith recently presented a paper at a conference titled ‘Averting Bloodshed: The Benefits of Community-Based Mediation Services.’”

To what does the title refer — the paper, or the conference? The proximity of conference to the title implies that the event was so named, but this revision reveals the truth: “Smith, at a recent conference, presented a paper titled ‘Averting Bloodshed: The Benefits of Community-Based Mediation Services.’”

Fragmentary Sentences and Sentence Fragments

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A sentence can be fragmentary, but it shouldn’t be a fragment. What’s the difference?

Writers should distinguish between fragmentary sentences and sentence fragments. The following sentences are fragmentary: “A virtuoso performance? Some virtuoso.” Despite the absence of a subject and a verb, which are considered standard components of a sentence, the reader fills in the missing parts: (“[Do you call that] a virtuoso performance? [That musician is] some virtuoso.”)

A sentence fragment, by contrast, is usually a dependent clause formatted as if it were a complete sentence, such as the second sentence in the following passage: “I went to the store. Because I need to buy some toiletries for my trip.”

The form shown in the second sentence isn’t necessarily always wrong; it’s appropriate as a response in colloquial dialogue:

“Why did you go to the store?”

“Because I need to buy some toiletries for my trip.”

Otherwise, however, it’s erroneous.

It’s possible, too, for a complete sentence to be misconstrued as a sentence fragment because of a simple error such as omission of punctuation. For example, “Before I was inclined to agree” is a sentence fragment, because the words do not constitute a complete thought; no useful information has been conveyed. The implication is that a condition will be described: “Before I was inclined to agree, I needed more proof.”

If, however, before is supplied as an adverbial tag, followed by a comma (“Before, I was inclined to agree”), the wording becomes a coherent statement indicating that in the past, the writer would likely have agreed with something. Presumably, a sentence will follow with a similarly constructed reversal written in the present tense (“Now, I’m not so sure”).

However, fragmentary sentences are valid. Besides the commentary form, shown above in the examples about the alleged virtuoso, they may take the form of interjections (“Whew!” “How sad!” “What a nightmare!”), expressions (“Good job!” “So long!”), and partial imperatives (“To the castle!”) Though, of course, exclamation points are not required in fragmentary sentences, they are common, and note that such sentences are considered colloquial and should be used with caution in formal writing. You with me?

30 Nautical Expressions

After launching a list of seafaring idioms on a previous online cruise, I discovered a cargo hold of additional expressions that originated on the high seas but have come to rest high and dry on land. Here’s the haul.

1. All at sea: lost because of lack of knowledge of one’s position (confused and disorganized)

2. At loose ends: a reference to idle sailors being assigned to check that rigging is secure (idle)

3. Bail out: remove water from (assist or rescue)

4. Broad in the beam: said of a wide vessel (said of a large-hipped woman)

5. By and large: said in reference to steering slightly off the wind to ease effort and decrease the risk of slowing (in general, without special consideration)

6. Cut and run: sever the anchor line in an emergency (leave abruptly and abandoning others)

7. Fall foul of: collide with or become entangled in (come into conflict with)

8. First-rate: the largest class of warships during the sailing era (best)

9. Flog a dead horse: a reference to a period of work after getting — and spending — an initial payment (focusing on something already completed or settled)

10. Flotsam and jetsam: items lost or thrown overboard, respectively (odds and ends)

11. Give a wide berth: provide sufficient space when anchoring or docking to avoid other ships (keep at a distance)

12. Go by the board: a reference to something lost overboard (said of something to be abandoned or ignored)

13. Hail from: referring to the point of origin of a ship (come from, live)

14. Half seas over: partly submerged or keeled over so that waves are breaking over the deck, and therefore unable to maneuver effectively (drunk)

15. Hand over fist: using one hand at a time in quick alternating movements (rapidly)

16. Hard and fast: grounded (inflexible)

17. Hard up: a reference to the tiller being pushed as far to one side as possible (short of money)

18. High and dry: beached or caught on rocks and standing out of the water as the tide recedes (stranded or without resources or support)

19. In the offing: in sight, from the term for the expanse of ocean visible from shore (about to happen)

20. Know the ropes/learn the ropes: a reference to understanding knots, ropes, and rigging (familiarity with or training in how to perform a task)

21. Loose cannon: a piece of artillery that is not secure and therefore can cause damage or injury when it rolls on its wheels from the ship’s movement or from its recoil after being fired (out of control or unpredictable)

22. Ship shape: ready for sailing, with equipment and materials secured (clean, neat, in good condition)

23. Skylarking: sliding down rigging for fun (engaging in playful antics)

24. Take another tack: change the ship’s direction in relation to the wind (try another approach)

25. Take the wind out of one’s sails: a reference to the loss of movement when another vessel comes between the wind and one’s ship (to undermine another, usually by anticipating an action)

