LandaBlog

LandaBooks Word Quiz Answers: JUNIO

Dave — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 22:41:00 GMT

A jocose person is playful, joking, fun-loving (from Latin jocosus, filled with joking, jesting, and so forth).
A universal joint is a coupling between two rotating shafts (like the drive shaft and rear axle of some cars) that allows some freedom of movement in any direction.
Narcolepsy (from Greek narke, numbness, stupor) is a condition characterized by uncontrolled episodes of deep sleep.
If something’s insatiable (from Latin in, not, and satiare, to fill or satisfy), you can’t satisfy it—he had an insatiable thirst for adventure, knowledge, women, and wine.
In medieval folklore, Oberon was king of the fairies. It’s also the name of one of the five moons of Uranus.

Take a Peak at This

Dave — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 22:28:00 GMT

Some time back, the lead editorial in The Washington Post interchanged the words peak and peek. Twice. Yeah, it’s a little surprising. After all, it’s one of the country’s leading newspapers, and you’d expect that even if the writer slipped up, one of the paper’s proofers would catch it.

Another surprising thing is that the words peek and peak are not among those most often interchanged. We have lots that are more troublesome, like affect-effect, it’s-its, and stationery-stationary, to name just a few. Anyone who needs a memory crutch on peek-vs-peak can mentally connect the two e’s in peek to two eyes, or link the a in peak to alp.

But by far the most interesting aspect of the slip-up, and the most useful for us, is this: if it happens to the pro’s on the Post, it can happen to any of us. We all have holes in our vocabularies, and a few crossed wires. Considering all the thousands of words in our vocabularies, it’s almost inevitable that we mis-learned some words years ago, and just never happened to unlearn them.

And there’s no sure way to prevent a similar goof from happening to us—any of us. And our spellcheckers won’t help. In fact, they may give add to the problem by giving us false confidence. The best way to reduce the danger is to go back to those old reliable human eyes—to enlist a competent proofer to comb through our drafts before we send them out.

While it’s possible that any one of us can make a one-in-a-thousand mistake like the peak-peak bobble, if you add a second reader, the odds shift to something like one in a million. That’s worth the trouble.

LandaBooks Word Quiz Answers: M-DAYS

Dave — Mon, 31 May 2010 18:46:00 GMT

A macula (Latin for spot or stain) is a discolored spot on the skin or in the retina or cornea of the eye.
A davit is a crane-like device used to move cargo around ships. It comes from a French form of the name David, apparently from the practice of giving common names to useful devices (jack, jenny, jimmy).
An aphorism (via French from Greek aphor, to define) is a short and witty saying: Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely (Lord Acton, historian).
On many charts and graphs (like those used in algebra), the y axis is vertical, the one going up and down. The other is the x axis.
Salmagundi is a salad of mixed stuff—chopped meat, anchovies, eggs, onions. The origin’s uncertain—maybe from old French salmigondis, seasoned, salty meats.

Khan You Pronounce This Correctly?

Dave — Thu, 27 May 2010 18:37:00 GMT

We've all heard of Genghis Khan, the Mongol conqueror. But how have we heard it?

Should it be pronounced JIN-gus con? Or GHIN-gus con (with the first syllable matching the -gin in begin)?

Once again, the best answer is... it depends.

When I was a teenager, a popular movie about the man used the GHIN-gus (or GHEEN-gus) version. How much influence the movie had I'm not sure, but everybody I knew used the same pronunciation, with the hard g. It was only a few years ago that I heard the other option—jin-gus—in conversation.

Statistically, then, we'd have good reason to say GHIN-gus, so as not to go agin the majority. But there was another factor involved here. The person who used the jin version was being interviewed on an NPR talk show. Why? Because he'd written a book on Genghis Khan, and was considered an expert on the subject.

Listening to the interview was a little amusing. The radio host kept saying GHIN-gus, and the guest-author kept saying JIN-gus. Finally the host asked him directly, saying something like: “I notice you pronounce that JIN-gus, and I've always heard GHIN-gus. So which is correct?”

Depends on where you are, the expert explained—on which side of a geographical dividing line. The great majority of Easterners (Asians and their neighbors) prefer the soft-g version (JIN-gus), while we of the Western world are much more inclined to say GHIN-gus.

My Webster's New World Dictionary gives both pronunciations as standard, so take your choice. But if you go with the Eastern option, be ready to explain why you “mispronounced” the term.

The moral? Be tolerant, and don't jump to conclusions that different means incorrect, inferior, or substandard.

