A Recommendation & Another Blast from the Past
Got your copy of War on Words yet? No, then contact me at [email protected].
In the meantime, here’s another grammar book you might want to try: The Anarchist’s Guide to Grammar, by Val Dumon. It’s a no-nonsense guide to proper usage of the English language that exposes some of the most common shibboleths put forth by your old grade school teacher. A highlight is “Grammar Glitches,” a glossary of misused and mixed-up words, such as affect/effect, accept/except, infer/imply, ensure, insure, assure, and many more (all of which are also covered in War on Words; they’re just not captured in a glossary).
And a Blast from the Past – The War on Words column from January 2010
The War on Words
A monthly column in which we attempt, however futilely, to correct some of the most common mistakes we Americans make in both the written and spoken word.
By Bob Yearick
Media Watch
From a WIP-AM newscast: “Rumors of a rift between he and Mike Richards were denied by John Stevens.”
Todd Gold, TV commentator for Comcast.net: “But (Charlie) Gibson went on the record with the Post, telling the paper all the talk about a rift between he and (Diane) Sawyer is bunk.”
Once again, we must point out that prepositions (e.g., between) take the objective case pronoun – him, her, me, us. But as always, he, she, I and we sound so much more correct to the quasi-educated.
Literally of the Month
CBS broadcaster Vern Lundquist, during the Florida-Alabama football game: “They (Alabama) are literally going to have to cut the head off the snake.”
For starters, “War” is unsure exactly what that statement means. But we are sure there was no snake on the field, and thus there would be no cutting off of a snake’s head, literally or otherwise.
Department of Redundancies Dept.
The science of sports statistics continues to evolve, with new terms being added every few years. In baseball, HRR (home run ratio) and OPS (on-base plus slugging) are two of the newest. In football, YAC (yards after catch) is now in vogue. Obviously, Blue White Illustrated, which coversPennState sports, is still getting used to this stat. Here’s a sentence from a recent issue: “He made a few nice moves after the catch to pick up some YAC yardage.”
Word (OK, term) of the Month: Stalking Horse
1.Something used to cover one’s true purpose; a decoy. 2. A sham candidate put forward to conceal the candidacy of another or to divide the opposition Miscellany
Here’s a nomination for most misspelled word: challenge. Amazing how many people make it “challange.”
The “but yet” construction also seems to be gaining popularity. Example: “Our state’s needs have changed a lot over the past decade, but yet allocation of funds remains the same.” Maybe this should be in our Redundancies Department, because but and yet are synonymous in this construction. Choose one.
Different from, different than: One thing differs from another. Different than is at best colloquial and at worst incorrect.