26. Taken aback: halted by a sudden shift of wind (surprised by a revelation)

27. Three sheets to the wind: a reference to the sheets (ropes) of a sail becoming loosened, rendering the sail useless (drunk)

28. Trim one’s sails (before the wind): adjust sails as appropriate (act according to circumstances)

29. When one’s ship comes home: a reference to the arrival of a fully laden cargo ship that will bring profit to the owner or investors (achievement of fortune or good luck)

30. Whistle for it/whistle for the wind: from the tradition of superstitiously whistling to summon the wind (hope for the impossible)

At least two nautical expressions, “between the devil and the deep (blue) sea” (meaning, essentially, “between a rock and a hard place”) and “to the bitter end” (meaning “to the last extremity, regardless of difficulty”), have been attributed to seafaring origins, but the idioms, or similar expressions, may have come from earlier landlubber usage.

Five Erroneously Constructed “Not Only . . . But Also” Sentences

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Writers often have difficulty determining the word order in sentences in which the phrase “not only” appears followed by an example and then, subsequent to “but also,” another example. Here are fixes to five such sentences.

1. “Digital cameras are not only changing photography, but our lives.”

The key to correct syntax in “not only . . . but also” constructions is, when sharing a verb between the two examples, placing “not only” after the verb: “Digital cameras are changing not only photography but also our lives.”

2. “He wasn’t only listening to tone, but also to the rhythms and patterns he would need to understand and communicate.”

This sentences partially conceals the problem because not is part of a contraction. To solve it, spell out the contracted phrase, and follow the rule stated in the explanation of the example above: “He was listening not only to tone but also to the rhythms and patterns he would need to understand and communicate.”

3. “Many people prefer the squatter neighborhoods not only because they provide affordable housing but freedom from government control and a sense of community spirit.”

This sentence is improved by the basic strategy of placing the verb before “not only,” but a further fix is recommended. Because the element following “but also” is a two-part phrase, freedom may be (at least initially) misconstrued as applying to both “government control” and “a sense of community spirit,” so distance the second phrase from the first: “Many people prefer the squatter neighborhoods because they provide not only affordable housing but also freedom from government control, as well as a sense of community spirit.”

4. “We house them in the nicest neighborhoods we can afford, the ones that are not only comfortable in themselves, but that mask direct evidence of the world’s unfairness.”

In this example, each corresponding phrase has its own verb. When this is the case, simply place “not only” and “but also” immediately following the respective verbs: “We house them in the nicest neighborhoods we can afford, the ones that not only are comfortable in themselves but also mask direct evidence of the world’s unfairness.”

5. “Eventually, I began to notice that dreams are not only inspirations for creative life and interesting puzzles to be solved, but that they provided access to a world of meaning that was even greater than the tactics of nonviolent social change.”

More complex sentences pose a challenge, but as in the other examples, simply break the sentence elements down. The two points of this sentence are “dreams are inspirations . . .” and “they provide access . . . .” To achieve parallel structure, precede the first phrase with “not only that” and the second one with “but also that”: “Eventually, I began to notice not only that dreams are inspirations for creative life and interesting puzzles to be solved but also that they provide access to a world of meaning that was even greater than the tactics of nonviolent social change.”

Five Errors in Treating Quotations

When you quote another person, be sure to avoid these pitfalls of quotation format.

1. Sometimes, LaPierre said, “The only thing to stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun.”
In this sentence, the writer has inserted the word sometimes, though the speaker did not utter it verbatim, into the sentence because the speaker intimated it in other words. Because it wasn’t actually spoken, however, it is placed outside the quotation marks. But the sentiment begins with sometimes, not the, so the quotation becomes a partial one and the is not capitalized: “Sometimes, LaPierre said, ‘the only thing to stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun.’”

2. Alfred North Whitehead wrote that “The best education is to be found in gaining the utmost information from the simplest apparatus.”
A similar rule applies to an attribution (“so and so said/wrote/agreed”) that leads into the quotation without intervening punctuation; the quotation becomes part of a framing sentence, and the first word of the original quotation is not capitalized: “Alfred North Whitehead wrote that ‘the best education is to be found in gaining the utmost information from the simplest apparatus.’”

3. “We knew,” Jones says, “that the company would eventually become a major competitor, but, without a relationship, we thought we were in danger of not achieving ubiquity.”
In this sentence, the writer interjects the attribution into the midst of the quotation, which is standard procedure. However, the attribution should be delayed until a break between two clauses: “‘We knew that the company would eventually become a major competitor,’ Jones says, ‘but, without a relationship, we thought we were in danger of not achieving ubiquity.’”

4. “Schools may be the last place,” Smith said, “where the government is funding us to gather together into public forums to have conversations. We have got to protect that.”
This sentence, like the previous example, suffers from premature attribution. Because there is no natural break in the sentence, the attribution should be inserted between the two sentences: “‘Schools may be the last place where the government is funding us to gather together into public forums to have conversations,’ Smith said. ‘We have got to protect that.’”

