back on, go. Compare GO. back or back up, with the signification of uphold or support has the countenance of high authority, but back down: A colloquialism for withdraw as from an argument, a position or contest. back out: A colloquialism for to withdraw from or refuse to carry out an agreement. bad grammar: This phrase has been condemned as false syntax by some persons unfamiliar with the different meanings of the word bad. The phrase is not only good English but is cited by the Standard Dictionary as a correct example under the word badly: This word should never be used for greatly or for exceedingly, very much, etc. Do not say “Your father will miss you badly”; say rather, “... will miss you greatly.” Instead of “I wanted that badly” say “I wanted that very much” or “I was in great need of that.” “The carpet needs to be beaten badly” is a ludicrous blunder for “The carpet badly (or very much) needs to be beaten”—the construction connecting badly with beating rather than with needs which it qualifies. ball up (to), is slang for “confuse,” “embarrass” either of which is to be preferred. baluster: Compare BANISTER. band, beat the. Compare BEAT. banquet: This word designating a sumptuous feast in honor of some person or event should not be used as the synonym of “dinner” or “supper,” which both designate less formal functions. base, bass: Discriminate carefully between these terms. Base means the bottom or support of anything, that part on which it rests; also, that which is low. Base is sometimes used in the sense of found; as, “he based his argument on the evidence.” In chemistry it is a compound which unites with acid to form a salt. Bass is the name of various sea-fishes; also the name of a tree and of things made from its fiber. In music the bass consists of the lowest tones in the scale, instrumental or vocal. bat: Formerly a provincialism but now a vulgarism for “wink.” Do not say “Quit batting your eyes at me;” say rather, that is, if you must say anything of the kind, “Stop winking at me.” battalion: In this word the “t” is always doubled, as in battle, from which it is derived; it is, however, correctly spelled with only one “l.” bear. See BARE. beastly: A British colloquialism expressive of disgust or contempt; as, “This is beastly weather”; sometimes even used adverbially; as, “I was beastly tired.” This locution, essentially in bad taste, though often affected by college students and others who should know better, seems never to be defensible except in the phrase “beastly drunk,” and even this is objectionable as being a libel on the beast. Compare NASTY. beat it should not be used for “go away” or “clear out.” because: Although this word means “for the reason” it is often used in the same sentence with this expression—“The reason why I do this is because (= for the reason that) I please myself by doing it.” Substitute that for because. because why: A term common among the illiterate. Because is used correctly when it precedes the explanation of an act; why, when used interrogatively. Do not say “I did it, because why”; here omit “why” and continue with the reason for the act. Instead of “I did not come sooner; because why?” “I was delayed.” Say “I did not come sooner; why? I was delayed.” beef is coarse slang for “boast” or “brag.” begin by him: This is incorrect; say, “begin with him.” behave: Strictly means “comport.” When used with a reflexive pronoun as, “Behave yourself,” this word is correctly applied. When the pronoun is omitted as, “Will you behave?” the sentence is incomplete and the expression a mere colloquialism. being: The phrases “is being built,” “was being built,” and kindred forms of English imperfects passive are condemned by certain critics as recent and unwarranted; Fitzedward Hall points out that they are neither recent nor unwarranted, and have been used by the best writers for a century. He says: “Prior to the evolution of is being built and was being built, we possessed no discriminate equivalents of Ædificatur and Ædificabatur; is built and was built, by which they were rendered, corresponding exactly to Ædificatus est and Ædificatus erat.”—Modern English, App., p. 350. Is growing, was growing, indicate an activity from within; as, the tree is growing (from its own internal forces); is being grown, was being grown, the activity of some agent from without; as, the plant is being grown (by the gardener). So also, and strikingly, is bleeding (as from a wound), and is being bled (as by a surgeon). belong: Used absolutely; as, “He doesn’t belong,” “We all belong” (sc., to this organization, society, community, or in the place, sphere, or associations where actually present): recent in the United States, and apparently rapidly spreading in popular use, though with no literary support. beneficence, benevolence: Although formerly the meanings of these words were distinct they are not so any longer, and benevolence now includes beneficence. “Beneficence, the quality of being beneficent or charitable: benevolence is the disposition to seek the well-being or comfort of others; charitableness.” According to the etymology and original usage beneficence is the doing well, benevolence, the wishing or willing well to others; but