Posts by Don Hauptman

Once again, it’s time for a selective roundup and analysis of mistakes in the news: “It is ironical that the author of the book that accurately depicted the lives of China’s rural poor… was rejected by the revolutionaries themselves.” The standard form of the word is ironic, not ironical. In a previous column, I discussed…

Have you ever encountered the word retronym? Whatever your answer, I can guarantee that you’ve heard and read and used retronyms. Here’s the story… Once upon a time, only one type of guitar existed. When the electric guitar was invented, a term was needed to differentiate it from the original kind, which then became an…

Given the depressed state of literacy, the appearance of an excellent new guide to grammar, style, and usage is an occasion for rejoicing. The Accidents of Style by Charles Harrington Elster, just published, is a volume every writer should have at hand. It will help you polish your prose, express your ideas more clearly, and…

Here’s a roundup of interesting mistakes, culled from my recent reading of daily newspapers: “Mr. Bush erred in not clamping down on a rapacious, wreckless Congress and putting the brakes on its spending.” The word for “careless, heedless, out of control” is spelled reckless. If wreckless existed, it might almost serve as an antonym for…

Is anything amiss in the following three sentences? “I must stress that I was neither consulted on the matter of changing the grades, nor was I asked to sign the alterations in the grading sheet.” “At the outset, I would like to stress that it has been a pleasure working closely with my World Bank…

Consider the following sentences:

“Want close parking to the venue and priority exiting from the parking lots at the end of the event?”

Here are four passages I encountered in newspapers. Observe how, in each case, poor wording creates an ambiguity that can lead the reader astray.

It’s time once again for a look at commonly confused words. I found the following examples in print and online.

• “Are you inferring that I have plagiarized your post…?”

Last year, I traveled to a small town in Canada to attend a theatrical festival. About noon one day, I entered an appealing restaurant.

“Would you like to be seated on our veranda?” asked the hostess. “Did you know,” I replied, “that the word veranda comes to us from Hindi, Portuguese, and Spanish?” I expected to be summarily booted out in return for my irrelevant comment, but she seemed genuinely fascinated by this fun fact.