5. “In many ways, it’s like the cowboys against the Indians. But the cowboys are fully backed by the state,” he said of the current situation.
In this case, the attribution is delayed too long. In a quotation of two or more sentences, as in the previous example, place it between the first and second sentences: “‘In many ways, it’s like the cowboys against the Indians,’ he said of the current situation. ‘But the cowboys are fully backed by the state.’” (Note, too, how this arrangement strengthens the sentence because it ends with a serious punchline rather than a dry attribution.)

30 Problem Words and Phrases

Image from Flickr/ninasaurrusre

Tried-and-true words and phrases are convenient, but they are also truly trying — as with clichés, when a writer relies too heavily on stock usage, the resulting prose is tired and uninspired. Watch out for the following deadly usages.

1. After having: “After looking around, I chose a seat” is fine, and so is “Having looked around, I chose a seat,” but “After having looked around, I chose a seat” is redundant. “Having” means that the action has already been performed, so the context is clear that the writer is writing after the fact.

2. Aged: Identifying the age or age range of a person or a group with this word puts the subject(s) in a category with cheese or wine. Write “50 years old,” for example, instead of “aged 50 years,” or “ages 21–34” rather than “aged 21–34.”

3. Aggravate: To aggravate is to make something worse, not to bother, annoy, or irritate.

4. And also: And and also are redundant; use one or the other.

5. Anticipate: To anticipate is to foresee (and perhaps act on that foresight), not to expect.

6. Anxious: To be anxious is to feel distressed or worried, not eager.

7. Approximately: How about using about instead? Save three syllables. For scientific or technical references, approximately is fine, but it’s a bit much in most other contexts.

8. As to whether: “As to” is extraneous; use whether only.

9. At this point in time: Omit this meaningless filler.

10. Basically, essentially, totally: Basically, these words are essentially nonessential, and you can totally dispense with them.

11. Being as/being that: Replace these phrases with because.

12. Considered to be: “To be” is extraneous; write considered only, or consider deleting it as well.

13. Could care less: No, you couldn’t. You want to convey that it’s not possible for you to care less, so you couldn’t care less.

14. Due to the fact that: Replace this phrase with because.

15. Each and every: Write “Each item is unique,” or “Every item is unique,” but not “Each and every item is unique.”

16. Equally as: As is superfluous; write equally only.

17. Was a factor, is a factor, will be a factor: If your writing includes one of these phrases, its presence is a sign that you’re not done revising yet; rewrite “The vehicle’s condition is a factor in performance,” for example, to “The vehicle’s condition affects its performance.”

18. Had ought: Had is redundant; use ought only.

19. Have got: Got is suitable for informal writing only; if you’re referring to necessity, consider must rather than “have got,” and if the reference is to simple possession, delete got from the phrase “have got.”

20. In many cases/it has often been the case: Reduce the word count in statements containing these verbose phrases by replacing “in many cases” with often, for example.

21. In the process of: This extraneous phrasing is acceptable in extemporaneous speaking but unnecessarily verbose in prepared oration and in writing.

22. Is a . . . which/who: If you find yourself writing a phrase like this, step back and determine how to write it more succinctly; “Smith is a man who knows how to haggle,” for example, can be abbreviated to “Smith knows how to haggle.”

23. Kind of/sort of: In formal writing, if you must qualify a statement, use a more stately qualifier such as rather, slightly, or somewhat.

24. Lots/lots of: In formal writing, employ many or much in place of one of these colloquialisms.

25. Of a . . . character: If you use character as a synonym for quality, make the reference concise. “The wine has a musty character” is better rendered “The wine tasted musty, and “He was a man with a refined character” can be revised to the more concise statement “The man was refined,” but better yet, describe how the man is refined.

26. Of a . . . nature: Just as with character, when you use nature as a synonym for quality, pare the phrasing down: Reduce “She had a philosophical nature,” for example, to “She was philosophical.”

27. Oftentimes: An outdated, unnecessary complication of often.

28. On account of: Replace this awkward phrase with because.

29. Renown: Renown is the noun (as well as a rarely used verb); renowned is the adjective. Avoid the like of “the renown statesman.”

30. Thankfully: In formal usage, this word is not considered a synonym for fortunately.

Five Verbose Sentences Made Shorter

When you write, think tight. The goal is not to reduce every sentence to its most concise form but to avoid distractingly extraneous wording and phrasing. Here are five sentences improved by a reduction in length.

1. “The teacher is speaking on a phone in his classroom between classes, and he breaks away for a moment to answer a student’s question.”

To condense a sentence with two independent clauses separated by a conjunction, open a parenthetical where the sentence’s first verb appears, and close it where the second clause begins, deleting the verb and the conjunction respectively: “The teacher, speaking on a phone in his classroom between classes, breaks away for a moment to answer a student’s question.”

