pack: A word sometimes misapplied especially in speaking of a number of persons; as, “the whole pack.” It is correctly used when applied to dogs or wolves, hence, from the latter application, also to any band of men leagued together for evil purposes; as, “a pack of thieves”: sometimes, also, correctly styled a gang. pain. Compare PANE. pants: A vulgarism or tailor’s cant for pantaloons meaning trousers which should be the word used by preference. paradox: Commonly used incorrectly in the phrase “a seeming paradox,”—a thing that does not exist, a paradox being a statement that seems to be at variance with common sense. A statement may, however, be characterized as paradoxical. paraphernalia, from the Greek para, beyond, + phero, bring, is properly applied to the personal ar pare, pair: Words the spellings of which are sometimes confused. Pare, to remove the outer covering from is from the Latin paro and means “prepare”; pair, designating two persons or things, is from the Latin par, which means “equal.” See PAIR. parenthesis: The phrase in parenthesis includes both signs, and an expression placed between these signs is therefore said to be “in parenthesis.” Parentheses refers only to two or more sets of parenthetical expressions. Due care should be exercised in using this word. parson: Although a good word used to designate “the clergyman of a parish,” parson is often used contemptuously, and from this use has acquired a sense that detracts from the dignity of the office; therefore, is one to be avoided. Do not say “Our parson is a popular man”; say, rather, “Our minister....” partake should never be used as a synonym for “eat” or “drink.” One may partake of a meal with other persons, that is, share it with them, but one does not partake a meal by one’s self. partially should not be used for “partly,” as, having the meaning “with unjust favoritism” it may be misunderstood. pathos. Compare BATHOS. patrons should not be used for “customers.” A patron is one who fosters a person or thing; a customer is one who deals regularly at one establishment. peach: Used in the sense of “beauty,” possibly from the delicate and downy skin of the fruit, is a playful though undesirable expression used commonly by young men and boys, especially in referring to women; as, “Isn’t she a peach!” Lexicographers do not recognize this usage of the word. peculiarly impressive: A phrase heard sometimes for “singularly” or “strikingly impressive”; but the word is from the Latin peculiaris, “one’s own,” and it is in this respect that the individuality enters the case. What belongs exclusively to a person is peculiarly his; pecuniary. Compare FINANCIAL. peel should not be confused with peal. The first designates “rind”; the second, “ring.” pell-mell: This word etymologically implies a crowd and confusion and is not applied to an individual. Thus, “He rushed out pell-mell” should be “He rushed out hastily and excitedly.” penny: In the plural this word is either pennies or pence. In the one case it means a number of individual coins; in the second case it signifies a specific sum of money. per: This is a Latin preposition, correctly joined only with Latin words; as, per centum, abbreviated per cent.; per diem; per annum. Per head and per person, per year, per day are common commercial locutions; use preferably the English forms a head, a person, a year, a day. If you must use a Latin phrase be sure you use all Latin. perform does not mean play. One performs music on a piano or plays the piano, but does not perform the piano. To perform on the piano would rather indicate “to strum” upon it or (if you like) play upon or play with it than to play it. perform. Compare ASSUME. permit. Compare ALLOW. person. Compare PARTY. personalty is sometimes considered to mean articles of personal adornment. It does not. It is a legal term, now in contradistinction to realty, and includes therefore all movables, as money; personal property of any kind whatever, as household goods; chattels real and personal; things movable as distinguished from realty or landed property in any form. persons. Compare PEOPLE. perspicacity, perspicuity; Terms often confused. Perspicacity is “acuteness, clear-sightedness or penetration”; perspicuity is “clearness of expression or style, lucidity”; and is applied to speech and writing. persuade, convince: That which persuades, leads or attracts (Latin suadeo, advise), that which convinces, binds (Latin vinco, conquer). A person when petition, partition: Sometimes pronounced as if they were homophones, but they are not. Exercise care in their use. A petition is a request, a partition is that which separates anything into distinct parts. phenomenon is the singular of phenomena, and the distinction should be observed in speech. Avoid as incorrect such locution as “A remarkable phenomena.” piece, a: A provincial vulgarism used in such phrases as “We went along the road a piece”; “he followed me a piece,” etc. pike: A vulgarism used as a verb for “to move away rapidly,” and as a noun, contemptuously, for “a shiftless class of persons.” pillar, pillow: Discriminate carefully between these words. A pillar is a firm, upright, separate support; a pillow is a head-rest. Note the difference in the spellings. pile-in: Slang for “get to