Write It Right: A Little Blacklist of Literary Faults

Mad for Angry.  An Americanism of lessening prevalence.  It is probable that anger is a kind of madness (insanity), but that is not what the misusers of the word mad mean to affirm.

Maintain for Contend.  “The senator maintained that the tariff was iniquitous.”  He maintained it only if he proved it.

Majority for Plurality.  Concerning votes cast in an election, a majority is more than half the total; a plurality is the excess of one candidate’s votes over another’s.  Commonly the votes compared are those for the successful candidate and those for his most nearly successful competitor.

Make for Earn.  “He makes fifty dollars a month by manual labor.”

Mansion for Dwelling, or House.  Usually mere hyperbole, a lamentable fault of our national literature.  Even our presidents, before Roosevelt, called their dwelling the Executive Mansion.

Masculine for Male.  See Feminine.

Mend for Repair.  “They mended the road.”  To mend is to repair, but to repair is not always to mend.  A stocking is mended, a road repaired.

Meet for Meeting.  This belongs to the language of sport, which persons of sense do not write—­nor read.

Militate.  “Negligence militates against success.”  If “militate” meant anything it would mean fight, but there is no such word.

Mind for Obey.  This is a reasonless extension of one legitimate meaning of mind, namely, to heed, to give attention.

Minus for Lacking, or Without.  “After the battle he was minus an ear.”  It is better in serious composition to avoid such alien words as have vernacular equivalents.

Mistaken for Mistake.  “You are mistaken.”  For whom?  Say, You mistake.

Monarch for King, Emperor, or Sovereign.  Not only hyperbolical, but inaccurate.  There is not a monarch in Christendom.

Moneyed for Wealthy.  “The moneyed men of New York.”  One might as sensibly say, “The cattled men of Texas,” or, “The lobstered men of the fish market.”

Most for Almost.  “The apples are most all gone.”  “The returning travelers were most home.”

Moved for Removed.  “The family has moved to another house.”  “The Joneses were moving.”

Mutual.  By this word we express a reciprocal relation.  It implies exchange, a giving and taking, not a mere possessing in common.  There can be a mutual affection, or a mutual hatred, but not a mutual friend, nor a mutual horse.

Name for Title and Name.  “His name was Mr. Smith.”  Surely no babe was ever christened Mister.

Necessaries for Means.  “Bread and meat are necessaries of life.”  Not so; they are the mere means, for one can, and many do, live comfortably without them.  Food and drink are necessaries of life, but particular kinds of food and drink are not.

Necessities for Necessaries.  “Necessities of life are those things without which we cannot live.”

Née.  Feminine of né, born.  “Mrs. Jones, née Lucy Smith.”  She could hardly have been christened before her birth.  If you must use the French word say, née Smith.

Negotiate.  From the Latin negotium.  It means, as all know, to fix the terms for a transaction, to bargain.  But when we say, “The driver negotiated a difficult turn of the road,” or, “The chauffeur negotiated a hill,” we speak nonsense.

Neither—­or for Neither—­nor.  “Neither a cat or fish has wool.”  Always after neither use nor.

New Beginner for Beginner.

Nice for Good, or Agreeable.  “A nice girl.”  Nice means fastidious, delicately discriminative, and the like.  Pope uses the word admirably of a dandy who was skilled in the nice conduct [management] of a clouded cane.

Noise for Sound.  “A noise like a flute”; “a noise of twittering birds,” etc.  A noise is a loud or disagreeable sound, or combination or succession of sounds.

None.  Usually, and in most cases, singular; as, None has come.  But it is not singular because it always means not one, for frequently it does not, as, The bottle was full of milk, but none is left.  When it refers to numbers, not quantity, popular usage stubbornly insists that it is plural, and at least one respectable authority says that as a singular it is offensive.  One is sorry to be offensive to a good man.

No Use.  “He tried to smile, but it was no use.”  Say, of no use, or, less colloquially, in vain.

Novel for Romance.  In a novel there is at least an apparent attention to considerations of probability; it is a narrative of what might occur.  Romance flies with a free wing and owns no allegiance to likelihood.  Both are fiction, both works of imagination, but should not be confounded.  They are as distinct as beast and bird.

Numerous for Many.  Rightly used, numerous relates to numbers, but does not imply a great number.  A correct use is seen in the term numerous verse—­verse consisting of poetic numbers; that is, rhythmical feet.

Obnoxious for Offensive.  Obnoxious means exposed to evil.  A soldier in battle is obnoxious to danger.

Occasion for Induce, or Cause.  “His arrival occasioned a great tumult.”  As a verb, the word is needless and unpleasing.

Occasional Poems.  These are not, as so many authors and compilers seem to think, poems written at irregular and indefinite intervals, but poems written for occasions, such as anniversaries, festivals, celebrations and the like.

Of Any for Of All.  “The greatest poet of any that we have had.”

Offhanded and Offhandedly.  Offhand is both adjective and adverb; these are bastard forms.

On the Street.  A street comprises the roadway and the buildings at each side.  Say, in the street.  He lives in Broadway.

One Another for Each Other.  See Each Other.

Only.  “He only had one.”  Say, He had only one, or, better, one only.  The other sentence might be taken to mean that only he had one; that, indeed, is what it distinctly says.  The correct placing of only in a sentence requires attention and skill.

Opine for Think.  The word is not very respectably connected.

Opposite for Contrary.  “I hold the opposite opinion.”  “The opposite practice.”

Or for Nor.  Probably our most nearly universal solecism.  “I cannot see the sun or the moon.”  This means that I am unable to see one of them, though I may see the other.  By using nor, I affirm the invisibility of both, which is what I wanted to do.  If a man is not white or black he may nevertheless be a Negro or a Caucasian; but if he is not white nor black he belongs to some other race.  See Neither.

Ordinarily for Usually.  Clumsy.

Ovation.  In ancient Rome an ovation was an inferior triumph accorded to victors in minor wars or unimportant battle.  Its character and limitations, like those of the triumph, were strictly defined by law and custom.  An enthusiastic demonstration in honor of an American civilian is nothing like that, and should not be called by its name.

Over for About, In, or Concerning.  “Don’t cry over spilt milk.”  “He rejoiced over his acquittal.”

Over for More than.  “A sum of over ten thousand dollars.”  “Upward of ten thousand dollars” is equally objectionable.

Over for On.  “The policeman struck him over the head.”  If the blow was over the head it did not hit him.

Over with.  “Let us have it over with.”  Omit with.  A better expression is, Let us get done with it.

Outside of.  Omit the preposition.