2. “The theme of this year’s summit is ‘From Essential Elements to Effective Practice,’ and the conference will include a variety of interactive sessions.”

Here’s a revision of a sentence constructed like the one in the previous example, which is improved by the same technique — deletion of the initial verb and parenthesis of what followed that verb: “This year’s summit, ‘From Essential Elements to Effective Practice,’ will include a variety of interactive sessions.”

3. “John Smith runs the DJ Project, an after-school program in San Francisco for students struggling in school. He uses hip-hop to connect with the students.”

To combine two sentences into one, convert key information from either sentence into a parenthetical and tack the other statement onto the end: “John Smith, who runs the DJ Project, an after-school program in San Francisco for students struggling in school, uses hip-hop to connect with the students.”

4. “It’s rather annoying that you can’t turn off the various sounds that play when you use the zoom and other functions.”

Strive to pare explanations and descriptions down to the fewest possible words. For example, there’s a standing phrase for the concept of “the various sounds that play”: “It’s annoying that you can’t turn off the sound effects for zoom and other functions.”

5. “Students worked collaboratively on unfamiliar and open-ended problems.”

Look for opportunities to reduce sentence length by omitting a sentence’s verb and converting an adverb to a verb to take its place: “Students collaborated on unfamiliar and open-ended problems.” (The problem this revision solves is called smothering a verb.)

50 Idioms About Meat and Dairy Products

Expressions that figuratively to livestock and other animals and animal products abound in English idiom. Here are many such morsels.

1–2. To “bring home the bacon” is to earn money at a job, but to “save (someone’s) bacon” is to help or rescue someone when they are in trouble or risking failure.

3–5. To “beef about (someone)” is to complain or criticize, but “have a beef” with someone is to hold a grudge, while to “beef up” something is to strengthen it.

6. “Where’s the beef?” is a challenge or claim indicating that an idea is without sufficient substance.

7–8. A “chicken” is a fearful person, and to “chicken out” is to opt, out of fear, not to do something.

9. A “chicken-and-egg argument” is a circuitous one.

10–12. “Chicken feed” is an insubstantial amount of money, and “chicken scratch” is illegible writing, while to “play chicken” is to engage in a standoff to determine who will back down first.

13. To say that “the chickens have come home to roost” means that consequences are imminent.

14. The exhortation “Don’t count your chickens before they’re hatched” cautions one not to act as if a hoped-for outcome has already occurred.

15. One who is “no spring chicken” is not young anymore.

16. To “run around like a headless chicken” (or “like a chicken with its head cut off”) is to panic or worry aimlessly.

17–19. To have “bigger fish to fry” is to have more important things to do, but a “fine kettle of fish” is an unfortunate situation, while “a different kettle of fish” suggests something is unrelated to the topic

20–21. To “make hamburger” or “make mincemeat” of someone or something is to defeat or destroy the person or the thing.

22. To be a “meat-and-potatoes” person is to like simple things.

23. A “meat market” is a venue people frequent to seek sex partners.

24. Something that is “meat and drink” to someone is a skill or pastime that they enjoy and that is very easy for them.

25. One who is “dead meat” is a target for harm or punishment.

26. To say that “one man’s meat is another man’s poison” is to say that what one person may like, another may dislike.

27. The “meat of the matter” is the essence of an issue or problem.

28. Something that is “pork barrel” is a government spending project cynically designed to garner support.

29. To “pork out” is to eat too much.

30. To stop “cold turkey” is to do so abruptly.

31. To “butter (someone) up” is to flatter that person.

32. To say that “butter wouldn’t melt in (one’s) mouth” is to imply that they are feigning innocence by looking calm and cool.

33. To “cheese (someone) off” is to anger or disgust someone.

34. A “big cheese” is a leader or somewhat important (sometimes jocularly rendered in French: le grande fromage).

35. To “cut the cheese” is vulgar slang meaning “produce flatulence.”

36. “Say, ‘Cheese!’” is an exhortation to smile for a photograph.

37–38. The “cream of the crop” is the best in its class; the “crème de la crème” is the best of the best.

39–40. A “good egg” is a good person, and a “bad egg” is a bad person.

41–45. To “put all (one’s) eggs in one basket” is to risk everything at once, but to “lay an egg” is to perform poorly, and to have “egg on (one’s) face” is to be left embarrassed or humiliated, while to “egg (someone) on” is to goad someone to something that is generally ill advised. A “nest egg” is a savings fund.

46. To say that one “can’t make an omelette without breaking some (or the) eggs” means that nothing can be accomplished without some difficulty.

47. To “cry over spilled milk” is to dwell over something that cannot be undone.

48. To be “full of the milk of human kindness” is to generously display kindness and/or sympathy.

49–50. To “milk (someone) for (something)” is to pressure the person, but to “milk (something) for all it’s worth” is to exploit something to the greatest extent possible.

