Troublesome Troublesome WordsWords

An abridgement of Bill An abridgement of Bill Bryson’s “A Dictionary of Bryson’s “A Dictionary of

Troublesome Words.”Troublesome Words.”

Affect/Effect:

Affect as verb: to influence. "Smoking may affect your health."

Affect as noun: to adopt a pose or manner. "She had an affect of ignorance."

Effect as verb: to accomplish, to bring about. "The prisoners effected an escape."

Effect as noun: something brought about by a change or cause. "The damaging effects of war.”

(also means property, as in “personal effects”)

In common use: affect is more often used as a verb, effect is more often used as a noun.

all right vs. alright

All right is the correct use.

Two separate words.

basicallybasically

Basically, leave it out

besides Means also or in addition to, not alternatively.

Incorrect: "The wound must have been made by something besides the handle of the gear lever.“

Correct: "The wound must have been made by something other than the handle of the gear lever.“

Correct use of besides: "Besides the Greeks, the Romans also fought over the island of Sicily."

can vs. may

Possible vs. permissible.

You can drive your car on the wrong side of the street, but you may not.

close proximity

Inescapably tautological. Use "near" or "close to."

Incorrect: "The knife was in close proximity to the spoon."

Correct: "The knife was close to the spoon."

collision

Used to describe two moving objects coming together.

Not for a moving object and a stationary one.

Two planes may collide in mid-air, but a car does not collide with a tree.

Bonus question: what do we do with the term “collision detection” among game programmers?

comparatively

Only to be used when making comparisons.

Incorrect: "Comparatively little progress was made in the talks yesterday."

Compared to what?

Compliment: to praise. "I complimented her attire."

Complement: to fill out or make whole. "Roses in the silver bowl complemented the table."

compliment vs. complement

conceived

Refers to a single event. Incorrect: "Last week, twenty-five

years after it was first conceived..." Correct: "Last week, twenty-five

years after it was conceived." Also, be wary of "initially conceived"

and "originally conceived."

couldn't of

Should be “couldn't have.” Comes from an often-spoken double

contraction: couldn't've

current, currently:

For contrasting the present with the past.

Unnecessary in phrases like "Oil prices are currently $44 a barrel."

Why not just “Oil prices are $44 a barrel”?

cut back

"We had to cut back wheat production."

Do you need the "back" here?

decimate

Literally, to reduce by a tenth.

Maybe.

destroydestroy

Not a comparative term. Mostly.Not a comparative term. Mostly.

““Completely destroyedCompletely destroyed” is redundant. ” is redundant. A house consumed by fire is simply A house consumed by fire is simply destroyed, and “completely” adds destroyed, and “completely” adds nothing.nothing.

However, something can be “However, something can be “partially partially destroyeddestroyed.”.”

diagnosis vs. prognosis

diagnosis: to identify and define a problem.

prognosis: A projection of the course and likely outcome of a problem.

differentdifferent

Sometimes unnecessary: "Shakespeare wrote thirty-seven different plays."

Dilemma

Applies when someone is faced with two distinct courses of action, of which neither is clearly superior.

Does not refer to just any difficulty or predicament.

discrete vs. discreet

Discreet: careful, showing good judgement.

Discrete: singular, unattached, unrelated.

dos and don'ts

Note the apostrophe.

And the lack thereof.

Each

When each is the subject of a sentence, it is singular.

"Each of the pens was red." When each modifies a plural subject,

the subject is still plural. "Drivers licenses each have unique

identification numbers."

Simple rule to decide on the subject: If each precedes the verb,

subsequent nouns and pronouns are plural:

"They each are subject to sentences of five years"

If each follows the verb, subsequent nouns and pronouns are singular:

"They are each subject to a sentence of five years."

Equally as

Always wrong. Incorrect: "This is equally as good." Correct: "This is as good." Or "This

is equally good."

exception proves the rule

In modern English, a bewildering statement.