work.” pipe-off: A vulgarism for to “take in at a glance.” place: Used objectively without a preposition, or even adverbially, a provincialism common in parts of the United States; as, “She is always wanting to go places”; “Can’t I go any place (correctly anywhere)?” “I must go some place (somewhere)”; “I can’t find it any place.” Such forms are solecisms. place, plaice: Homophones, so care should be exercised in their use and spelling. A place is a particular point or portion of space; a plaice is a fish. plank: Used usually with “down” this term is commonly employed by persons careless of their diction for “pay out” or “lay down”: said especially of money, and a term to be avoided. plead, pleaded or pled, pleading: The spelling of pled for the past is not warranted, and is a colloquialism. Careful speakers use pleaded. plentiful. Compare BOUNTIFUL. plenty: The colloquialism by which plenty, which is a noun, is treated as an adjective or adverb is altogether inadmissible. In such cases plentiful and plentifully should be used. “We have plenty of money.” “Cash is plentiful.” “We are plentifully supplied”—not “We have plenty enough cash.” plunk: A vulgarism for a silver dollar. polite, civil, polished: Civil, from the Latin civilis, from civis, a citizen, denotes that which is becoming to a citizen. Polite is the Latin politus, participle of polio, polish. Civility is therefore negative, the mere absence of rudeness, whereas politeness is the positive evidence of good breeding. A polite man is naturally so, but a polished man is one who has, by art, acquired the smoothness which comes of having had the rough edges rubbed off. Polite denotes a quality; polished denotes a state. politics is a singular word of plural form. “His hobby is politics”—not “Politics are his hobby.” polity and policy both come from the Latin politica, (Gr. politeia, polity, polis, city); but they must not be confounded. “Polity is the permanent system of government of a state, a church, or a society; policy is the method of management with reference to the attainment of certain ends. The national polity of the United States is republican; each administration has a policy of its own.” pore: Compare POUR. possessive case, the: A very unnecessary difficulty appears to be felt, even by educated men, in the use of the apostrophe in the possessive case. It is placed immediately after the noun under consideration. If, for instance, you are talking of a lady and refer to her glove, you say “the lady’s glove”—then the apostrophe should immediately follow the noun in question; viz., lady, in the singular. If, however, there are two ladies or more, you say “the ladies’ gloves,” and the apostrophe should follow ladies; that is, lady, in the plural. In like manner, you write “the boy’s father,” or “the boys’ father,” when referring to one or to two or more boys, respectively. “The man’s hat,” “the men’s hats,” with the apostrophe following the noun man or men, will note the possessive in the singular and plural for the noun man. The nearest approach to a difficulty is where a plural ends with an “s” or a sibilant sound; but here the rule is still the same—place the apostrophe after In speaking of a firm, where the partners constitute but one object of contemplation, the apostrophe is used but once—after the complete object of contemplation, that is, after the title or firm name; as, “Jones and Robinson’s store.” If Jones and Robinson, instead of being in partnership had independent businesses you would speak of “Jones’s and Robinson’s stores”—this being no exception to, but merely an exemplification of, the rule that the apostrophe immediately follows the noun or name (or firm name) under consideration. Occasionally, the possessive appears in double form, the substantive being preceded by of and followed by the apostrophe with s. This occurs, however, only in idiomatic phrases, as, “He was a friend of my father’s,” which is equivalent to “He was one of my father’s The apostrophe is not used with the possessive personal pronouns. Write “yours (not your’s) truly.” Compare ’S. power: In the sense of “a great number or quantity,” this word is an undesirable colloquialism that has gained ground especially in rural districts. One may say of a man “He was a power among the people,” but not “A power of people heard him.” practical: Do not confound with practicable. The former means “that can be put into practise or rendered applicable for use; as, practical knowledge”; whereas the latter is perhaps best expressed by the synonym “feasible.” Practical has a general application, being governed by actual use and experience; as, practical statesmanship or wisdom: practicable, on the contrary, is particular, and signifies the suitability of the particular thing named to the desired end. Thus one may know a practical man but not a practicable one. precedent, president: Although almost homophones these terms have widely different meanings. A precedent is something that has occurred before in time and is considered as an established rule or an authorized example; a president is the head of a nation, society, or the like. predicate, predict: Though these words are both derived from the same Latin source, the one must not be used for the other. To predict is to