Five Errors of Restriction

1. “Bank of America’s purchase of Fleet Boston for $47 billion will create the biggest bank in the United States with thirty-three million customers.”

The lack of punctuation in this sentence invites the impression that of all the banks in the United States with thirty-three million customers, the Bank of America will be the largest. But the last phrase merely refers to the size of the customer base after the merger.

This additional information should be set off from the rest of the sentence by a comma: “Bank of America’s purchase of Fleet Boston for $47 billion will create the biggest bank in the United States, with thirty-three million customers.” Alternatively, the information can be inserted parenthetically into the middle of the sentence: “Bank of America’s purchase of Fleet Boston for $47 billion, which boosts its customer base to thirty-three million, will create the biggest bank in the United States.”

2. “Take a visit to the military test kitchen where bad grub is taken very seriously.”

The implication here is that among military test kitchens, the one in question is the only one that focuses on bad food. However, it’s quite likely there’s only one military test kitchen, a fact this sentence indicates by the simple insertion of a comma: “Take a visit to the military test kitchen, where bad grub is taken very seriously.” (If there is more than one, the implied multiplicity of kitchens is distracting; a simple change of the article preceding the noun phrase will remove the obstacle: “Take a visit to a military test kitchen where bad grub is taken very seriously.”)

3. “Yesterday, ChevronTexaco announced the deal that’s expected to be complete within six months.”

The reader might get the impression that of two or more deals, this one’s expected to take up to six months to complete. But there’s only one deal, and it should be complete within six months. To communicate that information, set the time frame apart from the phrase about the announcement, and change that to which: “Yesterday, ChevronTexaco announced the deal, which is expected to be complete within six months.”

4. “Daniel Libeskind is the architect of the proposed $43 million Contemporary Jewish Museum project in San Francisco that will begin construction next year.”

This example is less likely than the previous one to confuse readers about the number of similar events expected to occur; it’s unlikely that anyone will assume that more than one museum project is in the offing. However, the sentence is constructed so that such distraction is possible. To clarify, undertake the same revision as in the example above: “Daniel Libeskind is the architect of the proposed $43 million Contemporary Jewish Museum project in San Francisco, which will begin construction next year.”

5. “The company’s incident-response can quickly and reliably identify events, which threaten an organization’s security posture.”

Note that this sentence, by contrast, errs in the other direction: The wording and punctuation implies that all events are a threat to the organization’s security posture. But the sentence intends to refer to a restricted type of events, so it should be worded to convey that meaning: “The company’s incident-response can quickly and reliably identify events that threaten an organization’s security posture.”

10 Steps to Dealing With Mean-Spirited Critics, Comment Trolls, and Other Jerks

1. Write.
2. Keep writing.
3. Whenever you think about it, write.
5. If you’re angry, write anyway.
6. If you’re feeling insecure, write anyway.
7. If you’re depressed and think no one cares about you or your writing, write anyway.
4. Don’t work for hours on the perfect zinger to respond with. Work on your writing.
8. If they convince you that you’re not a real writer, write anyway.
9. If you need to delete their comment, do it. Then go and write.
10. It doesn’t matter what they said or why they said it or who they are. It only matters that you write. So get to work.

PRACTICE

Write about a mean-spirited, Internet troll, critic jerk who finally gets his or her comeuppance.

Write for fifteen minutes. When your time is up, post your practice in the comments section. And if you post, please be sure to give feedback to a few practices by other writers.

Happy writing! ;)

Three Erroneous Uses of Scare Quotes

Rules are made to be broken, but more often they are made to be followed, because violation of those rules, in writing as in any other human endeavor, often leads to unintended consequences. One case is the careless use of quotation marks for emphasis.

Scare quotes, as quotation marks employed for this purpose are called, are often used to call out nonstandard or unusual terms, or merely to introduce a word or phrase. However, although this strategy used to be common, scare quotes have taken on a new role that has largely, at least among careful writers, supplanted the old technique: Now, they are better employed to convey derision, irony, or skepticism.

For example, a writer who describes how “the institute offers workshops in ‘self-awareness therapy’” is widely presumed not to be gently preparing the reader for the appearance of an unfamiliar phrase; more likely, they are calling attention to what they feel is preciously New Age-y terminology.

Meanwhile, the statement “The Pentagon’s strategy of ‘pacification’ certainly did make things quieter in the neighborhood” comments on the evasive military euphemism, while “The ‘new’ model strikes me as less sophisticated than the old one” calls attention to an unjustified adjective.

Here are three types of superfluous usage of scare quotes:

1. The astronomers reported Tuesday that they had combined more than 6,000 observations from three telescopes to detect the system of “exoplanets.”

Exoplanets is a term that has only recently entered the general vocabulary, but neologism is not a criterion for use of scare quotes; simply introduce the word, define it, and move on: “The astronomers reported Tuesday that they had combined more than 6,000 observations from three telescopes to detect the system of exoplanets.” (In the article from which this sentence is taken, a definition of exoplanet follows the statement.)