Comes from the use of "proof" meaning to prove or to test.

flakflak

““The pharmaceutical industry takes a The pharmaceutical industry takes a lot of flak for high prices, but their R&D lot of flak for high prices, but their R&D costs…”costs…” Note: not spelled “flack”Note: not spelled “flack”

Flak is a contraction of the German Flak is a contraction of the German Fliegerabwehrkanone (anti-aircraft gun)Fliegerabwehrkanone (anti-aircraft gun) Nineteen letters, not one of them a “c”Nineteen letters, not one of them a “c”

Not to be confused with FLAC – the Free Lossless Audio Codec Not to be confused with FLAC – the Free Lossless Audio Codec

fewer vs. less

Fewer: refers to discrete numbers. Less: refers to quantities.

Fewer people. Less water.

gender (vs. sex)

Gender: originally only used in a grammatical context, became a euphemism for sex in the nineteenth century.

Later disdained as old-fashioned and overdelicate.

Now used as a fine distinction in feminist theory and transgender politics.

indexes vs. indices

Which is the plural of index?

Both.

irregardless

Stop using this word.

Seriously.

last vs. latest

When referring to a temporal event, both can mean most recent.

When there's confusion, though, use appropriate word.

The most recent, but not final, episode of a television series? It's the latest episode of the series.

The series finale of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer"? It's the last episode of the series.

literallyliterally

““He literally died laughing.”He literally died laughing.” Did the person described actually die Did the person described actually die

while laughing?while laughing? Then “literally” distinguishes this action Then “literally” distinguishes this action

from the figurative sense of “died laughing” from the figurative sense of “died laughing” (meaning laughing extremely hard)(meaning laughing extremely hard)

Did he just laugh loudly for a long time?Did he just laugh loudly for a long time? Then he figuratively died laughing, the Then he figuratively died laughing, the

exact exact oppositeopposite of literally dying laughing. of literally dying laughing.

percentage, fraction:

"This drug has proven useful in a percentage of cases."

"Teenage pregnancy rates have dropped to a fraction of what they once were."

Has it proven useful in 1% of cases? Have teenage pregnancy rates

dropped to 999/1000ths of what they once were?

precautionary measure

Can nearly always be shortened to precaution.

quantum leap

The scientific sense is of a movement or advance that is discrete and measurable, but not necessarily, or even usually, dramatic.

randomrandom Conversationally, can mean “unpredictable” Conversationally, can mean “unpredictable”

or “unexpected”.or “unexpected”.

In a technical sense, In a technical sense, randomrandom is a complex is a complex term.term. Truly random numbers are difficult to generateTruly random numbers are difficult to generate Most “randomness” is a matter of not taking into Most “randomness” is a matter of not taking into

account all the elements involved.account all the elements involved. ““Pseudorandom” numbers aren’t random, they’re Pseudorandom” numbers aren’t random, they’re

just unpredictable enough for the matter at hand.just unpredictable enough for the matter at hand.

Avoid using in technical discussions if your Avoid using in technical discussions if your meaning may be unclear.meaning may be unclear.

situation

Can be useful as a noun: "We advised the president of the

situation." "The situation was delicate.“

Usually unnecessary as an adjective: "We hoped to contain the crisis

situation."

strata, stratum

A single layer is a stratum.

Strata signifies more than one.

toward vs. towards:

Both are grammatically correct.

Toward is preferred in American English.

Towards is preferred in British English.

That vs. which

Used in restrictive or nonrestrictive clauses.

Non-restrictive: "The tree, which had no leaves, was a birch."

(The sentence could read coherently without the central clause.)

Restrictive: "The tree that had no leaves was a birch."

(Refers to a specific tree, does not mean the same thing without the "that" clause.)

True factsTrue facts

All facts are true.All facts are true. If something isn’t true, it isn’t a fact.If something isn’t true, it isn’t a fact.

UtilizeUtilize

To make the best use of something not To make the best use of something not intended for the job.intended for the job. ““He utilized a coat hanger to repair his He utilized a coat hanger to repair his

automobile.”automobile.” Is not interchangeable with “use”.Is not interchangeable with “use”.

You do not “utilize” a digital spectrometer You do not “utilize” a digital spectrometer to measure properties of light.to measure properties of light.

That’s what it’s That’s what it’s forfor..