daisy: A slang intensive, and as an equivalent for “fine” or “charming,” applied to persons and damage should never be used for “cost” or “charge.” Damage is injury or harm as to character, person, or estate; cost and charge involve or imply expenditure of money. dance, to lead one a: A colloquialism for “to divert one from a desired course, and thus create delay in its accomplishment.” There is but little in the expression to recommend it. dander is a vulgarism for “anger” and as such should not be used. dangerous: Avoid the vulgar use of this term in the sense of “dangerously ill.” A man near death may be dangerously ill, but he can not be dangerous. dare, durst or dared, daring: “You daresn’t” “he durstn’t” are frequently used—the former always incorrectly, the latter generally so; for in nine cases out of ten, where the expression is used, the speaker desires to signify the present and not the past. The form is inelegant, but under certain conditions may be grammatically correct. You dare not; he dares not (daresn’t): this for the present. In the past only, he durst not (or durstn’t). dead, deceased: Discriminate between these words. One may refer correctly to a dead man or a dead slow: A colloquialism for “lacking in spirit or liveliness, dull or tedious;” applied indiscriminately to persons or things. deal: Used sometimes loosely for serve. Do not say “Deal the potatoes;” here serve is preferable. debase. Compare DEMEAN. decease should never be used as a verb. deceive: Deception implies the production of a false impression. It is necessary, therefore, to distinguish between the accomplishment of this object and the bare attempt. Yet one frequently hears the expression “he is deceiving me,” when it is clear that (as the attempt is unsuccessful) the idea intended to be conveyed is “he is attempting to deceive me.” decided, decisive: These terms are not exactly synonymous. A decided fact is one that is unmistakable and beyond dispute; a decisive fact is one that terminates a discussion. A decided victory is not necessarily a battle decisive of a campaign. delicious, delightful: These terms should be used with discrimination. Delicious is correctly applied to pleasures of the senses; delightful to that which charms, gratifies, or gives pleasure. A dish may be delicious, but not delightful; an entertainment may be delightful, but is certainly not delicious. denominate. Compare NOMINATE. depositary, depository: Discriminated in the best usage, depositary denoting a person with whom, and depravation, depravity: These terms are not synonymous. Depravation is the act or process of depraving or corrupting; depravity is the condition of being depraved. desert. Compare ABANDON. desert, dessert: Discriminate carefully between these words. A desert is a barren waste; an uncultivated and uninhabited wilderness; a dessert is a service, as of fruits or sweetmeats, at the close of a dinner. despatch: This word may be spelt correctly either “despatch” or “dispatch,” notwithstanding the fact that some writers condemn the word “dispatch.” develop is to “unfold” or “bring to light by degrees” and should not be used for “expose” which means to “reveal or lay bare,” without regard to manner. device, devise: Discriminate carefully between these words. A device is something designed, invented, or constructed for a special purpose or for promoting an end, and may be used in either a good or bad sense. A devise is a gift of lands by a last will and testament. Compare BEQUEST. die: A word often misapplied especially by persons accustomed to use inane superlatives as “She died with laughing”; “I thought she’d have died.” difference: Careful note should be made of the appropriate prepositions. The Standard Dictionary says: “Difference between the old and the new; differences among men; a difference in character; of action, of style; (less frequently) a difference (controversy) with a person; a difference of one thing from (incorrectly to) another.” different from: Different to, though common in England, is not sustained by good authority. The best literary usage is uniformly from, following the analogy of the verb differ; one thing differs from or is different from another. differ from, differ with: One thing may differ from another, or one person may differ from another, as in physique; but one person may differ with another in opinion. dippy: An extreme vulgarism for “mentally unbalanced.” direct should not be used where address is intended. Do not say “Direct your letters to me at Cook’s;” say, rather, “Address your letters,” etc. directly, which means “in a direct or straight course or manner,” and so “without medium,” has not unnaturally been extended to signify “without medium or intervention of time; immediately.” disappoint: Since disappoint implies frustration or defeat, one cannot be agreeably disappointed; rather agreeably surprised. discharge. Compare ASSUME. discreet, discrete: Both words are derived from the Latin discretus, pp. of discerno, dis + cerno, separate, and formerly discreet was also spelt discrete, and even had the meaning of “separate, distinct,” which sense now belongs exclusively to discrete. Discreet is used with the signification of “evincing discernment, judicious, prudent.” disfigure. Compare DEFACE. disremember: Avoid this term as provincial and archaic, and use forget instead. dissociate is preferable to disassociate; for associate is from the Latin ad, to, + socius, united, whereas distinguish. See DISCRIMINATE. divers, diverse; By inattentive persons not infrequently interchanged. Divers implies severalty; diverse, difference. Hence we say; “The Evangelists narrate events in divers manners,” but “The views of the two parties were quite diverse.” do: Often used unnecessarily. Do not say, “I shall succeed as others have done before me.” Here “done” is pleonastic. But do may be used where it is purely auxiliary to a missing verb, as “I shall succeed as others do” (succeed). Dock is by many persons used to mean a wharf or pier; thus: “He fell off the dock and was drowned.... A man might fall into a dock; but to say that he fell off a dock is no better than to say that he fell off a hole.”—R. G. White, Words and Their Uses, ch. 5. p. 107. donate: Incorrectly used as simply meaning give. As meaning to bestow as a gift or donation, it has been vehemently objected to by some critics, but done: Avoid using the past participle of verbs instead of the imperfect. Do not say, “You done it,” or “you seen it,” when you mean “you did it,” or “you saw it.” Nor use the past tense for the perfect participle, as in, “If you had came” when you mean “If you had come.” don’t make no error. See ERROR. dopey: A vulgar substitute for “sleepy; dull; thick-headed.” dose, doze: Discriminate carefully between these words. That which a physician prescribes is a dose; that which a sleepy patient may fall into is a doze. do tell! An exclamation of surprise the equivalent of which is “Is it possible!”—an inane provincialism to be avoided. doubt. See WHETHER. doubt but that: In this phrase but is superfluous as it does not add anything to the sense. dozen: Exercise care in writing or uttering this word. If a number precedes, then dozen forms the correct plural: if not, the plural is formed by adding an s. Say “six dozen sheep,” but “many dozens of cattle.” draft, draught: Exercise care in using these words. A draft is an order drawn by one person or firm on another for the payment of money to a third; a draught is a current of air passing through a channel or entering by an aperture. These words are pronounced alike and modern American practise favors the spelling of draft for both. drunk: In modern usage of the verb this word is confined to the past participle. It is therefore not now proper to say “They drunk his health” say, rather, “They drank his health.” Do not say “I have drank” when you mean “I have drunk.” dry up! A vulgar imperative for “be quiet” or “stop talking” and as such not used in refined circles. dubersome: Of a vacillating nature, doubtful: an absurd corruption of dubious to be avoided. Dutch: Often misapplied to the Germans from a mistaken idea of the spelling of the German word |