2. They engaged in listening exercises and musical analysis so as to better understand the “musical DNA” of their favorite songs.

If you use an established term in an unfamiliar but analogous sense, trust readers to make the connection; don’t bracket the term in scare quotes: “They engaged in listening exercises and musical analysis so as to better understand the musical DNA of their favorite songs.”

3. So-called “notification laws” require businesses to notify customers when certain unencrypted customer data is improperly accessed.

Never employ scare quotes around a term introduced by the phrase so-called. Yes, you may want to signal to readers your dissatisfaction with the term, but so-called performs that function, so scare quotes are redundant: “So-called notification laws require businesses to notify customers when certain unencrypted customer data is improperly accessed.”

10 Tips About Basic Writing Competency

Here are ten areas to be sure to attend to if you wish to be taken seriously as a professional writer.

Formatting

1. Do not enter two letter spaces between sentences. Use of two spaces is an obsolete convention based on typewriter technology and will mark you as out of touch. If editors or other potential employers or clients notice that you don’t know this simple fact, they may be skeptical about your writing skills before you’ve had a chance to impress them.

2. Take care that paragraphs are of varying reasonable lengths. Unusually short or long paragraphs are appropriate in moderation, but allowing a series of choppy paragraphs or laboriously long ones to remain in a final draft is unprofessional.

3. If you’re submitting a manuscript or other content for publication, do not format it with various fonts and other style features. Editors want to read good writing, not enjoy aesthetically pleasing (or not) manuscripts; efforts to prettify a file are a distraction.

Style

4. Do not, in résumés or in other text, get carried away with capitalization. You didn’t earn a Master’s Degree; you earned a master’s degree. You didn’t study Biology; you studied biology. You weren’t Project Manager; you were project manager. 

5. Become familiar with the rules for styling numbers, and apply them rationally.

6. Know the principles of punctuation, especially regarding consistency in insertion or omission of the serial comma, avoidance of the comma splice, and use of the semicolon. And if you write in American English and you routinely place a period after the closing quotation mark at the end of a sentence rather than before it, go back to square one and try again.

7. Hyphenation is complicated. In other breaking news, life isn’t fair. Don’t count on editors to cure your hyphenation hiccups for you; become your own expert consultant.

8. Avoid “scare quotes.” A term does not need to be called out by quotation marks around it unless you must clarify that the unusual usage is not intended to be read literally, or when they are employed for “comic” effect. (In this case, the implication is that the comic effect is patently unamusing.)

Usage

9. For all intensive purposes, know your idioms. (That should be “for all intents and purposes,” but you should also just omit such superfluous phrases.) On a related note, avoid clichés like the plague — except when you don’t. They’re useful, but generous use is the sign of a lazy writer.

Spelling

10. Don’t rely on spellchecking programs to do your spelling work for you, and always verify spelling (and wording) of proper nouns.

Three Problems of Nonparallel Interjections

Three examples of more complex errors involving corresponding sentence elements.

1. “Low-interest rates have been one of the primary, if not the primary factor in extending the real estate boom in the United States.”
The corresponding phrases in this sentence are neither parallel nor complete. First, the additional consideration (“if not the primary factor”) must be structured as an interjection, meaning that it has to be bracketed parenthetically by commas, em dashes, or parentheses. (Which method you choose depends on the emphasis you want to give the interjection: Parentheses minimize the interruption, commas are the default punctuation for separating an interrupting phrase from the main sentence, and em dashes call attention to the inserted phrase.)

In this case, “if not the primary factor” must be set off from the rest of the sentence with punctuation before and after; any of the three punctuation forms is appropriate. However, there’s more work to be done. The key to correctly constructing a sentence with an interjection is that if the interjection is omitted, the sentence is still complete.

But read this version of the sentence with the interjection omitted: “Low-interest rates have been one of the primary in extending the real estate boom in the United States.” Obviously, factors must be inserted after the first use of primary in additional to the inclusion of the singular form of the word in the interjection: “Low-interest rates have been one of the primary factors, if not the primary factor, in extending the real estate boom in the United States.”

2. “Talk of a name change has struck some political observers as not only a merely cosmetic, but also as a pointless gesture.”
As with the previous example, this sentence lacks a correctly framed interjection — “but also as a pointless” must be set off from the rest of the sentence: “Talk of a name change has struck some political observers as . . . a merely cosmetic gesture.” (The ellipsis marks the omission of “not only,” which as part of the “not only . . . but also” comparative device is technically a part of the interjection.)

The corrected sentence should read, “Talk of a name change has struck some political observers as not only a merely cosmetic, but also a pointless, gesture.” (Note the omission of the second instance of as.) Better yet, convert the interjection to a sentence-ending tag: “Talk of a name change has struck some political observers as not only a merely cosmetic gesture but also a pointless one.”