LandaBooks Work Quiz Answers: CRUDE

Dave — Mon, 24 May 2010 17:40:00 GMT

Crudites (from French crudite, rawness) are bite-sized vegetable strips, often served as appetizers with a dip. Either a plural or singular verb works with this noun.
A raptor (Latin, one who seizes by force) is a bird of prey—e.g., a hawk, owl, or erne.
Urbanity (from Latin urbānus, of a city) means elegant, refined, polite. She said I don’t got much urbanity, which clearly ain’t so.
A demitasse (French, literally a half-cup) is a small cup, usually for serving strong black coffee or espresso after dinner.
An etude (via French, from Latin studium, to study) is a musical composition, usually written for students to practice on.

Why Not Add a Word?

Dave — Wed, 19 May 2010 18:53:00 GMT

It's usually a good idea to trim words when you can. But not always. Sometimes adding a word can be a good way around a problem.

For example, we repeatedly get questions like this one: Should I say “My family is coming to dinner Friday” or “My family are coming to dinner Friday”?

Grammatically, either can be considered correct. It depends on whether you think of the collective noun family as singular or plural—“notional agreement,” as it’s sometimes called.

But by itself, that answer doesn’t solve the problem. No matter which version you choose, some people will think it sounds a little off. So don’t limit yourself to those two choices. Take a step back for a wider view, and consider other options.

One of the most useful solutions is simply to add a word—usually a helping verb. When we use a single, one-word verb, we have to worry about agreement with its subject—she is, they are, he was, they were, and so on.

But look what happens when we shift to a two-word verb. Now we can say things like she will be, they will be, or he might be, they might be. Using a verb phrase can free us from worrying about whether the subject is singular or plural.

Circling back and applying this idea to our original question, we now have some new options, including perfectly acceptable sentences like “My family will be coming to dinner Friday night.”

The problem’s gone, and the extra word doesn’t hurt a thing. So don’t fall into the “false-dichotomy” trap, the idea that you have to choose between the first two choices that occur to you.

In language, there are almost always other possibilities.

And don’t think it’s always a good idea to eliminate every word you can. Shorter isn’t always better.

LandaBooks Word Quiz Answers: Of MICES and Mens

Dave — Wed, 12 May 2010 18:21:00 GMT

Thomas R. Malthus, British economist, theorized that population increases at a faster rate than food supply, with eventual disastrous results, unless population growth is checked by war, disease, etc. No optimist, that one.
To die intestate (from Latin testārī, to witness, make a will) means without having made a will.
A creche (from Old French kripja, crib) is a representation of the Bethlehem stable scene, with Mary, Joseph, and others around the manger.
Estrus (from Greek oistros, frenzy, passion) is the period of highest female fertility in most mammals. It’s also called heat or rut.
A solidus (from Latin) is what we commonly call a slash mark, slant mark, or (less commonly) a virgule.

I’m Done

Dave — Mon, 10 May 2010 18:19:00 GMT

Here’s a tricky little communication problem.

We received an email asking this question:

Could you please help me to clarify a grammar dispute? Many people frequently use the phrase “I’m done” when they have completed a task. This never seems correct to me since it is the task which is done and not the person. Surely they should say either “It’s done” or “I’m finished.” Could you please tell if “I’m done” is correct and, if not, could you please explain clearly how the rules of grammar are broken by this phrase?

Thanks for any help you are able to offer.

I replied, but my message was bounced as spam (several times, several ways). I’m printing my answer here, hoping the writer will read it (and that others will be interested):

Your question gets into one of the many gray areas of our language.

The older I get, and the more I work with language, the less inclined I am to use the words “correct” or “incorrect.” Instead, I’m more likely to use words like “standard” and “nonstandard,” or “appropriate” and “inappropriate,” with lots of room for personal and regional preferences.

Additionally (and this is closer to your question), there are “levels of usage,” which include vulgar, slang, colloquial, obsolete, dialect, old-fashioned, rare, and so on. My Webster’s New World Dictionary lists a few more, and includes this useful note: “None of the modes of using language in the cases cited is in an absolute sense more correct than any of the others. Each is right for its occasion and any attempt to interchange styles can result in inappropriate language.”

That’s the gray area you hit upon—just what is “inappropriate” language?

Now for my opinion—Saying “I’m done” is not incorrect, but it could be considered slang (it’s certainly informal), and would likely be thought inappropriate in almost any formal exchange. To me, the words connote not only informality, but exasperation or impatience—as in “I’ve tried many times to convince him to do that, and he absolutely refuses. Now I’m done.”

Hope this helps.