benevolence has come to include beneficence and to displace it. We should not now speak of benevolence which did not help. benefit. Compare ADVANTAGE. berth, birth: Discriminate carefully between these words. Berth, which is probably derived from bear, (Anglo-Saxon beran, carry), means a place of accommodation, whether as bunk or bed, apartment, or engagement. Birth, similarly pronounced and derived, means “a coming into existence.” beside, besides: Much confusion exists, and has long existed regarding these words. Gould, who in his work on “Good English” explained the use of these terms in 1856, from which Webster borrowed in 1876, states that “besides is always a preposition and only a preposition.” This is not so. It is sometimes an adverb when used in its prepositional sense of “by the side (of).” Of besides as a preposition, Skeat, in his “Etymological Dictionary,” says:—“The more correct form is beside; ‘besides’ is a later development, due to the habit of using the suffix -es to form adverbs; the use of besides as a preposition, is, strictly incorrect, but is as old as the 12th century.” Beside is also a preposition in the sense of “in comparison with” and “physically or mentally remote from.” “Beside your work his is poor”; “Beside between. Compare AMONG. between you and I: This is incorrect. Both pronouns are objects of the preposition between and should be in the objective case; say “between you and me.” Compare you and I. bevy: A word sometimes misapplied. It is applied correctly to a company of girls, a flock of birds, as, quail, grouse, or larks; also to a small herd of deer or heifers. big-wig: A slang term common in England for a person in authority or of prominence. Compare BIG-BUG. bird: In the phrase “You’re a bird” an inane and, therefore, undesirable expression. bit: Primarily a bite, a small piece, or by extension a small quantity; as, a bit of bread, a bit of fun. By error, the word is sometimes applied to liquids; as, “there is not a bit of water on the farm.” But when reference is to liquid to be drunk, it is more discriminating to say, not a bit, but a sip. blame on: Indefensible slang. We blame a person for a fault, or lay the blame upon him. Not, as in a New York newspaper, after the last Presidential election, “I do not blame the defeat on the President,” but “I do not blame the President for the defeat,” or “I do not lay the blame ... upon,” etc. blow: A colloquialism for boastful talk, which is expressed less coarsely but with as much force by “bluster” or “brag.” blowhard: A coarse term for “boaster” synonymous with windbag; not used by persons of refinement. Compare WINDBAG. boiled shirt: A slang phrase designating a white linen shirt. It originated in the Western States of America but its use is widespread among persons addicted to careless diction. boost, to: A vulgarism for “to assist”; used also as a noun, as “He gave me a boost in business” for “He assisted me....” borne, the past participle of bear, must not be confounded with the adjective born. “Man is born to sorrow, which may or may not be well borne.” both: When both is used in a negative sentence, the meaning intended is sometimes doubtful. “Both applicants were not accepted.” Were both applicants rejected? Or, was one rejected and the other accepted? Or, was neither applicant accepted or rejected? A similar confusion of sense occurs in some negative sentences containing all, when not is misplaced; this practically contradicts the sense intended, or makes it ambiguous; as, all will not go, that is, not all will go—meaning some will and some will not go. “All were not of that mind” (probably) not all were of that mind, or (possibly) all were of a different mind or minds from the one spoken of. So, also, when all is used substantively. “All that glisters is not gold”—not all that glisters is gold. A peculiarity of both is that it can not be negatived by connecting not immediately with it, except elliptically in sentences of unusual form that are obviously arranged for the prevention of misunderstanding—as in correcting the doubtful meaning of the sentence cited above, “Both applicants were not accepted.” If one asks, in order to clear its confu both: As an adjective or pronoun both emphasizes the idea of two. It has been well defined as “the two, and not merely one of them”; it can not properly, therefore, be connected with or refer to more than two objects. As a conjunction, however, both has a more extended meaning and employment than it has as an adjective or a pronoun; thus, it is permissible to say, “He lost all his live stock—both horses, cows, and sheep.” Both, as so used, emphasizes the extent or comprehensiveness of the assertion. The use has been challenged, but has abundant literary authority, and antedates Chaucer. both alike: A pleonasm. Two things may be alike but alike should not be used as an adjective. Both daughters may be like their mother, but to say they are both alike, meaning that they resemble each other, is incorrect. Both should never be used with alike. bounce: A colloquialism for “discharge” or “eject forcibly,” an apt rather than an elegant term. bound: This word may be the participial adjective of bua, prepare, or the past participle of