3. “He could have, but he didn’t, press for a clear, bilateral agreement on immigration.”
Use the interjection-omission test described above to analyze this sentence’s problem: Without the (correctly punctuated) interjection, the sentence erroneously reads “He could have press for a clear, bilateral agreement on immigration.” A hypercorrection featuring logical correspondence at the expense of readability is “He could have pressed, but he didn’t press, for a clear, bilateral agreement on immigration.” As with the previous example, the sentence is best repaired by moving the interjection to the end of the sentence: “He could have pressed for a clear, bilateral agreement on immigration, but he didn’t.”

Five Online Dictionaries

Regular Daily Writing Tips readers know that I often extol Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, the dictionary of record for the American publishing industry. Despite its apparent casual acceptance of nonstandard spellings, it’s an authoritative resource — as is its Internet version, Merriam-Webster Online. But plenty of alternatives exist; here are five interesting and helpful variations on the lexicographical theme.

1. The Alpha Dictionary
This portal features links to hundreds of foreign-language dictionaries and glossaries, as well as numerous specialty dictionaries and glossaries covering specific subjects like chocolate, jewelry, and weather, and more resources like thesauruses and collections of quotations.

2. The Free Dictionary
Enter a word at The Free Dictionary, and you’ll get not only definitions from various dictionaries but also citations of the word in quotations, a translation tool to find the word’s foreign-language equivalents, and lists of related terms. The site also has starts-with and ends-with search functions and an option to call up a list of terms in which a particular word appears in the definition. In addition, you can look up acronyms and idioms and search encyclopedias, foreign-language dictionaries, and specialized dictionaries.

3. OneLook.com
This dictionary offers more than just definitions of words you type in; it also enables a variety of tip-of-the-tongue searches: To return words and phrases beginning or ending in a certain word, type in that word followed by or preceding an asterisk, or type the first couple of letters of a word followed by a colon and any complete word to produce a list of words and phrases starting with those letters that pertain to that word. (For example, at:air brings up not only atmosphere but also “attic fan” and atomization.) Or, precede an acronym or initialism with expand: to find phrases these abbreviations stand for, and more.

4. Wordnik
Wordnik collects definitions from numerous other dictionary websites, as well as displaying online citations of the word to provide context.

5. YourDictionary
This plain-English resource provides easy-to-understand definitions. For example, the meaning of atmosphere, rendered at Merriam-Webster Online as “the gaseous envelope of a celestial body (as a planet), the whole mass of air surrounding the earth, the air of a locality, a surrounding influence or environment, the overall aesthetic effect of a work of art, an intriguing or singular tone, effect, or appeal” here is explained as follows: “the area of air and gas enveloping objects in space, like stars and planets, or the air around any location,” or “an overall feeling and/or effect of a place, specially if it is an environment of pleasure or interest.” This site also provides links to other dictionaries as well as other resources.

25 Idioms about Bread and Dessert

Wheat — the staff of life — and the baked products derived from it invite many idiomatic associations. Here are references to bread and other flour-based products in phrases and expressions.

1. ‘Bread and butter’ refers to the basics in life.
2. ‘Bread and water’ refers to the bare minimum of food and drink, based on the traditional punitive prison diet.
3. ‘The greatest thing since sliced bread’ is something considered revolutionary and indispensable.
4. ‘Half a loaf is better than none’ means that one shouldn’t complain about not having everything, because it is better to have something than nothing.
5. ‘Half baked’ means ‘incomplete’ or ‘not thoroughly planned or conceived.’
6. To know ‘which side (one’s) bread is buttered on’ is to recognize what is advantageous.
7. To ‘sell (something) like hotcakes’ is to be very successful at selling something.
8. To ‘separate the wheat from the chaff’ is to distinguish what is useful or valuable from what is not.
9. Something that is ‘as flat as a pancake’ is extremely flat.
10. Something ‘as warm as toast’ is very warm and comforting.
11. To ‘have your cake and eat it, too’ is to have or accomplish something more than one way; the phrase often refers to an unrealistic expectation.
12. Something ‘as easy as (apple) pie’ is very simple to do or understand.
13–14. To ‘have (one’s) finger in the pie’ is to be involved, but to ‘have (one’s) fingers in too many pies’ is to be committed in too many endeavors, thus reducing one’s effectiveness.
15. ‘Icing on the cake’ is an additional benefit.
16. An activity that is ‘like taking candy from a baby’ is very easy.
17. Something that is ‘pie in the sky’ is unrealistic.
18. Something that is ‘a piece of cake’ is extraordinarily easy.
19. To get ‘a piece of the pie’ is to be among those who earn an advantage or reward.
20. To ‘sugarcoat’ something is to put it into a deceptively or inaccurately positive light.
21. Something that ‘takes the cake’ is significantly better or worse than other comparable things; the phrase often refers to an action or comment that is audaciously irritating.
22. ‘That’s the way the cookie crumbles’ means that what is referred to is an expected or typical outcome.
23. Someone or something ‘as nutty as a fruitcake’ is crazy or ridiculous.
24. Something ‘as slow as molasses (in January)’ is very slow.
25. Something ‘as sweet as honey’ is very appealing.

