Posts by Don Hauptman
The Language Perfectionist: A Caucus of Confusables
It’s time once again to set the record straight on pairs of words that are commonly confused. Here are examples from print and online sources: “The number had been cut before the premier of the film.” A gala event is a premiere. The adjective meaning first is premier. “Mr. Heiberger said his new company would…
Read MoreThe Language Perfectionist: Two for One
I’ve observed a strange phenomenon in my reading lately: words that are improperly divided in two. I hope it’s not a trend. The following examples are taken from major newspapers and online searches: “While Mr. Assange is basking in his new found fame, there is no reason to believe he was directly responsible for downloading…
Read MoreThe Language Perfectionist: Dogging the Wag
As readers of this column know, I have a habit of searching for errors and anomalies in the media, adding my own puckish retorts, and preserving the results for posterity. Below is a fresh collection of recent bloopers and mischievous rejoinders. This set originally appeared in Word Ways, “The Journal of Recreational Linguistics,” a venerable…
Read MoreThe Language Perfectionist: The Whether Is Fine
In an eerie coincidence, two acquaintances almost simultaneously sent me e-mail messages that concerned the proper use of whether. One suggested that my use of whether should have been if. The other wondered if the phrase whether or not contains two unnecessary words. Let’s consider these issues in turn. First, whether vs. if. Garner’s Modern…
Read MoreThe Language Perfectionist: A Parade of Misuses
While listening to National Public Radio, I heard a plug for the film The King’s Speech. The announcer referred to George VI’s “impromptu ascension to the throne.” If you’ve seen this excellent movie, you know that George’s becoming king could be described in many ways, but impromptu — spontaneous, unplanned — is not among them.…
Read MoreThe Language Perfectionist: The Moral of the Story
In my reading, I’ve recently encountered many sentences like these: “‘The moral and ethical tone of any organization is set at the top,’ said Michael G. Cherkasky, chairman of the panel….” “There are strong moral and ethical reasons for why low-income Americans should not be forced to grapple with pressing civil legal matters…” “There is,…
Read MoreThe Language Perfectionist: What Hath Wrought Wreaked?
I found the following three sentences via online search. Can you spot anything wrong with them? “The recent oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico has wrought havoc on sea and on land.” “China’s exports began to fall in November as the global recession wrought havoc on the textile, toy, and steel industries.” “This touch…
Read MoreThe Language Perfectionist: A Bad Spell
Long before the Internet, jokes, lists, fun facts, and the like were circulated on old-fashioned paper. This sort of material was wryly dubbed “photocopier folklore” by Alan Dundes, a scholar who specialized in the phenomenon and compiled his discoveries into a series of books. One such item I recall was a list of the most…
Read MoreThe Language Perfectionist: An Army of Ambiguities
Ambiguous sentences can be unintentionally amusing, though they do no favors for readers, who are likely to be miscued and confused. Here’s a new batch, all of which I spotted recently in major newspapers: “Huge budget shortfalls are prompting a handful of states to begin discussing a once unthinkable scenario: dropping out of the Medicaid…
Read MoreThe Language Perfectionist: An “Abbreviated” Column
I’ve long been fascinated by acronyms. An acronym is a pronounceable word formed by the initial letters of a phrase, such as ASAP (as soon as possible) and SWAK (sealed with a kiss). For ages, curmudgeons have railed against acronyms and other abbreviations, calling them cryptic and confusing. But in a high-tech society, this age-old…
Read MoreThe Language Perfectionist: A Wordy Phrase to Excise From Your Writing
Consider these examples, found online: “Do you have to sweat in order to lose weight while exercising?” “We have lied to ourselves and others in order to justify our actions.” “Glee, at that point, was about a motley crew of quirky teenagers trying to mold together in order to win sectionals.” In his new usage…
Read MoreThe Language Perfectionist: Tricky Singulars and Plurals
I was amazed to read this sentence in a major newspaper: “Today the criteria is simple: total unit sales.” Of course, criteria should be criterion. The first is plural; the second singular. And if you intend the plural, it’s criteria are, not criteria is. Most English words are turned into plurals simply by adding -s…
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