P.S. One of my favorite books for questions like yours—Webster’s Dictionary of American Usage. has almost a full page on done, and the ruling on the usage you asked about can be summed up in one sentence: “The construction is standard.” The writer notes that Theodore Bernstein objected to it in 1958, but by 1971 and 1977 was on the way to accepting it. The comments include quotes from Mark Twain (“I am done with official life…”), William Faulkner (“…that character is not done”) and a writer for Cosmopolitan (“…as soon as she is done”). See why I like the book? It’s thorough.

Still, you are as entitled to your opinion as any of those people, and I agree that the construction should be restricted almost entirely to informal usage

LandaBooks Word Quiz Answers: MAY-be

Dave — Thu, 06 May 2010 15:45:00 GMT

It’s an urgent call for help (from the French), often used by ships and planes in trouble. The air traffic controllers were astounded when maydays came in from four planes within a short period.
Eye-doctors. Amblyopia (from Greek amblus, dim, and op, eye) is a condition marked by decreased vision, especially when occurring in one eye, without apparent physical cause. Also called lazy eye.
Yerba buena (from Spanish yerba, herb, and buena, good) is a trailing vine of the mint family. It was formerly used in medicine.
Blessed are they who chose answer 4. The Beatitudes (from Latin beatus, meaning "blessed" or "happy") are declarations of blessedness, from the biblical account of the Sermon on the Mount.
Exogamous (from Greek exo, outside, and gamos, marriage) means marriage (or such) outside the tribe or group. He defended his dalliance by saying geneticists claim exogamy is good for the gene pool.

Smarter Than Me?

Dave — Sat, 01 May 2010 15:42:00 GMT

The email from a reader told about a friendly dispute over this sentence: “She is smarter than me.”

One person said it should be “… than I”; the other said it was okay as written. So to paraphrase, here’s the question: “Is A wrong, or is B wrong?”

And here’s our answer: “No.”

The email was signed “Confused foreigner,” but native speakers don’t always agree on an answer. Some consider “than” a conjunction, and might say that the sentence is a shortened form of one that would read something like “She is smarter than [I am].” We use lots of such elliptical sentences, leaving out parts we don’t consider necessary.

But those who say “than” is a preposition would argue that “me” would be needed (as its object). Of course the wisest people (those who agree with us) take the middle ground.

Here’s what Webster's Dictionary of English Usage says: “A dispute over whether ‘than’ is a preposition or a conjunction has been going on now for more than two centuries.”

And after about a page of other comments and examples, it adds this: “To conclude: William Ward had it right in 1765. ‘Than’ is both a preposition and a conjunction. In spite of much opinion to the contrary, the preposition has never been wrong.”

So as we told our confused friend, either is correct—you do it your way, let others do it their way. Or, if you're working in an organization that puts a high value on consistency, choose one way—arbitrarily, if necessary—and stick with it.

We signed it “Lots of luck, and welcome to the world of never-ending arguments over English usage.” And a fun place it can be, unless you take such disputes too seriously. Remember, it ain’t world peace.

LandaBooks Word Quiz Answers: Solve the jumble: SKAEL

Dave — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 13:45:00 GMT

Shrive (from Latin for write, as in write off) can mean to confess, to hear confession, or to forgive. If you didn’t get this write off, we will grant you absolution, so you’ll be shriven of your sin.
Shoplifting. A kleptomaniac (from Greek kleptein, to steal, and mania) steals obsessively, regardless of financial need.
An abacus, a frame with beads mounted on rods, is used for counting (chickens or whatever). The word comes from Hebrew (via Greek and Latin) for dust, because a dust-covered table was once used to mark numbers in counting or tallying. Maybe even more than once.
E. coli (E. from Ger. Physician Theodor Escherich, coli from Latin for colon) is the name of bacteria commonly found in intestines of people and animals.
Unhampered by rules, especially those regarding sexual behavior. She was surprised to find that her parents consider her boyfriend, Sater, a licentious person. (From a Latin term for unrestrained.)

Id Est Easy

Dave — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 13:41:00 GMT

Those two little Latin abbreviations, i.e. and e.g., are easy to mix up.

But they’re easy enough to keep straight—if you have a good memory hook to help you.

Part of the confusion comes from the fact that these two look a little alike. What’s more, they’re somewhat similar in meaning, and are found in similar-looking sentence constructions.

Most people have at least a vague idea of what they mean. But because they stand for Latin terms, learning the words they stand for won’t give us their precise meanings. We need to know what they mean in English, and we need a good memory hook to hang them on after we’ve learned them.

This is a case where it helps to fudge a little. First we learn the Latin meanings, then we make up our own translations, using plain-English terms that will work better. For example, take e.g. It stands for exempli gratia , but knowing the full Latin terms isn’t much help unless we happen to know the language.