bindan, bind. The words should not be confused. “I am bound to have it:” yes, if constrained or compelled; but no, if merely resolved. It is true that in the United States a colloquial usage to this effect has become popular, but it is none the less an error of speech. bourne: From the French borne, bourne (Latin bodina, limit), means that which marks the end, and hence the end or goal. It does not mean country which it is so often supposed to mean—presumedly from Hamlet’s “undiscovered country, from whose bourne no traveller returns.” Readers who on this authority construe bourne as country make the mistake of substituting the word “which” for the phrase “whose” bourne. brand-new often incorrectly written bran-new. The original and etymologically correct form of this word is brand-new, from brand, meaning “fire” or “burning,” and new meaning “fresh”—the “fire-new” of Shakespeare (Twelfth Night, act. iii., sc. 2) is best explained by his own words, “fire-new from the mint,” meaning “fresh and bright” like a new brand of Cain: By a peculiar perversion of facts, this is invariably referred to as a stigma similar to the scarlet letter with which Hester Prynne was indeed branded. But the brand was an act of mercy and “a token of Divine protection,” for “the Lord set a mark on Cain, lest any finding him should slay him.” bred and born: An erroneous sequence of words. One is born before one is bred; therefore say “born and bred.” Britannia: This word is often misspelled “Brittannia.” It is from Britain and should be spelled with only one “t” but two “n’s.” broach, brooch: Discriminate carefully between these terms. Although both are derived from the same source etymologically (Latin, broca, a spike) they are now widely different in meaning. A broach may mean “a boring into an opening, a spit, or a spire.” It is also the name of the boring bits or drills used in carpentering or engineering. It means also “to approach any one in conversation” on some particular subject. A brooch is “a breastpin or an ornamental pin or clasp used as for display or to fasten some part of a dress.” brothers: Distinguished from brethren. The one applies to those who are brothers by birth, whereas the other indicates fraternal relationship in some order or society. building, being built: There are advocates of either form. Fitzedward Hall has shown conclusively that “is being built” has been used by the best writers for a century or more, and now has universal literary sanction. Richard Whately, George P. Marsh, Richard Grant White, and other critics have strenuously objected to this use. In literature there is support enough for their views: Milton wrote “while the Temple of the Lord was building.” Dr. Johnson, in writing to Boswell, of his Lives of the Poets said “My ‘Lives’ are reprinting;” Macaulay followed the same style and wrote “Chelsea Hospital was building”; “while innocent blood was shedding.” Being has a special modern use with passive forms of verbs to express progressive action. For example, is, are, or was being built, expresses what is expressed also by is, are, or was building, a-building, or in building. Both forms are permissible, but “is being built” is more frequently heard and, perhaps, preferable. bum: A vulgar term for “an idle, dissolute fellow; a loafer,”—on the bum. A vulgar phrase used to denote that that to which it is applied is of poor quality, badly done, or has been subjected to careless treatment. busted: A slang term for financially broken, not used by persons accustomed to a refined diction. Compare BROKE. but, however: Discriminate carefully between these words. Do not say “He is suffering—not, however, acutely;” say rather, “He is suffering, but not acutely.” but what: This is equivalent to but that which and is an incorrect expression for but that. “I am not sure but what I shall be there” should be written but that, and indicates the possibility or even probability of being there; but note that if the but be omitted from the latter (and correct) usage, the indication is the reverse. Compare BUT THAT. but yet: Should not be used when either but or yet is sufficient by itself; as, “Wealth may seek us; but wisdom must be sought”; not but yet. When, however, Archbishop Trench says, “But yet these pains hand us over to true pleasures” (Study of Words, p. 232), each conjunction has its distinct adversative sense. This appears still more clearly in “Ye are but common men, but [on the contrary] yet [notwithstanding that fact] ye think with minds not common.”—Coleridge Wallenstein 2, 3. bute: A vulgar corruption of “beauty” used by illiterates; as, “She’s a bute.” Correctly “She is a beauty” or “a beautiful woman.” butt in, to: A vulgar although expressive phrase meaning “to interfere officiously or inquisitively with,” not used by persons accustomed to refined diction. “A gentleman by the name of Hinkley.” “Oh, no! You mean ‘A gentleman of the name of Hinkley.’ This is English, you know.” One may say “I know no one of the name of Brown,” or “I know no one by the name of Brown”; but the meaning is different. One might know a man of the name of Brown, but know him by the name of Smith. It is better to say simply “a man named Brown.”—Standard Dictionary. |