The Elements of Style
V. WORDS AND EXPRESSIONS COMMONLY MISUSED
(Many of the words and expressions here listed are not so much bad English as bad style, the commonplaces of careless writing. As illustrated under Feature, the proper correction is likely to be not the replacement of one word or set of words by another, but the replacement of vague generality by definite statement.) * All right. Idiomatic in familiar speech as a detached phrase in the sense, "Agreed," or "Go ahead." In other uses better avoided. Always written as two words. * As good or better than. Expressions of this type should be corrected by rearranging the sentence. * As to whether. Whether is sufficient; see under Rule 13. * Bid. Takes the infinitive without to. The past tense is bade. * Case. The Concise Oxford Dictionary begins its definition of this word: "instance of a thing's occurring; usual state of affairs." In these two senses, the word is usually unnecessary. * Certainly. Used indiscriminately by some speakers, much as others use very, to intensify any and every statement. A mannerism of this kind, bad in speech, is even worse in writing. * Character. Often simply redundant, used from a mere habit of wordiness. * Claim, vb. With object-noun, means lay claim to. May be used with a dependent clause if this sense is clearly involved: "He claimed that he was the sole surviving heir." (But even here, "claimed to be" would be better.) Not to be used as a substitute for declare, maintain, or charge. * Compare. To compare to is to point out or imply resemblances, between objects regarded as essentially of different order; to compare with is mainly to point out differences, between objects regarded as essentially of the same order. Thus life has been compared to a pilgrimage, to a drama, to a battle; Congress may be compared with the British Parliament. Paris has been compared to ancient Athens; it may be compared with modern London. * Clever. This word has been greatly overused; it is best restricted to ingenuity displayed in small matters. * Consider. Not followed by as when it means, "believe to be." "I consider him thoroughly competent." Compare, "The lecturer considered Cromwell first as soldier and second as administrator," where "considered" means "examined" or "discussed." * Dependable. A needless substitute for reliable, trustworthy. * Due to. Incorrectly used for through, because of, or owing to, in adverbial phrases: "He lost the first game, due to carelessness." In correct use related as predicate or as modifier to a particular noun: "This invention is due to Edison;" "losses due to preventable fires." * Effect. As noun, means result; as verb, means to bring about, accomplish (not to be confused with affect, which means "to influence"). * Etc. Not to be used of persons. Equivalent to and the rest, and so forth, and hence not to be used if one of these would be insufficient, that is, if the reader would be left in doubt as to any important particulars. Least open to objection when it represents the last terms of a list already given in full, or immaterial words at the end of a quotation. * Less. Should not be misused for fewer. * Line, along these lines. Line in the sense of course of procedure, conduct, thought, is allowable, but has been so much overworked, particularly in the phrase along these lines, that a writer who aims at freshness or originality had better discard it entirely. * Literal, literally. Often incorrectly used in support of exaggeration or violent metaphor. * Lose out. Meant to be more emphatic than lose, but actually less so, because of its commonness. The same holds true of try out, win out, sign up, register up. With a number of verbs, out and up form idiomatic combinations: find out, run out, turn out, cheer up, dry up, make up, and others, each distinguishable in meaning from the simple verb. Lose out is not.
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Composition, repetition, colour and Space! 2008by CapricornArtist733,708 views
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