So why not create our own translation, something inaccurate but effective—something that’ll tie in to the “ for example” meaning? Maybe something like “example given,” or “example gratis.” And for its mate (that is, i.e.), we can circumvent the Latin id est (“that is”) and plug in some simple words that do have matching first letters, like “it equals.”

So if we’re giving an example, we’d use the e.g. form—as in “Let’s send someone to the spelling bee who’s really good (e.g., Albert).” The “example given” helps us remember that Albert is an example of the kind of person you’d like to send, and implies that there are other qualified folks.

But if Albert really is the one and only person you want to recommend, you could say something like “Let’s send our best speller (i.e., Albert) to represent us in the bee.” Albert equals the best speller, so you’d use i.e.

Some people seem to have the mistaken idea that i.e. is used when talking about only one person or thing, and that e.g. is used with more than one. That’s not the case. In the sample sentences above, we could have said “Let’s send two or three of our best people (e.g....” and “Let’s send our three best spellers (i.e....).”

Using (or teaching) the fudged plain-English words can be a big help to remembering.

Note: Although there are variations, here’s the way these abbreviations are usually written. The abbreviation itself (i.e., e.g. or i.e.) is usually placed just inside the first parenthesis, followed by a comma, then by a word or some words to fill out the meaning, then by the closing parenthesis.

Give this method a try. Id est really easy.

LandaBooks Word Quiz Answers: More World P's

Dave — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 16:16:00 GMT

Pacific (from Latin pācificus, peacemaking) means peaceful, soothing, conciliatory. Her pacific demeanor helped keep tempers in check during the negotiations.
Pugnacious (from Latin pugnāx, combative) means quarrelsome, ready to fight. (A pugilist is a boxer.)
A pastiche (from Italian pasticcio—medley, pastry cake) is an incongruous combination of things: Her outfit was a pastiche of garments from different eras.
A monetary fine. Pecuniary (from Latin pecūnia property, money) offenses are more of a hardship on the poor than on the middle class or the wealthy.
To parlay (probably from Italian parole, words or promise) is to exploit to advantage. She kept reinvesting her winnings from the word-quiz contest, and parlayed it into a modest fortune.

Comprises

Dave — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 16:12:00 GMT

“The Bill of Rights comprises ten amendments.” Or should that be “is comprised of”? Today’s question comes from a young woman named Donna, a bright student in one of our classes of working adults. “What about this word comprise?” she asked.

She’d been using it all her life in sentences like “The Greek alphabet is comprised of twenty-four letters.” But she’d been “corrected” by someone who insisted that the word does not mean “made up of,” that it’s properly used only in the sense of “includes” or “consists of.”

According to her self-appointed editor, she should have said that the alphabet “comprises twenty-four letters.” And she should definitely not say anything “is comprised of,” ever.

So who’s right, and who’s wrong? As with lots of language questions, it depends.

For one thing, it depends on what Donna and her accuser are right or wrong about. If we’re talking about the definition of the word, both have some evidence on their side. The Webster’s New World Dictionary lists both definitions, adding that the way Donna used it is still regarded “by a few” as a “loose usage.”

Which leads to the other thing they may be right or wrong about—the insistence that one of the uses has to be correct, the other incorrect. That’s just not true. Thousands of smart, knowledgeable writers and speakers regularly use the word the way Donna does. They’ll keep using it that way, as well they should.

And of course those who see it differently are entitled to use comprise the way they want to. But they aren't entitled to inflict their opinions on others.

Fortunately, the International Society of Nit-pickers is comprised of a relatively few people.

LandaBooks Word Quiz Answers: APRIL

Dave — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 20:58:00 GMT

Avarice (from Latin averus, greedy, via French) is another word for intense greed. The adjective form is avaricious.
Penurious (from Latin pēnūria) can mean either extremely poor, or very stingy.
Risotto (from Italian riso, rice) is a rice dish, usually rice cooked slowly in broth, with cheese added just before serving.
The ilium (from Latin īlia) is the hip bone, specifically the broad upper bone of either hip. Caution: the ileum is the lower part of the small intestine.
Lucid (from Latin lux, light) means quite clear, easily understood. (It can also mean rational, sane.)

“He Left Town in Early Spring...”

Dave — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 18:04:00 GMT

“He left town in early spring, some people think to avoid prosecution.” When I first read that sentence (by a very good writer, in a respected magazine), I thought someone had neglected to put in a second comma, after think. But when I looped back for a second reading, I saw that it was correct—and clear—as written. He did in fact leave town, and some people think his motive was to avoid prosecution.

So is it okay as is? Or should the writer or editor have changed something? It depends on how many people would stub their eyes on it during first reading. I don’t know the answer to that.