foretell, whereas to predicate is to proclaim as inherent. In United States usage predicate, with on or upon, is preferable: If the preference is stated in terms, as “This is preferable to that,” the word is followed by the preposition to—never by than. The preference may, however, be implied; as, “This is preferable.” prejudice: Sometimes erroneously used for “prepossess” or “predispose.” A prepossession is always favorable, a prejudice always unfavorable, unless the contrary is expressly stated. Predispose means “to dispose or incline beforehand.” Therefore, we should not say that a person is prejudiced in any one’s favor but that he is prepossessed or predisposed. preposition: “The part of speech or particle that denotes the relation of an object to an action or thing; so called because it is usually placed before its object.” The correct use of these little words is often puzzling to persons of education. For the purpose of their guidance the following partial list is given. A comprehensive work on the subject of their correct use is “English Synonyms, Antonyms and Prepositions,” by Dr. James C. Fernald.
present is to be distinguished from introduce. Introduction takes place among equals, but a presentation takes place by act of grace. Then the favored person is brought into the presence of some superior or other persons, be it lady or celebrity, who is graciously pleased to grant the privilege, which however does not permit the subsequent familiarity of an introduction. A man may be presented at court or to a reigning beauty, but he is merely introduced to the man who may afterwards become a college chum. pretty as an adverb may properly be used to signify moderately, tolerably, fairly, somewhat (extensively), but the expression lacks elegance and definitiveness, as is shown by the following sentence: “He is a pretty prevail: In the sense of “triumph,” this word is usually followed by the prepositions over or against; as, “We have prevailed over our enemies”; “None can prevail against us.” In the sense of “to have effectual influence,” follow it with on, upon or with; as, “He prevailed on me to go.” In the sense “to have general vogue, currency or acceptance,” it should be followed by through or throughout; as, “Mohammedanism prevails throughout Northern Africa.” preventive is preferable to preventative, which is a corruption of the former, has been described as a “barbarism,” and is said to stamp any one using it as lacking in common education. previous: In higher literature, the adverbial use of previous with to, in the sense of “prior to” is not favored. The adverb previously or the expression prior to is preferred. prey. Compare PRAY. principle, principal: Exercise care in the use of these homophones. Principle is a source or cause from which a thing proceeds: principal, first or highest in rank. Note the difference in spelling. profess. Compare PRETEND. promise should never be used for “assure.” A promise always implies futurity. Do not say “He pronouns in the objective: Often the coupling of one pronoun with another leads a careless speaker into error, where had one pronoun only been used, no doubt or difficulty would have been experienced. “If he calls for (you and) I, we will go.” If the words in parenthesis be omitted no one would think of saying “for I,” but would naturally use the correct pronoun me. This method of elision will generally elucidate the correct usage. “To talk like that before (you and) I was atrocious.” Say me, as you certainly would if you omitted the words in parenthesis. prophecy, prophesy: Discriminate carefully between these words. A prophecy is a prediction, the foretelling of an event; to prophesy is to predict, or foretell an event. Note the difference in spelling. proposal, as distinguished from proposition, refers to the difference in treatment of the matter at issue. The one invites a plain “yes” or “no,” whereas the other suggests consideration or debate. A proposal of marriage usually anticipates an immediate reply, whereas a proposition for partnership involves reflection and discussion of terms. propose, purpose: Words often used incorrectly. To propose is to offer; to purpose is to intend. One proposes to a young lady if one’s purpose is to marry her. Compare CONTEMPLATE. proven: An irregular form of the past participle of prove used correctly only in courts of law. The word should be restricted to the Scotch verdict of “not proven,” which signifies of a charge that it has neither been proved nor disproved. The modern pernicious tendency among reporters is to use proven instead of proved. providing, provided: The first of these words, which is not a conjunction, is sometimes improperly used for provided, which is. Say, “You may go, provided (not providing) the weather be fine.” provoke. Compare AGGRAVATE. pull used to designate “influence” is a vulgarism of the street and the political arena that should be discountenanced. “Influence” is a better word. pupil. Compare SCHOLAR. put: For run or ran; as, “You ought to have seen him put”; “Then he put (sometimes, put out) for home”: an archaic usage now appearing as a colloquial Americanism. Stay put in the sense of “remain where (or as) placed” is also an Americanism, never used (unless playfully) by correct speakers. |