More Problem Words and Such from Bill Bryson

Here’s some more things from Bill Bryson's book that I either didn’t know or wasn’t completely clear on.

1. “Strictly speaking, paper clips and pencils are stationery.” Apparently, the term applies to all office materials, not just paper and envelopes. I actually vaguely remember this fact from long, long ago, although I wouldn’t have recalled it without Bryson’s help.

2. Split infinitives are not grammatical errors and are not routinely condemned by writing authorities. They usually occur when infinitives and adverbs are used together. Here’s an example from Bryson. “He proceeded to climb the ladder.” “To climb” is the infinitive. “He slowly climbed the ladder.” “Slowly” is the adverb. Now you put them together, “He proceeded to slowly climb the ladder.” The elements of the infinitive are split by “slowly.”

3. The belt that is worn diagonally across the chest, as seen in various westerns, is called a “Sam Browne.”

4. “To the manner born” is the correct version of the quote from Hamlet, not “To the Manor born,” which I pretty much assumed it was.

5. “Plenitude,” not “plentitude,” is the correct spelling of this word, which means abundance. I think I’ve messed that one up more than once.

6. The correct quote from Tennyson’s “Charge of the Light Brigade” is: “Their’s not to reason why / Their’s but to do and die.” I’ve often heard it as “do or die” at the end, which is a completely different meaning.

7. Remember “Music has charms to soothe the savage beast?” That’s not the way the original quote went. It was “Music hath charms to soothe a savage breast.” I could have sworn it was “beast” instead of “breast.” I know I’ve heard it said as “beast.”

Finally, here’s a quiz I put together from information in Bryson’s book. Can you tell me what is wrong with the following sentences? (The first two are exact quotes that Bryson used as examples; the others have been modified for this exercise.)

1. “Now throw in two tablespoons full of chopped parsley and cook ten minutes more.”

2. “The yacht was doing about nine knots an hour, according to Mr. Starr.”

3. “Instead of in years, their progress should have been measured in light-years.”

4. “I accused him of libel for the things he said about me behind my back.”

5. “Laying on his back, James pointed out some cloud formations that resembled faces.”

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Did You Know?

I’m reading a book by Bill Bryson called Bryson’s Dictionary of Troublesome Words and enjoying it quite a lot. It’s a collection of entries about problem words, problem spellings, problem usages, etc. Not something you read straight through but something you browse. I have found a fair number of things that I did not know, though, so perhaps you won’t know them either. Here goes:

1. “Alas poor Yorick, I knew him well” is not the quote. It’s “Alas poor Yorick! I knew him, Horatio.”

2. Axel, axle. I thought they were both spelled the same. An axle, of course, is what connects two wheels. An “axel” is a “jump in ice skating.” I’d heard the term but didn’t know it was spelled differently.

3. Bellwether. Originally, a “bellwether” was a sheep with a bell around its neck that was used to lead other sheep to a new pasture. Who knew?

4. Dormouse. First, I probably have often spelled this doormouse, and second, it’s apparently not a mouse at all.

5. Flotsam and jetsam. Although I knew the difference between these two materials (jetsam is what has been jettisoned from a boat while flotsam is what has just floated off), I didn’t know that, traditionally, “flotsam went to the Crown and jetsam to the lord of the manor on whose land it washed up.” Cool.

6. Forego, forgo. I never realized these terms were spelled differently. I just thought “forego” had two meanings. In reality, “forego” means to go in front of someone or something while “forgo” is to deny yourself something. I think I will forgo dessert this evening. The bands will forego the parade. I don’t see “forego” used very often these days.

7. Gantlet, gauntlet. I thought “gauntlet” just had two meanings, one as a type of glove and the other as the double line of people through which another person must run while being beaten. Apparently, “gantlet” used to be the preferred term for the “double line of people” meaning, but it has been so confused over time that almost everyone uses “gauntlet” now for both meanings. I’m going to start using “gantlet” again. Let’s save “gantlet!” I'm throwing down the guantlet to anyone who uses guantlet where gantlet should be used.

8. Grandiloquence. It’s not spelled grandeloquence. Eek. I think I’ve screwed that up a time or two.

NOTE: this week begins our final testing and grading period for the semester so my posting and commenting will be spotty.
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