But I know that I did, so I’d vote for a change in syntax (arrangement of words in the sentence), which might also mean a tweaking of the punctuation. Maybe some minor emendation like “He left town in early spring (to avoid prosecution, some people think).”

It’s a tough job for the writer (who already knows what is meant) to detect such little problems ahead of time. And it’s often even harder for an overworked editor, who would first have to notice the problem, then decide that it’s important enough to deserve fixing, then decide the best way to revise it, and then either make the change or convince the writer to do it (or at least to agree to it).

As with lots of writing questions, there is no easy answer. But if we can be alert and sensitive to such possible snags, we can avoid many of them in our first drafts, or change them during the revision process. And sooner is better.

LandaBooks Word Quiz Answers: Jane M

Dave — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 17:06:00 GMT

Jocular (from Latin joculus, little joke) means humorous. Jane’s jocular comments helped her friends slough off bad feelings from the slough of despond.
Animosity (from Latin for mind, spirit, passion, wrath) is a feeling of strong dislike—he felt no animosity toward his political opponents.
A nostrum (from Latin nostrum our, ours—because the seller often made the medicine, and referred to it as “ours”) is medicine of doubtful efficacy, as patent medicine or quack remedies.
Eugenics (from Greek eu- good + genos birth) is the study, now discredited, of ways to improve living things (often in reference to humans) by selective breeding, control of mating.
A magus (from Greek magos, word used for a member of the learned and priestly class) was a wise person (or one of the three magi, wise men).

Issues? No Problem.

Lane — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 21:51:00 GMT

Some words, like some plants or insects, go through a sudden huge increase in frequency of appearance. One of these is issue.

Seems we don’t have problems anymore. We have issues. A New Yorker cartoon some time back showed a couple entering the front door of a house where a party was already in progress. “Sorry we’re late,” they said to the hostess, “but we had traffic issues.”

The other day, I was listening to a radio talk show. The guest was responsible for keeping the streets in certain parts of our nation’s capital in good shape. The conversation was informative, both people bright and articulate.

When I became aware that I’d heard issue several times in the space of a very few minutes, I began counting. In about eleven minutes, the word was used eight times—mostly by the guest. When he used problem twice, I was relieved and ready to give him credit.

Then I realized that—consciously or not—he’d been selective in his choice. All the less-than-desirable conditions that his department might be considered responsible for were issues . Those that were not—including acts of God like really heavy rain—were problems .

What can we do about this rampant overuse of issue ? Probably nothing. And although I notice it, and try not to be a party to it, the word doesn’t really bother me. I have no issue with it.

Are "Loose sentences" immoral?

Dave — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 15:00:00 GMT

Grammarians sometimes categorize sentences as "loose" or "periodic."

Although "loose" used to be a fairly common term for an immoral person, to grammarians it means something entirely different.

A periodic sentence is one that keeps the reader waiting until the end (the period, or other mark of terminal punctuation) before the meaning becomes clear. Examples: 1) The salesman, after much hemming and hawing about the car's superior features, finally answered my question about the price. 2) Snowstorms, hurricanes, tsunamis, freak storms—all these may result from our unconscionable tinkering with the atmosphere.

A loose sentence is simply one that is in so-called "normal" or "standard" order: subject, verb, and (if there is one), complement. Most of our sentences are loose, and that's a good thing—they're more likely to be clear and easy to read. Of course, we want to use some periodic sentences, when they suit our purpose (e.g., emphasis, sentence variety). But they can be distracting, so are to be used with care.

It's not all that important to know the names of these categories—the terms aren't often used, even by English teachers. But it is important to avoid too many of one kind—especially periodic sentences.

LandaBooks Word Quiz Answers: P Soup

Dave — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 17:19:00 GMT

Panache (from French, plume, verve) is a flamboyant manner, verve, style, or flair. The dashing onomatomaniac breezed through the word quiz with great panache.
A pugilist (from Latin pugil, boxer, akin to pugnus fist) is a fighter or boxer. Pugnacious, a related term, means inclined to fight.
Platonic (from Plato, who described but did not name it) is pure, non-physical love. A character in the play Pamela said, “I am convinced, and always was, that Platonic love is Platonic nonsense.”
A petrel is a tube-nosed sea bird. The name is of uncertain origin, but may be related to the story of St. Peter walking on water, because the bird flies so near the surface it may appear be walking.
Pentatonic (from Greek penta, five, and tone) means having only five tones, as with certain music scales. Our standard (diatonic) scales have seven tones—the first repeated at the end, as in the Do, Re, Mi…Do scale of Guido.