Five Parallelism Problems in Sentence Structure

It’s easy to produce a faultily constructed sentence by neglecting to install all the necessary parts. Each of the sentences below lacks a small but essential component that helps render the statement sturdy and structurally sound; read each discussion for an explanation of the flaw.

1. ‘Lifelong interest and enthusiasm for science is instilled through science literacy.’
Take the phrase ‘and enthusiasm’ out of the sentence, and you’re left with ‘Lifelong interest for science is instilled through science literacy.’ Here, the subject is followed by the wrong preposition. Omit ‘and enthusiasm for,’ and the result is ‘Lifelong interest science is instilled through science literacy.’ Now, the subject lacks any preposition. The solution? Each noun in the noun phrase ‘interest and enthusiasm’ requires its own appropriate preposition: ‘Lifelong interest in and enthusiasm for science is instilled through science literacy.’ (Depending on emphasis desired, ‘and enthusiasm for’ may be bracketed by a pair of commas, parentheses, or em-dashes but is correct without any interruptive signals.)

2. ‘They’re noisy, they’re tiny, weigh fifty pounds, and can be souped up from a speed of thirty-five miles per hour.’
Of the four elements in this list, two are preceded by pronouns and two aren’t. To achieve parallel compliance, all the elements must share one pronoun (‘They’re noisy, tiny, weigh fifty pounds, and can be souped up from a speed of thirty-five miles per hour’), or each requires its own (‘They’re noisy, they’re tiny, they weigh fifty pounds, and they can be souped up from a speed of thirty-five miles per hour’).

3. ‘They run farther, longer, and never get fat.’
The first two elements share a verb, and the third has its own. However, just as in the apportionment of pronouns in the example above, one verb must apply to all, or each element must have its own verb (especially if a single verb is not appropriate for all the elements).

In this case, the verbs must differ. Depending on the context, either revise the sentence so that farther and longer share the verb run (‘They run farther and longer and never get fat’), or provide longer with its own verb (‘They run farther, last longer, and never get fat’).

4. ‘John Smith is off the streets, sober, and has a job.’
The rule set forth in the previous sentence applies for simple ‘to-be’ verbs as well. Revise the sentence to read, ‘John Smith is off the streets, is sober, and has a job’ or ‘John Smith is off the streets and sober and has a job.’

5. ‘That opinion was uttered not by John Doe, but one of his vice presidents.’
The preposition by must be repeated at the head of the second clause to match the structure of the first clause: ‘That opinion was uttered not by John Doe, but by one of his vice presidents.’ The sentence could be recast in active voice (‘One of John Doe’s vice presidents, not Doe himself, uttered that opinion’), but the change doesn’t necessarily improve the statement.

Word of the Year 2012

Each year, the major dictionary companies trot out their choice for Word of the Year and its runner-ups, based partly on search frequency and partly on staff consensus. Note that these words are selected not for their staying power — Words of the Year often fade into obscurity — but for the significance of their usage in a given year. Merriam-Webster’s 2012 Word of the Year is a toss-up between capitalism and socialism, reflecting the controversy and debates about universal health care and discussion about the comparative government systems in the United States and in much of Europe.

These words are straightforward — except that they’re not: Capitalism is fraught with negative connotations (and not just by those who oppose the system), and many Americans, as an unfortunately lingering artifact of the Red Menace of the mid-twentieth century, confuse socialism (the concept, not the word) with communism and fear both even though the US government system, like many European ones, is irrevocably infused with socialistic components.

Dictionary.com’s choice is bluster, which means ‘loud, swaggering, often empty boasts, threats, or other comments’ — an appropriate term, considering the unusually contentious political climate in the United States over the last year. The American arm of the Oxford Dictionaries chose GIF (pronounced ‘jif’ and standing for ‘graphics interchange format’), thanks to the ubiquity of GIFs, simple animations consisting of a looped series of images, employed to humorous effect but also in scientific models and other contexts. They’re not new, but their place in popular culture has recently been elevated by the ease with which they are created.

The selection by editors at Oxford University Press’s UK headquarters is omnishambles, which denotes a thoroughly mismanaged situation notable for a chain of errors. The sense is similar to the American English acronyms fubar and snafu, which originated among service personnel inspired with an ironic nod toward the military’s propensity for describing bureaucratic phenomena with abbreviations. (For the record, fubar stands for ‘fouled up beyond all recognition,’ and snafu is an acronym for ‘situation normal — all fouled up’ — except that I’ve substituted fouled for another word starting with f, as do many others who cater to their own or others’ delicate sensibilities when they spell these terms out.)